How to Stand Out in a Crowded HVAC Market

Standing out in a crowded industry means giving homeowners a reason to see you differently. Every contractor has access to good equipment, so lean on what makes your business and your people special. Getting attention is predicated on your ability to show why your process, your expertise, and your recommendations lead to a better result.

In this episode of Cracking the Code, Drew Cameron talks about what real differentiation looks like in HVAC. From better diagnostics and smarter system design to clearer customer education, Drew explains how contractors can move the conversation beyond price and position themselves around performance, trust, and value. Learn how to rise above the noise and stand out.

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00:00:00:01 – 00:00:14:04

Today more than ever, good contractors need to prove their worth because if you don’t prove your work, I don’t think you prove your worth. You.

00:00:14:06 – 00:00:40:03

Welcome to Cracking the Code. I’m David Holt, your host, and we are absolutely blessed to have EGI, a board member, founding member of contractor Universities Training staff, Wizard of all things to do, Hvac, Mr.. Drew. Cameron. Drew. Welcome to cracking the Code. Hey, David. Well, thanks for having me, I appreciate it. You bet. Man. We’re looking forward to this.

00:00:40:03 – 00:01:01:15

So we, we go back a long way. We’ve had a lot of technology and tools and stuff like that. We’ve worked with all over the place, and, kind of floated a couple different ideas. And you wanted to talk about, tools and technology that we can use today to even do a better job taking care of our customers in the Hvac industry.

00:01:01:15 – 00:01:19:03

So, just everybody, as you get into this as as drew starts talking about it, be thinking about the questions that you have. Make sure you put them in the comments there. And on YouTube and like and subscribe to this thing so we can share this wisdom with a whole lot more people. So, let’s get to it.

00:01:19:03 – 00:01:39:21

So drew talked to us a little about tools and technology as it relates to taking care of our customers, likely in the sales process. Yeah. You know, I think, when we talk about tools and technology in the sales process, what I’m talking about is, you know, proving proving your work right. It’s like when I went through grade school, you know, and I did my math work.

00:01:39:21 – 00:01:59:14

I had to show the teacher my math work. How did I get to the answer? It’s not that I got the answer that they wanted to see if I understood the process, you know, and mythology to get to the answer. And I think today, more than ever, good contractors need to prove their work. Because if you don’t prove your work, I don’t think you prove your worth.

00:01:59:16 – 00:02:17:17

And we need to make er visible and tangible so that we can help customers understand how it’s completely out of control in their house to some extent. And that our job is, is to basically control and teach the ER where it needs to go and where it doesn’t need to go. And then make it healthy, safe and comfortable, energy efficient throughout the home.

00:02:17:17 – 00:02:44:05

And the tools and the technology allow me to basically do my, my diagnostic work, if you will. Right. Because prescription without diagnosis is malpractice. It is for a doctor. I believe it is in our industry as well. But if we don’t believe that and we don’t start with that and we don’t, you know, become the leader in the home that teaches a customer how to buy and where to get value from, and what the scope of work needs to be to get the right results and outcomes that they need.

00:02:44:07 – 00:03:08:05

And we don’t have tools to prove our points. Well, then we’re just like, get rid of the charlatan in town. We just kind of comes in, walks around, has been into a thousand homes, seen a thousand systems, multiple thousands of homes and systems, and uses their gut and experience. And, rules are the rules of thumb, you know, to get a result, you know, really, they’re just, you know, they’re just winging it.

00:03:08:05 – 00:03:28:23

And so the customer is going to basically treat us all the same because in their mind, they think we’re exactly the same. If you basically say you’re in heating and air conditioning, I say, and heating and air conditioning, the customer believes if you had the audacity to put a website out or a yellow page, you know, ad out or, put a truck out with a logo on it and say that you’re in the heat and air conditioned business.

00:03:28:23 – 00:03:51:23

They believe that we can all turn a wrenches equally, and therefore, what do they do? They shop the things, right? The the brand, the model, the efficiency, the capacity. And the manufacturers are happy about that because as long as as long as, you know, some partner of theirs is promoting their product, they’re getting center stage and they don’t care who wins as long as they win.

00:03:52:01 – 00:04:12:21

And the way I look at it is I want the customer to win. I want the customer to get a good result, get a good value for the dollar, and the thing’s going to do what I promise it’s going to do. That has the potential to do. And so it’s those tools that allow me, my people and my processes to separate myself from everybody else that’s in the market so that I can get a solution.

