Imagine if customers called you on a regular basis asking for a service you never marketed or even mentioned to them. Wouldn’t that be great? Now, imagine when they called for this service, instead of taking advantage of a profitable, self-generating source of income, you turned them away. It sounds crazy, but this is a real-life scenario we hear about all too often in the HVAC realm. People call in asking for duct cleaning services, and HVAC specialists don’t want to perform the service. Why are we letting that potential income slip away? And what can we do to turn duct cleaning into a profitable opportunity our techs get excited about?
Imagine if customers called you on a regular basis asking for a service you never marketed or even mentioned to them. Wouldn’t that be great? Now, imagine when they called for this service, instead of taking advantage of a profitable, self-generating source of income, you turned them away. It sounds crazy, but this is a real-life scenario we hear about all too often in the HVAC realm. People call in asking for duct cleaning services, and HVAC specialists don’t want to perform the service. Why are we letting that potential income slip away? And what can we do to turn duct cleaning into a profitable opportunity our techs get excited about?
One man who has made it easy for HVAC companies to generate serious profit with duct cleaning services is Cameron Bell of Rotobrush International. Cameron says the demand for duct cleaning, and indoor air quality services in general, has spiked over the past decade. Thanks to that demand he’s been able to supply numerous companies all over the world with the equipment and training they need to grow their businesses with duct cleaning services. We were so happy Cameron could join us for a special webinar to discuss our three dirty secrets to profitable duct cleaning. Here’s what we discussed:
Secret 1: Upfront Pricing is the Best Sales Tactic
Bait and switch tactics simply don’t work. When a company advertises duct cleaning for $49.95 and then starts adding on fees to their base price when they arrive at a house, customers get upset. They feel like your company hasn’t been truthful with them and you certainly don’t build a lifetime relationship with a loyal customer.
Instead of baiting and switching, be upfront about your pricing. Your goal is to become your customer’s trusted advisor, so take the time to explain what service options you offer, what the prices are for each level of service, and how your services will benefit them and their house. We’ve seen that when HVAC contractors use the Rotobrush system in conjunction with The New Flat Rate’s pricing pages, they can offer free inspection to customers and still make a generous profit. With all the tools in hand, and a focus on building rapport with new customers, these techs are closing over 80% of their sales durning free inspections. It’s an amazing opportunity to grow your business.
Secret 2: The No-Selling Conversation is Key
The “no-selling conversation” is actually the key to selling. Air ducts are connected to everything else going on in the home so stay alert to opportunities to offer customers additional services they need. How can you do that without making them feel like you’re just there to upsell them? A winning line is this: “Now I don’t expect to, but if I see anything that concerns me while I’m cleaning your ducts today, would you like me to tell you about it?” Most customers want to know if you notice anything problematic while you’re working.
Keep in mind, our technicians don’t want to be salesmen. We’re not there to sell or pressure our customers. But we are there to look for opportunities, especially opportunities that might help us in the slow season. So if you do find something while cleaning the ducts, go with the no-selling conversation again. Simply show the customer options for what you found. It might be something that you can schedule for later. Many contractors take this approach. They have weeks of summer duct jobs lined up and the opportunities they find in the process provide them with other jobs they schedule for their off season.
Secret 3: Customers Value Duct Cleaning More than Contractors
The reality is contractors and technicians may not value duct cleaning as much as their customer. Imagine a customer who regularly dusts her home or hires someone to do it because she can’t stand to see a dirty film on the surfaces in her home. Now imagine what she’d say if she saw what was in her air ducts. The problem is, homeowners can’t see what’s in their air ducts unless we show them.
We need to keep in mind that most people want their environment to be clean, so when we show them dirty air ducts, the cleaning service sells itself. Understanding that fact can help you shift your mindset. Most times, customers will surprise you when you ask them how far they want you to go with your HVAC services.
No doubt, these three dirty secrets will help you see how your business can profit from incorporating duct cleaning services into your company’s repertoire. But that’s not all we talked about during the webinar. Watch the whole event to find out how the Rotobrush system works, how The New Flat Rate’s pricing pages can help get your employees on board with duct cleaning, and just how much profit some contractors are making by offering a service that is in high demand.
Show Notes:
-
Introducing Cameron Bell [5:36]
-
Why duct cleaning is a missed opportunity [11:58]
-
Secret 1: upfront pricing [21:19]
-
Secret 2: the “no-selling conversation” [27:11]
-
Secret 3: customers value duct cleaning [32:15]
-
Duct cleaning leads to further opportunities [36:15]
-
Rotobrush with pricing pages for the win [41:28]
Links and Resources:
