According to the USEPA, indoor air can be two to five times more polluted than outdoor air due to household products like paints, cleansers, aerosol sprays, etc. Therefore, solving indoor air quality (IAQ) issues can have a huge impact on a homeowner’s overall comfort and quality of life. However, these problems are often difficult for homeowners to identify and fix on their own. That’s where our industry comes in.
As an HVAC professional, you have a big opportunity to help customers solve home comfort issues beyond heating and cooling. Expanding your service offerings into IAQ is an excellent way to do this, while adding more money to your bottom line. Here are a few great ways to find more opportunities to sell IAQ.
Stop Selling and Start Serving
When you perform a sales or service call, take a broader perspective of the home and look for additional ways to help the customer live healthier and more comfortable. To discover opportunities, ask the homeowner about their current situation and find out what matters most to them.
- Is the new mom concerned about her baby breathing the cleanest air possible to avoid getting sick?
- Does the house get too muggy, too dry, or too stuffy during certain times of the year?
- Is the pet owner embarrassed by the lingering odor they just can’t seem to get rid of?
- Does anyone living in the home suffer from allergies?
If you’re installing a new system and offering financing, adding on IAQ products can be extremely affordable. Most only add a few dollars to the monthly payment! Therefore, if a customer is considering multiple bids on their new system, being able to solve an additional home comfort need for a small additional cost per month may help win them over. Not to mention, this also adds value to your proposal and gives credibility to your company as a leader in the industry.
Target Your Market
Whether you’re talking to a customer in-person or planning out a billboard ad campaign, it’s essential to target the right message to the right audience at the right time. If your IAQ marketing message is focused on helping people with allergies, watch for when brands like Allegra or Claritin start advertising in the spring or fall and release your ad campaign at the same time so that it’s the most relevant to these specific consumers.
Take an in-depth look at the local area you serve. Newer neighborhoods, for example, are often filled with young children whose parents may be concerned with allergies or asthma. Additionally, newer homes tend to be more tightly sealed due to stricter building codes, making it harder for airborne germs and odors to escape. PCO (Photocatalytic oxidation) air purifiers specifically address these types of indoor air quality issues. On the other hand, older neighborhoods can also be a great opportunity to improve ventilation or even help elderly residents breathe better.
Recommend Products You Personally Stand Behind
The best way to sell something is to truly believe in it and share real-life stories about how it has positively affected you and your family. So, try out a few different IAQ products in your own home. There is much more credibility in sharing your personal experience than any flyer or brochure you can give a homeowner to read. In fact, Ultravation believes in this concept so much that they offer a Personal Use Program where contractors can receive a discount for installing IAQ products in their own homes.
Use these tips to find more opportunities to incorporate IAQ into your bids!
