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, that episode was almost a disaster.

So if you don't know, the way I record is I have my computer and my mixer and stuff in a different room than my actual little recording studio that I have.

And I stepped into the studio, about to blast right into the episode and realized that I forgot to hit record.

And so anyway, that's what happened this time.

But welcome to the Close it now podcast.

I've got a good one for you today.

I get questions a lot about how in the world do we sell ductless equipment?

Because so many people have a hard time communicating to the homeowner what it is and what it actually does.

So you know if.

Raise your hand if you've ever had that homeowner that just asked you.

Well, I thought it was just like a big window unit.

It's a glorified window unit.

Right?

Well, clearly that means that they didn't.

They don't know anything about it and or they think they can do it themselves.

So that is what this episode is going to be about today.

So I'm super excited about it.

But before we do, let's hop into a couple different sections.

First of all, it has been a minute since I did a what's in your cup today?

I'm going to start that off right now.

I actually for the first time am trying death wish coffee.

So if you have been curious about it and wanting to know what it's like, this is the dark roast that I am drinking today and I can confirm it is freaking delicious.

So death wish coffee, not only is it supposed to be, I don't know if this is actually true, they market it as the highest, basically I call it high octane, but the highest caffeine content on the market.

So it is definitely a lot of caffeine.

I can feel it in my bloodstream.

But the dark roast is freaking delicious.

So let's everybody collectively have a sip of our.

What's in our cup?

Coffee.

And then we'll hop into the mini split conversation.

3, 2, 1.

All right, death wish, caffeine in my veins.

Let's go get rolling today.

So the thing with mini splits and ductless systems, and obviously you all know what they are.

They're, you know, they're all, obviously all the different forms.

What we have to be able to communicate to the homeowner is not the technical stuff.

That's where so many people get lost when they're trying to describe or explain what a mini split is, what it does, the way to go about depends on what the homeowner's objection is.

But really, we have to first understand it in our minds.

You have to remember that if the homeowner already understood it, they would already have it.

That is, with all of our equipment, with all of our accessories, with everything we do, if they already understood it, they would already have it.

So going from that mindset, when we start talking about mini split equipment, first of all, in your mind, you need to think of it exactly like a complete heating and air conditioning system.

So the first myth of mini splits that I want to put to rest is how well do they heat in the winter.

If you don't have an active system, especially depending on the brand, it doesn't really matter.

They all have the extra heating ability.

Set one.

If you're in one of the winter climates that gets really cold for extended a period of time, do yourself a favor, install one somewhere that you can have that you can track it, that you can get the data to be able to show people.

Because the big concern and the big misconception is they don't heat in the winter very well at low temperatures.

Well, that's a complete myth at this point in time, they heat super amazing.

If you've never set one up, you gotta do it because that's your.

That clearly is.

You haven't done your due diligence.

You don't know about your own product.

So that equipment does heat really well.

And when you do set it up, wait for the super cold day.

Wait till it's freezing outside.

Freezing temperatures are below.

Get yourself in front of that unit, get and record this.

Get your phone or get a video camera and record measuring the temperature coming out of the unit, showing that it's almost 100 degrees blowing air, it's almost furnace temperature air.

Have somebody come in, just somebody that doesn't know anything about it, somebody that's not even with your company, a random person from the street, or just A customer of yours that you want to demonstrate it to, have them come and stand in front of it, record their reaction, make it fun.

Do this for social media.

Do this for a video that you're going to keep.

Record their reaction completely.

You know, like you've seen on the Internet all those blind listens or the blind taste tests, or we're opening this box blind.

We don't know what to expect.

Do that with this equipment and you will be amazed at the power of what this video will do.

So when it's incredibly cold outside, literally walk the people that are going to be watching this video.

Walk them through what's happening.

Start outside when it's just blistery cold, as cold as it gets in your market, start on that day, start outside the building when it's insanely cold, and start the video there.

Say, today we're going to show you how well this equipment will heat to put to rest any concerns or misconceptions about its ability to heat in cold weather.

So right now it's XYZ temperature out here.

You can see the snow falling, you know, describe whatever's going on.

So what we're going to do and just tell everybody in the video what we're going to do, I have this person here with me who's never experienced one of these before.

So we're going to give you a blind reaction to.

To what this system is going to do and then take a minute and stand right there while you're shivering and everybody's teeth are chattering and ask them, do you think it'll be able to heat in this temperature?

Get their answer.

It doesn't matter if they say yes.

If they say no, it doesn't matter because we know it's heating just fine.

Okay, great.

