Working in the world of heating, ventilation, and air conditioning, if you can find your market, there is certainly room to grow. After all, most modern homes have the utilities that you work with, so there’s never a lack of work to be done, and you can maintain the reputation and the quality of service needed to reach that point of scaling, you want to make sure that you do it right. As such, here we’re going to look at some of the ducks you might want to have in a row when you decide that it’s time to scale.
What does growth look like for you?
You have to have an idea of what your business is going to look like on the other side of your scaling effort. For that picture to be, in any way, accurate, you also need an idea of what, precisely, you’re going to do in order to scale. Are you looking at the future market size of the HVAC industry, and thinking that you could grow your share of the market, whether by expanding into new territories or offering your services to new customers within your existing area? Are you going to start offering new services that could see you becoming a viable option for more customers? Work out what you have to do in order to scale successfully before you start putting any energy into it.
Get the finances that you need
Once you have an idea of how, exactly, you’re going to grow, it’s then time to start planning out the logistics of making it happen. In almost every case, it’s going to require real monetary investment from you and, as such, you need to start with the financial planning now. With the tips below, get a good idea of what you will require to scale the business, how much it’s going to cost, and how, exactly, you’re going to acquire the funding that you need to make it happen. In most cases, some form of loan, whether it’s from the bank or a small business loan provider, is going to be the key.
Offer customer software solutions
There are a lot of software tools that we’re going to look at that can help you better scale how you handle things internally, but you should be thinking about your customers, as well. Offering them the tools and means to get in touch with the team, to quickly outline their issues, and to schedule an appointment can make the process of winning a sale a lot easier. You can, for instance, create a new website that has online scheduling functions built in, so that they can make work inquiries without necessarily having to get on the phone or work it out with another person.
Don’t forget to invest in your marketing
Whatever method you’re using to scale the business, the likelihood is that you’re going to have to bring in more customers, or at least bring in repeat customers, to manage the growth that you’re taking steps to fund. As such, you should look into ways to improve and expand your marketing to create a more robust approach to winning business. Working with an HVAC marketing company may lend you the expertise that you need to do things like focus on social media marketing, search engine optimization, online advertising, and more. Without a marketing plan, you need to have some idea of how you’re going to win the customers that you need to make your newly scaled business sustainable.
Leverage the reputation you have earned so far
If you believe that you are ready to scale, then it is likely, in part, due to the fact that you have ensured customer satisfaction with those you have worked with up until now. If you’re trying to bring in a lot of new blood, then you want to make sure that they can give you the benefit of the doubt, and leveraging your existing reputation can be great for just that reason. Making an effort to obtain more customer reviews, whether it’s directly on your own website or on an independent third-party site can help to do that. You don’t have to try and coach them, simply invite them to share their thoughts and the good work that you have done should speak for itself.
Start slimming down your expenses
The bigger your business becomes, the more you can be drained by extraneous expenses. You might have to allow for a little less wiggle room in your budget. Take a look at all of the expenses that your business has to deal with, and see if you can’t work out a way to decrease them. This can mean cutting unnecessary expenses, such as getting rid of software that you’re not using, but you can also streamline expenses that you do need. For instance, you may want to consider negotiating with your existing parts suppliers and other providers. If you’re going to be using their services a lot more regularly in the future, it may benefit them to start offering you a discount per purchase.
Grow your team
As your business expands, whether it’s in order to reach more customers than ever, or to expand your service offerings, you are very likely to find that you do not have the team that is necessary to take on all of that new responsibility. As such, it might be time to look at improving your hiring process or working with an agency that can help you find the skilled workers that you need. It’s worth noting that it might not just be the technicians that you need to hire, but you may need workers to improve the infrastructure that supports them, as well, such as management and admin workers.
Get the tools that you need
Depending on the nature of the work that you do, you might find that you have to expand not just your team, but the equipment and machinery that your team has to rely on as well. If you’ve been able to secure the funding necessary for it, then it may be more financially responsible in the long term to outright buy the equipment that you need. That said, you should identify the HVAC equipment leasing providers that are around you as well. You might find that your need for a particular new piece of equipment or machinery hasn’t been thoroughly demonstrated yet, and leasing it can help you at least have access to it while you decide whether or not to buy.
Develop tools to manage your team
If you are hiring more workers, as mentioned above, then you’re going to find that a bigger team comes with a bigger management and administrative burden, as well. As such, working with the tools that can make it easier to direct and assign them to certain tasks can do a lot of good. For instance, with HVAC dispatch software, you can much more quickly identify the teams that are best positioned for new jobs as they come in, whether it’s due to the fact that they’re closer or that they have the skills and equipment needed for that specific work. Decreasing the management burden on your team can ensure that you’re making the best use of your team: one of the most vital assets in your business.
Make it easier to manage customers
Aside from trying to win your customers over, you should make sure that you have the tools that allow you to better manage your relationship with your customers, as well. For the sales team, this can be done with tools such as customer relationship management software, that can help them better work on closing sales by keeping records on customer interactions. When it comes to billing, the kind of software that can help you manage dispatch may also come with features for offering customers quotes and sending them invoices that can make it a lot easier to keep the ball rolling, to get work started, and to help you get the money that you’re owed, as well.
Streamline how you work
We have outlined a few specific software solutions and functions that can help you better manage your workers and workload, but you have to consider that if you’re taking on all of these extra tools, some extra work will come with them as well. Look for ways to streamline this work, such as by automating what can be automated, using software that integrates with other software so that they are able to share data reliably, and finding ways to improve your efficiency. Standardizing the processes used for different tasks within the roles, for instance, can make it a lot easier to help onboard new employees into those roles, so that you don’t have to teach them from scratch with a new method each time.
As with any business, scaling your HVAC business is all about good timing. Don’t miss your opportunity to grow, know what you have to do to reach the next level, and be ready to commit to it.
