Key takeaways
- Offering free estimates via video calls can help capture high-quality HVAC leads
- Get more exclusive HVAC leads by building a referral network with other businesses in the home services industry
- Foster trust with potential clients by maintaining a consistent brand and keeping your business listings up to date
When heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems break down or a new system needs to be installed, property owners know they need to hire a pro. Unless they’re experiencing an HVAC emergency—like a furnace breaking down in the middle of winter—consumers typically compare providers before making a decision.
To win more HVAC customers, it’s important to generate sales leads that you can engage with throughout their customer journey—and hopefully convince them to do business with your brand. Here are five simple strategies to earn more free HVAC leads.
1. Offer free virtual estimates
For homeowners to accurately budget for HVAC installations and repairs, it’s crucial they receive an accurate estimate for the job—even better if it’s easy for them to get.
A simple way to get new free HVAC leads for your business is to set up a mobile-friendly virtual environment to give potential clients estimates as easily as possible.
Instead of requiring new customers to call and schedule time for a technician to visit their property, consider offering free virtual estimates that can be completed over a video call. Additionally, you can let shoppers schedule their virtual estimates at their convenience by using free appointment scheduling software, which you can link to or embed on your HVAC website.
Once you set up your scheduling tool, create an online marketing strategy to promote your free virtual estimates and reach more potential leads. Your marketing efforts can include posts on relevant social media platforms like Facebook and Nextdoor, as well as email marketing campaigns.
This free HVAC lead generation strategy is a great way to capture high-quality leads. Customers who request estimates aren’t casual browsers; they have a current need that requires a professional. By conveniently offering your knowledge for free—with no commitment required—you can win over the best leads quickly.
2. Guest blog on local websites
Discoverability (i.e., how easily your business is found on the web) plays an important role in generating free HVAC leads. When your HVAC website is easy to find with a Google search or other search engines, you’ll attract more potential customers who may become leads. This is why search engine optimization (SEO), the practice of improving your website’s visibility on platforms like Google or Bing, is crucial for generating free HVAC leads.
Search engine algorithms consider credibility and relevance when ranking web pages. One effective SEO strategy is link building, which shows search engines your business can be trusted and what keywords your website should rank for.
So what is link building? It’s when established websites link back to your own. Guest blogging on other websites is one way to earn these links—you’ll link to your own homepage in your author bio and add links to other relevant web pages in your text. Guest blogging can simultaneously help your website rank higher and show off your knowledge, positioning your HVAC business as a local industry leader.
Guest blogging on a variety of local websites and industry websites can boost your visibility to homeowners and property managers in your service area. Consider reaching out to your local chamber of commerce, trade associations, and established home improvement websites to pitch one or several blog posts.
3. Build a consistent brand
In a competitive HVAC marketplace, consumers have a lot of HVAC service providers to choose from. It’s no surprise that they typically prefer the most credible and professional-looking company.
Brand consistency is one way to build credibility with potential customers so that they feel comfortable giving you their contact information (phone number and email address) for you to follow up later. In fact, more than 60% of businesses agree that brand consistency is crucial for generating leads.
How do you build brand consistency? For one, present your brand the same way across all platforms (including your website, online business listings, and social media) in voice, tone, and aesthetics. For example, use consistent colors, fonts, logos, and messaging, instead of using different color palettes in every marketing campaign or switching up your tone from channel to channel.
Whether you work solo or on a team, consider drafting some small business branding guidelines that you can refer to when creating campaigns or communicating with customers. These guidelines can outline what logos and fonts to use, what your brand personality should sound like, and what your core values are. If your sales team knows that customer success is a core value of your brand, they’ll be more inclined to patiently walk clients through solutions instead of pushing services.
4. Partner with local business owners
Business owners in the home services industry have a unique advantage—high visibility to property owners. By partnering with related businesses and contractors in your service area—such as handymen, roofers, and pest control teams—you can boost that visibility exponentially with partner referrals.
To start building a referral network, consider attending trade shows or joining professional associations to network with local service providers. Talking to them in person can help you get a better sense of their personality and how they run their business so you can be confident that you’re sending your clients to trustworthy partners. Plus, you’ll be able to build rapport with real-time, face-to-face conversations.
Real estate agents and property management teams can also be excellent partners for your HVAC business. These professionals often work with homebuyers, sellers, and landlords who need inspections and repairs.
To make your partnership mutually beneficial, consider offering a small commission fee for every successful referral they make to your company.
5. Impress potential leads on review sites
Just because consumers have HVAC needs doesn’t necessarily mean they understand all the HVAC services they’ll require or who to work with. Like many consumers, potential clients may rely heavily on past customer reviews to help guide their decision on who to hire.
In fact, 91% of consumers trust online reviews to provide accurate information about brands and services. To help potential customers find you, add or claim your Yelp Business Page. You’ll be able to respond to customer reviews and show current and future clients that their feedback and experiences are important to you.
Many people not only search Yelp to find HVAC companies but to also look for reviews, which can act as testimonials. While training your HVAC contractors and improving your customer experience gives you the best chance to score 5-star reviews and attract more leads, you’ll further impress potential leads by keeping your Yelp Page current. That includes updating your business information like your address and phone number, hours of operation, and web address. While you’re at it, upload high-quality photos of your work, info about your team, and a brief history of your business.
Get free HVAC leads for your business
If hiring a lead generation company isn’t in budget, you can generate free HVAC leads yourself. These simple strategies can win free HVAC leads without time spent on cold calls or emails with dead-end contact information.
When you offer free virtual estimates, get referrals from local business owners, and impress shoppers on review sites like Yelp, you’ll earn more high-quality leads who are ready to buy.
After implementing these lead generation tactics, take a look at seven HVAC marketing ideas that can help you attract even more leads and customers.