Let's walk in and let's see what it's done.

I've got this temperature gun here.

And show people on the video, you know, it's negative 10 degrees outside or whatever it is.

Then, okay, then walk through the journey of walking through the building.

Record this whole thing, right?

This is a story.

Stories sell, facts tell.

So walk people into the building, into the building and show them.

When we walk up to this thing, be recording these people's reaction.

Record the reaction.

Say, reach up there, Feel that?

Is that.

What kind of heat is that?

Is that hot?

Yeah, it's hot.

All right, let's see how hot it is.

And to put your temperature gun on the air coming out, show that it's, you know, 98 degrees or 110 degrees or whatever it is that it's blowing at that time, because it will do it.

If you didn't know these are, that is the equipment that's installed in most of the world and all through Canada as the only heat source for so much of the area.

So if you didn't know that, well, now you know.

They heat like crazy.

So show this video, demonstrate on video how this works and then just say, does this surprise you?

Is this amazing?

Do you think this could heat your house if it ran like this all the time, Would you have any problem staying warm in your house and ask those people that.

Then turn that video in yourself and say, okay, anyone who was concerned about the amount of heating this shows we will never have a problem and never need backup heat with this type of equipment.

Book your appointment today, right?

Then you can use that for social media.

Keep it on every single person who goes into a home.

If you're a service tech or you're a consultant, have it in.

Park that sucker on the website.

Park that in your social media.

That is fire.

That is intensely incredible.

To demonstrate how this equipment works, do the same thing on a nice cold or a nice hot day outside.

Find the day that's 105, the day that's setting records, and start outside at the equipment, literally.

Squat down in front of the unit.

Talk to your camera, to your phone at normal talking levels.

Because people ask all the time, well, how loud is it?

Right?

So talk at normal levels.

And you should be doing this with every single piece of equipment that you owe, that you offer, that you sell.

Create a new video, little 1, 2, 3 minute video.

Squat down in front of that condenser outside of that heat pump.

Show people how the fan spinning, how it's, you know, 100 years be sweating.

It's 105 degrees out here.

I'm talking normally.

You can't even hardly hear it behind me.

That's how quiet they are.

Let's cruise inside.

I'll show you how well it's cooling.

Take them inside.

It feels amazing.

It's dead silent.

It's just always the right temperature in this room.

And did you know?

And so this is another piece of info.

When you're selling mini splits, this is painting the Beautiful picture.

Say, Mr. Ms.

Homeowner, did you know the operation cost of one of these guys is about 25% of what the traditional equipment is?

Did you know when it's just maintaining, it uses about the same electricity as a ceiling fan?

A ceiling fan, there's almost no electricity needed to run these Things most of the time.

Did you know that?

No.

Great.

It's perfect.

So not only is it incredibly comfortable, it's incredibly efficient.

That is the difference, right?

So all of these we're creating, stories we're creating.

Can you see how this is different than the way that you would normally try to describe a mini split to a homeowner?

Right?

And it's like, well, it's this little thing that mounts on the wall.

Well, when you describe it like that, of course they're gonna think it's just a glorified window unit.

But when you start painting the picture properly, this is what it's gonna look like.

Here's the.

So outside we're gonna do the line set down here.

It's gonna have this beautiful cover on it.

It'll blend right into.

Even see it.

In fact, it's not even going to take up as much room outside because the way that this looks like.

Here's a picture of it.

Visualize this right here on the side of the wall.

Walk them through what it's going to look like.

Now, that is how we get.

That's how the conversation starts, right?

That's how to build your collateral to show people when those objections come up.

Be prepared.

We know what objections people have.

Create collateral to just show them immediately to put that to rest.

So you don't even have to deal with those objections when they do come up.

Now, how do we have the rest of the conversation when someone as a homeowner, when they think that it's a do it yourself project?

Walk them through this timeline, take them back, say, okay, yeah, remember when these first came out, Lowe's, Home Depot, some of those stores, they used to just have them right on the shelves.

Do it yourself.

Right at first.

Right, right.

Great.

That was only for about a year, and then they pulled them off the shelves.

Do you know why?

No, I don't.

Well, because these things are bulletproof when they're installed properly.

But if not, they're going to die within a year and they will not support the warranty because it wasn't installed properly.

And there is not a single homeowner who has the right equipment to install it properly.

Do you know the steps it takes to install it properly?

So especially if you're talking to that homeowner that's trying to decide if they want to do it their self, when they look it up online, they're like, well, it's only $1,200 for equipment.

Why are you charging me 8,000 or $9,000 for this?

Thing.

