Homepros

11/06/2024

Temperatures are on the rise and HARDI addressed the impact on the HVAC industry:

- Accelerated wear and tear on systems
- Longer cooling seasons
- Increased revenue for contractors during heatwaves

Read more on what to expect here: https://homepros.news/p/rising-temperatures-impact-hvac-industry

10/06/2024

"One of the most underutilized marketing channels is email."

We talked to Alex Malone of Leap Partners about:

-- Brand-building
-- Why email marketing is underutilized
-- How contractors can win on a tight budget
-- and more

Full conversation:

Alex Malone, VP of Marketing at Leap Partners, the Nashville-based home services platform, shared with Homepros his thoughts on brand-building, why email is und

07/06/2024

President Biden recently announced the U.S. will raise tariffs on Chinese steel and aluminum — key imports for the HVAC industry.

Why it matters: The rate hikes could negatively impact HVAC manufacturers and contractors — and ultimately hurt consumers.

“The tariffs will likely lead to higher costs for HVACR equipment and components given that many of these items are imported from China,” Air Conditioning Contractors of America said.

Read:

President Biden recently announced the U.S. will raise tariffs on Chinese steel and aluminum, key imports for the HVAC industry.

06/06/2024

📚 Our top three most-read stories last month:

1. Exclusive: SF&P Advisors' Brian Cohen on the state of M&A in HVAC (https://homepros.news/p/exclusive-sfp-advisors-brian-cohen-state-ma-hvac)

2. Exclusive: Arch CEO on expansion, what’s next for heat pumps (https://homepros.news/p/exclusive-arch-ceo-expansion-whats-next-heat-pumps)

3. Google de-emphasizes proximity in LSAs (https://homepros.news/p/google-deemphasizes-proximity-lsas)

05/06/2024

HVAC industry associations — PHCC National Association, HARDI, and AHRI — two weeks ago flew to D.C. to advocate for contractors, distributors, and manufacturers.

Following last week’s part one of our two-part series, below, in part two, are our meeting notes on electrification, including:

-- The role of natural gas in the clean energy transition
-- US carbon emissions
-- The Inflation Reduction Act
-- and more

Read:

HVAC industry associations — PHCC, HARDI, and AHRI — two weeks ago flew to D.C. to advocate for contractors, distributors, and manufacturers, and I received an

04/06/2024

Contractor Commerce, the plug-and-play e-commerce startup, last week announced it earned Gold Partner status, becoming the only e-commerce solution in ServiceTitan’s marketplace.

Details: When a homeowner gets a quote or places an order on a contractor’s website, the integration will channel that lead into ServiceTitan, creating or updating the customer’s profile.

Full story:

Contractor Commerce, the plug-and-play e-commerce startup, last week announced it earned Gold Partner status, becoming the only e-commerce solution in ServiceTi

03/06/2024

"We’re looking for customers who value our relationship, and we’re okay not doing business with transactional customers. We’re okay walking away from a job."

Early this year, we talked to Jason Buehler of Buehler Air Conditioning about:

-- Contracting vs retailing
-- Reputation management
-- HVAC in 2024
-- and more

Full conversation:

Jason Buehler is the founder and owner of Buehler Air Conditioning. Over the past decade, he’s built his company into a $20 million, reputation-focused business

31/05/2024

“If you’re slow and need work, tell your customers that. Doing that breeds a level of trust that we need in the trades.”

We talked to Tucker Yarbrough of Yarbrough & Sons Heating, Cooling & Plumbing about:

-- The value of branding
-- The relationship between advertising and recruiting
-- Why financial transparency with teammates and customers is important
-- and more

Full conversation:

Tucker Yarbrough is the CFO of Yarbrough & Sons, a family-run, OK-based contracting business. We talked to Tucker about the value of branding, the relationship

30/05/2024

HVAC industry associations — PHCC National Association, HARDI, and AHRI — last week flew to D.C. to advocate for contractors, distributors, and manufacturers.

Their goal? Ensuring policies on electrification and labor are practical — especially their implementation, considering the downstream effects on the industry and consumers.

Our notes on Labor and Workforce Development:

HVAC industry associations — PHCC, HARDI, and AHRI — last week flew to D.C. to advocate for contractors, distributors, and manufacturers, respectively.

29/05/2024

"I can go into the market, spend dollars, and acquire strangers as customers, or I can re-tap and re-activate these customers I’ve already dealt with."

