Welcome to Close it now, an H Vac sales training podcast with Sam Wakefield.

Here we'll build your reputation in residential H Vac sales to be the expert influencer in your market.

You'll get insight into the top minds in the industry as they share their skills and hacks to help you on your journey.

This podcast isn't just about selling more.

It's about understanding your customers needs and building efficiencies behind the scenes so you can sell more but work less while being top of mind when people think H Vac.

Now let's get started with your host of the Close it now podcast.

This is Sam Wakefield.

All right, welcome back, welcome back, welcome back.

Like welcome back Cotter, right?

And for all of you young folks, you probably don't even know what that is.

But anyway, I'm aging myself a little bit.

So it is time for another episode of the Close it now sales training podcast.

I'm so excited you guys have no.

And ladies, gentlemen and ladies, all of you women H Vac out there, raise your hand because I know you are crushing it.

I absolutely would love to hear from some of you.

In fact, I would love to put together a podcast episode with 1, 2, 3 of you women out there who are killing it.

So if you are selling, you are a comfort consultant, comfort advisor, project manager, and you are a woman, please message me.

Or if you know anybody who knows one who's out there crushing it, selling over, you know, certified closer.

We want a woman who is above 50% close rate that is selling probably 2 million plus.

If you know that person who do you know in the industry that is a woman higher than 50% close rate, selling more than 2 million a year, please, please, please connect me or have them reach out to me.

I would love to put together an episode or two for women in H Vac.

That is absolutely something I want to do.

So I am here to support you.

Ladies and gentlemen.

Know that in no way am I against you in this industry.

You have the ability to literally make all of the men's numbers look stupid because of just being a woman in a very male driven industry.

Psychology says you should be on top on your numbers.

So I am all about helping you get there.

So message me, please reach out, please connect me.

I want to put together an episode or two to get some different perspective.

There's some questions I've been getting lately, especially surrounding some of the soft skills when it comes to sales.

And by soft skills, I'm talking about compassion, understanding all of those different things that listen is Guys, we just don't aren't as good at.

So some different perspective here would be helpful.

So please connect me.

But this episode is brought to you by none other than one of my person named Don.

We'll just say a person named Don who is I'm working with right now.

He is a rock star.

His request is to cover the topic of how do we explain modulating equipment.

How do we explain modulating equipment?

If he has this question, and I will tell you, his numbers are absurdly high.

I love it.

He's awesome and only getting better.

Just had the biggest month of his career this last month in 2023.

So he is.

He's killing it and he's asking, how do we explain modulating equipment?

So I know that means some of you have the same question, not only just how do we explain it?

And honestly, at the end of the day, it doesn't matter how you explain it.

What matters is how the homeowner understands what you're explaining.

It's not what we're explaining, it's how they understand it.

And really, they don't care how it works.

Because I'm here to tell you, there's not a single homeowner who woke up this morning and said, I'm going to buy an air conditioner today.

I'm going to buy a furnace today.

I'm going to buy an air scrubber today.

Not a single one.

What they woke up thinking is, man, I wish it would be more comfortable in my house.

Man, I wish the air didn't.

I wish I didn't have a sinus infection every month or two.

That's what they woke up thinking and that's what they are buying.

So this conversation is directly related to what I call the benefit lens.

We have to be able to show the homeowner.

And basically we pull out.

It's like having a big magnifying glass or like, you know, having a Monocle, right?

Like Mr. Peanut, he's got his monocle.

But having a lens that we literally just hold up to the homeowner.

So everything that they see is a benefit.

And we have to think in those terms.

We have.

And this is not about Chris with New Ski up in New Jersey.

This comment here is for you.

This is not about dumbing down our conversation.

So it sounds like baby talk to a homeowner, right?

I know you agree with me with that.

What you do not want to do is talk down to your homeowners.

You do not want to browbeat them with I am so much smarter than You.

And so I'm going to use dumb baby talk words to explain all of this equipment and these accessories.

So it's not about that.

