IAQ; How do you sell something when customers don’t know they need it?

Guest Blogger: Aaron Engel

IAQ – Your customers need it even though they may not know it. They certainly don’t know you have a solution for a problem they didn’t know they have.

Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) oftentimes is subjective, hard to quantify and easy to ignore. Much like those who live next to Niagara Falls. After a while they become accustomed to, and no longer feel and hear, the rumble and sound of the rushing water from the falls. Oddly enough, for some who leave this environment, they feel the silence is disconcerting. The same can be said about poor IAQ, after a while, homeowners become accustomed to the air quality issues in their home and no longer see, smell or feel it’s an issue…but it is. It causes all kinds of health-related illnesses and sleep related issues.

As an HVAC professional, it’s your job to make your customers aware of their indoor environment and how it can affect them, from temperature, to humidity, to Indoor Air Quality, you are the expert that can address issues your customers may not even know they have.

It starts with a conversation, and perhaps some detective work on your part.

You’re on a service call, look around, is there a family, are there children or seniors, are there pets, smokers or allergy sufferers? How do your customers sleep, do they wake up congested in the morning or do they suffer from headaches? Do they toss-and-turn, do they cook, are there odors or mold? These are all examples of questions you should be asking your customer to gain a better understanding of the issues they may be facing. Only once you understand your customer can you move forward in offering the right product or service to suit their needs.

Opportunity is everywhere.

Billions of dollars are spent each year on air-fresheners and sprays promoted to improve Indoor Air Quality, when in reality they just introduce more chemicals and VOCs (Volatile Organic Compounds) into the living area. Your customers want better air, but they often don’t understand how poor air quality can negatively affect their or their family’s well-being. And they probably don’t know that you, as an HVAC professional, have the solutions at your disposal to make a real difference in their lives.

Offer the solution because if you don’t…nobody will

Having that all important conversation with your customer and understanding their needs can allow you to offer products and services that they could truly benefit from. Perhaps the reason why your customer wakes up congested in the morning is a result of mold and microbial contaminants that reside in the evaporator coil and drain pan, which blow-off into the living area. Perhaps your customer assumes there really isn’t a solution for the cooking odors that linger hours after meal preparation. Perhaps that allergy sufferer didn’t know there was more to better air quality than a 1” filter she replaces once a month. And maybe they don’t just have to live with the smell of pets, or that something can be done without introducing perfumes or masking agents.

Don’t for a second lose the opportunity to add value to your service-call!  You have an opportunity to make additional revenue while offering your customer a solution to an issue that may not be obvious at the beginning of the call, but one that was so obvious after. Start the IAQ conversation today!

Aaron Engel is VP of Business Development at FreshAire UV, makers of the world’s best whole-house UV light and activated carbon air purifiers.  For more information on FreshAir UV’s products and how they help improve your customer’s health and comfort, along with your bottom line visit us at www.freshaireuv.com or email Aaron at aaron@freshaireuv.com.