While HVAC field techs’ primary responsibilities include maintaining, repairing, and installing HVAC units, we often forget that they are also responsible for performing in-person customer transactions. When a customer needs to spend money on a costly repair or a new HVAC unit, it’s the field tech who must serve as their consultant – not a vendor. They must demonstrate and prove how a particular product or service will benefit them and solve a problem or concern.
Selling to customers in-person poses a unique set of challenges, and, let’s face it, if field techs don't make a concerted effort to implement sales techniques into their everyday routines, getting a customer to agree to a repair or upgrade may be more difficult than anticipated. While every customer is different, there are some highly effective — and fairly simple — sales strategies field techs can use when dealing with customers on-site.
Communicate Clearly and Succinctly: First and foremost, it is always important for field techs to communicate clearly and succinctly about the way in which the products and services they offer will resolve the problem the customer is experiencing. When speaking with a prospective customer, field techs should always focus on how the customer will personally benefit from the work being proposed and less time on the physical result of the work to be done. If a retail store wants its HVAC system to be inspected, for example, the focus should be primarily on how the repairs will keep the store's customers happy and comfortable rather than the fact that the work will give the store a properly functioning unit.
Add Value Whenever Possible: If a customer is hesitant about buying a new HVAC system or upgrading a thermostat, pressuring them into making a purchase may well result in losing their business forever. Instead, field techs should regard the on-site conversation as a new opportunity to speak about services or benefits of which they might not even be aware. Homeowners, for example, may not realize that HVAC zoning systems allow different areas of their home to be set to different temperatures.
Create Simple Bundles: Customers love bundles that enable them to obtain several services in a single package. With that in mind, field techs might consider offering a HVAC bundle that gives customers air filter replacements and air quality testing along with standard maintenance services.
Be Transparent About Pricing: It’s easy for field techs to provide too much detail when explaining how their services and equipment add value. While customers need to know how they will benefit from a particular service, it is even more important for them to understand the pricing. If a repair will require special equipment or will take more time than usual to complete, field techs must communicate this information upfront. By being completely transparent about pricing, field techs will be letting customers know they are reliable and can be trusted.
Provide Something for Free: Because customers are often reluctant to purchase services even though they may need them, field techs might consider offering a free service that is not normally available. Offering six months of free maintenance if a customer purchases an extended warranty or signs up for a maintenance plan, for example, lets a customer know he or she is getting a good deal. It also increases the odds that they will do business with you in the future.
Beyond these simple strategies, there are several unique sales techniques field techs should consider when dealing with in-person transactions.
Introduce Customer Needs: All too often, field techs tend to focus only on solving the customer's specific problem. Sure, the field tech needs to deal with the problem at hand. But handling that fix opens the door to make other recommendations, such as why the customer might consider replacing their existing system and the benefits he or she would receive by doing so. Informing a customer that he or she will likely spend thousands of dollars in repairing an old HVAC system over the next five years, for example, introduces a potential problem that the field tech is equipped to solve.
Keep the Hammock Effect in Mind: Buyers typically only pay attention to 60%-70% of the information they receive when a field tech is speaking with them. Their attention to what is being said will be the highest at the end of the conversation but drifts in the middle, resulting in the customer forgetting much of the information being conveyed.
To fight against this so-called hammock effect, field techs need to spike the customer’s attention in a way that keeps him or her engaged in the conversation. Field techs should speak with customers about how much money they'll lose every month by continuing to use, for example, an inefficient HVAC system, using real numbers to keep them interested. Even when a unit has a 16-SEER rating, customers can save up to $2,500 over the course of 10 years, which amounts to just under $21 per month.
Adopting better sales techniques can pay huge dividends for field techs. Simply by providing customers with a great experience during an on-site visit increases the likelihood that they will continue doing business with the same company in the future. And improving customer retention rates by as little as 5% can increase profits by anywhere from 25%-95%.
As an HVAC field tech, one of the biggest concerns is losing potential customers to "no decision." Up to 60% of prospective customers don’t come to a decision when they're thinking of upgrading to a new unit or obtaining maintenance for an existing one. While they might call back in the future, it's much more likely they won't. Given that, any steps field techs can take to reduce the number of customers who don't come to a decision can make a huge difference in terms of profits and revenues.