I know there's a lot of training like that in the industry and I despise it.

It's gross.

There's a lot of processes and systems being trained right now, especially in the discovery section with questions that are designed to make the homeowner feel stupid.

And what is the whole point of that?

It's awful asking a homeowner a series of questions like, and they may know some of them, but asking them a series of questions like when was your home built?

Do you know how much insulation is in your attic and walls?

Do you know how old your heating and air system is?

Do you know what size it is?

All of those kind of questions.

I mean, I've literally seen questions on those questionnaires like do you know how many BTUs your furnace is?

Who flippin cares?

And to ask a homeowner that.

The only purpose of those kind of questions, I'm sure they were originally written with good intentions, but the only purpose of those kind of questions is literally to stroke your own ego.

And the concept originally was, well, maybe if the homeowner sees that I'm so much smarter about this, they'll buy from me because I'm the expert.

Throw that shit out.

That is horrible thinking.

Not the right thinking.

The thinking needs to be in your discovery section, we're asking questions about their pain points.

It doesn't matter about the other stuff because if you're any good, you're going to figure you're going to measure it, you're going to look at it, you're going to know that anyway, you don't need to ask them those kind of questions.

We need to ask them.

When some rooms are cool, are there others that are warmer than the rest?

When some rooms are hot or warm in the winter, are there some rooms that are colder than the rest?

Who in the home has asthma, allergies or respiratory issues?

Those are the questions we need to ask.

And remember, your discovery questions are conversation starters.

Every single question is a conversation starter.

Don't think of it as a question that just needs an answ to race through.

If you rush anything, do not rush the Discovery section.

Rush your another part.

Rush something where you're not talking to the homeowner, but don't rush it.

I mean, really, don't rush your appointments, but don't rush discovery.

It's crucial.

So getting back to the conversation here though, is how do we explain modulating equipment?

How do we explain variable speed equipment?

Well, the words that I never want to hear come out of your mouth when you're in the home with the homeowner is variable speed.

You do not say variable speed.

You don't talk about, well, this variable vrf, we've got a variable refrigerant flow.

Stop it.

Don't say those words in the house.

This is not about dumbing down everything into baby talk, but it is about not using industry words that a homeowner doesn't know and probably doesn't have any reason knowing.

Now listen to this very clearly.

The caveat being if a homeowner has done their research and, or their background is something like engineering or they are intelligent enough, if they take you there in the conversation, go there with them, do not be the one to lead them to that place.

But if they're leading you to that place, that is fine, have that conversation.

Now all of this has to.

We've got to manage it because this really goes into.

Actually, another one of my coaching clients, Jake, he was, he called me up recently and he was just back and forth with this homeowner.

The homeowner's got, well, the HSPF of this unit versus the one you're proposing.

And in the cold, because the other company had done this incredibly horrible job of explaining.

They literally pulled out the entire spec sheet for the unit and are going through and they're showing them how nothing else on the market compares to these two numbers here.

Homeowner has no idea what those numbers even mean in this situation.

And so he was getting so far into the weeds on the technicalities that he really forgotten what was important, which was talk to the homeowner about a.

The benefits of the system.

Talk to the homeowner about the value of the company, how long you've been around, how you're going to be there to support them.

Show them how your guarantees and warranties are head, because we saw the comparison.

Show them how your warranties and guarantees are head and shoulders above that other company's, doesn't hardly have any warranties and guarantees.

Show them how much longer you've been in business.

Show them how many more amazing reviews you have than the other company.

Ask that homeowner questions like, hey, have you ever, I mean, you know how you can hand the same alternator for the same car to three different mechanics and get three different results?

Yes, that's exactly what's happening here.

It's not about the equipment.

The most important day of your Heating and air system is the day it's installed because of the quality of installation.

So that's what it has to do with.

So stop comparing the technicalities.

Do not get lost in the weeds on the technicalities.

We've got to explain it in the terms of benefits.