00:04:12:21 – 00:04:30:03

The result that performs, and it’s really the performance of the things that the customer buys that gives them that outcome in that result. And that’s really what it is that they buy the outcome and it results in a performance. They get the things, as we’ve talked about previously in other cracking codes. Right. But they really want the outputs.

00:04:30:05 – 00:04:44:19

You know, the machine has the potentiality to do. But that’s not going to happen if you do your job and you do your job properly. The problem is, is, like I said, most contractors, they go in and they wing it. They use their guts and rules of thumb and they size based off the square footage or the existing site.

00:04:44:20 – 00:05:13:21

Yeah. The you know, they’re the rule of thumb. Thumb literally, you know, rule of thumb, with their fingers, you know, or square foot rule of thumb where they go based off the existing size of the machine, assuming that it was designed and installed. Right. And I had a conversation literally just yesterday that basically says, you know, you can’t apply the same methodologies and the same parameters when sizing and designing a system that is two stage or modulating versus a single stage piece of equipment.

00:05:13:23 – 00:05:33:23

The form is the calculations, and the factors that go into those formulas are have to be different when you go with two stage and modulating equipment. And so that sizing alone. Right. And then I got to verify airflow. And so it’s the tools allow me to separate myself and slow the process down. Number one for me.

00:05:34:01 – 00:05:51:13

So I also have more time to connect with the customer. So that’s, that’s really kind of to get us out of the gate. David, why I think tools and technology are so important because they allow us to basically separate our people and our processes from the product and as people and processes that people are buying, okay, because it’s the outcome that the people and processes get.

00:05:51:13 – 00:06:23:07

It’s not the products that they’re buying. You know, that’s so true. And the reality is that all manufacturers equipment is good, but it really is all about how well the contractor applies the principles, the truth about our, our our industry, how well they apply it at that customer’s home that makes all the difference. And, you know, we’re obviously cut from the same cloth there with, our, adoration for NCI and the training that they do.

00:06:23:09 – 00:06:51:18

From a technical standpoint, the the reality is that was the main differentiator in our business back in the 90s when we were doing this kind of stuff, we were doing blow door testing. We were doing flow hoods, we were doing carbon monoxide testing. All that way. Well, 9192 timeframe. And, it did separate us. And it also added a tremendous amount of trust to the homeowner.

00:06:51:19 – 00:07:26:21

Right. And we know, a lot of things have changed in the years that your family and my family have been in this business. But one thing hasn’t changed. Homeowners still make the decision to buy, right? They still ultimately are the decider in chief on whether they’re going to spend money with you, with me, with somebody and those people who care enough about that, that result that we’re delivering, the people that care enough and and stand behind their work to say, you know what, we’re going to have every room in the house plus or minus two degrees.

00:07:26:22 – 00:07:45:08

We’re going to come back and rebalance your air. All right. We’re going to make sure that you’re getting here, that you deserve in each room in the house. If we didn’t do the sizing properly, that’s not on you. That’s on me. If I have to change the equipment out to because I undersized or oversize whatever, I’m going to make it right because that’s my reputation.

00:07:45:10 – 00:08:18:22

And so one of the good things that I think, to add on to what you said, that the tools do for me as a contractor is it allows me to measure, don’t guess. It allows me to hold myself to a standard, hold my team to a standard, and it gives me the confidence to be able to say, you know, Mr. Cameron, if you go ahead and go with this, we have this efficiency guarantee that tells you in writing that we’re going to save you fill in the blank amount of money over the next two years on your utility bills, or we’re going to pay you the difference.

00:08:19:00 – 00:08:37:12

And, you know, there’s some caveats and all that kind of stuff, but it allowed you it allowed us I know we did this at hold service company. It allowed us to actually stand behind those kinds of guarantees because we knew we knew because we measured, we knew that the system was going to do what it was designed to do.

00:08:37:14 – 00:08:55:00

Yeah. I mean, that’s the thing. If I go in and I test and I see what you have and how it’s performing or not performing, right, that’s usually what’s happening. It’s not performing at some level. And then I basically say, I’m going to put in this new high efficiency, advanced technology on a tax system and that building envelope from the 60s, 70s or 80s.

