HVAC Proposal Software: Everything You Need to Know About Implementing a Sales System
May 30, 2022 | Read: 8 minutes
Winning residential or commercial proposals is an important part of every HVAC business’s success. They are key to driving revenue and establishing long lasting customer relationships.
Of course, not all quotes will look the same, and there is no one size fits all.
Nevertheless, your bids should be consistent and error free to ensure the highest chance of success–which is why so many businesses have turned to HVAC proposal software.
Below, we’ll cover the ins and outs of HVAC software and dive into all the ways it can help you increase your sales and conversion rates!
What is HVAC Proposal Software?
The goal of any sales software is relatively straightforward–it should help you create proposals that stand out from the competition. However, these systems can be quite complex, and it’s important to know what type of software will best fit your needs.
An HVAC proposal software should:
- Have hard-coded formulas and data structures built into it.
- Automatically do calculations for you—like how much you should markup parts.
- Allow you to store information in the system, meaning if you do the same types of jobs often, the data can easily be pulled and added to the proposal.
- Quickly send price requests to vendors and replicate them for future jobs.
- Present multiple good, better, best pricing options to customers as a quote.
- Reduce the majority of manual work involved in creating proposals and help you win more business.
The Benefits of Using HVAC Proposal Software
Moving your business from paper or spreadsheets to a dedicated sales system can feel overwhelming, but it shouldn’t stop you!
It will take time to adjust to a new tool and properly train your team on how to use it, but the benefits of using HVAC proposal software are well worth the investment when you start growing recurring revenue consistently.
To explain how, we’ve broken down the areas in which quoting software will have the biggest impacts on your business:
HVAC Proposal Software Gives You Back Valuable Time
Manually creating an estimate is never going to be an easy task. It can be time consuming even for the most seasoned of pros, and as the saying goes, time is money. Therefore, if you can get back even one hour in your busy day, every day, it’ll be extremely valuable.
For example, if the average estimate takes you 45 minutes to complete, and you typically send out 2 estimates a day, that’s an hour and a half you are losing daily. If your administration team could create proposals in a fraction of the time by using software, then you’ll regain valuable time that you can spend going above and beyond for customers.
Ultimately, when you manually create a proposal, it often requires a lot of back and forth and consulting multiple resources.
Not to mention if a price sheet gets misplaced or an estimate template gets deleted, you need to spend hours hunting those files down, or even resort to completely remaking them.
With a dedicated HVAC proposal software, the majority of this work will be automated for you. The system will pull accurate prices for parts, calculate labor rates, and even let you edit and customize ready made templates.
Not only will this improve your own efficiency and revenue, but it will also…
Increase Customer Satisfaction
In our customer focused world, dominated by the likes of Amazon and Uber, people have come to want things quickly. This means sending a proposal to a customer three days after they requested it just won’t cut it anymore.
This is especially true if you do emergency work. If a customer calls because their air conditioning has failed in the peak of summer, they’ll need your estimate ASAP. If your turnaround is longer than a day, you’ll likely lose that job to the competition.
Not only that, but if you fail to respond due to an inefficient communication system, it can leave a bitter taste in their mouth. If you’re unlucky, they might even take to the web and leave you a bad review, telling everyone how unresponsive you were in their time of need.
On the other hand, if you can get them their proposal within hours–or even create it while onsite–they’re far more likely to be pleased. And that’s where HVAC sales software comes in.
Ready to create quotes that customers will love and win more business? Then be sure to check out expert Aaron McLeish’s tips in the video above!
If you choose a cloud based option, your team can simply create the estimate while on the job and even have the customer sign off on it there and then. This eliminates any need to run back to the office to consult your documents, or having to call your vendors to check for pricing.
By providing an accurate and timely estimate to the customer, you’re much more likely to win the job. In fact, 35-50% of sales go to the business that responds first.
And once you start winning more proposals, you can begin to benefit from…
Using HVAC Sales Software for Superior Reporting
An essential part of winning more proposals is making data-driven decisions based off your key performance indicators (KPIs).
It’s important that you have clear dashboards with detailed reporting on which projects are the most and least successful. This way you can replicate your wins, and be sure to avoid the mistakes that led to your losses.
Using manual methods requires businesses:
- To have filing systems and be extermely organized.
- Have a solid understanding of industry standard profit margins
- Constantly review vendor pricing, labor costs, and any special discounts.
At the end of the day, it’s very time consuming, which is why many paper based field service companies struggle with reporting.
The good news? With HVAC proposal software, the process is straightforward and simple. Many of these systems integrate with an all-in-one job management system.
This means data on maintenance activities, costs, and asset performance can automatically be pulled from your sales tool and factored into the entirety of the job.
This is valuable because from this information you can learn how to create the ultimate estimate–and even automate it. Not only will it make your business more successful, but it will enable you to save time to work on even more quotes.
How to Use HVAC Proposal Software to Sell More
If you’ve made it this far, it’s a strong indicator that a sales software will be beneficial for your business. Now that you know all the benefits, how exactly can you use HVAC estimating software to your advantage when it comes to sales?
A key part of it will be leveraging the automation benefits of that software.
Instead of having to manually track your lead opportunities, the system should streamline your sales funnel for you. Be sure to set up sequences with reminders on when to call and email prospects. This way, a lead will never get lost in the pipeline, and you’ll never lose an opportunity because of poor communication.
In fact, just by sending an additional follow up email after providing a lead with an estimate, you can increase your chances of hearing back by 25%!
This means your HVAC sales software should also enable you to automate emails. This will eliminate the time you, your admin team, and HVAC technicians have to spend on typing out each communication.
Also, be sure to leverage the proposal builder in your sales software. If you can create a standout proposal, it will quickly separate you from the competition. Provide detailed information in a simple format so customers can easily understand what you are offering.
For example, a typical quote will consist of about seven parts:
- Services Provided
- Project Summary
- Costs
- Exclusions
- Timeframe
- Completion Date
- Terms and Conditions
With HVAC sales software, the majority of this information can be automatically imported into your proposals. Once you have a standard template set up, most systems will enable you to drag-and-drop fields and populate smart pricing options.
By presenting your customers with professional and comprehensive estimates, you’re sure to increase the amount of business you convert.
The Takeaway on HVAC Proposal Software
Automating your proposal process with sales software is a great way to regain valuable time and increase your profitability.
Systems like Commusoft are built to integrate with your current accounting and communication systems and do the hard work for you–meaning less time on calculations and more time focused on creating exceptional customer experiences.
Switching to any new software comes with a learning curve, but the benefits always outweigh the disadvantages.
With HVAC software you can ensure your estimates are both accurate and successful. Not to mention, the system will provide you with valuable data on how to win even more estimates and scale your business exponentially.
