The HVAC Sales Strategy That Closes 60% of Replacements
Maintenance agreements, energy audits, and comfort advisors. How the best HVAC companies capture replacement revenue.
Ken Goodrich built Goettl Air Conditioning into a $200M+ company in one of America's most competitive HVAC markets: Phoenix. His edge was not better equipment or lower prices. It was a sales model that most HVAC companies consider heresy.
He eliminated commissions for his comfort advisors. Instead, he paid them a salary and trained them to recommend what the homeowner actually needed, not the most expensive system. Close rates on replacements climbed to 60%. Customer trust went through the roof. Referral rates doubled.
The lesson is counterintuitive but proven: the fastest way to sell more HVAC systems is to stop trying to sell HVAC systems. Diagnose honestly, present options clearly, and let the homeowner choose. The numbers take care of themselves.
Speed Kills the Competition
A homeowner's AC dies at 2pm on a Saturday in July. They call four companies. The first one to respond with a live human, not a voicemail, not an automated menu, books the job about 80% of the time.
Studies on HVAC lead response show that a five-minute response is five times more likely to convert than a 30-minute response. Not five times better than an hour. Five times better than thirty minutes. The window is impossibly small, and most HVAC companies miss it entirely.
An answering service costs $300-$500 per month. If it captures two additional emergency calls per week at a $400 average repair, that is $3,200 in monthly revenue. And those emergency customers become replacement customers 18-24 months later, when you have already built the relationship.
Priority one for any HVAC company serious about growth: never let a call go to voicemail during business hours. Ever.
Maintenance Agreements Are the Entire Game
The HVAC companies pulling in consistent seven-figure revenue all have one thing in common: 30-50% of their customer base is on maintenance plans.
A maintenance agreement at $150-$300 per year does three things. First, it generates predictable recurring revenue that fills shoulder seasons. Second, it puts your technician inside the home twice a year, where they can identify aging equipment and recommend replacements before the unit fails. Third, it creates loyalty; agreement customers replace their system with you, not the cheapest bidder on Google.
Here is the math that matters. A 15-year-old furnace on a maintenance plan gets flagged by your tech in October. The tech explains: "This unit has maybe one more winter in it. The heat exchanger is showing wear. I would not want you to be without heat on a January night." That honest conversation, delivered by someone the homeowner already trusts, closes the replacement at 60-70%, without a commission-driven sales pitch.
Offer maintenance plans to every single service customer. Every one. The ones who say yes become your most valuable asset: a captive audience that buys replacements at premium margins because they trust you.
The Free Energy Audit Close
Offer a free or $49 home energy audit. Walk through the house with a clipboard. Check insulation, windows, duct sealing, and the HVAC system's efficiency rating. Show the homeowner exactly where they are wasting money.
This is not a gimmick. It is a diagnostic tool that converts 60-70% of the time into real work. The audit reveals duct leaks costing $200-$400 per year in wasted energy. It finds a 12-SEER unit that could be replaced with an 18-SEER system for $200+ in annual savings. It identifies missing insulation in the attic.
The total project value from a single energy audit typically ranges from $3,000-$15,000. And the homeowner does not feel sold to. They feel educated. You showed them the problem with data and let them decide.
Promote energy audits heavily in spring and fall when homeowners are thinking about efficiency before peak seasons. Partner with local utility companies; many offer rebates for high-efficiency upgrades, and being the contractor who navigates the paperwork is a significant differentiator.
Separate the Comfort Advisor Role
Here is a structural change that increases close rates 40-60% on replacement sales: stop having your technician sell the replacement.
The tech diagnoses the problem. They explain it honestly. Then they say: "I am going to have our comfort advisor come out to walk you through your options. No charge, no obligation." A different person arrives, not in a tool belt, but with a tablet, financing options, and the ability to focus entirely on the homeowner's questions.
This works because the technician maintains their trusted advisor role. They never become the salesperson. The comfort advisor, meanwhile, is trained specifically for the replacement conversation: energy savings calculations, financing presentation, rebate navigation. They close at dramatically higher rates because that is their entire focus.
Ken Goodrich's Goettl uses this model. So does every HVAC company doing $10M+ in residential revenue. The upfront cost of a dedicated comfort advisor pays for itself within the first month.