Andrew Fuselier
Championships are built in the offseason. HVAC businesses are no different.
Why winter is the smartest time to strengthen your HVAC membership program for 2026 growth.
Only 40% of all HVAC calls result in work, according to a 2022 ServiceTitan report. With conversion rates so low, many small-to-medium-sized operators face a tough choice: either constantly invest in marketing and sales to secure new business, or focus on delivering exceptional work and building personal relationships.
Derek Cole, general manager at Simmons One Hour Heating & Air Conditioning, didn't want to choose between those options. He wanted growth without giving up his family's commitment to quality work and long-term relationships. Cole was also in the perfect position to find a better way because he was a highly trained secret agent. Almost.
Picking up conversion rates, the secret agent way
Cole didn't start life dreaming about running the family service business — he came from an analytical background. While working part-time on inventory systems during summers at his father's company, Simmons One Hour, he realized he actually enjoyed it and convinced his dad to hire him full-time.
It wasn't international espionage, but he got to make a real difference in people's lives. Because he wasn't a skilled technician like his family members, Cole leaned into his analytical training to find ways to turn a small family business into a thriving empire.
The secret, he realized, was to get them off the market and onto a club membership.
Preventive maintenance agreements (PMAs) and other service club memberships are a proven way to increase business without resorting to boiler-room phone tactics. They keep customers from going to Google when they need help and generate a predictable, recurring revenue stream that acts as a foundation for growth. They improve stickiness and add to the gold standard of income types: annual recurring revenue (ARR).
(Source: ServiceTitan, July 2025)
- 65% of contractors say repeat customers are the biggest drivers of business volume.
- 58% of contractors report that customer retention is their number one customer relationship management goal.
- 63% of contractors already have at least half of their customers secured through a PMA, and 75% report that these secured customers generate over 20% more value in pull-through work than non-PMA customers.
HVAC contractors are seeing conversion rates climb to over 50% when they integrate smart monitoring technology. Cole sat down with SmartAC to share his tips for turning calls into customers today and 10 years from now.
Tip 1: Help when it's time to help, sell when it's time to sell
No one wants to see an HVAC van in their driveway. It means something is broken, they're hot, angry, and they know they're about to get a large bill. And they're in no mood to be sold to.
Cole suggests checking in later — a week, a month, or even a year down the line — when customers are at their best, not their worst, making them more open to hearing about SmartAC's proactive monitoring. Timely follow-ups go a long way, especially since 93% of customers expect quick responses from service companies both before and after service.
A tailored approach to different customer bases is also important. In established communities where families put down roots, relationship-building through local sponsorships and word-of-mouth can create lasting connections. "We're really big on high school football team sponsorship, scoreboards, sports... those things play down here," Cole says.
Meanwhile, in areas with high military turnover, Cole adopts a faster and more direct digital approach. "That's more of a Facebook, radio, Google AdWords... kind of a deal," Cole shares.
So, let the techs do what they do best: focus on getting people comfortable as soon as possible. Then, reach out to customers at the right time — and through the right channel.
Tip 2: Be the Educator, Not the Closer
Customers don't want a hard sell. Based on Cole's experience, they simply need information that helps them arrive at the following conclusion on their own: a connected club membership offers peace of mind that they won't be left stranded at the worst possible time.
"Give them information. Give them education. Give them free stuff. It doesn't always have to be sell, sell, sell."
Cole has even gone door to door, not to pitch a service, but to pass out door hangers with QR codes linked to educational tips on how to lower energy bills.
That small but helpful gesture keeps Simmons at the top of mind when homeowners eventually need HVAC help. They remember Simmons as a company that wanted to help them, not just sell to them. By leading with education rather than sales pitches, Cole has found that customers are more likely to trust his team.
Tip 3: Get Your Staff on the Same Page
Sales is hard: you have to have thick skin and know what you're selling, who you're selling it to, and why they should want to buy it. The why is easy (see Tip 2), but the rest? That's where training comes in.
Tip 4: Talk Is Cheap; Seeing Is Believing
It's one thing to talk about adopting new technology, and it's another to make it part of your competitive advantage. Cole's approach isn't to wait and see what others do; it's to stay consistently on the cutting edge. His technology adoption philosophy is simple: test it, measure it, then commit fully.
The key is viewing technology as a competitive moat, not just a nice-to-have. When you consistently adopt tools that reduce friction and improve customer experience, you create distance between you and competitors who are still doing things the old way.
The Secret Weapon for Turning Calls Into Customers
Cole may have had a leg up on many service company owners with his spy training, but you don't need to be an undercover agent to get 50% conversion rates over the phone. You just need a good product that people want and know how to sell it.
Service club or other PMA memberships are increasingly becoming table stakes in the service industry — Google's ad rates keep going up, AI is making SEO harder than ever, and contractors who aren't in the game are fighting for a smaller and smaller piece of the pie.
So take Cole's advice: don't let your customers go to Google. Give them something they already want with clear benefits, like a smart monitoring PMA with SmartAC, and watch your conversion rates, stickiness, and ARR go through the roof.
Book a demo to see how easy it is to turn one-time service calls into lifetime customers with SmartAC.
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