Our industry is somewhat notorious for greedily misleading customers; consequently, most homeowners have a baseline level of distrust—no matter how honest or ethical your company. So, how can you increase your replacement leads and sales without being dishonest or creating even more distrust with your customers?

Every HVAC business owner wants to gain their customers’ trust, but not every business owner is willing to be trustworthy. You can put lipstick on a pig, but it’s still a pig. Similarly, if you or any of your team members are shady, dishonest, or unethical, your customers won’t trust you. This sounds so simple, but all too often, HVAC contractors try to trick their customers into trusting them. However, when you operate with the utmost honesty and integrity, customers can see that—and they’ll respond accordingly by trusting you.

Some HVAC contractors rush in and out of their customers’ homes, treating them like they’re just another number—and it shows. There’s a common misconception in our industry that if you can just perform as many repairs as possible each day, you’ll be successful. We think there’s a better way—one that’s better for both you and your customers: Instead of performing expensive repairs, EverRest’s process enables you to uncover honest replacement opportunities without resorting to unethical or high-pressure sales tactics.

To simultaneously maximize your replacement leads and sales as well as ensure that your customers receive thorough inspections, perform EverRest’s lead-generator tasks on every service call, in every home, every time. Honesty and integrity are the cornerstones of all of EverRest’s strategies, and our lead-generator tasks are no exception. The purpose of our lead-generator tasks isn’t to fabricate issues or take advantage of the customer; in fact, it’s just the opposite. Performing lead-generator tasks is actually in your customers’ best interest: it ensures that your technicians are thoroughly inspecting each system, and it enables them to discover minor component malfunctions before they turn into major equipment failures.
Think of performing lead-generator tasks the way that Jiffy Lube performs an oil change. They don’t simply change your oil and send you on your way; they take a more holistic approach, checking everything else while they’re at it. They aren’t creating problems in so doing, and neither will you when you perform the lead-generator tasks.

Take this scenario, for instance: Let’s say your check oil light is on, you stop by Jiffy Lube, they add oil, and send you on your way. On the way home, someone pulls up beside you to let you know your taillights are out. You go back to Jiffy Lube and ask them why they didn’t tell you that your taillights were out. They respond, “You didn’t ask us to check your taillights; you only asked us to add oil, so that’s what we did.” Wouldn’t you be annoyed?

The same goes for your customers: they want you to inspect everything—not just check the thing they mentioned as the reason for their call. They’ll feel like you’re looking out for them—because you are.

What usually motivates a technician to dishonestly fabricate an issue? Desperation and greed. Without EverRest’s strategy to get and keep technicians in homes, they’re at the mercy of the weather—and that means high-highs and low-lows. Your technicians have to make money: they have mortgages, families, and expenses, too. If you don’t have a strategy to get and keep them in homes—regardless of weather conditions—you can see how they would be more likely to take a “by any means necessary” approach, rather than operate with honesty and integrity. By following EverRest’s strategy to get and keep your technicians in homes, you and your technicians won’t get in these desperate situations, so you won’t be tempted to be greedy.

After your technicians perform lead-generator tasks, they follow the appropriate protocol for Mandatory and/or Secondary lead conditions, which states that they must get their supervisor to meet them at the customer’s home to verify their discovery. When the supervisor gets there, he can confirm the equipment malfunction and present the replacement option. With this process, your technicians can’t mislead your customers because they aren’t responsible for closing the sale, and your customers view the supervisor as the trusted second opinion rather than the dreaded salesperson. When the supervisor confirms the discovery and presents the replacement option, he doesn’t use high-pressure sales tactics: he simply states the facts.

EverRest’s strategy actually prevents your technicians from misleading customers, because it includes a verification process to ensure that your technicians are operating with honesty and integrity.

This process diffuses customers’ baseline level of distrust because they don’t feel like they’re “being sold.” They appreciate that you’re taking the time to have two sets of eyes on the problem, and they feel empowered by being able to make a decision based on the facts that are presented, rather than feeling pressured into buying new equipment.

When you follow EverRest’s process, you can reach a closing rate of 80% or higher (Hans Air actually averages a 92% closing rate), with an average sales presentation time of only 20 minutes. That means you can get to more leads and close more sales in less time—and you’ll be doing it honestly and ethically.