Okay, great.

Have you ever thought about the steps it takes to install it the right way to be able to support the warranties?

Well, no.

I mean, it shows right here.

You just plug it in.

Well, yes, but also there's fine print.

Do you mind if I walk you through what it actually takes to install one of these pieces of equipment?

Of course.

And that's the permission question.

Of course they're going to say, sure, yeah, go for it.

All right, perfect.

So you're going to.

It takes one to two guys a good portion of the day, so almost a full day.

So we've got that labor involved.

Homeowners normally take multiple days to do it because they don't know the steps and they're having to figure it out along the way.

So that would eat up an entire week.

What is the value of your time for an entire week?

Right.

But so it takes a good portion of the day.

And not only that, you have to have all the right equipment.

Mr.

Homeowner, do you know how to do a flare fitting?

Yes.

No.

Mr.

Homeowner, do you know what a nitrogen purge is?

Do you have the right equipment and setup with a nitrogen tank to do a nitrogen purge on the line set once it's hooked up?

Oh, you don't.

Okay, perfect.

We do.

Do you know what a vacuum pump is?

Do you have a vacuum pump to be able to pump the line set down when you get it hooked up?

Mr.

Homeowner, did you know manufacturer specs say we're supposed to pump these things down to 500 microns three times to evacuate all the humidity out of this line set?

Did you know that?

We do.

That's why we're factory trained.

Right, Right.

Perfect.

All of these steps take thousands of dollars worth equipment and countless hours of continuing education to make sure everyone is trained properly to do this right.

Now, once this is installed by us, you're going to have and really outline what your warranty is.

Give us the either 10 year or 12 year or whatever your warranty is.

It's the peace of mind.

You're not going to.

You can't write us a check for that amount of time because we're guaranteeing it for that long.

Right.

It's the.

Whatever your warranty is.

Talk to about it.

Say, here's the thing, if those steps aren't followed, the manufacturer will not support the warranty over a year.

It voids the warranty if those steps aren't followed due to manufacturer specifications.

And this is true, we're not fabricating this.

If you Read the fine print in your equipment.

This is truly what it says.

I know some distributors will let you get away with, you know, a little bit of leniency there, but that's truly the.

When I took the classes years ago, I've had the classes with Daikin, with Mitsubishi, every single one of them.

When you go through there, this is the way they describe it, right?

I mean, raise your hand.

We all know this is how it's supposed to be installed.

So the whole point is when a homeowner tries to give you the well, you know, I've been in the Mr.

Slim Facebook group and I could just do it myself.

Well, no you can't, Mr.

Homeowner, and here's why.

Would you like to hear what the steps are without all of this equipment and without knowing how to do this proper steps here, then you cannot and won't do it.

Right.

And it will void your warranty.

Can you see how that could be a big problem?

Of course.

And so we have to and just really walk them through ad nauseam.

I mean to when a homeowner is like really like, oh, I'm going to do it myself or they don't understand the price point we have to take them through step by step.

And this is one of the only times I recommend taking them down the rabbit trail of the gory technical details.

Because they have to understand this is not just a glorified window unit that just hang in the window and plug in.

We're not just hanging it and plugging it in.

Tell them stories about bad installs that you've come across.

And I 100% have this one.

Our own company did it.

We couldn't.

Ended up sending two or three different crews out.

We installed this system and it, for whatever reason, we could not get it to not leak in this wall.

It was, it was wild.

It was the craziest thing.

I think it was just a lemon from the factory.

But we ended up had to pay for an entire wall mold remediation because it kept leaking in this wall and grew.

So talk to the homeowner about those kinds of stories.

I've seen this type of equipment be installed and you not know there's a problem until the entire baseboard and sheetrock and insulation has to be ripped out and redone.

If you do that yourself, you're responsible.

We were the ones that did it.

So we came in, we paid for every bit of the renovation and that was on us.

Right?

And so you could talk about those kind of stories you could tell about show Pictures.

Have pictures.

There's a thousand units like this around you in your area that are horrible gross looking installs.

Or download some of the ones from the bad install groups online, right?

Show them horrible install pictures.

This is bad.

This is bad.

This is bad.

This is what it's not supposed to look like.

This is what it's not supposed to look like.

Then show them pictures of what your amazing installs look like.

It should look like this.

It should look like this.

Do you have the tools or the expertise and the ability to install this?

Here's how long it takes.

Here's all the equipment it takes.

Do you have the ability to do that yourself?

Or if you're not trying to just have the conversation against a diy, then it's like this is.

Can you see now why the price is what it is?

