Derek Cole, general manager of Simmons One Hour Heating & Air Conditioning™, knew the number one goal for any successful home service business wasn't scheduling a service call or selling a new heat pump, boiler, or filter package. Rather, it was to get homeowners into a club membership.

"The number one goal is to get them off the market. That is the goal. Get them on the club membership — smart club."

 - Derek Cole, General Manager

So when something breaks in the middle of August, irate customers are pulling up Google on their phones and calling the first number in their search results. That's a bad spot for a service business like Cole's to be in. 

Google rankings are a rabbit hole that can quickly eat up all of a back office's time and resources:

• The ranking signals are complex and change all the time, turning tracking Google into a full-time job.
• Ranking well requires frequent work on the website at best, and signals beyond any company's control at worst.
• Google is a zero-sum game: If someone goes up, someone else goes down. That makes ranking a non-stop merry-go-round that service companies can't get off of.
• Search and local ads can be simpler, but also much more expensive.
• Things get even more complicated now that consumers are turning to AI for answers.

The bottom line is that if Cole waited for customers to find Simmons when they needed service, he would be driving himself crazy trying to make his company discoverable.

SmartAC works by pairing proprietary internet-of-things (IoT) smart sensors with a branded app to create a genuine benefit for homeowners: an early detection system that helps prevent surprise breakdowns. 

That benefit is a real difference from most service club memberships. When homeowners see a service club that offers once-a-year check-ups, there's a natural sense of suspicion. "Do furnaces really need to be checked out every year, or are they just trying to sell me something?" That hesitation is one of the biggest reasons customers turn down membership invitations.

With SmartAC, the sensor and app show real data about system performance. There's no wondering if a problem exists or is just an excuse for an upcharge — users can see the problem and how it affects their HVAC performance. 

Especially when combined with Cole's membership sign-up tips:

• Don't try to get customers signed up right after a service call: They're uncomfortable, they're mad, and they're worried about the bill. A call to follow up later, when they're in a better mood, feels thoughtful and appropriate.
• Incentivize your sales team properly: Your phone staff know what pays their bills and what doesn't, and they'll be a lot more enthusiastic about service club signups if it pays their bills.
• Turn your team into believers: Every HVAC company has "that guy" — the one who's been doing field service since "fire" was the latest home comfort innovation, knows everything, and isn't impressed by anything. Get that guy to install a SmartAC sensor in his house to see how it works. That's all it takes. Once he's sold, everyone else will jump on board.

Show, don't tell: Since you're setting up a demo for your team, anyway, train your field techs to show that demo off to customers. Let them see the insights and tips they'll gain, rather than trying to convince customers about the benefits.