Zoning Sales Tip: Ask Questions

The worst question is that which goes unasked. This statement certainly applies to HVAC sales, especially when offering accessory products like HVAC zoning. However, when working with your homeowner, it is essential to ask questions about their needs, not the product. It is more effective to first look into their comfort issues and then match them with a product that best meets their needs.

To help develop the right questions, look for the following:

• Discomfort indicators: space heaters, blankets, fans
• Home design: cathedral ceilings, rooms with multiple windows, two-story floor plan additions to the original structure
• Family members: those who have different temperature preferences or needs, such as infants
• Changes in use patterns: children moving out and creating unoccupied spaces
• Thermostat: how many, where is it located, and where would the homeowner want additional thermostat control?

Homeowners may not be savvy regarding HVAC technology available on the market, but they know when there are areas in their home with significant temperature inconsistencies. An uncomfortable home with only one thermostat is unacceptable in a world where instant gratification and personalization rule. Even with all the informational resources today, many homeowners are unfamiliar with what a zoning system can do to alleviate their comfort challenges.

Here’s where you come in.

Don’t assume you know what a customer wants. After looking into their comfort indicators, ask the following questions to determine what they need:

• Do you have rooms that are too hot or too cold anytime during the year?
• Do you use space heaters?
• Do you use fans in the winter to circulate warm air upstairs?
• Do you use blankets in the summertime?
• Do you use window units for the second floor or bonus rooms?
• Do you have additions to the original floor plan that do not receive enough conditioning?

(Looking for a checklist to bring with you to the customer’s home? Download our comfort assessment sheet saved in the contractor portal!)

To create a successful proposal, you need to know your customer’s needs and base any solution around them. Most homeowners are unaware of what zoning is and how it might be able to address their comfort needs effectively. By having this investigative discussion with the questions mentioned above, you bring attention to your customer’s comfort challenges, making them much more receptive to purchasing a solution with zoning.

High-efficiency system upgrades can no longer command the consumer dollar as they have for the past several years. Today’s homeowners are not looking to spend money on high-efficiency equipment. Due to fewer tax incentives and more constricted budgets, homeowners are turning their attention from these solutions to HVAC system improvements.

With interest rates rising, more people are looking to stay in their homes longer and are investing in products that will increase the comfort and energy efficiency of what they already have installed. Many homeowners are still unaware that zoning exists and do not understand the benefits that come with the system. You have to be their comfort advocate and inform your customer of the advantages the simple addition of zoning might add to their current system. Imagine being the person that brings them a solution that doesn’t require expensive new equipment, a long and intrusive construction period, and that directly addresses their most significant comfort needs.

It is essential to work with your customer to develop a comfort plan that focuses on the issues that are most important to them.

Homeowners Need Zoning, But They Don’t Know it!

By asking simple, investigative questions, you can develop a clear picture of what comfort challenges a homeowner is battling and build the proper proposal that corrects these issues. You can often turn those unhappy homeowners into many happy, satisfied customers by offering zoning as a solution. Still, you will succeed no matter what by listening first and having the widest variety of available solutions.