Bobby Ferrel is the Owner and General Manager of One Hour Heating & Air Conditioning in Durham, North Carolina. He has been a One Hour franchise owner and a BuyMax customer since July of 2017 and currently has three service technicians and seven installers.
The Durham One Hour location are pros when it comes to selling Indoor Air Quality, or IAQ, products. This became apparent when they won our 2022 Spring IAQ Contest facilitated by BuyMax for highest percentage of entries per technician.
When conversing with Bobby on what led to their success in IAQ sales, he stated that their location likes to keep it simple. They focus their efforts in two buckets, UV products and filtration products, such as the Quantum 254, Oxy-Quantum, PCO-Pro, O-Zone, media filters, and MicroPower Guards.
When talking with homeowners, they present the IAQ products in two ways. The first are products that collect particulates in the air and the second is products that kill particles you cannot see. They have seen success in framing the products this way with homeowners.
With our Fall IAQ Contest just starting, we wanted to hear how these products have helped this franchise business grow. To answer that, Bobby said, “The contest is awesome! It helps our business grow. When it was offered in the Spring, it was by far one of the best first quarters and into the second quarter that we’ve ever had.”
Bobby also stated, “We have always sold [IAQ products], but BuyMax has really helped along the way with putting the consignment program together. That really just catapulted our IAQ sales.”
Our contest is held for six weeks, from September 15th, 2022, until October 31st, 2022. We have prizes for the three individuals who have sold the most IAQ products and two additional prizes for the location with the most entries and the location with the highest number of entries by participating techs.
How Durham Sets Their Technicians Up for Success
Interested in ramping up your IAQ sales? We asked Frank Rivera with Durham how they do this. They see IAQ products as an upsell, so when technicians are in a customer’s home, they try to identify any air quality issues like do they have dogs? What does the house smell like? Do they have a moisture problem? Once techs can pinpoint a potential air quality problem, they can provide a tailored solution to the homeowner.
Durham’s technicians really drive the sale of the IAQ products to homeowners. According to Bobby, “Nothing drives good techs like some competition.” Here are some more tips that Durham incorporates into their selling strategy.
- In-House Trainings: Coordinate with BuyMax to do in-house training on a few IAQ products so your techs can become experts. Technicians are much more comfortable selling products to customers when they can fully articulate the benefits of the product and how it will help their air quality. Offer trainings on a consistent basis so your technicians are up to date on how products work and how to install them.
- Install the Product: Another great way to train your technicians is by having the product installed somewhere in your location. That way the techs can see how it is installed and will have a better idea on how to sell the product.
- Consignment Program: Work with BuyMax to start this type of program. This program will help you have the product you need in stock and on your trucks or in your warehouse.
- Product Samples: Arm your technicians with a small sample of our MicroPower Guard or other products so they can show the homeowner how it works.
- Collateral: Make sure you have collateral on your truck that you can leave with your homeowner on these products. This will be helpful with promoting future sales because a homeowner can refer to the sheet after you leave to read and understand the benefits on their own.
- Contests: Offer incentives or SPIFFs to your technicians in additional to the BuyMax IAQ Contest. If you change up the contest requirements every week or month, you give more of an opportunity for all techs to have a fair shot at winning.
For more information on IAQ products and how they can help your customers and business, visit our website.
