Yesterday’s No Doesn’t Mean No Today

One of the biggest mistakes HVAC technicians and salespeople make is deciding what a homeowner wants before they ever ask them.

You pull up the customer history before the call and see that last year somebody recommended a new system, indoor air quality, ductwork, or some other improvement.

The homeowner said no.

So what do you do?

You don’t bring it up again.

Why bother, right? They already told us no.

Wrong.

A homeowner saying no last year tells you what made sense for that homeowner last year. It doesn’t necessarily tell you a damn thing about what makes sense for them today.

Circumstances Change

The value of any solution is relative to the person and their current situation.

Ask 50 people what a good pair of shoes is worth, and you’ll probably get 50 different answers.

One guy might happily spend $300 because he’s on his feet 12 hours a day and has terrible feet. Somebody else wouldn’t dream of spending more than $50.

Same shoes. Different circumstances. Different value.

Home comfort is no different.

Last year, that homeowner may have been single and trying to save every penny he could.

This year, he’s married with a baby on the way, and suddenly keeping that upstairs bedroom comfortable and improving the air quality in the house are a hell of a lot more important.

Maybe last year money was tight. This year he got a promotion.

Maybe the system has gotten less reliable.

Maybe their electric bills have gone through the roof.

Maybe they’re simply tired of dealing with the same problem.

You don’t know until you ask.

That’s why you should never make buying decisions for your homeowners.

Show and Tell, Don’t Tattletale

There’s another piece of this that’s just as important.

I call it the difference between show and tell and tattletale.

Tattletale is walking upstairs and basically saying:

“Look at all the crap your furnace did wrong.”

That’s not particularly helpful. In fact, sometimes homeowners get defensive. That furnace has been sitting there working for 15 years, and now some technician they’ve known for 20 minutes is telling them everything that’s wrong with it.

Instead, show them what you found.

Bring the homeowner into the process.

Show them the condition of the equipment. Explain what you’re seeing. Ask questions about what they’ve experienced. Help them understand why it matters.

You’re not trying to scare somebody into buying something.

You’re giving them the information they need to make an educated decision.

There’s a big difference.

Stop Selling From Last Year’s Notes

Your CRM is there to give you information. It’s not there to make the homeowner’s decisions for them.

If they declined a recommendation last year, that’s useful information.

But don’t assume the answer is still no.

Bring it up.

“Mr. and Mrs. Homeowner, I noticed we discussed this last year and you decided not to move forward. Has anything changed since then?”

Then shut up and listen.

You might discover their priorities are completely different today.

And if nothing has changed and they still don’t want it?

That’s fine.

You’ve done your job.

Your Job Is to Give Them the Choice

As a professional, your responsibility is to investigate thoroughly, uncover problems, explain what you found, and offer appropriate solutions.

The homeowner’s job is to decide.

Don’t take that choice away from them because you’re afraid they’ll say no.

And don’t assume you know what’s important to somebody based on what they decided 12 months ago.

People change.

Families change.

Finances change.

Priorities change.

Circumstances change.

So show them what you found. Ask the questions. Make the recommendation.

Then let the homeowner decide what it’s worth to them today.

Yesterday’s no doesn’t mean no today.