00:08:55:02 – 00:09:17:18

And I’m basically going to say to you that I can guarantee you that you’re going to be healthy, safe, comfortable, energy efficient. There’s just no way to prove that you you literally can’t, because the technology that the house was built and designed around okay, was at a time in which the technology, the equipment today that we would put in didn’t exist.

00:09:17:20 – 00:09:40:19

And it absolutely requires, you know, contractors to redesign the duct system because, you know, these are high static motors, you know, the PSC motors and single stage equipment and, you know, the equipment in the, you know, 80s and 90s. And prior to that, and even the single stage equipment here in the early 2000s again had mostly motors to those were wall just a few years ago.

00:09:40:21 – 00:10:04:10

Right. So we now have these high static motors and we’re putting them on these duct systems that don’t allow them to breathe. That’s a recipe for disaster because the equipment, any any contractor can come out. And like I said, any contractor who has, the sort of basically say that their heating and air conditioned contractor has the tools can come out there and uninstall the old thing and install some new stuff, whether it’s, entry level mid-grade or high efficient.

00:10:04:10 – 00:10:25:06

Right. Anybody can plug it in and make it run. The question is cannot perform. And the only way to do that is to basically know what you inherited and then test out afterwards. Most contractors aren’t testing the old thing. They’re not testing their new thing. They haven’t done any sizing, they haven’t done any airflow analysis. So they don’t know machines running yet.

00:10:25:08 – 00:10:48:08

But the customer basically is paying for performance. You know, they’re paying for it to be super comfortable. They’re paying for it to be, you know, modulating and like you say, temperature matching throughout the house. They’re paying for it to be energy efficient. Whisper quiet, you know, but if you just go ahead and plug in new equipment because you want to sell boxes and fill a crew, you know, as far as I’m concerned, you’re a criminal.

00:10:48:10 – 00:11:08:08

Because you haven’t done your due diligence. You know, like I said, even a doctor is not going to prescribe any medication or any even any tests or any procedures as far as surgery, without doing some level of diagnostic, which is asking the questions of the, of the patient. Number one. Right. Doing a base analysis of the patient.

00:11:08:10 – 00:11:25:09

Right. Doing so maybe a little bit more, you know, analysis. And then before they go to surgery, they’re going to run a whole battery of tests. Right. And then I can prescribe certain, you know, you know, tests or, and or remnant first and further tests and, or remedies. And they’re going to be based on the findings, you know, upfront.

00:11:25:11 – 00:11:47:17

Well, how how are we basically going in today in 2026. Right. And in replacing equipment that was put in in the 90s, 80s or even, you know, prior to that on a house, it was built in the 60s, 70s, 80s or 90s. Right. And assuming that is going to work because the the equipment can only be as effective and as efficient as the duct system in the building envelope allow it to.

00:11:47:19 – 00:12:06:12

And if you’re not doing your complete assessment of the customer, the living space, the building envelope, and yes, then the ductwork and and the infrastructure where the equipment’s installed with the tools and technology and then helping the customer see, hey, here’s where, here’s where the things are that basically limited the performance of the thing that you had, which is also what maybe killed it prematurely.

00:12:06:16 – 00:12:23:21

Right. Which would further, you know, diminish the capacity of a new thing. So, you know, we have to do these certain things to ready the house and the system, you know, to accept the new equipment. Then the new equipment can become plug and play. Right. But you got to pull out the tools just just like you’re no different than a doctor.

00:12:23:21 – 00:12:45:18

But most contractors, you know, they have these beliefs that their experience and their gut and what they grew up learning in the industry still serves them today. And it just doesn’t, you’ve got you need new tools, new skills, new knowledge and new processes, you know, to get the results out of today’s machines, you know, and it’s no different than business as well.

00:12:45:18 – 00:13:07:20

Right. And so we’re going to actually be talking a little bit about that at raising goats in a couple of weeks. Look forward to seeing you there in Scottsdale. One of the one of the important parts is every stage of business growth also requires new skills. Well guess what? Same in the industry. Every stage of technological evolution within our industry requires a new set of tools.

00:13:07:20 – 00:13:24:18

I mean, think about things like measure quick. That measure quick didn’t exist 20 years ago when you were, and you and I were running our family’s heating and air business. We don’t have measure quick. I mean, we didn’t even have cell phone, but, but it’s like, man, you know, you got to embrace the technology and understand it.

