Question Response

Written Business Plan for Home Performance

64% of Contractors Do Not Have Plan

Budget for Home Performance Division 64% of Contractors Do Not Have Plan

Basic Sales Plan for Home Performance 40% of Contractors Do Not Have Plan

Lead qualifying questions to convert services calls

70% of Contractors Do Not Have Plan

Do you need assistance in identifying other contractors or partners for HP

55% of Contractors Need Assistance

Assistance with Pricing and Quoting 50% of Contractors Need Assistance

System for Lead Generation from Past Customers

82% of Contractors Do Not Have Plan

Need for Additional Software Alternatives 73% of Contractors Want Alternatives

Systems Not In Place Rebate Processing, Customer Satisfaction, Job Costing

Strengthen Your Home Performance

Business By Creating a Sales Driven

Company

• All procedures, processes, and functions of the company are focused on sales

• Leads convert to audits• Audits convert to work• Work converts to company growth and

profitability• Put the right people in the right place!

Answering The Phone

Have you heard the saying “Marketing makes the phone ring, sales makes the cash register ring”?The way your company answers the phone is crucial to getting the sale!• Is the person polite and wearing a smile?• Do you let calls go to voicemail?• Is your staff informed of all your services?• Do they use a script when calling customers back and aware

of the importance of customer communication throughout the process?

• Do your phone staff know how to sell or at least ask questions about your service lines?

Skip The Science Speak

• Homeowners don’t understand all the home performance acronyms and terms..pascals, retrofit, CFM, CFL, LED, IR, etc., etc.

• In general, homeowners don’t trust us• Most homeowners are afraid we’re going to

pressure them and make them spend money they don’t have

• It is our job to change those reservations

Essential Auditor Skills

Remember the auditor is the first contact with your customer – they need to be on the same level!

• Does your auditor have clear communication skills?• The best auditor is NOT necessarily the best sales person. • Is your auditor a good listener?

Find out what is important to the client (i.e.. hot or cold rooms, moisture, ice dams, etc.)

• Does your auditor ask good questions? Do they ask about their kids or pets? How long have you lived here and how long are you planning on

staying? Does anyone in your home suffer from asthma or allergies? Have you recently remodeled or are you thinking of doing any

improvements?

Have a Training Program

Rate Field Sales Staff on Sales and Technical Capabilities

Don’t Assume Everyone is Good at Selling to the Homeowner

If conversions are less than 40% SOMETHING IS WRONG

Audits Convert to Work and Work Converts to Sales and Profits. Make sure you are GOOD at this Process.

Time Period Auditor No. of Audits

Converted to Signed

Contract

PercentConverted

Rating

1-1-2013 to 3-31-2013

Sam Infrared

60 12 20% 3

1-1-2013 to 3-31-2013

ColeCloser

55 25 45% 2

2-3-2013 to 3-31-2013

John Combust

15 8 53% 1

Independent Contractor As Auditor/Sales Person Example Only Not Adjusted by Region: BPI Full Audit One Man Team $150 BPI Full Audit Two Man Team $75 Incentive of $50 for Any Retrofit Sold Over $5K Incentive of $75 for Any Retrofit Sold Over $5K Flat Fee for Audit and Portion of Rebate for Retrofit

Employee Auditor/Sales Person $20,800 based on minimum sales goal of $40K/month (if

do not achieve salary adjusted for following month) 3% Commission on all jobs sold up to $60,000/month Or $150/retrofit job sold or signed contract

It All Starts With Lead Generation

• Referrals• Partnerships• Internal Marketing• Internet Marketing• Guerilla Marketing

• Corporate Marketing• Mining Past

Customers• Traditional Marketing• Targeted Marketing

Let’s Take A Closer Look At Each Of These

Referrals

Referrals are the least expensive form of lead generation:• Do you use customer satisfaction surveys?• Do you provide spiffs for homeowners for leads?• Do you use door hangers to target neighbors while on

a job site?• Do you do follow up calls after a job is complete?• Do you record or ask customers about work they may

want to do in the future?

Strategic Partnerships

Are you only willing to do traditional marketing or provide sweat equity by investing time in relationships?

Do you want to be a full service home performance contractor or add service lines as your business develops?

These partnerships are based on being able to generate qualified leads for both companies. For partnerships to work there has to be value and profitability in the relationship.

Partnerships are NOT meeting once and saying you will provide each other leads. It takes more work for it to be of value and profitable.

It takes TRUST and COMMITMENT FOR PARTNERSHIPS TO BE SUCESSFUL.

Partnerships can be fairly simple or more complex depending on the volume of lead generation and type of partner.

Identifying Partners

Volume!!! Always be looking to create partnerships that can support you with a steady volume of leads. DO NOT WASTE TIME in areas with low volume.

Focusing on large volume lead generation sources can be a “Game Changer”.

Look for partners who you can assist and who can assist you. Define what each of you have to offer as a package to the customer.

Who to focus on? Lets take a look

Who and Where to Focus

When thinking about “Strategic Partnerships” and who to focus on, remember the following:• Volume, is it there?• Does opportunity exist to provide an additional service line?• Is cross training possible with new partners to educate on

services? • Are rebates available?• Standardized pricing for contracting partners decreases

delays in homeowner proposals. Set pricing and evaluate periodically.

• Can you market through this partner?• Are the demographics of this partner suitable to my needs?

Partnership Opportunities

• HVAC contractor- partner to offer service lines and leads• Utility's- incentive programs Fed/State/local• Implementation Contractors- Using direct Install programs,

furnace tune-ups, or direct leads• Non-Home Performance Contractors- Who are the big

players in your area? (volume!). Can you help them get rebates? Can you do some of the work they do not want to do?

• Home Inspectors- Several states are requiring an energy audit as part of inspection process prior to sale.

