Q: Is the Energy Star designation on HVAC equipment something homeowners truly care about?
A: When was the last time you overlooked something? Was it something you use daily? Something you can’t do without? Recently, I was looking high and low for my reading glasses; something on the compter screen needed my attention. I looked in my shirt pocket. I looked in my brief case. I looked on my desk, including a quick scan under the stacks of work that seem to always keep my desk company.
What could I have done with those glasses? I hadn’t left the desk since needing them last, so they had to be close. I bet you already know where they were . . . yep, they were pushed up on my head. Without them, my work would have suffered, and I would have been less effective than my skill, and my training called for.
Are there tools that you’re aware of, and tools that you need that you forget to take to jobs at times? Is the work you were trained for, your skill, and your company’s success worth less without that tool you overlooked?
If you’re like me, there are times when you forget to bring an important tool to work, or you can’t find where you last put it down. You almost immediately take steps to find it, because it’s critical to your success.
There’s one tool of sorts, which we may overlook, and perhaps have overlooked for a long time. Without it, some of our work, and success, would be greatly reduced.
This tool is provided by our government at no cost to those of us who are constantly talking with customers. The EPA has not only worked long and hard to help shape energy use in this country, they’ve also built a brand that’s as important to your homeowners as your company name or the brand of any piece of equipment you sell.
They’ve marketed the Energy Star logo, and have enforced when and where it can be used on a piece of equipment. In our recent American Home Comfort study, not only do almost all homeowners know the symbol and its importance, most (seven in 10) only purchase major appliances that include it.
That tool deserves to be in your tool box. It should be top of mind when you describe the equipment you recommend, and it should help your sales effort as much as other tools you take to all of your service calls. You’ll never know, before you walk into the homeowner’s place, when it will be one of the greatest tools in your tool box.
Decision Analyst’s American Home Comfort Study of homeowners explores what customers look for in HVAC contractors. To learn more about this study, or to purchase it, contact Garry, at [email protected].