Three Opportunities for Cross-Selling HVAC Services

May 2013 Issue

Three Times When Cross-Selling HVAC Services Comes Naturally

Existing customers can be a gold mine of new business, but one that too often goes untapped. The good news is that your current client relationships provide many reliable opportunities for cross-selling HVAC services and up-selling new products, add-ons, upgrades or service and maintenance plans.

A repair customer can easily become a new heating and cooling system sale, if not now, then at some point in the future. The customer may reach that familiar repair-or-replace cost-benefit point, when the benefits of a new system become very compelling. The key is to recognize this sales opportunity and others that naturally occur as you and your employees go about your normal customer contact activities. We also recommend having a system in place to record this type of information in your database to use for future intelligent targeted marketing.

Maximizing Natural Sales Opportunities

With a little advance preparation, training and company process changes, all your customer marketing messages can be optimized. These daily contacts can become not only relationship builders between your business and the client but opportunities for sales growth. Design a cross-selling system for your company in which the whole team takes part.

The consequence of ignoring cross-selling HVAC services is losing business to the competition, simply because you haven’t asked your customer for their business, or they don’t know all that you have to offer. Upselling and cross-selling generates customer loyalty and helps you retain your best customers. Does your HVAC customer realize you also have a plumbing, electrical, or perhaps home performance division?

Natural Opportunities for Cross-selling HVAC Services: 3 Examples

After the service call – use leave-behinds, marketing collateral or informative pamphlets – At the end of a service call at the customer’s home, leave-behinds can sell, even if your technician doesn’t excel as a salesperson. Prepare informative, benefit-packed brochures describing likely add-on products and services. Instruct techs to leave the appropriate pamphlets or flyers with the client as they depart.

The item can be introduced as a premium or thank-you for your business if you include a coupon for future service/product discounts, for example. Use the rest of the space to promote maintenance and service plans, new energy-efficient furnaces and air conditioners, duct cleaning and sealing services or a seasonal product. Include a request for referrals as well – better yet, craft a unique “refer-a-friend” program where both the referrer and referred new customer receive a reward upon reaching a certain goal.

When the tech prepares to leave the home, the customer is satisfied, so it’s a perfect time to ask them to do more business with you. Leave behind logo magnets or pens, if you like, but there’s nothing better than a benefit-packed brochure for cross-selling HVAC services.

As the service technician departs – a simple sales script or blurb – As a powerful liaison between your business and the customer, your technician should be trained and prepared for natural sales opportunities. Craft a few effective lines, summarizing your selected product/service.

Train your tech to include these lines as they take their leave: “Did you know you can save 15 percent on today’s service by signing up for our preventive maintenance plan?”

Incoming calls – customer service, office administration staff or dispatch sales suggestions – When a customer calls for HVAC repairs, your employee should be ready with a similar line to the technician’s short script. Keep staff informed of current specials and priorities so when the opportunity naturally arises during a customer conversation, they’re ready.

Reinforce Your Message to Retain the Customer

It’s equally important to augment these natural sales opportunities with multi-format marketing outreach to reinforce your sales message and build a relationship, after an installation or service call. These communications should also emphasize referrals, generate sales leads, and gather customer satisfaction information. Use well-timed, personalized direct mailings such as surveys, postcards, greeting cards, flyers, newsletters and more to keep your customer engaged. Include email marketing campaigns tailored to your brand to drive them to your social media sites and website, where you showcase products and services. Online reviews are important, set up a system to request them from happy customers.

For more expert HVAC marketing guidance, contact Halo Programs. We offer customizable turnkey HVAC and Home Performance spring and fall lead generation programs, satisfaction surveys and more. We offer professional services to get your database on the right track, then provide marketing programs and exclusive lead generation. Contact us at 800-521-0026 for a personalized consultation. Ask about our FREE, no-obligation, company database evaluation!