Rob "Doc" Falke
Changing Fan Speed With an Adjustable Pulley
Adjustable pulleys are the most commonly used method of changing fan speed in light commercial balancing. Let’s take a look at how adjustable pulleys work on a fan and blower motor and learn how to adjust them. We’ll also learn how to use Fan Law One to calculate how to change the dimensions of a pulley. This will result in a predetermined change in the fan speed....
Charlie "Tec Daddy" Greer
Overcoming Objections for Appointment Sellers
As an appointment seller, you’re going to run into tough questions and objections, especially when there are other companies in your area who quote low hourly rates or other prices over the phone, or will run a service call for free....
How to Sell Service Appointments – Part 2
This month, I’ll cover the most important parts of selling service appointments over the phone....
Dominic Guarino
Home Performance: Turn Compliance Into Opportunity
Where do you draw the line between what you have to do to participate in a program, and maintaining a healthy, profitable contracting business that takes good care of its customers?...
2 More Challenges & Opportunities For 2012
December's Last Word focused on "Four Challenges and Opportunities for 2012". Here are two more key challenges and opportunities to think about...
Guest Editorial
Dry-Ship R-22 Units: Let’s Stop Shooting Ourselves in the Foot
Are we going to stop shooting ourselves in the foot, and start selling matched systems to customers so they receive the full efficiency, capacity, and longevity they paid for? Or, are we going to continue selling mismatched dry units with no idea of the performance they ultimately deliver?...
Tune Into a Great Publicity Tactic
When contractors think about a public relations campaign or other ways to generate publicity for their businesses, they often envision a television appearance, a newspaper or magazine article and photo, or a No. 1 Google ranking. But there's one major publicity vehicle that many neglect completely, although they probably hear it almost every day: radio. ...
Steve Howard
ZONING - It's a Formula for Success
by Steve Howard For years, smart HVAC contractors have been using variable speed indoor equipment to provide their customers with better comfort. Besides...
Let Customers Sell Themselves on Comfort
by Steve Howard Approximately 80% of today's consumers are willing to pay more money to be more comfortable. However, until they discover what true comfort...
Adams Hudson
You Can't Hit a Target You Can't See
Ever dumped money on direct mail letters that got absolutely no response? Or perhaps you got a response, but from the wrong prospects… you know, the “price-shoppers” or those unable to finance who still find time to waste your time while “just checking around.” ...
Mega Marketing: 2008 Victims & Victors
Back when I was growing up – which is weird, since I’m not grown up yet – astrology was just catching on. Signs of the Zodiac, the Age of Aquarius, and predictions by ladies with too much eye makeup were everywhere. ...
Earl King
Selling Away From Full Coverage
Full coverage commercial service agreements should be the highest gross margin generator in your business. However, there are certain situations where it’s nearly impossible to sell this coverage. One of the most common insurmountable conditions is when prospects already have a full coverage agreement in place and say they’re satisfied with the service. Further compounding the problem is when you discover the competitor’s price is significantly lower than you’ll accept. Rather than surrendering and walking away, I recommend selling away from the full coverage. ...
Getting to the "C-level" Decision-makers
Almost invariably, when I didn’t get the ink on the paper, I didn’t have all of the right decision makers present. ...
John Lloyd
That "Two Way Street" Revisited
A subject that has often come up in discussions and is worth re-visiting, especially in todays market, is that old two-way street known as Loyalty Avenue....
Something Worth Nothing Usually Costs Nothing
Theres been talk recently about providing free estimates. Should HVAC contractors charge for estimates to recover our basic costs like time and fuel?...
Tom McCart
The Sales Call: Are You Really Prepared?
by Tom McCart How do most sales people prepare themselves for an upcoming sales interview with a residential replacement prospect? I ask this question...
Are you running a business or do you have a job?
by Tom McCart How Do You Measure Up? Whenever I visit a new contractor customer, I get asked this question: Tom, how do I compare with the other contractors...
Matt Michel
10 Ways (Plus One) You Can Seize the Summer
It’s about to be Christmas for HVAC contractors. With every uptick of outdoor ambient temperatures, contractor attitudes improve until… Until it’s too hot… Until there are too many calls to handle… Until everyone is overworked, overheated, and overly irritable. ...
Are You Making This Advertising Mistake?
In the Dallas area, an air conditioning contractor likes to poke fun at a competitor with his radio ads. Well, “poke fun” is probably inaccurate. The ads are profoundly negative. As such, they hurt both companies and the industry as a whole....
Mike Murphy
13 SEER is here
How will the new 13 SEER mandate affect the value chain in the HVAC industry? Contracting Business convened a panel consisting of a manufacturer, wholesaler,...
Award Is Its Own Success
by Mike Murphy, editor-in-chief Now that the electoral college has chosen our presidential leader and (prediction: October 22, 2004) ketchup will soon...
Joe Pulizzi
Attracting And Retaining HVAC Customers: How Blogs Can Help
As an HVAC contractor, it's possible you've dismissed blogs as part of your online marketing strategy – and you’d have plenty of evidence to make your case....
Want Regular Blog Readers? Follow These 8 Tips
As if it weren’t hard enough to make yourself seen in the big, bustling world of online marketing, consider this: snagging your blog readers’ attention is just the first challenge. ...
Ron Rajecki
Another "Oeil Noir" for the HVAC Industry
My sources inform me oeil noir is French for "black eye", and, in any language, that's what the HVAC industry has received once again....
Techs Can Be Bright Spot in a Gloomy World
My fellow staffers would be happy to tell you that Im the grouch of the staff. Im the cynic, the pessimist, the hell-in-a-handbasket guy. The only good...
Mike Weil
Rethink Your Approach to HVAC
Isn’t it funny how there is always a new catch phrase to describe changes in a marketplace, in fads, in the “cool factor,” and so on? It wasn’t so long ago that oil embargos changed the way we built buildings and controlled indoor environments. ...
Who Are Tomorrow’s Contractors Today?
Successful contractors don’t stand still — they always look for new opportunities and trends that can help them grow their companies and set themselves apart in the marketplace. These opportunities often take the form of changes in the marketplace, the economy, and in government regulations. ...
