The equipment manufacturers are justifiably proud of their brands. Many have been in the industry over 100 years and have made millions of furnaces, air conditioners and heat pumps with the vast majority of them delivering safe, reliable heating and cooling performance for up to 20 years and more. They invest in building their brand name and reputation, just as you and I would if we were in their shoes. You certainly want to take advantage of your equipment’s brand recognition and reputation when selling to your customers. Just make sure that isn’t all you rely on to make the sale.
Here’s an example of what I mean. I recently listened to a salesman extolling the virtues of his company’s chosen brand of equipment (they sell only one brand). He had all kinds of good information and I could see the customer was impressed. I was expecting him to do the same good job explaining the importance and value of his company but in fact that story took a distant second place.
As some people will, this customer asked for time to think about it and they agreed to chat the next day. When the salesman called the customer said she had done some research and found a few bad reviews that caused her to be concerned about the product. His company on the other hand had excellent reviews and she wanted his company to install her new air conditioner but decided to wait until she could get more reassurance about the equipment.
The salesman had needlessly boxed himself in with his emphasis on product brand. Every brand of equipment has some disgruntled customers and the internet makes it easy to find those reviews.
Here’s how I recommend you position your equipment brand:
Any equipment manufacturer would love to have us sell their products. We’ve decided on the Binford brand because our installers and technicians tell us it well designed and dependable. We also get excellent support from the distributor and manufacturer should we need it. What’s actually more important is how the system is sized, designed, the materials that are used, the people who install them and the company that provides support after the sales. That’s where we truly excel. Does this sound like what you are looking for when making a decision like this?
In most cases this will be enough information about the brand. If the customer wants to talk more about it then blast away with all that you have.
Good Selling.