Now, it's okay to talk about some technicalities if the homeowner takes you there, but if they don't, do not be the one to lead them down that road and get stuck in those weeds forever.

Because what does the confused mind say?

The confused mind says, no is not what we want.

So when we're going.

So to focus back into this specific topic of this episode, how do we explain modulating equipment?

Well, first of all, I want you to get rid of the word modulating even and use the word adaptive.

It's going to adapt to the environment.

It's adapting to a heating situation, to a cooling situation.

Whatever piece of equipment you're explaining, if it's a, if it's a heat pump, if it's an ac, it's not modulating, it's adapting.

The homeowner understands adapting way more than modulating.

They know what adaptive means.

It's going to just self adjust to adapt to the environment that we're trying to create in your home based on what the environment outside is like.

If there's a lot of heat outside, we're going to adapt to the inside.

So as we're explaining this equipment, it's less about the technicalities and using those words.

I mean, never should you say inverter driven unless you're talking to a freaking electrical engineer that knows what it is unless they bring it up.

Don't say those kind of things.

That's industry speak, what we need to communicate to the homeowner.

And it sounds like this in a story.

So what?

The way I've always explained it, and I'm going to give you my personal testimony when I put an adaptive cooling system in my own home.

You can say this.

If you don't have your own story say, my friend Sam experienced this.

And so here's how to explain it.

When you're talking about an adaptive cooling or adaptive heating system, especially cooling, and this is the big one, you're going to take them through the conversation of, well, Mr.

Homeowner, do you know the number one purpose of your air conditioner?

They're going to say to cool the house.

And this is the only time I ever say we're going to directly say a no to the homeowner.

We say no.

It's actually to dehumidify the house.

And by dehumidifying the house, that's how it feels.

Cool.

Does that make sense?

And they'll go, oh yeah, that way.

Because we all know.

And then we're asking the homeowner.

So like when your air conditioner is set up really high or it hadn't been running for a while, you know how it feels like a jungle in here, but then you turn it on and all of a sudden it dries out and it feels so much better.

They'll say, yeah, okay, great.

That's the number one purpose of your air conditioner.

Now what you have now is what's called single stage.

It's 100% or it's nothing.

Right.

It's full blast or it's off.

Right?

Right.

Nothing wrong with that.

It's what we've always had growing up.

But it's 120 year old technology.

It was invented in 1902.

And then, I mean, I always say things like, I don't even know why they still even sell it.

It's 120-year-old technology, but they do.

And so when you say something like that, you're going to have an entire segment of the population that's going to not pick a single stage piece of equipment strictly on the fact that it's 120 year old technology.

On that fact alone, they will self disqualify from buying that piece of equipment, which is great.

But so here's the story and here's how you're going to paint the picture to move into explaining what an adaptive system does.

So we're going to take the path of cooling because that's where so much of this happens.

But you, I hope you can envision how to convert this to heating.

If not, let me know and I'll make an episode and we'll go through this exact same thing with heating.

But so, Mr.

Homeowner, think of it like this.

Let me ask you a question.

Have you ever been laying in bed at night and all of a sudden in the middle of the night you wake up and it's gross and it's sticky and it's muggy and you, you know, the wife's elbowing you in the ribs and it's like, go check the thermostat and you throw, throw the covers off, you stumble to the thermostat and lo and behold, it's exactly where you have it set.

Now isn't that strange, right?

Have you ever experienced that?

And they'll say, yes, say Great.

So then what happens?

So the temperature didn't change, but what happened is it came on and it didn't have to run very long to get there because the sun's down, it's not beating on the house.

So what's it not doing?

It's not dehumidifying.

So the temperature stayed the same and the humidity went up.

Right, Right.

They have to clearly see this.

Then what do you do, Mr.

Homeowner?

Well, you probably bump the temperature down a couple degrees and that fixes the problem.

But then what?

Oh, we're too cold.

That's right, you're too cold.

So can you see how that's a problem?

And it's not like I said, it's not good or bad, it's just how this type of system will always operate.

