Despite the belief that there is little money to be made in servicing units that are often considered disposable, there is one Bronx, N.Y., HVAC contractor who specializes in the window a/c market - and is doing very well by making it their only business.
One of the most glaring inconsistencies in the HVAC contracting trade is the array of licensing requirements across the 50 U.S. states. The disparity is evidenced by the number of states that have no licensing requirements at all - 22. Of the other 28 states, some merely require a business to be registered or to work on projects in excess of $50,000.
Once in a great while there might be a diamond in the rough at an auction sale. For example, there is the true story about an HVAC contractor who bought some file cabinets from an out-of-business competitor. The cabinets had not been cleaned out and contained the customer files. So for the price of a used file cabinet, this lucky contractor picked up hundreds of customer names.
Some HVAC businesses have tasted success by including social networks in their marketing mix. Take New York City HVAC manufacturer Elgen Manufacturing for example. Inside sales director Jon Mendelson said, “I posted a private link to a tour of our facility at Linkedin [social network] and closed a $3 million deal last week. It works!”
One example of how HVAC distributors reach out to contractors is through their memberships in local and regional chapters of the Air Conditioning Contractors of America (ACCA). Through their associate memberships, distributors have been able to market their businesses to customers in ways that otherwise might not have been available to them.
Without properly sized and installed ductwork, even the most efficient components cannot maximize comfort and save energy costs. That’s why it is vital to identify problems in existing ductwork and plan out the most efficient labyrinth of ductwork in a new installation.
For HVAC contractors, one of the most reliable conduits to learn about industry products and trends is through the distributor network. Contractors often depend entirely on distributors to provide training for their employees - training that otherwise might not be readily available.
One of the most common and revered relationships in the HVAC trade is that of the bond between contractors and their distributors. The success or failure of each business is often directly tied to the success of this relationship. If one does well, the other should do well - and vice versa.
Customer service is often advertised but sometimes undelivered. One bad episode can doom a business relationship. HVAC distributors know this, and go to great lengths to strengthen and solidify their bonds with their contractor clients. Here are some of the “wow” stories of unmatched customer service from across the country.