Your HVAC technicians are the foundation of your service company, interacting with customers as they solve HVAC system problems. To retain quality service techs and set them up for success, HVAC company owners must first solve some of their biggest pain points.
HVAC techs not only need to correctly troubleshoot and repair cooling and heating systems, but they need to follow your company’s procedures, accurately document service calls, and assure complete customer satisfaction.
Equip your techs with the tools they need to work more efficiently and increase their average ticket—and your company’s profitability. Remove some of the biggest pain points in the field service business by using ServiceTitan HVAC software.
The cloud-based, end-to-end software for the trades makes it easier for HVAC business owners to improve team and customer communication, increase operational efficiency, reduce data entry, gain visibility with real-time reporting, and give customers a flawless customer experience from start to finish.
Empower your team with field service management software and HVAC technician training to eliminate these HVAC technician pain points, so they can maximize each job and advance your company’s quality reputation.
1. Optimize Scheduling to Avoid Tech Burnout
It’s all too common in the HVAC industry: a lot of work but not enough techs. If you overbook your HVAC techs in an effort to cope with your labor shortage, it leads to tech burnout. Your techs may rush through a job to get everything done, overlook important details or provide an unsatisfactory customer experience. When they’ve had enough, they may even decide to leave your HVAC business and work elsewhere.
Instead, schedule intelligently with ServiceTitan service scheduling software, allowing techs adequate time to complete each job. HVAC companies can let techs see their schedule for the entire day, or require them to finish the current job before viewing the next one.
Since HVAC dispatchers see where each tech is in the service cycle, they can easily adjust schedules in the event of an emergency service call. Scheduling software also enables your company to prepare ahead of time for complex and time-consuming jobs, so you can ensure techs with a specific skill set are available for the job.
2. Supply Complete Job Information
For a tech, there’s not much worse than arriving at the job site uninformed and unprepared. A lack of team communication also reflects poorly on your HVAC company, because it hints at unprofessionalism, disorganization, and negligence.
Fully inform your techs with ServiceTitan’s field service app for Android and iOS, giving techs complete job information at their fingertips. CSR notes tell the tech why the customer called about their air conditioner, so they can get right to work when they arrive. Techs can also see beforehand if the job needs special tools or a gate code to enter the property.
Through customer profiles and job histories, techs know whether the customer is a new customer or a longtime customer, and can see previous estimates and photos connected with past jobs. This enables them to better understand the customer and offer superior service.
Keep customers in the loop with customer experience software, so they stay informed and happy every step of the way.
3. Increase Sales with Tiered Options
Don’t just tell techs to increase their ticket size—train them with a more effective process so they can show customers good-better-and-best proposals for every new HVAC install or repair.
Whether the tech gets too busy with the job at hand or feels downright awkward suggesting multiple options to customers, ServiceTitan’s digital pricebook and mobile estimate templates make it easier to show customers the value of a higher-priced solution. Plus, customizable markup and labor rates mean every option remains profitable for your company.
“We don’t leave customers in the dark,” says Nikolai Matveev, owner of Cardinal Plumbing, Heating & Air in Virginia. “We want to make sure we’re taking advantage of every call we go to, and that it’s benefiting the customer.”
Detailed descriptions with high-quality photos and videos help the technician educate the customer, which creates better understanding and trust, and ultimately helps techs close larger jobs.
In ServiceTitan’s mobile app, techs can simply tap their mobile tablet for a customer-facing presentation, then hand it over to the homeowner to review and select from the options. This technique avoids a high-pressured sales pitch and takes the pressure off the tech, because customers can view and choose for themselves.
After choosing their preferred option, the customer can digitally sign on the spot, increasing conversion rates. Because ServiceTitan’s field service management solution uses cloud-based technology, all of the data saves and updates instantly, so paperwork won’t get lost before it reaches the office.
Additionally, ServiceTitan’s integrated pricebooks and inventory management features allow you to instantly verify material pricing and availability with HVAC equipment distributors, which is crucial to creating an accurate estimate.
4. Offer Financing for Affordable Upgrades
No homeowner wants to hear they need to replace their HVAC system. When it’s time for an upgrade, make it easier on the customer (and increase your tech’s ticket size) by offering affordable options.
With ServiceTitan Mobile's integrated customer financing, a tech's tablet automatically displays financing options to customers.
“By giving them the option to choose, you’re just opening the door for the customer to feel like they're in control of the sale,” says Carly Armstrong, National Account Manager at ServiceTitan. “They have the option to choose what makes most sense for them without having an intimidating conversation.”
ServiceTitan's partnerships with top service providers GreenSky, Service Finance, Turns, and Financeit streamline the process and eliminate challenges of offering financing in the field.
Technicians at F.H. Furr Plumbing, Heating, Air Conditioning and Electrical in Northern Virginia now routinely offer integrated financing in sales presentations. Darius Lyvers, Chief Operating Officer at the company, says he sees percentages in the high teens and low 20s for financed jobs from his service department.
“But the tickets are astronomical, almost three to four times now,” Lyvers says. “We’re getting $4,000, $5,000, $6,000 jobs through our service departments.”