00:13:24:18 – 00:13:53:22

So, you know that I recently upgraded the Hvac system in my home, and we started off with, guess what, a load calculation by some cloud based tool called Ed’s. I don’t know where I heard about that thing before, but. So if you need more information about that, see drew? But they ran load calc. My contractor uses your tool for doing the load calc, so they ran the load Calc, and they made all of the typical assumptions of a house that was built in 2004, which is when it was built.

00:13:54:00 – 00:14:13:22

So this 22 year old house now, right, 22. It’s crazy to think about, but you’re talking you stop in at the 90s, man. You need to start selling at the 2000s in the 20 tens because those are those are different too. Anyway, so we did the load and I said, okay, there was five turns on the house.

00:14:14:00 – 00:14:31:09

You’re said three and a half, which I was more comfortable with. I wound up zoning it and doing only three turns. Right. So I pulled everything out. I pulled a two ton out and a three. Turned out it was two two split systems, heat pumps, and I pulled both of those pieces of equipment out. They were definitely on their last leg.

00:14:31:09 – 00:14:56:22

And then so we we probably wrote them a little harder than we should have. So I was in the process of, of like looking at the power bills from 2004. And I look at 2004 and our peak power bill during peak season was over $600, which I was like, oh, that’s my budget bill, right? That’s how the gets how the, the, the the power company keeps you on the, on the leash is they they smooth it out over the year.

00:14:57:00 – 00:15:20:19

Well it was over $600 actual usage during peak months here in Georgia. And a year later I mean changed everything out yanked. I mean, we pulled the whole thing out because the duct system couldn’t be fixed. It was just typical residential. Plus I went from two units to one. All right. So I pulled everything out. But boots changed grills, registers changed everything.

00:15:20:19 – 00:15:44:08

The only thing that stayed in original was the boots. Controls are all new. Obviously I’m putting in zone control, so its controls are all new. Got fresh air ventilation, got a really nice, air filtration system. So we did everything we need to do. Made sure that static pressure was designed into the system properly. Got it done. Our power bill in the same exact month, with actually a higher average temperature.

00:15:44:08 – 00:16:10:06

Ambient temperature in the in the, in the area that we had a almost ten degree increase in temperature from 2004 to 2020, 2024 to 2025. And we were like 102, 103. I think our high was like 92, 93, 20, 24. So we had higher outside temperature. We have three turns instead of five turns. Our power bill went from over 600 to right around 300.

00:16:10:08 – 00:16:31:19

We cut it in half by doing it right. And guess what? We’re more comfortable. The system is amazingly quiet. You never hear it running because it’s running all the time, number one. But you can’t hear it running because it’s constantly running on low speed. And of course, people always say, well, how can that be efficient if it’s always running well, how can your air filter, filter air if there’s no air moving through it?

00:16:32:00 – 00:16:51:18

So I want to have the whole system working for me. How can my fresh air ventilation be working if I don’t have air moving through the system? So it’s like you put all the pieces together and you still save money. But now we have a safer, healthier, more comfortable and energy efficient system because we applied the technology, we actually did the measurements and we got the results.

00:16:51:20 – 00:17:23:06

We went from. You also went from energy guzzling oversize equipment, right. That was starting to stop, you know, giving you temperature fluctuations and whatnot to equipment that basically is energy sipping. Right? And, is running all the time. But that’s no different than getting, you know, highway mileage versus city mileage, right? You get better mileage when the car is driving, you know, full out, you know, on the highway, you know, not necessarily top speed, but at a, at an elevated level versus city driving where you’re starting and stopping and such.

00:17:23:11 – 00:17:40:03

Right. So it’s easier it’s even easier on the machine itself. And yes, it’s more efficient. And since it’s running nonstop, you’re filtering the air like you say, you know, 24 seven, you’re, maintaining your temperature, you’re mixing it up. It’s like Italian salad dressing. I take Italian salad dressing and I leave it out on the kitchen table. Right?

00:17:40:08 – 00:17:57:16

You know, it separates, but your air is no different. High one. You know, hot wants to go to, you know, rise up and cold wants to fall. And so that air is going to separate. But if I have that system running and mixing that air, and I’m mixing the air from all the different rooms with all the different temperatures from all the different rooms, even though they may be a degree or so off.

