Next Level Pros

#154: 3 Secrets to Growing Your HVAC Business by 300% // Next Level Pros // Chris Lee

13 min
Jul 8, 20259 months ago
Listen to Episode
Summary

Chris Lee shares three strategies to 3x HVAC and trades business revenue: separating sales from technical roles, limiting customer options to reduce confusion, and never leaving quotes with customers. These principles, developed through his experience scaling a solar business to $233M in five years, are now being applied successfully across the trades industry.

Insights
  • Technicians and salespeople have fundamentally different skill sets and personality types; combining these roles destroys scaling potential and revenue growth
  • Customer decision-making is hindered by too many options; professional recommendation of a single solution increases close rates and margins significantly
  • Eliminating 'maybes' by forcing yes/no decisions prevents wasted follow-up time and improves sales efficiency; quotes should only go to committed buyers
  • Customers buy solutions to problems, not product specifications; salespeople need basic product knowledge but primarily must identify pain and build trust
  • The Louis Vuitton model (limited options, professional guidance, premium experience) outperforms the Marshalls model (endless options, customer confusion) in trades
Trends
Specialization and role separation becoming critical for scaling home service and trades businesses beyond $10M revenueSales process professionalization in traditionally technical industries (HVAC, plumbing) driving significant revenue multipliersPersonality-based hiring (DISC assessment) being applied to optimize sales vs. technical team compositionPremium positioning through limited options and professional recommendation replacing discount/comparison-based sales modelsElimination of quote-leaving practices to reduce shopping behavior and increase commitment rates among customersCross-industry knowledge transfer from solar to HVAC/trades revealing scalable business model principlesCustomer experience elevation through reduced decision complexity and increased professional guidance in home servicesTrust-building focus on character and competence as primary closing mechanisms rather than product features
Topics
Sales process separation from technical service deliveryDISC personality assessment for team role optimizationSales specialization and role definition in tradesCustomer decision psychology and option paralysisClosing techniques and yes/no decision frameworksQuote management and customer commitment strategiesPremium positioning vs. discount retail modelsProduct knowledge requirements for sales rolesTrust-building in home service salesRevenue scaling strategies for trades businessesHVAC business growth and expansionComfort advisor sales rolesHome system replacement and installation salesCustomer pain identification and solution sellingFollow-up and objection handling elimination
Companies
Next Level Pros
Community and training platform for trades and home service businesses applying Chris Lee's scaling strategies
Louis Vuitton
Referenced as premium sales model example with limited options, professional guidance, and high margins
Marshalls
Contrasted as retail model with excessive options causing customer confusion and anxiety
People
Chris Lee
Shares three revenue-scaling strategies from 20+ years in home service and solar industries
Quotes
"Customers do not buy products. They buy solutions."
Chris Lee~8:30
"A confused buyer does not buy. The more options that you give them, the more confusion there is going to be."
Chris Lee~15:45
"We do not leave a quote, so quotes are never left. If the customer decides and they sign the paperwork and they finance, then they get the quote."
Chris Lee~18:00
"A no is still a decision and a maybe, no matter how you convince yourself like, oh, they're moving forward, this one really isn't a maybe."
Chris Lee~20:15
"This alone will have the power to double your revenue."
