Those of you who know me, know that I was part of a medium
sized commercial HVAC contracting business for a number of years. I focused on the design/build part of the
business. We were fairly successful. Our success didn’t come from being the ‘low
bidder’ on every job. Our design / build
success came from educating our customers and letting them know the difference between
our design / build solution and the other guys.
We got about 85% of the projects that we submitted proposals on, and
only rarely were we the ‘low bidder’.
Of course, there is a difference between commercial /
industrial HVAC systems and residential / light commercial systems. But, most of the same ideas that I’ used doing
the big stuff, can be translated into doing the smaller stuff. Here are a few ideas to help get you and your
business away from being the “Low Bidder” and becoming the “Right Bidder.” If every contractor is in a race to get to
the bottom of the pile, then everyone
in the race is a loser.
1.
First
Impressions Count
Be professional
looking and well spoken. When you visit a homeowner or a small business owner,
make sure your clothes are clean, including your winter jacket. Your hands should be reasonbly clean so that
Mrs. Homeowner doesn’t mind shaking hands with you. Don’t track refrigeration oil in on the
carpet, either.
As soon as you
first meet anyone, introduce yourself and present a business card. Do not immediately dive into a sales
pitch. Remember that communication is a
two-way street. One of my old mentors
told me “Jonesy, you got two ears and one mouth. Use them in that proportion.”
Ask a lot of
questions. Do not assume that you know
what the customer wants – ask them what they want. More importantly - ask them what their end
goal is. Then guide them to the right
stuff to fit their needs. What
they NEED may not be exactly what you have in the back of your truck. People seem to know when you are trying to
sell them something that they don’t need.
2.
Have
a look around
Once the
introductions are over, and a general idea of the ‘end goal’ is established,
ask to take a look around the house or the building. If it’s new construction, ask to see the
drawings or plans. This is one of the
most important things to do. Make not of
possible problems or defficiencies, but don’t ‘point fingers at the other
guy’.
Things
to look for are:
a. Don’t
focus on just the furnace or the AC. I
call that “Thinking outside the box”. Look
at the building as a complete system, not just a furnace and some
ductwork. There is a lot more to it than
just the furnace & AC
b. Combustion
safety problems like a big kitchen exhaust fan, but no make-up-air. Fire places and gravity vent water heaters
but, still, no make-up-air. Are there
any other problems that might cause backdrafting?
c. Is
the existing ductwork the right size? Is
it big enough for the needed air flow?
Does it have too many reductions to allow good air flow? Are the supply and return registers in good
places or not? Are there enough
registers and grilles to allow enough air flow?
d. Have
there been any improvements done to the home or the existing building? Added insulation? Newer, better-grade windows? Any areas remodelled or any additions to the
building? Look for things that might
have increased or DECREASED the loads on the home or building.
3.
Do
the Math!
I can not tell you
the number of times that I have heard the addage “But, we’ve always done it
that way.” Well, Praise the Lord for all
those who decided to change! If ‘we always did it the same way’, we would
still have coal fired heaters, unpaved roads, and drive into town on a
buckboard with one horsepower.
As homes and
buildings have changed, the needs of buildings have changed, too. Don’t just automatically replace the old
equipment with new equipment of the same size.
That approach only works out to be correct about 25-30% of the
time.
Take a few minutes
and ‘do the math’. Heating and cooling
calculations are fairly easy to do now, with all of the sofware available. If you don’t feel comfortable doing it
yourself, then come in to TSI and have our design staff do it for you. This will help to assure your customer that
they are getting the RIGHT SOLUTION, and not just what you have on the back of
the truck.
4.
Putting
the V back in HVAC
Ventilation! Ventilation is not just
exhaust. The insulting way to state this
is that any HVAC contractor who doesn't address the V in HVAC is just a HAC
(read: hack). New homes are tighter than
ever because of energy codes that require higher levels of air-sealing and insulation. Older homes are tighter now because so many
of them have replaced windows, installed storm windows, and storm doors. Even new siding tightens-up old homes and
reduces air infiltration. All homes, old
and new, need spot ventilation in kitchens and bathrooms. Things aren’t like ‘the old days.’
Are you really including the V in HVAC?
Do you know what ASHRAE 62.2 is? Do
you understand the three strategies for providing mechanical ventilation
(positive pressure, negative pressure, and balanced)? Have you measured the air flow in your
ventilation systems?
To make a long story short – If you do
what is best for the building owner, if you are there to help them and not just
sell them something, everyone wins. The
owner gets what they need, you get more work, and your sales margin can be
better. Don’t just be the low bidder -
Be the right bidder. Take a professional
approach and you will be more profitable, with more work, working smarter and
not harder.
