HVAC Leads: How to Easily and Quickly Collect Them

How much are HVAC leads worth to you? If you’re in the HVAC business, it could mean a lot! If you’re having trouble collecting leads, this article’s for you.

Your HVAC business thrives on an ever-flowing influx of new prospective customer leads.

With the arrival of digital marketing, the lead generation effort has never been easier to master. What once was an exclusive insider club open only to elite marketing firms, is now an open landscape of tools, strategies, and platforms that even small HVAC operators can navigate.

It goes without saying that superb customer service and quality workmanship are essential components to any successful enterprise.

As the old saying goes, there’s more business behind you.

That being said, any smart HVAC operator is going to enthusiastically deploy any strategy that will increase the flow of new prospects into the top of their lead funnels.

There are several ways HVAC companies can find more HVAC leads. The two strategies that best work for the HVAC market are referral and acquisition.

Referral – The referral strategy is tailored toward maximizing your relationships with your current customers. If you have satisfied customers, tailor a referral program where they are rewarded for recommending a lead.

Word of mouth is highly leveraged in the service industry. It’s more a matter of “who do you know who will do a good job and not rip me off” as opposed to doing research yourself and finding the best ROI.

Another way to leverage your current HVAC customers would be to market to homes surrounding those who you will be visiting soon. Say you have two HVAC jobs lined up next week, one on Maple St. and one on Main St. Wouldn’t it be nice to send a direct mailer to the neighbors surrounding your upcoming service jobs? These neighbors will not only see your truck on their street, but also receive a direct mail piece saying you are in the area and would love to give a free inspection or discount on a certain service. You are already in the area – might as well get as many jobs in as possible to increase revenue and cut transportation costs.

Here’s a video on how a targeted neighborhood mailing can be accomplished.

Acquisition – The acquisition strategy is tailored to market to people who have never heard of you before. Certainly you would love to reap the rewards of sending quarterly mailings to everyone in your market, but how much would that cost? Certainly you would be throwing money away by mailing to people who:

• Have a newer home
• Don’t own their own home
• Just bought an HVAC system or have one on warranty
• Live in a development/community with HVAC service packages

Make sure to develop your list to only target people who have the resources to buy. Here’s more information on what a typical HVAC customer looks like.

These are just a few of the most pivotal and likely to result in immediate results from acquisition strategies:

1) A Compelling “Tripwire”

At the very top of your online lead funnel is a simple choice for your prospect…and there’s a mini-transaction that goes with that choice.

Will the prospect provide their contact information?

That’s the sale that’s being made at the top of the funnel. You’re paying your prospective customer for their information, but what kind of payment are you making?

The value provided on your end could just be excellent blog content, but you’re likely to enjoy better engagement if you offer something even more compelling such as a coupon.

Be sure to make it valuable enough that the prospective customer is easily able to determine that providing their contact information is worth it.

Perhaps $50 off their first HVAC service or $200 off the cost of a new system.

2) FAQ Articles on Your Blog

Frequently asked question sections have been determined to not only provide incredibly useful information to prospective customers shopping online, but they also tend to have an extremely positive effect on a website’s SEO.

Instead of simply having a page listing common questions and short answers, you might consider taking each question and answering it in a longer form blog entry.

These detailed answers to customer’s commonly asked questions will not only provide your prospects with value before the sale, but they will also lend your brand credibility which leads to trust.

3) Equipment Reviews

An HVAC investment, from the customer’s perspective, is comprised of two main categories of expense: the equipment and the labor.

Ultimately, your goal is to make sure that it’s you or your technicians providing the labor in your local market.

A great way to secure the trust and favor of new prospective HVAC customers is to show them your understanding of the various popular equipment. Be sure to vary your equipment reviews.

Include detailed positive reviews for the systems and equipment your company uses and also provide detailed negative reviews for equipment that your company doesn’t use but may be used by a competitor.

This is a smart way of attacking your competition’s quality without saying anything negative about them other than an honest appraisal of their equipment choice.

4) Local Search Reviews

When you provide an incredible experience for a customer and they’re beaming with joy and pride because their new system is better than they could have imagined, be sure to secure a local review of some sort.

Google, Yelp, and other local reviews are excellent social proof and also help your search engine rankings as well.

The old ground game that used to entail covering your local market in flyers, billboard ads, and radio spots is now a far more digital endeavor.

HVAC business owners that take advantage of the strategies detailed here will begin to see incredible results with HVAC leads before long.