HVAC SAMPLE GUIDE

Business Goals and Priorities

In researching HVAC, I realized the heat pumps, high efficiency systems and IAQ solutions are becoming increasingly popular.  Is that what you are seeing?

I also noticed that due to inflation, more consumers are interested in repairing their systems over replacing them. Have you seen your maintenance memberships increase as a result of this? What is your conversion rate to memberships from service and  replacement calls?

How  much of your revenue comes from replacement versus repair? Which is more important to you? Do you warranty repairs or just replacements?

What are the top one or two business priorities you’re focused on right now?

Are you trying to grow total revenue, improve profitability, increase market share, enter a new category, support a specific location, or protect existing volume?

Where do you feel the most pressure today: lead volume, lead quality, conversion rate, average order value, repeat business, staffing, capacity, margin, or competitive visibility?

Are there specific products, services, locations, offers, or customer types that matter more than others right now?

Are there areas of the business you would prefer not to promote because of margin, staffing, inventory, or operational constraints?

• I recently read that the national average cost for a new HVAC system is      between $8,000 and $16,000. Is that in line with your average ticket? How      much is your average ticket?
• I  also saw that the national average net profit margin for an HVAC business      is between 6% and 18%. Where do you fall within that range?
• How  many jobs are you doing weekly now?
• With your current staff and trucks, how many could you be doing?
• Of  your current trucks, how many are operating at full capacity? Are you concerned about route density?

· I understand that women primarily initiate home service calls and are the primary decision maker when choosing a contractor. Is this what you’re seeing? What age range are they normally?

· Who is your best customer today?

· What do your most profitable customers have in common?

· Are there certain household types, life stages, income ranges, behaviors, interests, or purchase signals that usually indicate a better-fit customer?

· Are there customers who tend to be lower margin, harder to service, or less likely to convert?

· What does a high-intent customer typically do before they contact you?

· Are there signs that someone is researching but not ready to buy yet?

· Are there customer segments you believe your competitors are winning that you want to capture?

· Do you know where your best customers tend to come from geographically?

• Are recent or intending movers important to you?
• What role does the weather play in your business?

· If we could identify more households that look like your best customers, what would that be worth to your business?

· What geographic areas matter most to your business?

· Are there zip codes, neighborhoods, counties, or trade areas where you already perform well?

· Are there areas where you should be stronger but are not?

· Are there areas where you do not want more demand?

· Do you have locations, territories, service boundaries, delivery zones, or sales rep coverage that we should account for?

· Are there markets where your competitors are more visible than you?

· Do you know where your highest-value customers tend to live?

· Would a heat map of high-propensity households help your team make better decisions?

· Are there peak seasons, slow seasons, or specific sales windows we should plan around?

· Are there upcoming events, promotions, product launches, inventory pushes, hiring goals, deadlines, or budget cycles?

· When do customers typically start researching before they buy?

· Is there a gap between when people become aware of the need and when they actually convert?

· Are we trying to create demand now, capture existing demand, or stay in front of people until they are ready?

· Is there a short-term revenue target this campaign needs to support?

· Is there a longer-term brand or market share goal we should build toward?

· Who are your biggest competitors right now?

· Are they competing mostly on price, convenience, reputation, product, service, financing, speed, location, or brand awareness?

· Are there competitors you feel are outspending you or showing up more consistently?

· Are there competitors you believe are winning customers earlier in the decision process?

· What do you want customers to believe about you before they compare options?

· Are there misconceptions in the market that we need to correct?

· Are there proof points, testimonials, awards, reviews, guarantees, or differentiators we should make more visible?

· If a customer compares you to your top competitor, what should make them choose you?

· What is the strongest reason someone should choose you right now? Is that exclusive to your business or can your competitors say the same thing?

· Do you have a current offer, promotion, guarantee, financing option, exclusive product, event, or limited-time opportunity?

· What event causes someone to call you?

· Why does a customer buy now instead of later? What creates urgency for them?

· What do customers usually misunderstand about your business?

· What proof points make people trust you?

· Are reviews, testimonials, before-and-after examples, case studies, awards, or local reputation important to the decision?

· What tone usually works best with your customers: educational, urgent, emotional, practical, premium, value-driven, or community-focused?

· Are there messages you have tried that worked especially well?

· Are there messages that did not resonate?

· What happens after a lead comes in?

· Who handles the lead, and how quickly is it followed up on?

· What percentage of leads become appointments, quotes, consultations, store visits, applications, purchases, or closed sales?

· Where do prospects most often drop off?

· Are there common objections your team hears?

· Do customers usually need multiple touches before buying?

· How long is the typical decision cycle?

· Does your team prioritize leads differently based on source, urgency, geography, or customer value?

· Are there leads you wish you had more context on before your team followed up?

· What tools or channels are you using to follow up with existing customers?

· If we could help identify which households are more likely to buy, would that change how your team prioritizes follow-up?

· What is the lifetime value of a customer? How often do customers buy additional services?

