Building an Unmatched HVAC Sales Experience
In a crowded HVAC market, customers hear a lot of the same promises: better price, better brand, better warranty. But to truly stand out you have to a unique value proposition and create an experience that feels completely different from the start.
In this episode Russ Horrocks, Vice President of Flow Odyssey, explains how contractors can become the “category of one” in their market by creating an HVAC sales experience no competitor can match. He shares how tools, diagnostics and clear communication help make comfort issues visible, build trust with homeowners, and show why your company is the right choice.
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00:00:00:00 – 00:00:16:12
What we want to try to be is unique. We want to be in a group of one. We want to be in the category of one in your market. You want to when you’re down the customer to think back and go, wow, this was just and comparable to.
00:00:16:14 – 00:00:42:23
Welcome back to Cracking the Code. When we break down the biggest challenges facing contractors and give you real world practical solutions you can use right away. We’re joined again by Russ Hawkes. Russ, we want to continue our previous conversation and talk about the sales side. What kind of things are you seeing out there? In the way of the current marketplace and what contractors are having to do to stay relevant, today’s really competitive market?
00:00:43:01 – 00:01:02:14
Yeah, it’s a great question. And something I get asked every single day. As you know, I have ten full time clients, and I’m visiting every quarter. I’m writing in homes every single week with them. And I think the biggest frustration is that our markets get a little bit or our industry is getting a bit crazy. We have a lot of people out there that are desperate to get customers business and doing desperate things.
00:01:02:16 – 00:01:25:00
I’ve seen people offer lifetime labor warranties most of and knowing they never have to honor them, offering, same as cash for ten years, offering free tune ups, things like that. So, you know, the sellers that I work with wonder, how do we stay relevant? How do we frame value in a way that the customers are compelled to invest in us and not, you know, our competitors?
00:01:25:00 – 00:01:41:11
So I think that’s probably one of the biggest things I’ve run into lately, focusing on with my clients. And, I think the simple answer is, you know, don’t don’t try to be different if you’re if you’re trying to be different than them, you’re still of the same, you know, but what we want to try to be is unique.
00:01:41:12 – 00:02:03:00
We want to be in a group of one. We want to be in the category of one in your market. You want to, when you’re done, the customer to think back and go, wow, this was just incomparable. Everyone else talked price, brand and efficiency and filling cruise and giving me this and giving me that. Russ talked about my comfort, my quality of life, my investment, my peace of mind.
00:02:03:02 – 00:02:22:08
He measured, he calculated. He did things nobody else did. He went in the attic. He went in the crawl space. He used a true flow manometer. He took static pressure. He talked about building performance. There’s just no comparison. Russ was the most expensive, but the only one I actually trust to do the work. Right. And in that he’s not more expensive.
00:02:22:08 – 00:02:44:15
He’s just more valuable. When you can get a customer thinking like that from the experience you provide. That’s when you start to have a lot of fun. That’s when it doesn’t matter what kind of gimmick your competitor tries to pull off, it doesn’t matter how they try to market some crazy idea to to make the customers think they got a good deal, you could come in and do something that’s just incomparable.
00:02:44:17 – 00:03:09:07
And that’s where I find my clients are having the most success. And and we’re doing it in very, you know, big markets where we’re surrounded by desperate companies and they’re winning at incredibly high rate. And having a lot of fun doing it. You know, it’s it’s interesting. Some things never change. So back in the 90s when I was running dad’s business, we invested in blower doors.
00:03:09:07 – 00:03:32:20
We started using manometer. We were using carbon monoxide testing and all the different things that high performance. Today, contractors are using. And, my dad was interviewed by the manufacturer of the blower door, that we were using. And, they asked to say, so how would you describe this, this tool and the impact it’s had on your business?
00:03:33:01 – 00:03:54:15
He said, I’m a military guy, so this thing’s like a bazooka. He said, I can blow away my competition with it, right? And the reality is, exactly what you’re saying is we differentiated ourselves not by words. We differentiated ourselves by action. And that trust equation that that we’re really trying to get to is what makes the huge difference.
00:03:54:15 – 00:04:16:01
So you mentioned true flow. We didn’t have true flow back then. We didn’t even have cell phones back then. So, what are some of the tools that you’re seeing out there that folks are using that, that are, that are winning the game? So the concept is to let people experience the information. And for example, if I say to you, hey, are you interested in learning about Klingon, your ducks?
00:04:16:05 – 00:04:36:01
Most people just say no, and that’s their instinct. That’s kind of just, my home schooling. Why would I do that? And never thought about it. No, thank you. But if I take out an endoscope and I say we’re just going to check your ductwork just to make sure there’s no obstructions for us, any kind of obstruction of airflow impacts what we can deliver in terms of performance.
00:04:36:01 – 00:04:53:07
So I’m just going to take a quick look, especially if we have decks of course on the floor. We put an inch scope down there and the image pops up. And pretty good chance it’s not going to be pleasant when the customer sees that they’re going to go, oh my goodness, I had no idea. What am I looking at?
00:04:53:09 – 00:05:13:08
So you got to make you got to make air visible. You got to make information about something. They experience infrared guns in the attic, you know, shooting those seams in a supply run, seeing all that cold air just going into the attic and letting the customer know, you see those blue rings around every seam and you’re simply running the the attic.
