How to QUANTIFY QUALITY to prospective customers

When prospective customers ask HVAC salespeople, “How do your prices compare with those of your competition?” the salespeople often answer, “We’re not the cheapest, but we’re the best.”

Don’t say that. You’re practically saying, “Actually, we’re kind of high priced. Why don’t you shop around. I’m sure you can get it a lot cheaper elsewhere.”

When prospects ask me that question, I state, “For what we do, we’re the cheapest in town.”

In many cases, prospects will get a little agitated and say, “I’ve got three other bids on the exact same equipment you’re quoting me on, and you’re $1,400 higher than everyone else. So, how can you say that?”

Differentiate Price and Cost
I respond with “Is it the price or the cost you’re concerned about?”

What We Do

They’ll usually ask, in so many words, “Aren’t they the same things?”

I then go on to explain, “The price is your initial investment; what you pay for the installation. That’s what most people focus on.

“The cost is your overall cost of ownership. That includes such things as the ongoing maintenance, your utility bills to operate it, repairs, and its eventual replacement.

“Over the lifetime of the equipment, your cost of ownership will far outweigh the initial price you paid for it.

“I do everything in my power to keep your overall cost of ownership to a minimum. Would you like to know what I do, why I do it, and how it saves you money?”

What We Do
Replace the pad. The pad your outdoor unit sits on is fine for the time being. The problem is, the useful life of your new system, according to the American Association of Appliance Manufacturers, is 16 years, and I know your pad won’t last that long.

I could ignore that fact and save you about $200 on your installation. That sounds attractive at first glance, but I know that, at some point over the next 16 years or so, I’ll be out to uninstall your outdoor unit, lay the pad down properly, then re-install your unit – all for a significantly larger amount of money than $200.

The pad itself doesn’t cost $200. I take all the steps that are necessary and vital to ensure the pad stays in place and remains level. First I dig a few inches into the ground. Then, I pour some fine sand into the hole. I follow that with a layer of pea gravel. After I tamp that down, I add more fine sand and tamp it down firmly. All of that takes time and is well worth the effort.

Lifetime level warranty. As long as you have me come out and inspect the unit once per year (and the lowest cost way to do that is with one of our service plans) I will guarantee your outdoor unit will remain level.
Aside from the unsightly appearance of an unleveled outdoor unit, an unleveled unit will also cause compressor failure.

There’s a bearing and a shaft inside the compressor that the manufacturer specifically states must be absolutely level for the compressor to last. When they are not level, stress points arise that neither the shaft nor the bearing are designed to withstand.

The compressor’s lubrication system is simply a pool of oil resting in its base. When the compressor is tilted, its internal components go without proper lubrication and burn out.

The ‘Nail Down’

For as long as you maintain your maintenance agreement, with me coming out once per year to check the outdoor unit, I can fix any little problems with the leveling on-the-spot, at no charge to you. If I don’t hear from you for 10 years, and you call to tell me the ground has shifted and the unit has a 15-degree tilt, I’ll have to start all over again, and that will get expensive.

Follow-up service. Air conditioners and furnaces are high vibration equipment, which means that screws and wire terminals tend to loosen over time.

Furnaces and air conditioners generate heat and cool themselves by drawing air through them. That means they act as vacuum cleaners for anything that’s in the air. The manufacturers design them with the intention that they be absolutely spotless, otherwise they’ll overheat, which causes component failure and shortens their lifespan.

With this in mind, I come back out in six months to check it over, tighten anything that’s loosened, perform routine cleaning, and make certain it’s still operating per the manufacturer’s specs. If anything is wrong, I fix it, at no charge to you.