Lessons from the Field: The Payoff

In our last article, we discussed a service call that was unlike most of what you may have experienced. Let’s get back to it.

Tech: Ma’am, let’s check to see if we’re getting 1,600 CFM. I’ll measure and you write the numbers down, sound good?

Of course, he goes around every vent, and naturally, it comes in way under 1,600.

Tech: Oh no, it only reads 1,100, and we need 1,600.
Homeowner: Well, can you fix that?
Tech: Oh, yeah, but ductwork’s pretty expensive, and we could try to help it by adding a return, but your ductwork system’s pretty old. We’ll talk more about that later.

Bare Necessities

Now, keep in mind the only thing she HAS TO DO to get the system running is replace the blower motor. It was the only actual problem she called about. But technicians must remember that customers will only call about the problem that’s bothering them at that moment. It doesn’t mean they don’t have other problems with their system.

It just means it’s not bothering them right now. What’s bothering them right now is the one thing they called us about, but our job is to go far beyond that, right? If you go to the doctor and you think you have the flu, what’s the first thing they do? They put you on the scale, they take your blood pressure, take your temperature. They’re not only troubleshooting the symptoms you’re complaining about.

They’re checking for problems you may not be aware of so they can intervene if needed. They’re also going to ask questions unrelated to the flu. They’ll have you open up and say, “Ahhh,” and then ask you to take a deep breath while they listen to your lungs with a stethoscope. They will take a broader scope of diagnosis than just the problem you called about.

So the tech finishes all the measurements and makes his way to the kitchen table. He goes through a summary, and he tells her very openly:

Tech: Mrs. Homeowner, the only thing you have to do today to get this system going to replace this blower motor, which is 1,700 bucks. Now, if you want to get this thing back to factory-fresh specifications, I’m going to recommend you clean the coil, add more ductwork…

The total price for his recommendations added up to $5000-6000. And then, you may remember from training we now take the time to discuss the takeaway with the homeowner. The takeaway is never pushy; it’s just matter-of-fact and plain-speak to explain the scope of the problem.

The Future Starts Now

Tech: Mrs. Homeowner, you probably weren’t thinking about replacing the system today, were you?
Homeowner: Oh, no, no, not at all.
Tech: Well, do you think you might replace it in the next 5 years, since it’s already 20 years old?

And 100 times out of 100, they’re going to say:

Homeowner: Oh yeah, I’ll replace it in five years.

Why do they always agree? Because they feel no urgency, no pressure. It’ll be 5 whole years from now until they need to think about it again. So this is the mesh point; it’s the door opening for you to help them realize maybe it’s actually a today decision.

Tech: Well, let’s talk about what you’re going to invest in that system, since you’ve already decided to do it in five years. And let’s look at the cost of keeping this current unit. So there’s $1,700 here in the blower motor today. And over the next 5 years, you’re going to waste a lot of electricity running this system. You’re probably spending about $3,000 to heat and cool your house with your current system. You could save $400 or $500 a year of that if you had a system running in peak condition. And over the course of five years, that would be a savings of $2,500.
Homeowner: Go on…
Tech: And then, of course, there’s always inflation. A new system in 5 years from now will be more expensive, maybe $1,000, maybe $2,000 more than it is today. So in 5 years time, you will have overspent on utilities by 2,500, overspent because of inflation by 2,000, and spent 1,700 on a blower motor. And after spending that $6,200, do you know what you’ll still have?
Homeowner: I’ll still have the old system.
Tech: Exactly; you’ll still have what will be a 25-year-old system with old ductwork, low airflow, and lots of repairs in its future. So does it make sense to go ahead and put that $6,200 towards a new system?
Homeowner: What will the full price of a new system cost me?
Tech: We have specially trained comfort advisors who will come out and share that information with you anytime that works for your schedule. Are you free this Friday at noon?

Proven Success

So what’s the reason he was setting so many high-quality leads? He was open. He was a troubleshooter. And more than anything, the reason he kept succeeding was because he was patient.

You may have heard the old joke about the young bull and the old bull. Given the choice between the two, we have to be the old bull. You can Google it if you haven’t heard it. I might get in trouble if I tell it here today.

But you have to take your time like the old bull. You can’t be in a hurry like the young bull. And some of these technicians are like the young bull. They find one problem, boom, they go to the homeowner, “Hey, you need a new system? You want a new system? You want a new system?” It’s not the way to have consistently great results.