Chris Lee~12:00
Full Transcript
If I were stuck at under $10 million a year in the HVAC or trades industry, these three things I would be applying immediately to 3x my revenue. I learned these three strategies with over 20 years of experience in the home service and solar space. These same strategies we have taken and applied in the HVAC and trades and we have seen massive results. These are the exact same strategies that I use to build my solar business from zero to 233 million a year in under five years. And yes, they apply in the trades. Let's dive in. So first of all, I just want to address the elephant in the room. I know you guys are thinking, oh, you're a solar guy. This stuff doesn't apply in the HVAC world or the plumbing. Look, I get it. There's all kinds of doubters and haters out there. But again, at Next Level Pros, we have built this community in the trades and home service space and people are applying these exact principles that I'm about to cover with you and are seeing massive results. So what I want you to do is just set aside your ego, set aside your preconceived notions, your limiting beliefs that are holding you back from going in and applying these strategies and be open to what I'm about to share with you because it's going to be a game changer. So when we're talking about three different things that are going to 3x your revenue, this is what we are talking about. One, sales process that is completely separate. And I know you guys have probably seen a little bit of this going on. You have the comfort advisors. Maybe you're running in a van where somebody goes out and they give a quote and different things. But this is absolutely vital if you want to be able to scale. And the reason for it is somebody that is a technician that goes into a home and they are fixing something, they're using tools, they're following the process. Typically, they have a completely different skill set than somebody that is really good at identifying pain, solving a problem and getting a decision. That is a sales person. Too often in our industry, in the trade space, we tried training one person to be the jack of all trades to be able to do both. And this is the biggest no-no that is absolutely destroying your business. Yes, your technician is they can do small up-sales, small suggestions of being able to go and upgrade their service or do a little bit of, you know, sub-thousand-dollar product. But when we're talking about home switchouts, new installations, those type of things, do not, I repeat, do not train your technicians to go and do this work. You need to have a completely different sales process and sales people that are going to be doing this. And so when we look at what we call the disk assessment, this helps identify different personalities. There are the dominant, the influence, the steadiness and the conscientious. Those that are technicians that are really good at working with their hands, typically they dominate this lower level. The steadiness, conscientious, they kind of know what's going on. They don't like to necessarily interact with people. They're going to be here. But the sales people, they're going to be up here in this quadrant, the dominant and the influence. And because of that, we need to really take advantage of that characteristic trait and teach those people how to go and sell. This is the same exact process that we use in the solar industry. Yes, of course, in the solar industry, I could send technicians to go and try to sell the neighbor to be able to go and put solar on their home. But the reality is, is when I separate the two and specialize, help these people specialize in product knowledge and everything else, they're going to be able to dominate. And now I know there's questions like, well, these type of people that have the dominant influence type or that salesmanship, they just don't know enough about the product. They never got their hands dirty. They haven't been in the field. They don't know exactly how these systems work. Let me just tell you this one thing right here and right now. Customers do not buy products. They buy solutions. When somebody calls you up to replace their HVAC system, they aren't saying, I need a two ton, a five ton, this, that, or the other, like the exact specifications of their actual system. They say, my air conditioning is not working and I need it to be cold in my house. That is the solution that they are buying. The same for a salesperson. A salesperson just needs to identify the issue, identify the pain that the customers is experiencing and provide a solution. Yes, they need to have basic product knowledge, but they are not there to be able to provide all different types of options, know everything of how everything works. They are there to help a customer make a decision. And ultimately, that is really the duty of a closer is to go and identify pain, present a solution and get a decision. And that is what you are paying these guys to go and do. And if they don't know the information, yeah, maybe they don't have enough product knowledge, you have management, you have technicians that they can call and be able to go and answer those questions. So step number one, separate your technician and your sales process completely. This alone will have the power to double your revenue. Hey guys, it's Chris. Hey, a lot of you leave comments asking for help. Do me a real quick favor. Shoot me a text at 509-374-7554. That's 509-374-7554. Shoot me a text. I'll answer and help you with whatever you need. Don't worry, I got you back. Let's go back to the show, baby. Step number two, limit options. Now, there are a lot of gurus or 1990 playbooks that are going to absolutely try to destroy me here. They're going to say, look, when you go to a customer, you always give them three options, the low, middle, high, and hopefully they pick the middle and talk about the product, talk about the different manufacturers, the different options that they can do, the high efficiency, the low efficiency, all these different things. Let me just tell you, customers, again, they want a solution. They want minimal options. The more options that you have, the more confused a customer is going to be. They're like, wow, I actually need to do more research. There is more that I need to know about this