• What Other Organizations Are In the Home: Lawn care, financial services, health care, etc. etc. etc.

First determine what you have to offer them!! How much potential volume of HVAC work can

you sell based on your existing home performance or air sealing and insulation business.

How much potential work can the HVAC contractor provide you!

Consider HVAC contractors who are also not currently doing home performance.

Are you going to try and use multiple HVAC partners. Pluses and Minuses

HP HVAC Contractor with Air Sealing and Insulation Capabilities: If you are doing volume and have competitive pricing they will be willing to do the HVAC only for your firm.

HVAC Contractor Not Providing HP: In exchange for providing them HVAC leads will they sell energy audit to their interested customers or just act as subcontractor.

Subcontractor Only Relationship: Should still develop standardized pricing.

Lead Only Relationship: Fee per Lead Relationship

Are you willing to call your own customers for your HVAC partner to generate leads for duct, furnace tune-up, maintenance, etc.

Is your HVAC partner willing to call their customer base for air sealing and insulation services?

Once you develop your relationship and trust in the partnership will they allow you to call on their HVAC customers for air sealing and insulation services (can even be at their facility)?

Are they willing to let you do joint sales call with their customers (new or service customers)?

If you are primarily an Air Sealing and Insulation firm you need to be able to SELL HVAC services for your partner or there is NO partnership!!!

Ask for training from your partner. They should want you to be successful.

See what training is available from distributors. Focus on how to sell HVAC NOT all the technical

training. You need basic skills to sell to homeowner NOT do the installation.

Are their units 10 years old or older? Do they have an 80% AFUE Furnace or less than a 15 SEER AC unit? Opportunity for energy savings.

Do they have any comfort or humidity problems? Are they starting to incur repair bills? Once repair bills start they will be

more frequent. On the hottest summer days or coldest winter days does their unit cycle on

and off or run all the time? (it should run all the time or unit may be oversized creating humidity problems or repair costs with things like an igniter)

Comfort issues may be corrected with newer model and variable speed fans improving air circulation.

Add up repair costs, rebates and energy savings over 2-3 years does it make sense for homeowner to invest especially if being offered 10 year parts and warranty?

Do not oversize furnace as may create additional humidity or other issues if you are tightening the house.

Where Do We Start?

• Its about getting yourself out there- Making calls, office visits, research, education and getting those relationships started. You will not, more than likely score such a partner with little work involved.

• Get in front of those decision makers -show the benefit to all party's involved. Establish that trust and workable model for success. What can we do for each other?

• Lead Generation IS Critical to your HP Plan

What Can We Do For Each Other?

• Provide/Develop Qualified Leads• Offer additional service lines• Multi-Touch marketing/Co-Branding • Relationship builder for future

endeavors• Name Recognition• Most importantly…Provide Solutions

Internal Marketing

Includes customer service, receptionist, auditors, etc.• Do you provide admin staff a phone script? They

need to know what questions to ask a homeowner• Are they asking clients if they are aware of the

utility rebates now being offered for air sealing and insulation?

• Are they informing clients of any specials you are promoting?

• Are they asking clients to take a brief survey?• How are your service technicians selling other HP

work? How are they being compensated?

Internet Marketing

Includes website, social media, SEO/SEM, etc.

• What is your message?• What do we do?• What do we aspire to become?• How are we going to get there?• How do we create demand for our services?

Guerilla Marketing

• Community Events• Fairs• Canvassing• Door Hangers• Yard Signs

Traditional Marketing

• Direct Mail• Print Advertising• Radio• Newspaper• Phone Book

• Advertising and radio can be expensive and must be done over several months to be effective

• Don’t do it if you can’t measure it• Start with low cost marketing first and get your processes

and tracking in place• Start with basic brochures, door hangers, etc.• Local printing agencies are much more cost effective

versus a marketing firm depending on your budget

Mining Past Customers

• How do you track your customer data?• Can you sort by attic, foundation or wall insulation,

air sealing, etc.?• If you were previously involved with the new home

market, are there opportunities with past customers?

• Do you use service calls to look for other opportunities?

• Don’t just record what your customers want today also record what they may want done in the future.

Targeted Marketing

Target Zip Codes With The Most Potential:

• Single Family/Owner Occupied Homes• Home that are 15 years or older• Median income of $70,000 or more• Pet Owners• Other?

Lead Source No. of LeadsFor XX Time Period

Leads Converted to Audit or Work

Leads Converted to Signed Contract

Percent of Leads Converted to Signed Contract

Existing Customer Calls

100 15 10 10%

Partner Joe 25 12 6 24%

Web-Site 10 4 2 20%

Living Social 10 8 6 60%

Utility Program 5 2 2 40%

Presentation 10 5 4 40%

Customer Referral

3 1 1 33%

Other 5 1 1 20%

In A Nut Shell

• Be diverse!! Don’t bank on the norm and go get em’!

• The one thing we all have in common…? The ability to generate work.

• How we do that? Motivation and continual education and communication with the world around you. It’s about staying connected and devoted to, what has gotten you this far…. Providing Solutions.

Start with your internal staff and what you already have in place. Create the scripts and make sure everyone knows how to look for work with existing customers or customers calling in.

You should be converting almost 50% of your audits (25% of check-ups) to retrofits. If not, evaluate your auditors and interaction with homeowners. INCREASE CONVERSION! May also try 2-man audit teams.

Look at your basic marketing materials. Bench mark against other organizations. Pick a couple of items to try or materials to upgrade.

Web-site and social media can be very effective. Upgrade site or try some cost effective social media like Living Social, Deal Chicken, etc.

Target a community and try to get the pipeline filled. Develop a list of partners and start meeting with them and

formalizing some options, go out on sales calls together, etc.