How can I sell more air conditioners? This is the question we often hear when an HVAC company comes online as a new marketing client for SwingPointMedia. The answer is very simple: Get more qualified leads of people who want or need to replace their current air conditioner.
Question #2
OK, so how do I get more qualified leads so I can sell more air conditioners?
I think the second question is a better one for two reasons. It has a very specific process, and it has a measurable outcome (selling more air conditioners).
As we work with the HVAC industry, we see a typical scenario:
The HVAC company has ads running (TV, Newspaper, Billboards, and a few online) all saying basically the same thing –
“Buy my product because We have the best price” or “You should buy from us because we have the most (trucks) (technicians) (years in service).”
These types of messages are consistently the go-to solution when looking to increase sales. This is true when wanting to sell more air conditioners, toilets, service programs, etc.
What’s Wrong With This Approach
There was a day where this type of marketing worked well enough. A new business, not just the HVAC business, but any business, could thrive. Today the story is much different. You understand this, which led you to this article to try and figure out how to sell more air conditioners.
Your old approach worked in the past because the public’s resources for information had limits. As consumers, we saw commercials on the evening news, in the paper, or on a billboard around town. In other words, you controlled the narrative. Potential consumers saw what you wanted them to see and acted on your message. Getting all the details was harder back then and required the shopper to reach out to your business.
The consumers’ sources of information have shifted into the hands of anyone with a smartphone, laptop, or electronic device. They can simply type a question into the Google search bar to receive any answer they need.
And do you think your potential customers are asking, “who has the largest fleet of trucks”, “who has the most technicians”, or “how many years you’ve been in business”? No, they aren’t.
The Questions Are Different
Your ideal customers, the ones wanting or needing a new air conditioner, are asking questions that solve their problems.
You may say, “What do you mean? That’s what our company and technicians do – they solve our customers’ problems.”
Because of the ability to type or chat problems and questions into their phones, your ideal customers are not asking things like how established your business is.
The questions they are asking Google have to do with solving their problems…providing answers to their buying questions.
Think about Purchasing Questions
If you wanted to buy, say, a new air conditioner, what type of questions would you search for?
“How do I determine the size of AC I need for my Home?”
“How much is a new air conditioner?”
“How can I pay for my air conditioner?”
Do you see the difference between your current advertising and the questions your buyers need solved before they can make a decision?
Usually, there’s a disconnect. Square Peg, Round Hole.
Now what?
The change I am about to share is as much of a mindset shift as it is an approach to running ads or creating content.
If you move your focus from what I call “chest beating” (I’m the biggest and the best so buy from me) mentality, to focusing on being a problem solver of the questions your ideal customers have, you will sell more air conditioners because you’ll have more qualified leads.
This is what we do with our clients. We shift their messaging from “buy me” to being a problem solver.
Why is this important?
There are many positive benefits to being the problem solver. The one that is most important is that it will help you sell more air conditioners.
You will become the authority in your community. Anytime someone asks a question about a product you sell; your company will give them the answer they are seeking.
Imagine salesman Uncle Harry, who always has a deal for us every time we see him…this makes us not want to go visit or be left alone with Uncle Harry. This feeling is what is happening in response to your current “I am the best” marketing messaging!
The way it works
Let’s go back to Google.
What is Google anyway? It’s a search engine. In layman terms it’s an answer machine. We put in questions, and it sends them into the virtual world, in blazing speed, and gives us back answers. Not just any answers, but the best potential answers.
From here, what do we do?
We select one or two of the answers, and this begins our path toward deciding. Now chances are, one search and one answer will not move a person from “I am thinking of buying a new Air Conditioner” to “where do I sign”. No, the content you create that answers their questions, becomes a step on their decision-making journey.
As they search online and Google delivers answers, guess what happens in this new world where the narrative is controlled by the consumer, if you have no solutions for Google to share?
You become less and less relevant…ouch!
In other words, if someone types in a question asking, “What’s the right Tonnage to Replace my AC?” and you don’t have a response, you simply don’t show up. To the potential customer, you don’t exist.
It’s Not All Dire
Just recently, updated from information shared by Forbes, the percentage of people who will do all their research before they call or walk into a business, went from 82% to 88%.
So, there are still 12% who will just buy without doing all their research…that’s the good news. The bad news is that they are typically price sensitive. They’re looking for the “best” or “lowest” price.
With only that customer base, your margins are lower. Can you survive on 12% of the leftovers?
And in the area where I live, there are over 500 licensed contractors…and they are feeding, I mean running their businesses, on leftovers of 12%!
Your Solution
I’m giving you the facts so you can make the shift. It’s necessary to share the reality of what occurs to those who say, “I am just gonna do it like I’ve always done it”, thinking they’ll get what they’ve always gotten. This isn’t true any longer. Their marketing audience to the old way is much smaller now.
So, the steps you should take almost immediately is to create content that solves your ideal customers’ problems. And to do it in a way that it isn’t about you, but truly solving problems.
If someone cut their finger and you’re the guy with the bandaid, they really don’t care about how great you are or the thread count on the little pad that goes over the bleeding area. No – they just want to stop the bleeding.
If you want an example, look back in this article at how many times I’ve shared how great and how wonderful SwingPointMedia is.
I am focusing on solving the problem…how to get you more qualified leads so you can sell more air conditioners.
You need to create content – problem solving content. Written or created in a way that places you as the guide, not the hero. You can look at the way we layout this article. We call it Content Marketing Architecture, which is designed to help Google find our content and our clients’ content easier, and to confirm it’s a solution-based piece of content.
In Conclusion
We, as business owners, must shift our mindsets and our focus to be customer oriented. Solving your ideal customers’ problems by answering their questions, without being salesy.
The content you create will be on your website so Google can find it and deliver your solution as the one that shows up in search.
If you’d like to learn more about how to create content that makes you the authority in your market, we have a FREE program to teach you how. If you’d like to stand out as the best solution, not just for air conditioners, but with all the services and products you offer, join our FREE Digital challenge. To learn more, click here to read all about it.
SwingPointMedia is a marketing company focused on using content marketing, such as written articles, video and podcasts, to attract their customers ideal audiences. This approach has proven to attract higher quality customers while simultaneously reducing the sales cycle by as much as 70%.
SwingPointMedia serves local businesses in Southern California and can be reached by calling 760-422-5176.
You are invited to also attend a free weekly presentation, providing you the tools and strategy to roll out your own content marketing program for your company, or see exactly what SwingPointMedia does for its clients to achieve success. It can be viewed live on SwingPointMedia’s YouTube channel, at 11 am pst.