< Previous20 MAY 2024HIGH-PERFORMANCE HVAC TODAY telling. It takes a lot of effort. What disheartens me is how so many companies claim to operate above par but settle and provide average or be- low-average service. They like the sta- tus quo. That’s not us. We don’t want the status quo. We want to show our community that we’re better than just the guy who sells boxes. TIPS FOR SIMPLIFYING TECH TALK The good news is that the owners of Canco go out of their way to provide me with the tools and training I need to be successful at this. Here is what I learned, what I practice, and what is working for me and my company: z The truth is most customers want to understand what they are buy- ing and why it benefits them. Trans- lating HVAC jargon into ideas that customers can comprehend is an art that doesn’t come naturally to every- one. I take time to create a list of the most common talking points in my sales approach and write out simpli- fied, relatable responses for each. z Less can be more – I struggle with falling into the trap of talking jar- gon. It is second nature – after all, I’ve spent years selling HVAC and training in its technical aspects. My nature is to overshare that wealth of industry knowledge, thinking I am educating the customer. While consumers want to feel con- fident in their purchase choice, they are easily overwhelmed by a salesper- son or technician sharing a firehouse’s worth of information. Today, I work hard at trimming my sales conversa- tions down to only what is necessary for the homeowner to understand the benefits. Once I do that, I can com- plete the sale. zBundling – I find success in offer- ing various products and services that we can bundle to benefit a cus- tomer (service agreements, financ- ing options, extended warranties, IAQ, etc.). When offered separately, the sale becomes more complex in customers’ minds. Bundling these services togeth- er into set purchase plans can simpli- fy customer choices. They can make clear, confident decisions faster, and the salesperson can close more sales. VISUAL AIDS Using visual aids is the fun part for me. I follow Canco’s six-step sales process. I show the customer the NCI form with their name and telephone number on it (it’s customized just for them). It shows how an HVAC system is supposed to work and what we do to test and measure to find any prob- lems. I guide them through it. I put an addendum to it if I want something to stand out for them. Typically, that addendum is a sheet Canco, we spend a lot of time devel- oping processes to help us provide customers with what they want. The funny thing is that most don’t even know they want safety, health, com- fort, and efficiency. But when I finish explaining what we will do and why, when I show them how we can improve their situations, they realize they want and need those four things. In classes and articles I’ve read, this is called developing a relationship. Building a relationship with your cus- tomers changes things. You go from your relationship being based on transactions (or the cheapest price/ fastest installation time) to one based on trust. Relational customers listen to us, ask questions, and want to know more. During my sales presentation’s first 15-20 minutes, I ask questions and then listen to their answers. I talk less and spend more time taking notes in the first 20 minutes. IT’S A CULTURAL THING It never dawned on me before, but communication is a cultural thing. For us, the culture is our high-perfor- mance approach, and it’s taken years to get it going, but I see it making a dif- ference. Again, it’s not easy. Even today, I must simplify how I talk to custom- ers and focus on showing instead of Whether talking to customers during a sales visit, or visiting with attendees at a local home show event, the key is to listen, ask questions, and invite them into a relationship versus transactional discussion. And steer clear of falling into technical jargon speech.SALES most customers, in my experience, don’t care about that. What they do care about is the evidence I gather, the pictures I share, and the explana- tion of the difference between what we found compared to national stan- dards, much in the way doctors or car mechanics do. I then end the story of their HVAC system by asking them if they can see how our proposed changes can make a difference for their family. This is how Canco builds trust and relationships with potential custom- ers and maintains those relationships with existing ones. Again, it’s all about communication and education. None of this stuff just happens. It takes commitment. It takes train- ing. And most of all, it takes practice. Training is critical to making sure that everybody is on the same page. It’s also a great way to find better solu- tions together. make sense of their issues and allows them to decide to buy from me. I often don’t even ask for the order. They say, “When can you get started, and what kind of deposit do you need? The result of this show-versus-tell approach is having a closing rate, on average, around 40 to 50%. STORYTELLING IS SO POWERFUL Everybody loves a good story. Shar- ing anecdotes or real-life examples to explain and illustrate our practic- es and technologies is also a great way to build customer relationships. Be- cause we practice High-Performance HVAC™, we can make the invisible visible for customers. Where most people lookthrough the air and breathe it, we can see it by testing and measuring air within the ductwork. Customers are amazed, especially when we show them airflow numbers. We show them how we can see what it’s doing. What other con- tractor can do that? At this point, I can talk about the tools we use, the training we under- go, our certifications, and what that means in terms of providing them with solutions to their comfort and en- ergy issues. Most