Lead Generation 101
By Mike Moore, director of training, HVAC Learning Solutions
Lead generation is an underappreciated skill that's essential to your company's success. Start generating quality leads for sales and revenue growth with these seven tips:
Adopt the right mindset. The most successful companies have a culture that treats every lead as gold - a valuable resource to handle with care.
Empower your people. Make lead generation everyone's responsibility. For example, each of your Comfort Advisors can ask their customers for a referral at the conclusion of each job. By simply asking, your team can raise the number of leads generated without any extra marketing expense.
Make the most of installations. A new installation or system replacement is a big deal for the homeowner and a big opportunity for lead generation. Ask the homeowner if you can put up a yard sign so neighbors know whom they chose to handle their HVAC installation. You can also leave door hangers on the houses near the installation to share your company's contact details and current promotional offers.
Keep in touch. Develop a good system for following up with existing customers. Maintenance agreements are a great tool for contact. Take care of those loyal customers during regular HVAC system check-ups, and they'll be much more likely to buy from you when it's time to replace or upgrade their equipment. Service-call customers who aren't yet on a maintenance plan need to hear from you regularly, too, so your company comes to mind first when they need new equipment.
Build relationships with homeowners' associations. For example, you can offer to speak at HOA meetings on topics like winterizing your house or preparing for summer heat. Your company can also sponsor HOA community events, scholarship funds, or special projects. Sharing your company's expertise with the community builds authority, trust, and name recognition with potential customers.
Use online Lennox lead generation resources. Premier Dealers can search for their own company through the dealer locator on Lennox.com to make sure their site displays well, is easy to find, and offers visitors important information such as customer reviews. If your site needs a makeover to bring in more leads, the Lennox CAP Program can help you optimize your company site for mobile use and search-engine results.
Keep learning about leads. HVAC Learning Solutions offers a long list of online sales-training courses to help your whole team build lead-generation skills. These classes are free for Premier Dealers and an affordable, high-quality option for everyone else. You can also pick up more tips by following HVAC Learning Solutions on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Google+.