We talked to Rich Jordan of Strongpoint Services about:

-- The problems with certain best practices
-- Getting off of Google dependency
-- The return on outbound efforts
-- Call conversions
-- and more

Read:

Rich Jordan, CEO of Strongpoint Services, a multi-trade home service company with over 50 trucks, talked to Homepros about contractors’ mistakes, call conversio

24/05/2024

In April, Walmart partnered with Bryant Heating & Cooling, giving its online shoppers a direct path to local Bryant dealers. Our first thought: Why?

The big picture: Consumers’ willingness to buy big-ticket items online (versus just smaller, everyday usuals) has increased.

Details: Customers shopping on Walmart’s website can explore Bryant equipment and navigate directly to a landing page connecting them with participating local dealers.

Full story:

Last week, Walmart announced a partnership with Bryant Heating & Cooling, giving its online shoppers a direct path to local Bryant dealers. Our first thought: W

23/05/2024

16%

Last year’s increase in the number of students enrolled in vocational-focused community colleges, according to the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center.

Interest in the trades, particularly among young workers, is ticking up as the costs of attending traditional four-year colleges balloon.

Read more: https://homepros.news/p/understanding-gen-zs-interest-trades

22/05/2024

AHRI released March shipments, giving us a complete look at the first quarter.

The numbers: Q1 central AC and heat pump shipments totaled just over 1.9 million, down 7.6% from last year — and 19% from 2022.

Read:

AHRI’s March shipment figures are in, giving us a full look at the first quarter.

21/05/2024

Google tweaked some wording on its Local Services Ads (LSA) Help page, indicating it’s emphasizing service area over business location when ranking ads.

What’s happening: In the section that explains how LSAs are ranked, on its Help page, it removed a line that said, “and your proximity to potential customers’ locations.”

Full story:

Google tweaked some wording on its LSA Help page, indicating it’s emphasizing service area over business location when ranking ads.

20/05/2024

In March, we talked with Matt Michel about:

-- The replacement market
-- The transition to A2L refrigerants
-- How independent contractors can compete with PE-backed companies
-- and more

Check out our full conversation:

Matt Michel is an HVAC industry veteran — a speaker, writer, and founder and former president of Service Roundtable/Service Nation Alliance.

17/05/2024

"Short-form content is growing these companies quickly."

We talked to Joshua Crouch of Relentless Digital about:

-- What's happening in the HVAC marketing world today
-- Why short-form video content performs well
-- High-performing (and low-performing) marketing channels
-- and more

Full conversation:

Josh Crouch is a former contractor and the founder of Relentless Digital, a digital marketing company that works with contractors nationwide.

16/05/2024

Angi last week announced a scholarship program for trade school students nationwide.

Why it matters: Nearly 25% of tradespeople are approaching retirement, and over 37,000 job openings for HVAC techs and installers are projected every year until 2032.

Read:

Angi last week announced a scholarship program for trade school students nationwide.

15/05/2024

💰 HVAC Deals in April:

-- HomeX Services Group expands in Pennsylvania and acquires Deluxe Plumbing and Heating
-- Sila Services enters western New York and acquires T-Mark Plumbing, Heating, Cooling & Electric
-- Southern Home Services acquires David Gray Electrical, Plumbing, Heating & Air
-- and more

Read:

Recent investment activity from around the industry

14/05/2024

In February, Arch, a smart heat load and sales platform, snagged $6.2 million in funding to help contractors capitalize on the growing demand for heat pumps.

It now processes over $1 million in monthly equipment sales, CEO Phil Krinner told Homepros in a phone conversation.

Since February, Arch has primarily invested the funds in its product, including integrating AHRI’s product directory. It’s also expanded to five states, with a sixth slated for this month.

Read:

In February, Arch, a smart heat load and sales startup, snagged $6.2 million in funding to help contractors capitalize on the growing demand for heat pumps.

13/05/2024

In early March, Synchrony closed its acquisition of Ally Lending, Ally's consumer financing business, which it first announced in January.

"The deal adds ~2,500 merchants (HVAC contractors included) and 450,000 borrowers to Synchrony’s customer base."

Read:

Synchrony announced it’s buying Ally Financial’s point-of-sale financing business, Ally Lending, which offers home improvement loans and has a $2.2 billion book

10/05/2024

"We would take a deal to market and have 50, 60, or 70 private equity groups signing non-disclosure agreements wanting to take a look at the opportunity."

