IIt’s the time of the year again, where stores and companies from different industries open their doors at midnight and offer cost savings and huge deals on everything and anything. You heard it right! Black Friday is a few days away and this busy season is absolutely in full swing. For HVAC businesses, there is this huge excitement for an increasing cash flow and uninterrupted service requests and consultations. However, HVAC contractors are often faced with mounting workloads and technicians who are worn-out and dead tired. It is also why project management for construction and HVAC-related services should be implemented once and for all.
HVAC contractors and technicians are hard-pressed to ignore the intense heat and stress they face during Black Friday, making it another primary concern that must not be sidestepped when handling and managing HVAC businesses’ quick pace. So despite the reality that most HVAC businesses are similar to Wal-Mart during Black Friday, there are actually few practical strategies to alleviate the uproar and eventually handle the rush and intensity during this busy season.
For this blog, let’s discover some practical ways to handle HVAC business during this season, including fantastic ideas for Black Friday deals to offer for clients!
1. Staffing Solutions
Various staffing elements and issues will give HVAC contractors many reasons to worry and stay awake up all night. These issues are all exacerbated during the Black Friday season. Two reasons are then identified – technician burnout and overtime. Expectedly, contractors have been facing staff morale and customer demands at the same time. Advanced new tools like project management software are an excellent investment for the business since it offers various features designed to improve the project’s development.
Below are some solutions when it comes to staffing the HVAC technicians adequately.
· Assigning overtime to only participating workers – HVAC technicians voluntarily work for extra hours for extra money. As a contractor, you have to group these workers and put them in line first. Some contractors often juggle hours to execute after-hours service even without overly taxing the teams. It only means staggered start times.
· Explain Black Friday procedures well – no matter what kind of an approach a contractor chooses to deal with, it is crucial to communicate about individual expectations with subcontractors. Everybody who will participate during the Black Friday season should be oriented clearly about the standard procedures. Also, the execution of a construction project and HVAC services are time-consuming. Hence, deploying software designed for project management is vital.
· Ensure to have enough HVAC technicians – the technicians are not the only professional laborers every contractor needs during Black Friday. Other involved crew should be put into consideration. It is critical to keep the business running and thriving during this busy season. Having more than the number of needed staff during this busy season is very necessary because customers and clients expect immediacy. Hence, calls and inquiries should be responded to quickly.
2. Customer Comfort Ideas
As contractors handle the staffing concerns during Black Friday, it is equally important to address existing customer issues. Some urgencies required technicians to go over the client’s place to fix blistering temperatures. As technicians are greatly affected by the heat and so as the customers.
It is essential to let customers know the current situation and make the weather a significant reference. By doing so, providing evidence to limited resources and longer wait times is easy. HVAC technicians and contractors should know that most of the customers are very reasonable people. Great tips for easy resolution of customer discomfort are outlined below.
· When clients decide to abandon reason, it is the right time for the company and technicians to differentiate themselves.
· Remember that there is an opportunity to fix the issue to reinforce the service agreement’s value.
· Make sure to train the professional team in dealing and handling difficult and unreasonable clients. Some customers are often anxious and uncomfortable about repair costs. Always be patient yet candid.
· Don’t dare to promise your clients more than what you can deliver.
· Since it is Black Friday and there are many services available, provide temporary cooling solutions to clients who have waited for new units and parts to arrive.
3. Deploy HVAC Construction Schedule Software
Now that Black Friday is upcoming, a great rush of client requests, inquiries, and services are expected. A project management tool is a huge help in processing tasks and managing crew at the same time. The advanced tool comprises a set of features designed for project management purposes. Total control of the project is best achieved using this tool. The best features this HVAC schedule software include:
· Time-tracking and real-time collaboration
· Sorting files, documents and other essential HVAC data
· Scheduling of tasks, activities and quote
· Managing construction activities and crew’s overall performance
· Edit, update, and save files more efficiently
· Track labor hours and crew activities
· Cloud-based features allow easy access of the application
Good news! Pro Crew Schedule is offering a promo this Black Friday! You can get a 20% discount for a 1-year subscription in any offered plans. Request a live demo now.
The Best Black Friday Deals for Your Clients!
Considering the need to generate bigger profit, most retailers scramble each year, particularly during Black Friday, to get the most out of their competitive edge. As for HVAC contractors who are not traditional retailers by nature, it is a great option to offer special Black Friday deals to attract new clients and generate more revenue.
Here are some Black Friday ideas that you might want to consider offering both for existing and new clients.
1. Duct modifications
Offering duct modifications to clients is proven to be a great source of revenue during the Black Friday season. In most cases, ducts do not possess any moving parts unless if the client already has a zone system. Duct modifications are a great Black Friday deal that you can offer both for new and existing clients. Discounts can also be provided once the client avail a complete duct system upgrade.
Moreover, if the duct system is installed and sized the right way, the company can choose to provide an excellent and outstanding warranty to any of its clients.
2. Special BOGO deals
Most potential and regular clients love a BOGO (Buy-One-Get-One) offer. For that reason, it is an excellent chance to offer a Black Friday BOGO in any of your IAQ products and services. Two significant reasons are applicable when providing the clients with IAQ products – one is for health reasons, and the other is for HVAC equipment protection. The accumulated debris often restricts the airflow in the air ducts, making the system work harder to cool and heat the place.
3. Special discounts to offer
Let your clients know that Black Friday deals such as discounts are offered during the season. This set of offers include not only equipment replacements but also other services that are recommended by the HVAC installer and technicians. Let these deals be open to anyone in the company. Remember that these offers should not only be exclusively available for the sales team or any service technicians.
Allow the call-takers and dispatchers to contact clients and pitch your Black Friday deals. Anybody from the team who can close a deal by calling a client will receive a reward – either an incentive or a cash bonus. Post the close rate in public so that everyone in the company will see the results. You’ll be surprised by the results accomplished through this friendly competition.
4. Free HVAC Tune-Ups
The slogan “Sharing is caring” makes sense even in HVAC businesses. There is a great break for your company to help your clients give some gifts of HVAC tune-ups to their neighbors. Offering some upgraded BOGO deals is the best option. Let your client choose their preferred BOGO deal and who will benefit from free HVAC tune-ups. In short, the client can freely choose to give some fee tune-up services to their neighbor, family members, or even friends.
The Black Friday deal offers a beautiful opportunity to expand the HVAC business, particularly to your new clients who are not previously exposed to the business. People negotiate with other people they trust and prefer. Hence, the concept of “Sharing is caring BOGO” will allow the clients to refer the business to other people.
5. Home Maintenance Plan
It is probably the best offer an HVAC company has given to its clients. With a Home Maintenance Plan, calling an HVAC technician is not necessary no more. In fact, everything is set-up and scheduled automatically. Besides, automated tune-ups for cooling and heating equipment cannot be enough. A list of regular cleaning appointments and maintenances can eventually lower utility bills as much as 40%. It can also maximize energy consumption by about 50%.
There are various Black Friday deals during this season all over the place. HVAC contractors must determine the trending HVAC deals. One of the main objectives to implement during Black Friday is to ensure that their offers fit and answer the clients’ needs, both existing and new ones.
Key Takeaways
Black Friday 2020 is going to be a little different this year. However, the changes should never hinder your company from being extra creative and standing out in the market. You better start planning now for the upcoming Black Friday deals and market them creatively. You can also choose not to wait for this season to get in here. You can go ahead and offer discounts and various deals as early as possible and beat “Black Friday overload” to remain ahead of the game!
