“They’re all about the technology,” he says. “They love all the different digital measuring instruments. They love how they can pull the data up on their phone.”
He says this wasn’t an accident. He began actively working to attract younger people five or six years ago.
“At that time, most of my technicians were over 45 years old, getting burnt out and beaten up. I started a kind of technician farm system by bringing in kids right out of high school and training them. I was setting up a next-man-up approach, and as soon as these youngsters were ready, we put them in a truck and got them going.”
Today, he says his lead installer is in his 40s, but nearly all the technicians are under 30.
His secret sauce? Developing good relationships with several local high school football coaches.
“That’s become my pipeline. I try to get kids from high school football because they’re already used to waking up early. They’re already on a schedule; they must work out and go to practice. Because they’re playing on a team, they already understand assignments. It just works out well. The kids are already acclimated to working on a team, and Picture Rocks is most definitely a team environment.”
The NCI Connection
Since they began learning more about High-Performance HVAC™ in 2018 or 2019, Arenas says he has seen a noticeable improvement in their installation projects.
“I can’t emphasize this enough,” he says. “Once we began getting airflow right, customers’ systems worked correctly and efficiently. Proper airflow is the best thing for the customer. We now get more second-opinion jobs on someone else’s installation because it’s not working correctly. There, too, we often find airflow is the root of the problem.”
Arenas says that this helps Picture Rocks get even more business. He adds that customers can see that his team can prove that they know what they are talking about and can show them what is happening with their system.
“NCI has a motto that says, “If You Don’t Measure, You’re Just Guessing™.” That is so true. So many HVAC companies don’t do the testing, so many systems don’t perform correctly.
“We’re NOT guessing,” Arenas adds. “We test, measure, and exactly determine what’s happening and then correct it. We can ensure customers get what they paid for in terms of comfort and efficiency. The bonus is that a well-performing system lasts longer, especially if the customer has regular maintenance performed on it.
“Install the system right, make sure it has proper airflow and the right refrigerant charge, and then it is maintained. Then, it will be a long-lasting system,” Arenas says.
Spreading the Word
“Our approach with marketing is now completely proactive. Our new marketing guy talks about services that are appropriate for the season. In the spring, we talk about duct cleaning and duct sealing. In winter, we talk about plumbing, water heaters, and pipes. And then, it’s all about air conditioning during the summer,” he explains.
The marketing manager handles all of the company’s digital marketing. Arenas says he also goes into the community to network and meet one-on-one with people. That means he takes people out to lunch, stops by installation sites, takes videos and pictures of the projects, and posts them online.
Arenas adds that their marketing and sales approach is to walk customers through what they do.
“We provide them with as much detail on what issues we find and what we propose to do about it in our proposals,” he says. “We often include illustrations on the proposals to help them understand.”
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