Yes.

Okay, great.

So would you like to see how we've improved that technology over the years?

Yes.

Okay.

Awesome.

Well, about 50 years ago, the industry gave us what's called two states.

So we have a high gear and a low gear or off.

So as that sun's beating on the house, we know it's not always 103 degrees.

So that in fact most of the time it's not.

So the fan that moves the air through the house and that unit outside, it's going to slow down into lower gear so it can run longer to dehumidify longer.

It also uses a little bit less electricity along the way.

Does that make sense?

Yes.

Great.

But now Listen, that's still 50 year old technology.

I don't even know why they still sell it.

And you have a whole other segment of the population which will disqualify themselves from a two stage system because strictly on the fact that it's 50 year old technology.

So they will disqualify from that.

So they're doing it for you.

You don't even have to sell against it.

They'll do it.

They'll tell you, oh well, we don't want any of that.

So that's when you're like, okay, enter this century.

We have what is called an adaptive cooling system.

So remember when we talked about waking up in the middle of the night and the air is not moving and it feels like a jungle and it's just gross.

Well, this one will adapt to the environment.

As the sun moves across the sky, it's going to perfectly speed up to match that.

And as the sun goes down, it's going to slow down to hold the temperature and the humidity in the house perfectly steady and perfectly consistent.

So it just always Feels more comfortable.

Let me ask you this.

When you're driving on the highway and you've got cruise control on, do you use more or less gas than when you're driving in town?

That's right, you use a lot less.

And let me ask you this.

So you know, when you're a car that's strictly on the highway versus one that's in the town, stoplight to stoplight all the time, the parts probably last longer, right?

They don't wear out as fast.

Yeah, same thing here.

And quick, quick pop out for everybody.

If you're sitting with a, if you've never driven a Tesla or an electric car, you owe it to yourself to go drive one.

Because the way that it feels, if you don't know this, there are no gears, there is no transmission in an electric vehicle.

I don't care if you believe in electric cars or not, the whole movement, go drive one, get your butt down there and test drive one.

Because what happen is the gas, there is not a gas pedal, it's an accelerator.

And the car will go faster according to exactly where your foot is or slower according to how you let it off.

So the second that you're sitting with a homeowner who has an electric car, you will sell an adaptive system nine times out of 10.

Because all you have to say with this one is so you know how when you move from a gas powered vehicle to your electric vehicle and it got rid of the gears and all of a sudden it was so much smoother and it just does exactly what you want it to do, that's how this one operates.

Sold.

The adaptive system is sold.

So moving back, so when somebody has an electric vehicle, there's almost never a situation where they don't buy a modulating system strictly on that fact.

If you can connect the dots in their brain to something, an analogy or something that they tangibly use every single day and show them through that benefit lens how it's the same thing here, that's the one that they choose.

So back out of that.

We're in that situation where so it speeds up, it slows down to perfectly match the environment that's going on outside.

So it keeps what's going on inside here absolutely comfortable.

In fact, it's the most boring air conditioner you're ever going to have because you don't ever even have to hardly change the thermostat.

You don't even have to mess with it.

It's just always the right temperature.

In fact, you'll probably forget you even have A heating and air system, because it just always feels great.

Can you see the difference between what you have now and.

And this?

Yes.

Great.

Can you see how it's going to be incredibly more efficient?

It's going to use way less electricity and you're going to be way more comfortable?

Yes.

Can you see how it's going to handle the humidity better?

Yes.

Awesome.

So let me ask you this.

Price aside, everything we just went through, which one do you think is the best fit for your family?

And they're going to always say that the adaptive system.

Because you're not using modulating, we're not using the words variable speed.

We're adapting.

Now the other thing that does, it differentiates you because everybody else and their dog in town that ever gives them a quote has got variable speed or modulating written or printed on their brochures that they're giving them with all this technical spec.

And you're like, listen, we've got an adaptive system and here's what it does and here's how you're going to feel.