00:17:57:18 – 00:18:12:21

Well, that’s going to me. Basically tell the brain, hey, keep running until you’re satisfied, right? And like you said in your house with zoning, that’s even better, right? So it’s the tools and the technology and it’s some of the tools are simple, right? Some of the tools are very basic. It’s yeah. You need a flashlight. Yeah. You need a six way screwdriver.

00:18:13:02 – 00:18:31:20

Yes. You need yourself. You are a tool. So when you get in the house, you take your jacket off and use your body as an instrument to sense the temperature and humidity differences throughout the space as you go along. Right? Feel the airflow differences. Listen for for sounds through the duct system. Smells, smell, odors throughout the house. It might be coming up from the crawlspace or the basement or through the duct system.

00:18:31:22 – 00:18:47:10

Listen for rattling through the ducks or or even just equipment noises through the duct system. So your body is is an instrument. But yes, you got to do a load calculation. Yes, you have to do a measuring of the house. Yes. You have to do, an airflow assessment of the duct system. I don’t care if you even just use a liter and a tape measure.

00:18:47:16 – 00:19:09:04

For gosh sakes. Airflow and getting air to the rooms and back from the rooms is the entire job. If the duct system can’t do it. Doesn’t matter what the potentiality of the machine is. So 70% of the manufacturing process takes place in the home. My job is to basically, you know, teach the customer that, and then and bring it to life, like I said, a little bit earlier.

00:19:09:04 – 00:19:30:14

Right. Make what is invisible, make air tangible, right. Make it visible. And the way we do that is with the tools and so flow it’s a static pressure. Gauges and, infrared cameras and infrared thermometers and yes, you can get you can get really advanced with blower doors and duck blasters and things like that. We can go to the next level.

00:19:30:17 – 00:19:51:11

We can pull out a, you know, various tools to measure air quality and get an air quality analysis report of what’s existing in the home and, and prescribe solutions to customers based on what they’re circulating through their home. And so that separates me from everybody else. I’m telling a different story. You know, you know, then everybody else in the home, I’m solving bigger problems.

00:19:51:11 – 00:20:15:18

Your bank account is a reflection of the number of problems and the size of problems you solve, solve bigger problems. They exist. You’re just ignoring them. And so you basically chase the box, and the customer is basically now comparing just the box. Now they compare your box to somebody else’s box based on price. Right. And the only reason they’re doing it, commodity and comparison shopping is because you allowed them to.

00:20:15:20 – 00:20:34:18

You didn’t teach them that necessarily. It’s just what they know how they buy cars and appliances, electronics and everything else. So my job is to teach them how to buy heating and air conditioning system because it’s not buying it, like buying an appliance, which basically if you and I buy the same refrigerator, take it home and plug it in, we can do the same experience, same with washers and dryers and to some extent, televisions.

00:20:34:18 – 00:20:49:02

I mean, obviously if you hang them on the wall, that’s a little bit different. But but you know, if we take those things and we drive a vehicle off the lot, you and I get the same experience. But if you and I are selling the exact same box, or even if you and I were selling different manufacturers boxes, but apparently I have the same parameters.

00:20:49:05 – 00:21:05:03

Right? And you install one way and I install a different way, you and I are going to deliver completely different, different results. But a homeowner doesn’t know that they think it’s a heating and air conditioning system that they’re buying plug in and you’re you know, what you’re doing. I know I think the other guy must know what he’s doing.

00:21:05:05 – 00:21:28:07

And so I’m basically shopping the thing. And the reality is it comes down to people and processes and yes, the tools and technology that the people and processes, you know, apply, number one, during the diagnostic and design process, but then also during the installation process. So, you know, we can add technology into the systems now where we can monitor these systems remotely, and keep our eye on them.

00:21:28:12 – 00:21:55:22

You know, remotely. Great new device called Home Guardian, where you can basically monitor the entire house, including the Hvac system. All right. That’s another crack in the code episode, ladies. And gentlemen. And tell you what, keep on watching. Keep on watching these Cracking the Code episodes like, share, subscribe, do all those fun things so we can help share the wisdom of our team with the industry that we all love and make it better as well.

00:21:55:22 – 00:22:15:10

So do your part. Watch these things, pass them along to others within your organization, but for sure like, share and subscribe so that others within the industry will see this information and we can help all of them be better tomorrow than they are today. This is David Hope and Drew Cameron. See you later. This is cracking the code.