We talked to Brian Cohen of SF&P Advisors about:

-- The past few years of dealmaking in HVAC
-- What's happened since
-- What's happening now
-- and more

Full conversation:

Brian Cohen is a business strategist at SF&P Advisors. He’s worked with hundreds of contractors on acquisitions in HVAC, plumbing, and other trades.

09/05/2024

The refrigerant phasedown — and its constant string of developments — is complex.

What's new: AHRI in April officially released “Guideline K,” outlining requirements for recovery cylinders containing A2L refrigerants.

-- “For flammable recovery cylinders, the valve outlets shall be left-handed threads,” the guideline noted.

Read more:

The refrigerant phasedown — and its constant string of developments — is complex. Here’s the latest as of May.

08/05/2024

Trane and Lennox outperformed the S&P 500 in the first quarter, while Carrier lagged.

Returns:

Trane: 26.7%
Lennox: 11.5%
S&P 500: 10.8%
Carrier: 1.3%

07/05/2024

Synchrony and ServiceTitan last week announced a partnership, enabling contractors to offer Synchrony’s financing options directly through ServiceTitan’s platform.

“Synchrony currently serves tens of thousands of businesses in the home improvement sector, many of which already use ServiceTitan,” the press release said.

Of note: Synchrony also finalized its acquisition of Ally's consumer financing business, Ally Lending, in March.

Read:

Synchrony and ServiceTitan last week announced a partnership, enabling contractors to offer Synchrony’s financing options directly through ServiceTitan’s platfo

06/05/2024

Google in February rolled out an update that started displaying LSAs when users perform brand searches.

“When someone searches for your brand or business directly on Google, your Local Services Ad will be eligible to appear. Your ad will be the only Local Services ad to appear in the results, and you'll only be charged for leads from new customers,” said Google.

Have you noticed an impact, positive or negative?

cc Joshua Crouch

Read:

Google is rolling out an update to Local Services Ads (LSA), called Direct Business Search, which will display LSAs when users perform brand searches.

03/05/2024

"If you can make it a career for them, you’ll keep CSRs for a very long time."

We talked to Brigham Dickinson of Power Selling Pros about:

-- The value of slight improvements in call booking rates
-- How to wow customers
-- and more

Full conversation:

Brigham Dickinson is the founder of Power Selling Pros, a company that helps contractors increase bookings through CSR training and coaching.

01/05/2024

Currently, those in “executive, administrative, or professional” roles who make $35,568 a year or less must receive overtime pay.

Starting July 1, the threshold jumps to $43,888 a year and then spikes again to $58,656 on January 1, 2025.

Employers will have to either raise salaries to exceed the thresholds or re-classify employees as non-exempt, paying them hourly plus overtime.

Full story:

The Department of Labor last week announced it’s raising the minimum salary threshold that exempts employees from being paid overtime.

30/04/2024

Carrier and Lennox reported Q1 earnings last week. Big takeaways:

-- Both CEOs reiterated that new 454B products will see 10-20% price increases
-- The companies predict 50-70% of customer demand in 2025 will be for 454B equipment
-- Lennox CEO Alok Maskara confirmed the company is still interested in acquiring York from Johnson Controls

Full story for more:

Carrier and Lennox collectively raked in billions in the first quarter, as reported in last week's earnings, but saw North American residential revenue dip — Ca

29/04/2024

Back in December, we spoke to Gil Cavey Jr, host of HVAC Uncensored Podcast, about:

-- Balancing a podcast and being the GM of Beltway Air Conditioning & Heating
-- Mental health
-- The industry's future

Full conversation:

Gil Cavey is the General Manager of Beltway Air Conditioning & Heating (MD) and hosts one of the industry’s biggest podcasts, HVAC Uncensored.

26/04/2024

"In our industry, unfortunately, CSRs have always been — and probably will always be — the most undervalued component of the business, but they are so vital and so important."

We talked to Jeff Carpenter, GM of Travis Crawford Heating, Cooling & Plumbing heating, about:

-- The right call center structure
-- Metrics
-- Dispatching for dollars
-- The power of smiling
-- and more

Full conversation:

Jeff Carpenter is the general manager of Travis Crawford Heating, Cooling & Plumbing. We talked to him about all things call centers, and he gave us his insight