Because this is a complete heating and air conditioning system.

It's not just a glorified window unit.

It is comparable to the highest end heating and air equipment that we install.

Because that is what it is, is some of the highest end heating and air equipment that we do install.

Can you see why the price point is what it is?

So far they will say yes.

And now we've, you know, really it just has, it involves with having that conversation and then when we're talking a super cool nugget here, this is an analogy if you haven't been around the industry a long time.

When Mitsubishi first really launched into the United States, this was on their promotional, right on their website, right on their dyke in both they were really the two line leaders before a lot of the other companies, you know, really took off with their mini split equipment.

So I'm dating myself.

But at this point in 2023, I've been in the industry 18 years, so I've been around the block a little bit.

I've seen some things.

When those two brands really first launched into the United States, one of the.

And I don't know why they stopped doing this, but one of the best commercials I ever saw for started off with you don't have one light switch for, for every light in your entire house, do you?

Then why should you have one thermostat for every area of your house?

Wouldn't it make more sense to have the ability to turn each room on and off separately, just like we do your lights with your temperatures.

And I was like, oh my gosh, that is brilliant because it makes so much sense.

Especially when you start having the conversation with homeowners who are doing multi ports when they're Doing multi zones.

And the way that we describe this to get them excited about it is through questions.

And start asking those questions when this is a consideration like, okay, Mr. And Ms. Jones, do you guys like to sleep?

Find out who's in the house.

Do you all sleep at the same temperature as the other people in your house?

Do you think it makes sense if they like to sleep with it colder in the summer or not?

Does it make sense to have to bring the entire rest of the house down in temperature just to cool your space or to warm your space or especially when there's situations like the mother in law lives at the house too, those kind of things.

Oh my gosh, wouldn't it be great if you could keep Your Master Suite 1 temperature?

Their bedroom is a different temperature.

The bedroom upstairs or the playroom upstairs is a different temperature and all be different temperatures at the same time.

And it's not going to mess anything up in the house.

It's going to be perfect in every area.

Won't that be amazing when it's like that here, how my language pattern is.

Wouldn't it be great if we could do this?

That's exactly what this does.

Won't that be awesome when it's like that in your home and they say, yeah, that sounds amazing.

And Mr. Ms. Jones, the best part about it is it's going to be, you know, at least, you know, 30, 40, 50% of you know, savings in the cooling and heating portion of your, of your bills.

Right.

Because it runs so much cheaper to operate this type of equipment.

Right.

So we can really.

And then tell a story, tell a story, tell a story, tell a story, Example story, example story.

And the story.

Well, you remind me of our client Jane or Jose or Bob or whoever that had this experience.

And I did the same thing.

I'm thinking of one example.

I had a homeowners, they installed one of these in their son.

It was like their home office and sun room, pretty big area.

And I told them, I was like, listen, I challenge you to see if you can tell a difference on your electric bill.

Once we put this in and I went back a couple months later, they're like, you know what, I didn't believe you when you said that.

But we absolutely have not been able to tell a difference.

So take that story.

And then I told it over and over and over, hundreds of times in every single scenario when I was installing like a single unit in a, in a sunroom or same thing when I did one in a garage.

Challenge, you see if you can Tell a difference in your bill.

Sure enough, he couldn't.

Told that story over and over and over.

Same thing.

When we're, you know, doing a whole home conversion or building a new home.

That's a bunch of mini splits that, that's the whole house.

It's like, listen, let's track this.

I want to make and make homeowners feel special.

I would love to turn your home into a case study because I know how amazing your difference is going to be.

Would you work, Would you be willing to work with me?

Let's turn this into a case study so we can help other people see how amazing it actually will be in your home.

And when you start asking those questions like that, this is different than just, oh, well, you know, maybe we're going to hire you to do this job.

Like, listen, Mr. And Mrs. Jones, your project, I can already tell it's going to be so amazing.

I would love to use this as a case study to show other homeowners how magnificent this equipment works and more importantly, what your life is going to be like after and what you experience, how comfortable it is, how, how quiet it is and how cheap your bills are.

Would you be willing to work with me with that and let me document this process a little bit?

That way we can really show others and your home is gorgeous.

We can show other homeowners how amazing this truly is.

When you start having that conversation, do you think that price is going to turn into the biggest objection?

No, it's not.

I can tell you from experience, from doing hundreds and hundreds of these units and these systems all over the country, price is not an objection.

When you have that level of conversation and you take homeowners through it like this.

So that is the mini split conversation.

That's the ductless conversation.

Don't waste your time trying to go through the technical details with them.

