LAST WORD DRAFT | Contracting Business

In most HVAC companies across North America technicians run far too many service calls — as many as eight to 10 calls per day, usually leaving opportunities and money on the table because they don’t have time to be thorough. During the busy season, most installers are rushed to finish installations and move on to the next job. We’ve been conditioned to value quantity over quality.

When contractors graduate from a “seasonal” mentality to a more diversified approach, they find they can level the peaks and valleys and bring in higher revenues and profits. And the bonus is happier employees who don’t burn out by running full tilt during the busy seasons.

What if you could level your revenues and profits — and your workload as well? What if you had enough “low-season” work to grow your business and your team more evenly rather than the feast and famine cycle prevalent in our industry?

Here are 10 ways to reduce weather dependence:

1. Sell more Maintenance Agreements — and schedule more visits in the off-season. A strong maintenance agreement base is the lifeblood of a successful HVAC business. Your goal should be to convert a minimum of 25% of your service customers to these agreements — ideally shoot for 50% or more!

2. Generate Leads from Advanced Testing during demand service and maintenance visits. Rather than just turning over leads on aging equipment, include airflow and performance testing. The quantity and quality of those leads will mushroom.

3. Lead and Project Banking. Banking leads means when you test a system in the middle of the “high” season, and find it needs non-safety-related improvements, you can notify the customer with your findings before the subsequent shoulder season.  Project Banking means deferring work sold in the hot or cold months to the shoulder season. This not only levels your business, it makes your installers safer by keeping them out of extreme temperature environments in attics and crawl spaces.

4. Air Distribution System Upgrades and Renovations. By offering these additional services, not only will you get highly profitable work that can keep you busy year-round, you’ll also sell more equipment.

5. Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) Upgrades. This includes improved filtration, sealing filter racks and return ducts, dehumidification strategies for peak humidity events, and so much more.

6. Monitoring Services. Today there are many excellent products that monitor indoor pollutants, temperatures, humidity, even system performance indicators. Not only can these services provide subscription revenue, but they also generate leads for additional work to improve safety, health, comfort, and energy usage.

7. Generators. While selling generators can increase your year-round revenues, you can step-up generator marketing in shoulder seasons to help fill in the seasonal valleys.

8. Solar Panels and Battery Storage. Same strategy as generators, but especially target all-electric communities where fossil fuel isn’t available to power traditional generators.

9. Duct Cleaning and Rejuvenation. We have better technology and training than ever to clean ducts properly. Consider joining the National Air Duct Cleaners Association (NADCA), which provides great training and certifications. Or partner with a quality duct cleaner that also rejuvenates and renovates duct systems and air handling equipment.

10. Whole-House Sealing and Insulation. You can choose to do this with your own employees or subcontract some or all of it to a company that focuses on existing homes.

The important thing is to not try to do these things all at once. Start by prioritizing what you want to do. Then pick your top priority product or service, implement it, and make it part of who you are. Then go to the next highest, and so forth. I hope this approach will help get you on the path to no longer being a weather dependent business!

Dominick Guarino is President & CEO of National Comfort Institute (NCI), (www.nationalcomfortinstitute.com), the nation’s premier High-Performance training, certification, and membership organization. NCI is focused on improving consumer safety, comfort, health, and saving energy, and helping contractors grow and become more profitable. His e-mail is [email protected].