Buy Now or Wait 3 Years Follow Up

I got some really good responses to my last email blast "Buy Now or Wait 3 Years." Here is the one that I like the best:

"Hey Bruce. Thanks for this info. Just showed 4 owners this email last week and after seeing your numbers all 4 customers will be replacing their units after Christmas day."

Instead of just reading it and putting it in a file folder this contractor put it to good use, sold 4 jobs and proved it really works - if you use it! You need to get with each of your techs and make sure they understand the math and agree with it. This is a great time for some role playing!

Any customer with an out of warranty system requiring a major repair should be presented the "Buy Now or Wait 3 Years" information. Try it! You will be surprised. I have included the "Buy Now or Wait 3 Years" blast below. If I can help you in any way give me a call!

Have you ever heard one of your service techs brag about fixing a 15-year-old system and how much the customer appreciated it? The tech didn’t know it, but he was doing the customer a disservice.

Here is why:

A 15-year-old system is kind of like having a car with 1,800,000 miles on it! A heating and cooling system operates about 3,000 hours per year. If you drove your car 3,000 hours per year at an average of 40 miles per hour that would be 120,000 miles a year, and over 15 years that would be 1,800,000 miles.

Here is the scenario:

The customer has a 15-year-old, 3 Ton Heat Pump 8 SEER 5.6 HSPF that needs an $800 repair. The operating cost for this unit is $2,376 per year. We quoted a replacement 3 Ton Heat Pump 15 SEER 9.0 HSPF with an operating cost of $1,176 per year for $10,000. The difference in operating cost for the old unit and the new unit is $2,367 - $1,176 = $1,191 x 3 years = $3,573. They are looking at a $800 repair cost to get the system running now and, in all likelihood, at least another $800 in repairs over the next 3 years.

Let’s do the math:

So if the customer waits 3 years to replace their system, the actual cost including repairs, operating costs, and inflation is $16,173. If they replace now they will save the cost of repairs ($1,600), operating costs ($3,573), and the price increase ($1,000) over the next 3 years for a total of $6,173.

This is not smoke and mirrors – it’s just math. Use it to sell your customer and to show your techs why at some point it is better to replace than to repair.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to call me. Send Bruce your operating statement! brucemartin@virginiaair.com

Thanks for all you do and as always “Expect More From Us”!

Thanks,

Bruce Martin

Dealer Business Consultant

Value Added Distributors

(757) 469-1205