Unless it's that 1 in 50 engineer that just needs to know, well, then give him collateral, let him research it on his own and then come back with questions.

Don't waste your time spinning that, you know, sitting there with them.

Yes, absolutely.

I mean, talk to them.

You know, I've spent through 2, 3, 4, 5 hours in homes with engineers over the years, but I can say that I've never lost an engineer.

I've closed every single one of them.

Because I listen and I hear, hear them.

And you know, they, they just want to, they want somebody to hear them because they have this ego that needs petted.

And once you do that and then you show them that you take Them just past their level of knowledge, then they're sold.

It's about the value, right?

So that's the mini split conversation.

I hope this was helpful because I know so many of you across the country, around the world.

This is a worldwide conversation, especially this episode.

You know, this podcast is listened to in over 25 countries and I know most of the other countries outside of the United States.

This is the conversation you have.

This is the equipment that we talk about.

So it's really about painting that picture and showing them what it's going to be like.

And once you do that, the rest just.

The rest just happens, right?

Your life is going to be so amazing.

Let's make this a case study so we can help other homeowners.

Man, people will be on board with it.

So that's the conversation today.

That's the podcast.

I hope this was valuable for you.

If you have gotten some value from this podcast ever, go to the Apple podcasts and also Spotify now has a place.

Please leave me a five star review.

That would be fantastic.

That will help me a lot.

Be on the lookout.

The YouTube channel will be starting soon.

As soon as it does, every single podcast is going to be on there.

Going to have the channel.

A lot of the interviews that I've recorded have been in video.

So in video form those are going to be on there as well.

So you actually get to see my smiling face along with the people that I've interviewed.

So watch out for the YouTube channel.

It is coming soon.

Lots of things are happening do on site visits where I come and train you in person.

We've got the only amazing group virtual.

It's a hybrid, it's part virtual, it's all virtual, but it's part group, part private, one on one training right now as well.

We're creating accountability.

We're creating a brotherhood of people who want to be laser beam focused to be that person in the home that closes it.

One sit, one shot, one kill.

I'm to the point now every single time I go out.

The companies I'm seeing were doubling close rates every single time I step on site.

But more importantly, what we do is it's not just sales tricks, it's a philosophy.

By changing mindset and changing philosophy, the results stay and the results stick.

So that's what we're taking into the virtual world is that energy and that accountability.

And also I'm doing something I don't know anybody else that's doing.

I'm going to be doing virtual ride alongs.

So when I'M on site location.

I'm going to be recording some of my visits in the home to demonstrate what the process should look like.

Also, the students with homeowners permission are going to be recording their appointments as well.

So what will that do for us?

What that's going to do is lock in the learning because we'll be able to dissect that within the virtual group, within class.

Here's what we did great.

Here's what we need to improve on and that's where the learning is going to happen.

And also the improvement in numbers is going to happen so dramatically fast, it's going to blow some minds.

So if you want to be involved in this brotherhood support training that I'm creating, message me, Sam.

Closeitnow.net or go to the Facebook group.

Find Close it now.

It's just searching groups on Facebook.

Close it now.

It will come right up.

Join the group.

Answer the questions and join the group.

I will let you in and we can continue this conversation.

The virtual class is going to be so lit.

I'm super stoked about it.

It starts this coming Tuesday from the day that I'm recording this, which means by the time you hear this, it's probably going to already be going on.

But we will have groups starting periodically because we're creating a just.

This industry needs to level up.

Anything that's been done the Same way for 50 years or more is ripe for revolution.

And that is what I'm doing.

I'm leading the charge in doing things differently, in innovating in our industry, because it is time to become better.

You can do better.

We're all going to do better together.

And it's time to plant that flag and say the Close it now sales training company is here.

We're innovating, we're doing things differently because we truly care for people.

We're not just out to make some vanity numbers.

We truly care for people.

And let's really change the face of the industry and get back our great reputation as an industry.

The industry's got some black eyes over the last probably 10, 20 years.

Let's rebuild the reputation of the H Vac industry as the most trusted trade on the planet.

So that is my mission and I want you along with me.

So reach out to me.

Samoseitnow.net we can figure out how I can get to your location and train your people in person.

We can figure out how we can work together online to get your people to the next level.

Or a combination of.

I have several different packages that I offer because I want to see you succeed.

So implement what we're talking about.

Success happens at the speed of implementation.

Drive time.

University in the house.

Sam Wakefield here.

Go save the world one heat stroke and one frostbite at a time.

Thanks for listening to Close it now with Sam Wakefield.

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