As we enter the busiest time of the year, it is important to remember that the heating sector is rife with business growth opportunities. Richard Harvey, Category Director for Heating at Wolseley, argues that it’s a good time for proactive installers to promote their skills.
When the heating season hits, it can be tempting to take a ‘heads down and plough through’ approach, with many installers experiencing a surge in workload. Of course, increased call outs are great for business, but there are some simple strategies that can help maximise this influx of work, both in the short and long term. From sales strategies at the point of specification, to ongoing marketing ideas, this time of year can hold untapped potential for proactive installers.
Selling skills
As a tradesman, you may not automatically consider yourself a sales person, but to grow your business and secure the livelihood of you and your team, selling needs to be a key skill. When it comes to selling in the plumbing and heating sector, knowledge is power and this can be showcased in a number of ways.
Conduct a full system assessment
Positioning yourself as an expert is an obvious sales strategy and one most installers do without realising, but do you insist on conducting a full system assessment before diagnosing the issue and specifying replacement components?
If a customer is paying a call out fee, they will almost always be happy to hear that you are going to investigate their entire heating system so that you can recommend a complete maintenance solution, rather than a quick fix.
Taking the time to do this means you can justifiably recommend further works that will deliver better heating, energy efficiency and lower monthly bills. They may not want, or be able to afford, the additional work on the spot, but furnishing them with a list of recommendations and costs along with your contact details could secure you the work in the near future, and most likely a customer for life.
Understanding the consumer mindset
By understanding the consumer mindset, you can tailor your sales pitch to suit them. For example, energy efficiency is important, but it is lowering household bills that will make a customer sit up and pay attention.
If you can talk about convenience, lower bills and whole-home comfort, rather than thermostats, CO2 and zonal TRVs, you’re more likely to upsell from a basic repair on an inefficient boiler to a total system overhaul.
In other words, cut the trade jargon. Talk about the issues they face on a daily basis, and how your solutions will solve it. An altogether softer approach to selling, this ‘customer pain’ approach to agreeing a sale can pave the way to discussing those all-important costs because you have already explained how it is going to benefit them in a clear and relatable way.
This technique is particularly effective during the heating season, when customers are most likely already thinking about other seasonal expenses like Christmas (for domestic customers) and lower turnover periods (for some commercial businesses).
Move with the trends
Smart controls are by far the biggest heating trend on the market and form an important part of the highly desirable ‘connected home’. To increase your profit margins this heating season, be ready to suggest smart controls over traditional thermostatic units and have a few key facts and figures up your sleeve to seal the deal. Trends and profit come hand-in-hand, so understanding the concept of smart heating and a connected home will pay dividends.
Marketing yourself
Gone are the days when a listing in the local directory was enough to generate plenty of work. Now, marketing yourself as a reputable installation business requires a multi-faceted on- and off-line approach designed to satisfy a more knowledgeable and digital-savvy purchaser.
Social media
An active social media presence has a number of key benefits for an installation business. It will improve how your website performs in search engines, allow you to showcase your work and expertise, provide a place for you to learn and share best practice with other installers and act as a platform for customer recommendation.
For inspiration, visit Twitter and search for ‘@PBplumber’ and ‘@PRHullLtd’, who are both strong examples of how social media can fuel growth for heating installers. They were also instrumental in creating ‘Gas Safe Superheroes’, which is a celebration of best practice.
The heating season is the ideal time to start a new social media feed, whether on Twitter or Facebook. With plenty to talk about and installations to photograph, you should be able to build a following quickly.
Winning awards
Entering industry awards, like the Plumber of the Year Award, is an ideal way to showcase your skill and set yourself apart from the competition. As a winner, or a runner up, you can include the accolade on your marketing materials as a clear demonstration of your reliability and professional service offering.
Search online, or ask your merchant for details of any relevant industry awards. Heating season often unearths complex projects, so be sure to document and photograph any work you are particularly proud of for use in future award entries.
Brand awareness
Branded vans are a great advertising tool and should be complemented with marketing materials like business cards and leaflets, which are professional, recognisable and engaging. Marketing research shows that hand-held marketing, like brochures, are still an important part of a purchasing decision despite the digital revolution.
New van graphics and marketing literature could be quicker to implement than you think, using a local design and print company. They will work with you to create something which accurately represents your service and company personality, making sure your contact details, Gas Safe registration details and logo are all clear to see.
Your merchant can offer a wealth of information on products, components and trends to help you maximise business opportunities throughout the heating season.
Thinking ahead
Once this heating season draws to a close, take the opportunity to look forward and consider ways in which you could fuel business growth this time next year. The quieter months are the ideal time to make bigger business improvements so that you are geared up to maximise your sales potential when the colder months set in.
Into training
Whether it’s smart controls or the latest combi technology, all the major manufacturers offer comprehensive training programmes to help you and your team upskill. Perhaps you could benefit from gaining additional qualifications too, either to improve your basic skillset or formalise what you have learnt on the tools over the years.
Customers are becoming more attuned to employing tradesmen that can prove their credentials with Gas Safe registration and relevant NVQ qualifications, so investing in official training could see a healthy return on investment for your business.
Take on an apprentice
Thanks to increased funding and better training frameworks, apprentices are starting to shunt the negative stereotype. Many heating and plumbing businesses consider young talent a key driver for their business, stating the lower rates of pay, a more tech-savvy mindset, and an extra pair of hands are just some of the reasons that taking on an apprentice is a profitable business decision.
