Frank Harrison joins a success group Planning For The Future
January 5, 2010
Frank Harrison has heard about all the new competition his HVAC company will face in 2018. But this independent contractor has a vision of what his company should be, an innovative spirit, and a particular, singleminded determination to serve customers.
No one has to explain anything about new competition to Frank Harrison.
Harrison is owner of General Air Conditioning & Heating in Thousand Palms, CA. His business serves the Coachella Valley, a 10-mile-wide, 30-mile-long collection of resort communities that might be one of the most competitive HVAC marketplaces in the United States.
General Air Conditioning competes with 121 other companies in the valley.
Harrison, 65 and going strong after 36 years in the HVAC industry, said the findings of the New Horizons study expound on what he has been hearing and reading about for years. (See the story on the study on page 8.)
“We recognize that the marketplace will become more competitive,” Harrison said. “But I think if you focus too much on the negative, you take your eyes off your own company and what you can do to improve.”
Yes, he agrees becoming greener and more environmentally conscious will drive the market. General Air Conditioning recognized that trend in the very progressive California market long ago and has been certified as a green company. Yes, he said, there will be all kinds of new competition, from big-box retailers, utilities, foreign investors, industry consolidators, home warranty companies, manufacturers and more. And technology will take on much more importance tomorrow.
The most significant thing Harrison has done to address the competition of tomorrow is to become a member of a success group, AirTime® 500. He previously was a member of International Service Leadership (ISL) but joined AirTime at the beginning of 2007.
“At ISL, I was a very big fish at $4.9 million a year (in revenue) in a small bowl,” Harrison said. “I was in the top one-half of one percent in the group. I was the company they used as their model.
“I had gotten to the point where I wasn’t growing and there was nothing more I could learn there.
“At AirTime, I’m a medium-sized fish at $5.7 million (in revenue) in a very large bowl … I have an opportunity to learn from my peers. I can pick the brains of the biggest companies in the HVAC industry.
FOCUSING ON IMPROVEMENT
“The most successful HVAC contractors in the country are at AirTime and being able to talk to them has been invaluable,” Harrison said. “When you’ve been in the business for as long as I have, you can get burned out. But I don’t feel that way at all because there’s always something to learn … it’s still fresh and exciting, and I want to keep improving.
“If you want to become better, you have to set the bar high and compare yourself to the best.”
Harrison also participates in AirTime’s “profit platoons,” small groups of successminded contractors who talk regularly and meet routinely to help each other and share what works and what doesn’t. His profit platoon was named the top unit within AirTime this year.
Training has provided another boost. Harrison calls AirTime’s training through The Success Academy® a significant improvement over what he’s experienced before.
For example, he calls the academy’s “Power-Performing Technician” class one of the best he’s ever seen. Two of his techs, who are not selling techs, went through the training and experienced immediate performance improvement. Before, the two techs earned between $5,000 and $6,000 each year in commissions for additional sales; in the first year after the training, they each earned more than $30,000 in commissions in addition to their salaries.
The results are more dramatic for his sales team. Harrison’s top salesperson, 71 years young, became the eleventh person at AirTime to reach $2 million in annual sales, and his top selling technician earned $140,000 in pay in 2008.
Harrison said that rather than spending too much time worrying about competition, contractors should focus on quality, innovation, finding new ways to serve customers and becoming more customer focused.
As an example, he said General Air Conditioning has faced competition from a large retail store in recent years that is known more for its tools than for its HVAC services. Normally, that would be a bad thing.
But because the installers hired by the retailer did such a poor job, General Air Conditioning was hired to fix the problems, resulting in more work for the company.
He does not fear competition from bigbox retailers or small companies who compete with each other based upon price. His vision is to compete in a different market, based upon quality, service and value.
If customers of tomorrow will be more environmentally conscious, they already have a friend in General Air Conditioning. The company’s website (www.callthegeneral.com) is remarkably comprehensive, covering all aspects of HVAC systems, indoor air quality and much more. The section on depletion of the ozone layer alone might qualify for a no-nonsense tutorial on the subject.
The company has also implemented Airtime’s Technician Seal of Safety, certifying that its people have been drug tested, had their criminal backgrounds checked, and have been professionally trained.
COMMUNICATING THE VALUE PROPOSITION
Harrison sets the tone. General Air Conditioning creates a culture of performance by setting measurable goals, holding its employees accountable for achieving them, and hiring people who fit in. There’s also clear communication of the company’s value proposition to customers. They are hiring a contractor who will do the work right the first time and carefully screen employees who will be allowed in the customer’s home. It’s all backed by a 100 percent money-back satisfaction guarantee.
For that, customers are willing to pay a little more.
Harrison said the company reached $5.7 million in revenue with 14 percent profitability in 2008. Based upon the performance last year, and early results during the first quarter of this year, the company projects to reach those same numbers in 2009.
“Do I worry about the competition in 2018?” Harrison said. “No, I concentrate on improvement every day. If we continue to be innovative and look for new ways to serve the customer, they’re going to continue to be our customer.”
If you would like to know more about AirTime® 500 and how to plan for the future in the HVAC marketplace, call toll free at 1-800-940-5947.
