To be a successful HVAC business in 2022, your company needs to have annual HVAC maintenance contracts. Period!
The competition in the field is surging, and getting new clients is becoming harder. It’s always better to have recurring payments pouring into your company so that it is financially stable. And that’s where HVAC maintenance contracts help!
What are HVAC maintenance contracts?
These HVAC contracts are drawn between the customer and the HVAC company, where both parties agree on different terms such as what all services and components are covered as part of the regular maintenance of their HVAC system. Services such as cleaning and tune-ups are usually covered. Few HVAC companies also offer additional benefits such as emergency or priority services and reduced rates for services as part of their annual maintenance contracts.
Now that you know what annual maintenance contracts are, let us understand how it contributes to the success of an HVAC company.
How HVAC annual maintenance contracts help grow your heating and air conditioning company?
Increases predictable revenue
As an HVAC service provider, you might already know that your revenue is highly seasonal. There will be periods when you would get a barrage of service calls, and then there will be times when your phone will stay silent. Annual maintenance contracts can help you sustain this lull; the contract will help you with a stable revenue stream and grow your customer base.
‍Pro tip: Use the lull time to train your technicians on how to upsell additional services and accessories to the customers while pitching the annual maintenance contract.
Improves customer satisfaction
When you get customers to sign up for the maintenance contract, you get a great opportunity to meet customers’ needs. Giving them the best service will improve their satisfaction.
Your technician team must be trained in social skills. They need to engage with the customer and listen to their concerns and questions during the maintenance. More face-to-face time with customers will build trust, and the customer will realize that your company cares for them.
In summary, maintenance contracts are the perfect tools to build customer loyalty, earn referrals, and identify sales opportunities.
Helps to avoid emergency repair requests
It is very difficult to instantly assign employees at the last moment when there is an emergency repair request. As an HVAC company, you would want to avoid this as it puts too much pressure on your employees, which can negatively affect customer satisfaction. Providing preventive maintenance or a well-thought-out maintenance plan would address all the minor issues and keep the HVAC system working in great condition. This, in turn, would help you avoid emergency repairs.
Greatly benefits the employees
The best part about annual maintenance contracts is that temporary employees get work even during slack times. In most HVAC companies, employees are paid on an hourly basis. Now, since maintenance can be scheduled at any time, including slack time, hourly employees get to earn some money by doing maintenance tasks instead of going home empty-handed.
Also, when your company has a continuous source of income, it will increase its profits. You can transfer these profits to the employees in the form of additional wages, which will help retain the employees for a longer period.
Important tips
The people inside your company must first understand the need and importance of the maintenance contract. If an employee doesn’t know what it means and why it is important, it will be difficult for them to sell the contract to the customers. Here are some values that an annual maintenance contract can offer to the customers (which should be conveyed by the employees to the customers) –
- When repairs happen in the heating and cooling system, it would be less expensive.
- Customers can get a good discount on spare parts. Maintenance contracts are one of the top cost-effective techniques for customers.
- Long service life for the equipment due to constant maintenance.
- System efficiency is ensured. This means lower energy bills.
- It eliminates emergency and costly repairs.
Conclusion
A study shows that a maintenance contract can account for over 50% of your company’s annual revenue. That’s a huge number to tap into; you will have a lot to lose if you don’t sell your annual maintenance contracts to the customers. These contracts will also help you maintain a strong bond with the customers, build trust, and earn more referrals through word-of-mouth marketing.
If you are an HVAC enthusiast who would love to know more about HVAC maintenance contracts, here are seven smart ways to manage your HVAC maintenance contracts.