HVAC companies customize their own financing plans, so all financing solutions remain profitable, making it a win-win-win for the customer, your tech, and your company.
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5. Streamline Communication in the Field
ServiceTitan’s dispatch software enables your entire team to remain on the same page, without tying up office phone lines.
Job information, including work orders, estimates, invoices, and check or credit card payments captured in the field sync automatically from the tech’s tablet to the office.
Georgios Gounaris, operations executive at Cyprus Air in Alexandria, Va., says ServiceTitan’s dispatching software significantly improves communication between his office staff and the field, since all of the information remains available through a tech’s mobile device.
“Right now with ServiceTitan, we have the audit trail, so we know who created the job, who moved the job, who dispatched the job, and who closed the job,” Gounaris says. “We didn't have all of that with the old systems.”
Dispatchers can communicate to techs important job updates or changes instantly through text. HVAC software enables dispatchers to view the tech’s job cycle in real time, so they can reassign jobs or reroute technicians in the event of a sudden traffic delay. Streamlined communication keeps your team efficient and on schedule, so you get the most out of every day.
6. Enhance Service With Digital Forms
Even experienced HVAC techs can forget to document information or miss a step in your company’s procedures before leaving a job.
Make techs’ jobs easier by using ServiceTitan’s customizable digital forms, which you can trigger based on the job type, such as an HVAC install, maintenance inspection, or warranty call. Or you can require a tech to complete a departure checklist form before the tech closes out a job.
Establishing form procedures sets your techs up for success and gives your customers a consistent experience. Plus, it ensures techs collect important information, such as HVAC equipment age, model and serial numbers.
Using ServiceTitan’s customizable forms, Michael Solomon, President of Anthem Mechanical in Palm Desert, Calif., says his organization reduced call-backs by 50%, while increasing revenue by 20%.
“We have a team of about 12 technicians, three installers, and three apprentice helpers, and we were having trouble getting all of our techs to collect the same information on every job,” Solomon says. “By using ServiceTitan forms and requiring forms to be completed on jobs, we've gotten all our techs to collect the same information on each job, which has reduced go-backs with incomplete information and ordering wrong parts.”
7. Simplify Service Agreements and Contracts
Membership agreements, preventative maintenance contracts, and loyalty programs work to build your customer base and generate more revenue.
To better manage your membership agreements, use ServiceTitan’s service agreement software. It allows you to quickly convert a one-time visit into regular contracts and bring in more revenue.
Relational customers—ones who purchase memberships—are worth more to your bottom line, says Jaime DiDomenico, President of Cool Today, based in Sarasota, Fla.
“Ask your techs if they know the difference between transactional and relational customers,” DiDomenico says. “If they’re not sure, ask them if it’s tougher to sell a first-time customer or somebody who knows you and trusts you.”
Techs can set up new membership agreements from a template in the field, with just a few clicks. Once customers sign an HVAC service agreement form on the mobile device, technicians can easily apply discounts, schedule regular maintenance appointments, collect payment or submit invoicing, and leave important notes for future reference.
Customize agreements for each customer, so if they opt for additional maintenance tasks for HVAC or refrigeration equipment, you can include the extra charges. Contract management becomes easier with ServiceTitan’s automated payment and scheduling options.
When it comes time to renew, you can show customers the value of their contract with a performance summary, so they can see how much they’ve saved and why they should renew their service agreement.
8. Reward Techs for Exceeding Goals
Show your techs you appreciate their hard work by rewarding them for meeting (and exceeding) goals.
With ServiceTitan’s field reporting software, you can track real-time generated revenue and memberships sold for each tech, among many other customizable key metrics. Payroll software enables you to tailor commission and bonuses so top-performing employees get rewarded, and stay motivated.
Not only does performance pay benefit your techs, it also benefits your company.
“The first year we did it, we doubled revenue without increasing the team,” Lyvers says of F.H. Furr’s transition to HVAC service performance-based pay. “It was absolutely amazing how much potential we had in that room that we couldn’t uncover by simply being on an hourly pay cycle.”
When your company pays competitive HVAC technician pay and recognizes techs who go above and beyond, it shows you value your techs and their contributions to the team.
ServiceTitan: The All-In-One HVAC Software
ServiceTitan’s comprehensive HVAC software does the hard work for you, so you can focus on growing your company. Our cloud-based solution for the trades means you can run your entire company from one place, including:
Customer portal for easy online booking.
Digital sales presentations with multiple pricing options.
On-site estimating, payment processing, and job costing.
Service agreements, contracts, and inventory management.
Marketing automation for email and direct mail campaigns.
QuickBooks integration, including QuickBooks Online, and other accounting software.
Accurate reporting for real-time insights.
Regular software updates, feature additions, and functionality improvements.
Looking to heat up your HVAC company’s growth? Schedule a personalized demo today.
ServiceTitan HVAC Software
ServiceTitan is a comprehensive HVAC business software solution built specifically to help service companies streamline their operations, boost revenue, and achieve growth. Our award-winning, cloud-based platform is trusted by more than 100,000+ contractors across the country.
