New government – same problem. How do we sell more white boxes?
Today, we will discuss new software options to boost any part of your HVAC business, such as heat pumps, boilers, AC, or service plan sales. Whatever your specialism, increasing SALES for new and existing customers is the only way you can afford to grow your HVAC business.
I recently attended an industry show in Birmingham and left excited by how many software companies are entering the market to help installers improve sales of low-temperature heating solutions. Just a few weeks before this show, we presented a short session on business systems at one of our Built to Last events. Here, we predicted that “sales software” would be their next big technology development in the HVAC industry.
In this session, I pointed out that only a few years ago, most small businesses didn’t have accounting software. Your accountant had the software, and you simply supplied an Excel doc and a bag full of receipts and hoped for the best. Technology moved on, and a couple of years later, not only would it be the norm that we had our own accounting software, but it also became the norm for trade businesses to have a CRM system to help manage their day-to-day jobs even though CRM systems have existed in other industries for many years previously.
I then continued to point out to the group that sales software has also existed in other industries for many years and will become more mainstream for the HVAC industry as our sales process becomes more technical. If your competition has access to new technology that makes their business more efficient and profitable, they will use it. So, if you don’t want to fall behind, you must integrate more software into your sales processes.
“Yes, but my Job Management CRM already allows me to quote!” I hear you say.
ServiceM8, Simpro, Commusoft & Powered Now, and most of the existing CRMs for the trade industries do allow you to send quotations to your customers. However, most popular CRMs built for trades focus on job management rather than multi-stage sales communication, which, when quoting on higher-value works, may look a little basic compared to the quotes received from more established companies who have invested time and money into the best system for the job.
When Boxt arrived on the scene many years ago, its online quoting tool turned the heating industry upside down. A couple of years later, TrueQuote software offered a similar online estimator for all heating engineers’ websites at a very affordable cost. Although TrueQuote is not a CRM, it is a great piece of tech on your website that helps customers understand your boiler installation costs without you needing to survey the property.
And then heat pumps came along. The same questions were asked, and the same worries that we couldn’t quote or provide an estimate for a heat pump installation online. It was too complex, too many variables and too risky. This was the case until some companies with a better understanding of heat pump installations invested time and money into developing software that allows for online heat pump estimates but also speeds up the survey stage via heat loss survey reports and system design.
The two companies that have caught my eye to provide specialist software for heat pump installers are Spruce Energy and Carno. Both of these companies are adding features to improve your sales above and beyond what your job management-based CRM will provide. Please note that both platforms will not replace your job management software. They will add specialist HVAC sales features to your sales process. You will still need job management!
So far, what I’ve seen from Spruce is similar to a “Boxed” quotation tool that asks the homeowner relevant questions to provide an estimate for a heat pump installation after the government grant. From there, you can book a heat loss survey, use the software to build a floor plan quickly, get accurate heat loss calculations, quickly create a system design and send through to your customer your own branded heat loss reports and a final quotation for the works required.
However, Spruce also seamlessly integrates with Payaca, a sales and job management CRM system for UK renewable energy installation companies. Payaca is also adaptable for the sales and job management of any other service you want, such as heating, AC, service plans, or safety certificates. Payaca with the Spruce energy integration is the best combination of software I have seen (so far) for heat pump estimates, heat loss surveys, sales communication and job management.
My initial excitement about being introduced to the Carno team came after I learned that it aims to be the first “whole home” platform for the HVAC and solar industries. The quick demo I witnessed looked like something from the future, so I’m excited to see how it integrates with other job management software.
Tom Lee-Zmuda
Hey buddy. My name is Tom, a former heating engineer turned marketing Jedi. My team and I specialise in helping local HVAC and Solar business owners dominate Google and sell their most profitable services. We are committed to building the best ROI through local SEO, kick-ass websites & sales communications that attract, sell and keep your best five-star customers.
Read All Posts
Share
Share
Share
Share
