HVAC sales follow-ups can drastically change your closing rate. By measuring with a sales lead tracking tool, you can see your progress and maintain a 100% follow-up ratio across the board.

Here are a few tips for keeping up on your follow-ups:

Follow up consistently

Your chances of closing the sale can increase by 50% — if you call every customer back. Don’t be a fool by judging the likelihood of a sale by the number of questions a customer asks or the amount of enthusiasm shown.

Be available

It’s a fine line between annoying and barely there. I recommend one week’s time to follow up with customers. They’ll have enough time to think through the decision, but won’t forget who you are.

Also, don’t pass your sale along to another representative (should your company be that large). You originated the sale, so finish it. Rapport with one point of contact goes a long way.

The Lennox^® dealer meetings should always leave you with inspiration to better your business. Wondering what’s in store for you at your region’s meeting this year?

I have a sneak peak for you, plus a few tips:

1. How to transform your sales process.

Is it organized? Does it grow? Do both parties (the business and the customer) benefit? These are great questions to ask yourself when your sales are broken or need a boost (and everyone needs a boost.)

2. How to sell solar.

SunSource^®, in its second year on the market, is going for another round of customer introduction. Learn all the benefits of the hottest solar product on the market and how to sell it.

3. How to incorporate market trends in 2012.

Your customers are online just like they were last year, but are you reaching them effectively? How to spruce up your communications and reach the truly savvy customer that holds the buying power.

What are you looking forward to at this year’s dealer meeting?

Rediscovering your business passion is key to knocking out detrimental “business-as-usual” behavior. And reverting to your original desire and purpose can spark a better future business.

Feel yourself missing the purpose? Fear not: Rediscovering your business passion is only three questions away:

1. What’s your business history?

Have you sat down to write about how your business started? (It’s a great marketing tool, too.) It may make you nostalgic and remember what brought you to this point in the first place.

2. Who are your mentors?

Your mentors are also a key to your passion. Not only do they give you an outside opinion, but they also know how you’ve gotten to the point you’re at professionally. These may also be ideal people to go into business with or bounce new ideas off of.

3. Does work feel like “work?”

This is the trigger point for most passionate business people. Is work starting to feel like an undesired daily task, or do you still enjoy it? If you used to enjoy work, what was it that made you feel purposeful?

Answering these simple questions will help you craft a vision of what used to be (or what was never there).

HVAC customers can get particularly irritable in the cold weather months, but let your business be the solution to the problem, not the burden.

Here’s how to prepare for the cold weather rush and always be a step ahead of the customer:

Hotel vouchers

Forge relationships with local hotels and when a customer is in a situation that can’t be fixed overnight, offer a night’s stay at a discounted price. Families will be especially appreciative of this.

True emergency service

Stay true to your word and actually perform 24-hour emergency service. Make it easier by having a ready dispatch and technician staff.

Follow up — every time

Every customer that calls for emergency service is a potential new sale and long-term customer. Customers will appreciate that your company cared enough to follow-up after the service, so ask about how everything is working and offer a maintenance agreement for choosing your company for emergencies.

An HVAC dispatching tool could help your business tremendously as you grow … or harm your customer service reputation forever. Knowing how to implement and personalize that experience for customers is the key to a successful HVAC dispatching tool.

So how do you manage calls? Here are a few suggestions on how to get started:

• Hire the right staff (and have a backup for the busy seasons): The most successful people in dispatching are highly organized, quick thinkers, and personable. They’ll be able to determine urgencies and get the right technicians to the right sites.
• Choose a tool that intuitively schedules the most efficient and flexible time possible: Obviously, you can’t be in the office all the time. This is when an automated system comes in handy. If you offer 24-hour emergency service, be sure to have a quick response system beyond your automatic dispatching tool. A human must always be in the front line of the problem; the automated tool is just a liaison.
• Sales lead tracking tool: To keep up with calls for the sales team, be sure to have a lead tracking tool to manage all points of contact.