product in order to make a decision on what I need in my home for the next 10 or 15 years. The more that you can limit these options, when you can come in as the professional, once you've separated your salespeople, you're going to train your salespeople to be professionals that when they walk in and they show an option, they probably identify the pain and they say, this is the two-ton system that you need. They're able to give it and actually make a recommendation. I want you to think about something really quick. When I talk to business owners, we talk about the Louis Vuitton approach versus the Marshalls approach. I don't know if any of you guys have ever been to Marshalls, but you walk into Marshalls and the options are endless. Literally, it's kind of fun. You go in, it's like hunting for Easter eggs, but literally, if I go in there, I don't know what I'm looking for and I'm just shopping. Literally, every turn on the rack is a different shirt, a different size. It's like the options are crazy. I typically leave Marshalls with anxiety. I'm like, oh my gosh, what did I do in that place versus a Louis Vuitton approach, which always is going to get you the highest margins. Ultimately, what we teach inside our community is we want to be on that upper end so that we can improve the experience, improve the product offering, improve everything for the customer. The only way that we're going to do that is we have to limit the options and we have to give recommendations. You walk into Louis Vuitton, you're going to meet directly with somebody that is going to help manage that experience in the way that they're going to do that. They're going to ask you to take a seat. They're going to ask you about your sizes. They're going to bring you a glass of water or a bottle of water, and then they're going to go and they're going to bring a few things and they're going to make a recommendation of, look, I know what you're trying to accomplish. They've identified your pain, your wants, your desires, your dreams. Here's the option. This is the best option for you. When you do this in your sales process and you limit those options, all of a sudden, this revenue up here, that is going to go up because again, a confused buyer does not buy. The more options that you give them, the more confusion there is going to be. The fact of the reality is most customers, when we talk about a graph of intelligence or amount of information that is needed, each of this representing the amount of information that a customer needs, most customers in the age back in trades, they're down here. They don't need a lot of information. They just need a solution and that you are confident and can back that solution. They're looking for trust in two things. One, trust in your character, everything that you showed them actually adds up. You talk about a number, a price, all those things add up. You're going to get trust in character. Two, trust inability. Does this person know what they're talking about? If you can meet those two metrics, chances are they are ready to move forward, make a decision by today and not put it off for tomorrow. Last but not least, in order to 3x that revenue, this is the fun one. Hey guys, it's Chris. If you're finding value in what you're hearing, go ahead and like and subscribe. That way people just like you can find this content for free here on YouTube. Now let's dive back in the show. We do not send quotes. Send quotes, heck no. We're not just talking. You're probably like, oh yeah, we don't send quotes. We actually go to the home and we show it to them. What happens when the customer says, hey look, I need to think about this? Are you leaving the quote there? Are you leaving it with the customer for them to prey on, think about, talk with their spouse or anything overnight? You're probably like, oh yeah, yeah I am. But Chris, I'm still closing 25 or 50% of these actual quotes the very next day. Okay, so this is the kicker. We do not leave a quote, so quotes are never left. If the customer decides and they sign the paperwork and they finance, then they get the quote. Otherwise, I'm not encouraging anybody to shop my product or service. This is for my buyer. I am not a retail store where people come in and they see all the details and whatnot. No, I am a professional trades company and quotes are never left. My quotes are for my buyers and so the way that you're going to do that is the first principle of closing, which is yes or no, no maybes. This is the hardest of all the principles to be able to adopt, but once you decide that you are going to train your people on this and it doesn't mean that I am a high pressure salesman, it just simply means that I help people make a decision. A no is still a decision and a maybe, no matter how you convince yourself like, oh, they're moving forward, this one really isn't a maybe. If they did not make a decision to move forward or not to move forward, it is a freaking maybe. Now, the biggest reason why most people aren't okay with or that they go for a maybe is because they are not okay with a no. So this is the magic, this is the sauce. In order to be able to eliminate maybes from your world, you got to be like, food, if a customer tells me no, I'm okay with it. Most of us, we just want to tell ourselves a lie, right? We know that it's leaning towards a no, but we kind of push to get it to a maybe, hey, will you just think about it? Will you just like, you know, ponder on it or whatnot, knowing full well that that's going to waste my time. They're not going to call me back, they're going to ghost my text messages, my follow-ups, my emails, everything else. So we have to eliminate the maybes. We've got to draw a line in the sand and help people get to one way or the other. As we do this, and I have so many other videos that train you exactly how to get a customer to a decision, and we're not going to go exactly into that. But once I can get customers to yes or no, this allows us to live the third thing, which quotes will never be left. And I promise you, you go and you do these things, you separate your sales, you help people specializing these things, limit options, do not give them three options, give them a recommendation, and never leave a quote. This will two to three X your business in 2025. Let's go.