· Which service creates the most repeat business? Which creates the most referrals?

· How effective is your retention strategy today?

· What channels are you currently investing in?

· Which channels do you feel are working best?

· Which ones are underperforming or harder to prove?

· Are you seeing enough lead volume today?

· How is lead quality compared to a year ago?

· Are conversion rates improving, declining, or staying flat?

· Do you know your approximate cost per lead, cost per appointment, cost per sale, or customer acquisition cost?

· Are you paying more for the same results than you used to?

· Is your search spend becoming more expensive?

· Are you seeing more branded search, direct traffic, organic traffic, or repeat visitors?

· Do your reports clearly tell you what to do next, or do they mostly show activity?

· What would make this campaign feel like a win 90 days from now?

· What would make it feel like a win 6–12 months from now?

· What metrics do you care about most?

· Which metrics does your leadership team care about most?

· Do you currently track leads, appointments, quote requests, store visits, calls, form fills, purchases, revenue, repeat customers, or lifetime value?

· Are you able to connect marketing activity to actual sales?

· Do you use a CRM, call tracking, Google Analytics, point-of-sale system, booking platform, or lead management tool?

· What reporting do you wish you had today but do not?

· Would it be valuable to know which households were reached, which visited your site, and which converted?

· Would household-level insights help with follow-up, sales prioritization, inventory planning, staffing, or market expansion?

· How often do you want to review performance and optimization recommendations?

· Do you have a defined budget range for this initiative?

· Is this budget incremental, replacing another channel, or part of an existing plan?

· What would make you comfortable increasing investment?

· Are there channels you would consider reducing if we could show a better path to performance?

· How do you evaluate whether a marketing investment is worth continuing?

· Who else is involved in the decision?

· What questions will they need answered?

· Are there internal hurdles we should account for: timing, approvals, legal, creative, operations, data access, or tracking setup?

· If the strategy makes sense, what would prevent you from moving forward?

· What does the ideal start date look like?

· Are we solving for more demand, better demand, or more efficient conversion of the demand you already have?

· Which customer segment is most valuable to your business, and are we currently over- or under-investing against them?

· Where do you think the biggest leak is today: awareness, consideration, conversion, follow-up, or measurement?

· Do your current reports tell you what happened, or do they tell you what to do next?

· Are you paying to capture demand that someone else created, or are you investing early enough to create preference before the customer searches?

· If we could identify the households showing intent before they raise their hand, how would your team use that information?

· Would your team rather optimize toward cheaper activity or more profitable customers?

· What business decision would you make differently if you had better visibility into household-level demand?

· If this campaign works perfectly, what should be different in your business six months from now?

· “What would make this investment valuable beyond media delivery?

· More leads from whom?

· More leads for which product, service, location, or offer?

· Are you short on total volume, or are too many leads not converting?

· What percentage of your current leads are actually worth following up on?

· If we brought you the same number of leads but they converted at a higher rate, would that be more valuable?

· Awareness with whom specifically?

· What do those people need to know about you that they do not know today?

· Are we trying to build familiarity, trust, urgency, preference, or education?

· How will we know awareness is improving?

· Would we expect to see more branded search, direct traffic, repeat site visits, or higher conversion rates over time?

· What tells you it is not working?

· Is the issue volume, quality, cost, sales follow-up, or confidence in the reporting?

· When did you first notice the decline?

· Did anything change in your market, pricing, competition, staffing, website, or follow-up process?

· Are there parts of the marketing that are working but not being measured well?

· What do you want those clicks to turn into?

· Are all website visitors equally valuable to you?

· Would you rather have cheaper traffic or higher-intent traffic?

· What happens after someone lands on the site?

· Would it be helpful to understand which households visited, returned, and converted?

· What role does each channel play in your current plan?

· Which channels create demand, and which mostly capture demand?

· Are you building preference before people search, or mainly competing once they are already shopping?

· Are your digital channels working together, or are they being evaluated separately?

· Do you feel like your current digital reporting gives you business insight or just campaign metrics?

After discovery, the seller should be able to summarize the client’s needs like this:

“Based on what you shared, it sounds like the real opportunity is not just driving more activity. It is driving better-qualified demand from the households most likely to become profitable customers, especially in the areas where you have the most growth potential.

The current pressure points seem to be:

1. Efficiency: You need your dollars to work harder because costs are rising and not every lead is equally valuable.

2. Customer quality: You want more of the right households, not just more names in the funnel.

3. Visibility: You need reporting that connects marketing activity to real business outcomes so you can make smarter decisions.

4. Preference: You need customers to know and trust you before they start comparing options or searching generically.

5. Activation: Once a high-intent household shows interest, you need a way to stay in front of them and move them closer to conversion.

That is exactly why I would not recommend a one-channel solution. I would recommend a strategy that anchors your brand locally, amplifies your message to the right households, and activates the highest-propensity shoppers once they show intent. The Nexstar Advantage business growth system will help you get closer to these objectives. When can we regroup to go over a custom strategic plan together?”