And the second we start explaining it like that, the homeowner's like, oh my gosh, that's the environment that I want to live in.

I don't want to experience this anymore.

Everybody else just said they tried to give me this, this goofy sine wave looking analogy and I didn't understand it.

I can understand what you're saying here.

And that's why my teams and everyone I Coach always sells.

50% or greater of their sales are always into modulating equipment.

Because it has to do with how you explain it.

If a homeowner understood it, they would already have it.

That's what we have to understand.

If they understood what our equipment did, they would already have it.

It's not about convincing them.

It's about clearly communicating in a way that they can understand and they can visualize what life is going to be like once we're done with the project.

That is how you start to communicate in a way that they're excited about it, they want to move forward.

They want to move forward now because they're tired.

I mean, you have that conversation and you're like, have y' all ever experienced that in the middle of the night?

And they're going to be looking at each other and the wife's going to be upset or somebody, their partner, they're like, yeah, all the time.

And then you ask them questions like, so if we could take care of that for you, would that help?

If you didn't have to experience that anymore, would that be a good thing?

And they'll say yes.

And then we show them exactly what it's going to take to do that.

Let me ask you this, do you think that they're going to be going back and say no, let's just go with the basic no.

They're going to self disqualify and say, you know what, you're right, that's the only one that solves the is the solution for the problems we said we had.

Let's go with that one, let's go with the adaptive one.

And so that is exactly how to have that conversation and to walk them through it.

Now if you coach with me, there's a drawing that accompanies this that makes it even clearer that I go through.

But I obviously can't do that over a podcast.

But message me, let's chat.

So that is how to explain a modulating system in a way that the homeowner gets it.

You've got to explain it through the benefit lens.

And once you do, they will start to understand it and they'll start to grab a hold of it and literally be able to.

They're going to move their own decisions into the highest levels of equipment and away from the 120 year old technology or the 50 year old technology.

So that way they can one live in the century, but also they can clearly understand the differences.

The only reason people are not buying higher end equipment from you right now is either because you're not offering it, you don't have financing, or you haven't explained it so they understand it.

If they understood it, they would already have it.

Make that your mantra.

Burn it into your brain.

If they understood this, they would already have it.

It's the same thing with every single piece of IAQ equipment, indoor air quality equipment.

It's the same thing with anything that you sell.

If a homeowner understood it, they would already have it.

I'm going to say this over and over because it's so powerful.

So that's the messaging from here.

So was there value in this episode?

If there was, I would love if you would go to Apple, the Apple podcasts and leave me a five star review.

That would help me out so much and I would appreciate it.

Also.

If you would like to know more about the coaching program, send me an email.

Sam closeitnow.net I do on sites where I come to your company and literally we're doubling numbers at companies in the week.

I'm there if you want to know about the one on one program.

I have an amazing one on one, but it's exclusive because I only have so many hours in the day.

So those spots are about gone right now.

So it does open up periodically.

So let me know if that's something you want to know more about.

We can get you on that waiting list and Otherwise, end of September 2023, 27th, 28th and 29th.

If you're hearing this before then, the Profit Rocket Growth Summit in Austin, Texas is going to be lit.

I'm one of the speakers on a sales panel.

There's so many heavy hitters that are going to be there and it's going to be awesome.

Get your ticket and get to that event if you are serious about up leveling your game.

All right, that's my episode today.

I hope this was valuable to you.

I know every single person that I get to share this with in person or through coaching.

Literally their numbers change immediately.

The very first person I ever coached, this was our first episode or our first session.

He had never three years of owning his own company, he had never sold above a single stage, single steer system.

I showed him this one thing.

He went out that day and sold a $19,000 modulating system that very day.

And he was like, holy shit, this stuff works now.

He does it all the time, of course, but that's the kind of change we see if you start explaining things like this.

So thank you for listening.

I'm so grateful for every single one of you and until next time my friends go out there, save the world one heat stroke at a time.

Thanks for listening.

To Close it now with Sam Wakefield.

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