Taking HVAC Contractors from Cool to Hot for Your Station
by Paul Weyland, reprinted with permission of RBR.com
For those who have always wondered, HVAC specifically means heating, ventilation and air conditioning. Heating and air conditioning contractors work on a 30 percent gross margin of profit and the value of one new customer for one of these contractors is potentially huge as new systems installed can range from $5,000-$10,000. So per $5,000 spent a week on your station, how many new fish would you have to catch for that client to break even? A handful?
Over the years I have met with dozens of heating and air conditioning contractors. They have taught me many things, like when things get hot they expand and when things get cool they contract. That’s why summer days are long and winter days are short. Just kidding. Here are some observations from my meetings with HVAC contractors and some ways to help them convert your listeners or viewers into their customers for life.
HVAC contractors are still one of the biggest product/service categories in the Yellow Pages. Why? Because most contractors still say Yellow Page advertising generates calls. Many are also aware that the Yellow Pages model is becoming an endangered species and they are more receptive than ever for alternative ways to advertise their businesses. I remind contractors that the last place they should ever want people to have to find them is in the over-fished Yellow lake where all of their competitors also have lines in the water. I remind them, “Why would you make people play Russian Roulette to find your company when their air conditioner or heater goes out? When I have a heating or A/C problem I should already know who to call.”
HVAC commercials are almost universally bad. You talk about trying to cram ten pounds of crap into a five-pound bag! They’ve got a special. They’ve got co-op. They’ve got kids and a dog. All of their service people are A.S.S. Certified (or whatever).They’ve got a web site (kamalenzki/ toomeyandpartners.net) and a phone number and all of that nonsense is going into the thirty-second spot. Then to top it all off, the owner is reading his commercial. He sounds like a prisoner of war reading a forced confession. No sincerity and it’s always all about them, not about the suffering customer.
It should only be about the customer. Really, it’s only about the customer. It’s not about the contractor. When your heater or AC goes down that means that people are miserable. Identify and solve the people’s problems for them. For example, remind women that they have a right to be warm in their own homes. “Women call us all the time in the winter, complaining that they’re always cold. We come in and find sources of heat loss and we fix them. Generally it’s an inexpensive repair but it’s a permanent solution to a problem that’s been driving them crazy for years.” Or, “We get calls every day from people who can’t sleep because their bedrooms are hot at night, even when the air conditioner is on its lowest setting. There are new fans we can install in the ductwork now that push cold air further through the house.” People who are too hot or too cold and can’t sleep get snippy. “I think we’ve actually saved relationships just by making people more comfortable in their own homes.”
Teach the people what’s new and cool (sorry) in the industry. Did you know that new HVAC systems are up to 50 percent more efficient than systems made just 12 years ago so you can cut your heating and cooling bills in half? Neither did I. I assumed that newer units were better but I didn’t know about 50 percent better. Did you know about the new ultraviolet lights that can be installed in the air intake system that actually kill germs before they’re circulated throughout your house? Neither did I. That’s important. Who enjoys inhaling germs and dust mites? Not me. What other cool innovations are the HVAC contractors hiding from us? Teach the people what’s new and why it’s good for them.
Teach the people that they can trust the contractor. I’ve had the same heating and air conditioning contractor for 25 years. I totally trust him. In fact, I never have to wait for him. I just leave the key out for him so I don’t have to wait for him to show up and do the work. That’s great because it’s so convenient for me. I hate waiting for repair people to show up. Other people do too. Imagine the testimonials like mine that a good company could provide to a radio or TV station like yours. How about gaining trust by helping the people with little things? “We get calls every day from people saying their air conditioner is frozen up. I tell them that 90 percent of the time it’s a dirty filter. Clean the filter and if it still doesn’t work call us and we’ll come out.” Or how about, “Coming home and turning down the thermostat all the way to 64 will not cool your house any quicker. It’s not designed to work that way. All you’re doing is overstressing your system, meaning it’s going to wear out faster. We have new, inexpensive but smart thermostats that we install so that your house is always perfectly comfortable when you come home or wake up in the morning.”
Make the call to action easier. I have literally changed the names of several HVAC businesses over the years. While I’m visiting with the client I have www.godaddy.com up on my computer. I also have sites with all of the prefixes for a certain area code. So when I see their URL and it is kamalenzki/toomeyandpartners.net (even if you could remember how to pronounce or spell the crazy business name most people will still go to .com) and the phone number is bad (436 7986); I can look to see if 436 COOL is available as a new phone number. Often I’ll just call the number. Then I look at godaddy for 436cool.com and see if that’s available. Then I tell the client, “Why don’t you just change the name of your business to 436cool.com? Paint it on the name of all of your trucks, business cards, etc. and now you can say, ‘Just call us at 436 COOL or go to 436cool.com and find out more about us.’’’
(source: Paul Weyland is the local direct media sales trainer. He comes to your market and teaches sellers how to help clients and sell long-term schedules at double or triple what they’re getting now. Paul wrote the book Successful Local Broadcast Sales, available online and in bookstores. You can reach Paul at 512 236 1222)
I almost never like these types of articles. But this one actually gave us good, useful stuff. I could write spots on this information for years. How can you miss creatively with Cold woman syndrome, smart thermostats and ultraviolet lights zapping the icky stuff. Are you kidding me? I'm gonna jump on this and call HVAC potentials this week.
In addition to creative production, I've sung on about a dozen HVAC jingles for another producer. They are almost always bad lyrically. I can't imagine them working. I've also written a several for my own clients. Since I've been in the jingle business for 28 years, I have learned the difference between substance and junk .
Suggestion: If you use music, do it right. Just because the lyrics are sung doesn't always mean it represents you well. Generic jingles usually sound generic. Have one made especially for the client, tie in a few of the good ideas above and you'll have a program that will lift you to the top of the listener's mind.
Creativity isn't everything. Even crappy ads can work if you spend enough money on them. Why not produce good marketing material that makes people want to know more? Because when you get them in that position - - - - - - -