00:05:13:13 – 00:05:31:09
That’s the air that you paid the condition going into your attic to make sure you keep those critters up. They’re comfortable in the summer if they see it, they didn’t. Now they start to own it. They start to understand it, and they start to want to do something about it. Just saying it’s not enough. They really need to experience it.
00:05:31:09 – 00:05:51:09
Infrared guns, blower door. You talked about. That’s probably a little more advanced. You might want to you know, charge for that service, but you could at least use flow hoods. You could use the true flow, which is easy to use. But, you just got to do something that just makes the customer go, wow, this was not anything like anyone else.
00:05:51:14 – 00:06:12:22
All they talked about was chop and swap a piece of equipment, rest, talked about everything else but that the quality of life, the the assurance I got, what I paid for. We talked about commissioning the installation. We don’t just put it in correctly our accreditation to be a performance company means we’re going to verify every key component of the installation to show you the data.
00:06:13:03 – 00:06:30:08
It is doing what it’s supposed to do. When you start talking like this, your competition just starts to disappear and the customer start to realize, I don’t want to invest that way. I want to invest this way. You know, when you build that value stack that you’re talking about really is kind of the way I like to think of it.
00:06:30:08 – 00:06:54:17
You’re building that value stack. It’s almost like building a fence around that homeowner, right? The customer is not. You’re inoculating them from the competition. So competition sending in the their brochures, their ten year labor warranties and their lifetime labor warranties and all these different things are popping into their into their inbox somehow, but they’re like, why would I even think about using anyone else?
00:06:54:17 – 00:07:16:08
Because these guys not only have done it, they prove it and they continue to deliver the the performance that I’m expecting and I deserve as a homeowner. They’re giving me what I need. Why would I go anywhere else? I love the fact that when you do it well, you’re able to build a wall around the customer that insulates them from the outside world.
00:07:16:08 – 00:07:35:03
So doesn’t matter what the rest of the world is saying to them. As far as their Hvac system is concerned, it’s us that takes care of them, I love that, yeah, it’s the old Tommy boy seen, he says. I could have some waste in a box and I could warranty it. It’s still waste in a box, you know, he said, does it make it more valuable?
00:07:35:03 – 00:07:55:14
Because as a warranty, you know, here’s one of the kind of the craziest little tricks that I’ve learned over my career is, you know, when you’re you’re doing things like testing static pressure just to see if the duct system is capable of handling the the new equipment that we’re getting ready to put in place. And, and even saying that for a lot of people’s like what?
00:07:55:16 – 00:08:11:15
What did you just say? But just to do a static pressure test, we have to install a test port, right? So I have to pop a little hole in something and I need to put in the, you know, put the probe in and you do that and then I need to seal it back up. And we used to use these little blue plastic buttons.
00:08:11:15 – 00:08:25:00
You could pop right in there and seal up those holes. And if I’m going in on a job where they said, well, I, you know, I’ve already had three people come out and look at it and say, and I’m looking around and I can’t find any static pressure port anywhere. I said, I thought you said you had people over here.
00:08:25:02 – 00:08:49:10
They said, well, yeah, I’ve had three people over and pull some of the static pressure port covers out. And I say, well, I don’t, I don’t have a I don’t see where anybody’s tested your duct system. How do they know it’s even going to work with your new equipment? You tie that in. It’s like your doctor prescribed medication, but they never did anything to diagnose what was wrong.
00:08:49:12 – 00:09:08:21
They said, this is basic 101 to take out of school would know to pull a static. The very first thing you did when you walked in your home. I can’t imagine the company suggesting a home comfort solution wouldn’t at least do that. I’m not trying to speak poorly of my industry, but I’m fortunate a lot of them. Only worried about your money and putting a box in here and hoping to never see you again.
00:09:08:23 – 00:09:27:22
That’s not us. We want your business for life. We want to make sure that we give you an experience where we’re your lifetime provider and that’s really, really important to us. So yeah, it’s not hard to be unique in this industry. In fact, that’s part of what attracted me to the industry. I remember back in the 90s thinking, hey, I could do this for a living because the competition is so bad.
00:09:28:00 – 00:09:43:19
It’s kind of like taking candy from a baby and actually attracted me to the industry. And it’s even though I think we’re better overall today, there’s still a lot of terrible, terrible companies out there that just do not, train their people very well. And it gives us a huge advantage for those that want to do it. Right.
00:09:43:19 – 00:10:02:12
So yeah. So uniqueness that’s really the name of the game is, find that way to give them a unique experience that’s incomparable. And you’re going to win a lot more. That is so cool. Well man this again very very powerful. We could we could do this like all day and I know that you do it all day when you’re in training classes.
00:10:02:14 – 00:10:27:16
And really, really, really appreciate your contributions to the success of our industry for these decades that you’ve been doing it. And, I’m blessed to be able to call you my friend. Sounds good. Thank you. David. All right. You bet. Well, guys, listen, if you got value from today’s episode, make sure you like it, subscribe it and share it with someone in your organization or friends in the industry who’s responsible for actually helping your team be better tomorrow than they are today.
00:10:27:16 – 00:10:48:18
That’s what Russ is all about. And that’s what contractor University is all about. Skills development impacts everything. It impacts the culture, your business, your profitability and your long term growth. And if you want more practical, real world training like this, bounce on over to my contractor university.com and check us out. Until next time I’m David Holt. We’ll see you on the next.
00:10:48:21 – 00:10:49:17
Cracking the code.