customers then get it and see that virtually no other con- tractor offers this level of service. I’ve gone as far as showing them our readings and measurements, but of paper with headers for safety, health, comfort, and efficiency. Be- neath each header, we describe what we provide in each area for them. I leave that with the customers while I begin testing in their basement. That’s proven powerful because when I come up from the basement, the customers usually are reading that form. They’re engaged. I then ask them what they think about the infor- mation they just read. Their response is usually very posi- tive. They’ll say, “I’m really glad you’re doing this. No one else does this stuff.” This seems to wean out transaction- al customers, who we don’t want any- way. I think NCI taught us about firing customers. Sometimes, our pricing or the way we do things wean them out. They don’t understand. I do my best to educate them in under two hours, but sometimes that is futile. We also use analogies to help ex- plain what we do and what we measure and test on their systems. Using analo- gies, such as comparing static pressure to blood pressure, makes things much less techie and more understandable. Plus, I take a lot of pictures. I learned this from Tom Whitman, who called it evidencing. I take photos on my cell phone and iPad to show custom- ers what I’m doing and what I found during my presentation. In this way, I can teach them about their system. I also draw pictures now (something else I learned from Whitman). That’s been a godsend. It seems weird for me to draw a picture to explain how a cus- tomer’s system works. But most cus- tomers thank me for showing them in a way they understand. Hand-drawing pictures showing how air moves throughout their home helps Will Horner is the sales manager at Canco Cli- mateCare in Newmarket, Ontario, Canada. He joined Canco in 2005 and is a firm believer in training. He has taken all the HVAC design courses at The Heating, Refrigeration Air-Condition- ing Institute of Canada – Skilltech Academy. Horner holds current designations as a Res- idential Air System Design Technician and Residential Hydronic Design Technician. You can reach him via ncilink.com/ContactMe. MAY 2024 21HVACTODAY.COM22 MAY 2024HIGH-PERFORMANCE HVAC TODAYare causing concern because technicians are still learning about it. Bryan will share the most common in- verter issues technicians may encounter in the field, and how his HVAC compa- ny solves them to provide HVAC systems that operate at peak performance. If you want to see all 11 sessions in detail, go to ncilink.com/SummitSes- sions . If you have any questions, call 800/633-7058 and have our Customer Care representative help you. NCI Member Martin Hoover is ACCA’s New Chairman Congratulations to NCI member Mar- tin Hoover on his re- cent appointment as chairman of the Air Conditioning Con- tractors of America (ACCA) . Hoover is co-owner of Empire Heating and Air Conditioning in Atlanta, GA. He has been a member of National Comfort Institute since 2004. With more than 40 years in the HVAC Industry, he has been recognized with many awards including several Ameri- can Standard, Amana and Daikin Dealer Awards; Contractors 2000 Performance Award; Conditioned Air Association of Georgia Contractor of the Year; and AC- CA’s 2020 Distinguished Service Award. Congratulations to Martin Hoover. Welcome NCI’s New Partner: Shop-On-Fire National Comfort Institute (NCI) is pleased to announce the addition of an- other partner to our Member Rewards Training Incentive Partner Program (TIPP). Welcome to Jeremiah Webb’s Shop On Fire, a national coaching organization focusing on CSR Training and Coaching, Technician Sales Training and Coaching, and Leadership Training and Coaching. If you have any questions about mem- bership, our TIPP program, or Shop On Fire, contact one of our NCI Customer Care Representatives at 800/633-7058. Adam Mufich is NCI’s Newest Instructor National Comfort Institute (NCI) is pleased to announce the addition of Adam Mufich to its instructor corps. Mufich’s family has been in the HVAC Industry in the Chicagoland area since before the 1970s. His grandfather was the chief engineer at several notable buildings in Chicago, including the his- toric Palmer House Hotel. His father first worked for Trane Comfort Corps in the 1970s, then opened a residential HVAC business in the early 1990s. Adam worked for his father, then start- ed A-Team Heat- ing and Air in 2012. A-Team was dedi- cated to solving cus- tomer comfort issues by delivering the highest level of craftsmanship possible. Mufich holds or has held certifications with NATE, NCI, Geothermal Alliance of Illinois, and ACCA. Please join us in welcoming Adam Mu- fich to the NCI team. Late-Breaking 2024 HVAC Summit News NCI’s 21st Annual High-Performance HVAC™ Summit is coming! It is the gathering place for high-performance contractors across North America and is the only event focused on ser- vicing, selling, and delivering High-Per- formance HVAC systems. Summit 2024 is September 10-13 in Asheville, NC. Registration is open and room reser- vations are starting to fill up. This year’s theme is OUTPERFORM! Make High-Performance HVAC™ Your Secret Weapon for 2025 and Beyond . Join fellow High-Performance HVAC contractors in Asheville to explore ways to outperform your competition, de- light customers, and lead your market- place as you set your priorities for 2025 and beyond. The 2024 conference includes 11 breakout sessions. This month, let’s focus on two of them: The Air Upgrade Cure: A Simple Solution to HVAC Equipment Failures : NCI’s Vice President of Training, David Richardson, will present this session and focus on two of the most common issues for equipment failures: excessive exter- nal static pressure and improper airflow. He will show you how to correct these problems with Air Upgrades via testing, diagnosing, and creating a predeter- mined scope of work. Also, Bryan Orr, president of Kalos Ser- vices and HVAC School, will present How to Solve the Top 10 Inverter Installa- tion Issues . Inverter tech isn’t new, but newer products hitting the market today NCI UPDATE MAY 2024 23HVACTODAY.COMHVAC SMART MART 24 MAY 2024HIGH-PERFORMANCE HVAC TODAYAD INDEX Publisher Dominick Guarino Editor-in-Chief Mike Weil Art Director Judy Marquardt Online Development Director Brian Roseman Circulation Manager Andrea Begany-Garsed To Subscribe to High-Performance HVAC Today: ONLINE: Visit HVACToday.com/subscribe for a FREE digital subscription. PRINT: 1 year/$72; single copy $7. Canada: 1 year/$92; single copy $9. Payable in advance with U.S. funds. Prepaid subscriptions may be sent to: High-Performance HVAC Today, PO Box 147, Avon Lake, OH 44012. Phone: 440-949-1850; toll free 800-633-7058; or visit HVACToday.com/subscribe to order online. Go to ncilink.com/ContactMe with your comments and questions. MAY 2024 25HVACTODAY.COM Advertiser Index Arzel Zoning Technology, Inc. | www.ArzelZoning.com ...................................................... 5 Baker Distributing Company | www.BakerDist.com ........................................................... 24 Daikin Comfort Technologies North America, Inc. | www.northamerica-daikin.com 25 Duct Saddles | www.DuctSaddles.com ..................................................................................... 18 Evergreen Telemetry | www.EvergreenTelemetry.com ........................................................ 2 Lazco Corporation | www.Lazcocorp.com ............................................................................... 9 R.E. Michel Company | www.REMichel.com .......................................................................... 14 Sauermann | www.sauermanngroup.com ............................................................................ 22 TEC (The Energy Conservatory) | www.energyconservatory.com ............................... 12 To Your Success | www.ToYourSuccess.com .......................................................................... 24 Tru Tech Tools | www.TruTechTools.com ..............................................................................9, 24OUTPERFORM! this one-of-a kind event. The High-Performance HVAC Summit is not just another HVAC conference. It’s the ONLY in- dustry event 100% focused on helping your busi- ness succeed in selling, installing, and servicing systems that outperform 90% of the current in- stallations across North America. CONFERENCE HIGHLIGHTS Here’s just a sampling of this year’s conference: zTen different workshops laser-focused on delivering proven, measured performance, and helping you achieve the profitability you need and deserve. Click Herefor complete descriptions. zHigh-Performance Town: A hands-on expe- rience featuring operating HVAC systems where you’ll work with the most cutting-edge testing and diagnostic technology available today. z General Sessions packed with thought-pro- voking conversations and announcements, in- cluding a Panel Discussion with some of the best thought leaders in our industry. zOur Keynote Speakeris not just a highly successful HVAC contractor in his own right, he’s also an HVAC education leader helping to raise the bar for our field professionals. z NCI’s 23rd Annual Awardsbanquet rec- ognizing the best in High-Performance HVAC. Might you be one of our next award recipients? Participants will also be able to interact with our great industry partners who will be available both during tradeshow hours and throughout the conference. We hope you’ll join your brothers and sisters in high-performance to make this not only the big- gest and best Summit ever, but the most reward- ing industry event you will attend this year! Click GoToSummit.com for updates on all the great Summit events. See you in Asheville! O ur theme for National Comfort Institute’s (NCI) High-Performance HVAC™ Summit on September 10-13 in Ashe- ville, NC is OUTPERFORM!!The all-new for- mat focuses on the newest tech and best practic- es for integrating High-Performance HVAC into your business approach. At last year’s Summit we spoke about a new spirit of collaboration we wanted to foster among companies that are truly focused on raising the bar for the HVAC industry. These conversations were timely in the face of the onslaught of major new technology chal- lenges, ranging from A2L refrigerants to invert- er-based HVAC systems, new heat-pump tech- nology — and more. I am excited to report that since then there has been unprecedented collaboration between NCI, manufacturers, distributors, and a number of or- ganizations who produce tools and services fo- cused on raising the bar. Many of these new ini- tiatives will be shared this September. Our goal this year is to help you navigate the many new challenges mentioned above, and seize the opportunities that invariably come with these rapidly changing times in our industry. AN EVENT FOR EVERYONE We invite you to join other like-minded HVAC professionals as we work together to help you outperform your competition and delight your customers with high-performance solutions. This event is open to everyone. Whether you’re just exploring this approach, or want to take what you’ve learned from NCI’s training to the next level, this conference is for you! We’re confident owners, managers, salespeo- ple, technicians, and installers will gain a ton of value, knowledge, and new relationships from 26 MAY 2024HIGH-PERFORMANCE HVAC TODAY ONE MORE THING... By Dom Guarino OUTPERFORM With Us at HVAC Summit 2024! Dominick Guarino is publisher of High-Performance HVAC Today magazine and President & CEO of National Comfort Institute, Inc. He can be reached at ncilink. com/ContactMeNext >