With a healthy amount of momentum and good spirits due to the recently passed tax credits, the International Ground Source Heat Pump Association traveled to Las Vegas for their annual conference in December.

In one of the more interesting sessions, Enertech business development manager Rob Derksen talked what a contractor needs to do to become a geothermal powerhouse. Derksen is also co-owner of the Michigan-based geothermal contracting company Michigan Energy Services.

Here are five things contractors can do to have success in the geothermal industry.

1. Educate the Community

This does not just mean homeowners and future customers. Derksen said Michigan Energy Services would offer free home inspections of geothermal systems when they heard from realtors. They wanted to make sure the realtors were comfortable with geothermal and sold it as a positive reason to purchase a house.

“These agents didn’t know anything about geothermal, but they needed it inspected for their home buyers,” Derksen said. “So we did free geothermal inspections for the realtor community. It did not matter if our sticker was on it or not. We would educate them on how it works and how it should be operated and maintained. And if our label wasn’t on it before, it was when we were done. We got a new customer for a two-hour visit. That is low-cost marketing.

2. Embrace Geothermal in Your Personal Life

HVAC contractors who want to sell geothermal should start by putting it in their own home.

“What do you say when homeowners ask what you have in your home?” Derksen asked. “If you respond, ‘A variable-speed gas furnace,’ it would be fair for the customer to wonder why you are trying to sell them geothermal. Your closing percentage just went down.”

Having firsthand experience with geothermal both adds credibility and helps the business practice installation. Derksen also recommended creating a program to help put it in the employees’ homes — especially service technicians. This will help employees experience the same things they are installing in other people’s homes.

3. Start Calling Them Ground-Source Heat Pumps in Your Messaging

In the past, geothermal contractors were advised against heavily using the term ‘ground-source heat pump’ because customers did not know what the word meant. However, that has changed due to the electrification trend the country is currently experiencing; now, the word ‘heat pump’ has entered the general lexicon. To take advantage of this, geothermal contractors should be using heat pump messaging.

“Put it on your truck in big letters,” Derksen said. “It now really helps as a Google keyword as well, so make sure you are using that language on your website.”

4. Have a Clear Geothermal Message

Consistency in messaging is key for a technology like geothermal. Everyone from the owner down to the individual answering the initial phone call should have the same messaging about the product.

“It is up to you to decide what the messaging is. It can be energy savings, good for the environment, quiet, reliable, etc.” Derksen said. “The important thing is the entire company is on the same page so the sales person, installer, owner, and person answering the phone are providing the same message to that customer.”

Derksen preached that all geothermal contractors need to come up with an “if statement” that works for them. One suggestion was: “If I can tell you about a system that would save you 60-70% on your energy, last 10-15 years longer than current system, and give you a 30% tax credit while making you more comfortable, would you be interested in learning more?”

5. Promote Geothermal Properly

Contractors need to make sure geothermal is featured prominently on their website. It can’t be buried on page 6.

“Even if you have only done one geothermal installation, you should be saying on your website that you specialize in geothermal,” Derksen said. “Also, use social media to your advantage. Content is important. Share content from noncompeting businesses and ask that they do the same for you.”

Another tip Derksen shared was to promote the average geothermal job, not the hard-to-do ones.

“Everyone is real proud of the big, complex job, and they want to feature it,” he said. “But the truth is, that will turn the average consumer off. They will think geothermal is too difficult and might pivot to a technology they are more familiar with instead.”