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Decision Analyst Articles In Contracting Business
By Garry Upton
Based off the American Home Comfort Study.
FAQ October 2008
What are you doing with your website to help bring in business?
FAQ August 2008
What opportunities exist in the HVAC add-on and remodeling market?
FAQ July 2008
Hybrid systems have made their mark.
One in every 10 homes with a heat pump includes a furnace.
FAQ June 2008
It’s June, and as the American home Comfort Study has reported,
most of your homeowners are looking for you to be an HVAC consultant
while you’re in their home. This year more than in any other recent years,
they’ll want your advice on energy use and savings as they decide what to buy.
FAQ May 2008
I’m thinking about adding a salesperson, but I’m a little
unsure of this move. Several of my technicians do a pretty good job
of selling. Do you have any national numbers that tell me who is selling to
residential customers?
FAQ April 2008
It will soon be April, and it all seems to come down to the cost of energy here
in my city. My local energy utility is helping with rebates again,
and I’m using them along with my version of hybrid products for the home.
Are there other suggestions to help my sales staff?
FAQ March 2008
It’s time for contractors to prepare for early clean-and-checks, and complete them
before the busy season begins. Distributors and manufacturers are closing in on early selling
programs and spiffs.
FAQ February 2008
It’s February: cold, wet, and time for emergency calls in the Northern U.S.
Many furnaces will need immediate replacement, and won’t have been budgeted by homeowners.
FAQ January 2008
Business is still soft in my area. We’ve spent time looking at our market to see where the business
may be improving, and believe this might be a good time to look at the remodeling market.
Have you ever researched that part of the residential business?
FAQ December 2007
It’s almost Christmas, and business continues to be soft.
What other insights can I use from research that will help my company this winter?
FAQ November 2007
You’ve reviewed your sales for another season, and decided you were successful.
The holidays are almost upon you, and this year you would like to give your company a present.
What can a group of professionals like yours do next year to top this year;s business?
FAQ October 2007
It's October and I’m doing okay with the start to the heating season, but am thinking about business I don’t have.
Do you have any information one new trends in the residential add-on market?
FAQ September 2007
Normally, I use the “American Home Comfort” report — based on the responses of more than 27,000 homeowners — as a basis for these monthly articles.
FAQ August 2007
This year has been difficult for homeowners, builders, distributors, contractors, and manufacturers. Sales returning to mid 90s levels may be more real than anyone realized when the year began.
FAQ July 2007
Only one in three installation customers are signing up for a service agreement.
What can I do to increase our service agreement ratio?
FAQ June 2007
In a previous article, you mentioned that homeowners who purchased a “central comfort system” were still looking for “more home comfort.” I’ve tried to get my sales staff and installers to mention indoor comfort products, without much success. What as I doing wrong, or what’s still missing in the data?
FAQ May 2007
I sure wish my sales crew knew more about the homeowner going in. I have my technicians looking around for portable IAQ, and for window air conditioners as well as portable heaters when they are in the home, and sharing what they find with the sales crew. What else does my sales person need to know before meeting the homeowner?
FAQ April 2007
With so few buyers and so much stock, is there any information that I can offer to help builders succeed? I know if I can help now, in good times we will be better “partners.”
FAQ March 2007
My new construction work has tanked, and the builders I’ve worked with are all feeling the pain. I can’t install fewer pieces of equipment for less money in each install, and that is one of the requests they make. What would you suggest?
FAQ February 2007
Is indoor air quality (IAQ) as difficult to understand as SEER, HSPF or BTU? What do homeowners thing of and want “fixed” when we talk to them about IAQ?
FAQ January 2007
This Month’s FAQ: American homeowners are aging. They want more comfort in their home, but the current process of emergency purchasing during your seasonally long work days keeps the “home comfort” purchase at the time of the fix a limited option. What’s the best way to add-on, to meet homeowners’ desire for service and comfort?
