There are some ways for HVAC contractors to gain new leads. You will either do it yourself or look for one of the best companies that supply lead generation specifically for our industry. When deciding to pursue a relationship with a lead generation vendor or to keep the task in-house, weigh the potential benefits to your company; if you think outsourced HVAC lead generation would be valuable, you’ll be tasked with sifting through the different offers to determine the partnership which can produce the product you’re looking for.
Benefits of Outsourcing HVAC Lead Generation
In-house lead generation is often successful – if you have the means to try to do so. Not every HVAC business features a team of sales professionals available to find new business while closing the leads the company already has.
Cost Savings through Outsourced Lead Generation
Generating leads in-house is often quite costly. Review all the resources the task requires: A sales representative to get leads, equipment for the sales representative to use, data for the sales representative to use, a management team to oversee the sales representative, and so on. When you think of all the pieces involved to support just one in-house staff to get leads for your HVAC business, the investment is kind of substantial; even more when you have a big team. So much so that the job sold which started as a lead generated by your team may not break even.
Choosing to outsource lead generation generates major cost savings compared to lead generation in-house. Once you work with a lead generation vendor, you’re working smarter. Your resources are used better by working with a vendor who already has the needed infrastructure as well as the expertise to deliver leads.
You Get More Leads
If your business has not tackled in-house lead generation efforts before, it is going to take a while to figure out everything about the process, costing you time and money. Plus, technology is swiftly evolving, posing another challenge to an in-house lead generation team. Utilizing a lead generation vendor who focuses on multiple areas of lead generation and best practices in each area is preferred versus expecting your inexperienced internal team to deliver equivalent results.
Because a lead generation vendor already has the infrastructure and processes for successful lead generation, you’ll receive more leads from a vendor partnership sooner than you would in-house. This is often advantageous when it involves keeping your staff busy, generating work for technicians, and so on.
Selecting an HVAC Lead Generation Vendor
There are many companies that give leads exclusively for the HVAC industry. Now that you’ve decided to outsource lead generation for your HVAC contracting business, how does one select a vendor who will become a beneficial partner for your sales team?
Cost per Lead
When checking out a lead generation vendor, one of the first things on your mind is going to cost. Quality is in fact better than quantity when it involves leads; once you pay per lead, the seller has an incentive to send you a better volume of leads.
Instead of specializing in what percentage of leads you’ll get, search for a vendor partner which focuses on sending you quality, closeable leads. Quality leads not only are more likely to close, but your sales team will also waste less time chasing down leads that are not going anywhere. This is often unavoidable when receiving high volumes of leads that are poorly vetted.
When you pay for the quality of the lead instead of the quantity of leads, your sales efforts are going to be more successful. Look for a lead generation service that doesn’t charge per lead; rather, find a program with fixed costs, or is paid by a percentage of total sales.
Exclusivity of Leads
When outsourcing lead generation, it is important that the leads you receive be exclusive to your company. Believe it or not, there are vendors out there who will sell the same lead to you as well as your competitor. You’ve got enough competition naturally, why do you have to pay to go up against your competitors?
As you interview potential lead generation partners, you need to ask about exclusivity. Ask if the leads are going to be exclusive to your HVAC business indefinitely, for a particular period of time, or if they’re exclusive at least. You need leads that are exclusively sent to your business and not resold to a competitor a few days or weeks later.
Quality of Leads
Work with a vendor who delivers pre-qualified leads that meet all of your criteria. Your vendor should understand your ideal prospect, perform initial communication, and build a foundation for your success.
Search for a reliable HVAC lead generation to work with who will send you good HVAC leads. When your staff walks into a warmer appointment, they are able to focus on closing the sale. The vendor eliminates the leg work for your team, which also saves you time and money.