FAQ December 2006
I’ve weathered my company’s fuel cost crisis, and found ways to build the new costs into my pricing. Now, how do I handle the downturn in new housing in my city, and very low pricing by competitors? The year is ending on a difficult note for many in the building community. All will struggle to find a place for survival, if not success. Some in the new construction business will not understand the costs involved in finding and working in the replacement community, and will begin underselling your personal needs for success.
FAQ November 2006
One of my install techs is twice as fast as any of the rest. My problem is, his callback average is one in every four. He still gets more accomplished with his one-in-four than any of the other installers do. How does he stack up against the industry as a whole?
FAQ October 2006
What does your company do to keep your good customers, and expand the seasonality of the business? Homeowners have a lot of choices when choosing an HVAC contractor. The good news for established contractors is that half of all the reasons customers give regarding their contractor selection has to do with the reputation you have established with them, their personal friends, and neighbors.
FAQ September 2006
People � your customers � are talking about you and your employees. What they say depends on how they feel about how well you handled their home comfort needs. How are you using your past work to support your future? Are you using your best projects to your advantage? Because, when people talk, other people listen. Another selling season is just about over, and the end of the 18-hour days is in sight. As you reflect on the past season, have you taken steps to document your best work, with photographs and customer testimonials?
FAQ August 2006
Our industry has long been hostage to weather as well as to excellent products with a long life. Why should better comfort product and good installations, prevent us from seeing homeowners more often? With “Clean & Checks,” they don’t. But there’s another
reason for “comfort sales and service”: Indoor Air Quality (IAQ).
FAQ July 2006
This Month’s FAQ: It is July again and another year, another selling season just like the last few. Or is it? It may be, but facts are adding up that tell us we should prepare for a different type of selling season. In 2005, we had the best year in recent history and followed seven great years.
FAQ June 2006
In response to the question, “who buys HVAC central equipment for their home,” Upton shares his observations based on consumer comments from the American Home Comfort study. I’ve been to many trade shows, conventions and client meetings over the years, and this is one of the questions most often on contractors’ minds.
FAQ May 2006
(Part 2): Last month’s question asked what contractors are doing to remain competitive in this age of government regulation and higher energy costs. Here are some observations based on consumer comments from the American Home Comfort study. The study found that homeowners rely on people, information services, and events to help them decide on an HVAC contractor to use. It also pointed out that typically, a homeowner’s primary resource is the contractor himself.
FAQ April 2006
(Part 1) I was born to the HVAC business and began running duct when I was six. I’m 31 now, own my own business, and feel good about last year. With new government regulations and higher energy costs, I’m a little concerned about the future. What are other contractors doing to stay competitive?
FAQ March 2006
It’s March again, and even the service calls are drying up. What can I do to make my business less seasonal? Do you really know your customers? Do your technicians and installing crews write down what they observe when in their homes? unit.
FAQ February 2006
(Part 2) My boss told me to listen more and be more observant in the home. What am I supposed to look for? What am I listening for? Why is this important? Last month (CB, January 2006, p. 16) we began answering this question by highlighting what service technicians should look for in a home. We covered checking the air delivery system, observing homeowner living styles, and looking for do-it-yourself repairs.
FAQ January 2006
(Part 1) My boss told me to listen more and be more observant in the home. What am I supposed to look for? What am I listening for? Why is this important? Over the course of 2006, this space will identify opportunities within customers’ homes that you may not have observed in the past. The opportunities are based on a recent homeowner survey conducted by Decision Analyst, Inc.
Methodology
The data in these articles is based off The American Home Comfort Study conducted in July and August of 2004 and repeated in 2006 and 2008. It is based on a nationally representative sample of 1,481 homeowners who have replaced their HVAC equipment in the past 24 months. Respondents were recruited from Decision Analyst's online American Consumer Opinion® panel. The margin of error at a 95% confidence level is plus or minus 3 percent.
If you would like more information on these articles or the American Home Comfort Study , please contact Garry Upton by email or call 1.817.640.6166.
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