Trying to figure out the best way to break into this industry with no experience. Recently got my Bachelors degree so that checks a box and been a bartender for about 13 years. Do you recommend any of types of sales to get into that’s lucrative as well?
I sold plumbing for many years and the margins are way, way fatter on HVAC equipment than plumbing.
We get the backend on plumbing but hvac was getting 25+GP min. Love it when I get a full warehouse. I’ll give you the water heaters if you buy my hvac.
I'd fire everybody if we were getting 25 GP. Pricebook is built on 62.5%
Yep! It’s a monster industry. So is plumbing tho.
I sell some HVAC. I have been an account manager in the facility maintenance industry ( think grainger) for some time. Might be hard to break into anything lucrative without some experience first. I did cold calling b2b with Verizon for a few years before beginning in this industry as an account manager.
Same.
Was a b2b Verizon rep. Went to hvac/plumbing/electric sales and now I’m a sales trainer.
I was a local rep selling all that and janitorial supplies. Now I am a national account manager same company, Year 12 for me.
What's your degree in? Being a manufacturer's rep is the best gig, but will probably require you to start in support/engineering and try to work your way up. If you want to work for a distributor or contractor try going in and talking to them. This industry can be old fashioned, and getting hired is just selling your labor.
Degree is in Business Management. That’s what I was thinking about doing, getting my resume ready and just walking in these places.
Yeah, with a business degree I'd shoot for account manager or outside sales at a distributor. If you show them you have the personal skills they'll train you on the technical side. Good luck!
P.S. Trane is known for having a great training program, there's a saying that Trane trains the industry. If you can get hired and sent there it'll set you up well.
Do you work for Trane? There’s a brand new Trane facility down the road from me. Might have to pop in.
I don't, but I know people who do. It's a good place to start, though if your local branch is bad or your manager is bad it could suck.
Do you need a degree to get into HVAC sales?
The best jobs require technical skills as well as personal skills. But it's a big industry, plenty of opportunities with a trade school, associates degree, or just working your way up.
It’s been 10 years since I sold for Carrier (moved into tech) but I’d say especially the distributors it’s still a pretty human hiring process. Working directly for the manufacturer would be a bit more of a challenge but in most regions sales is handled by the distributors anyway. Walk in there and ask to meet the sales manager. Familiarize yourself with what product lines they carry. If /when you get in, the key to success is building strong relationships with your contractors by knowing your shit and helping them deliver jobs on time and at/under budget. The only way to do that is by not just understanding the product but all of the pieces that touch your product. What challenges might they have installing. Did a design engineer/architect spec something unnecessary or that could insert complications to install. Good luck, it’s a great industry.
Ride with all the techs and find out what they’re doing. If you aren’t employed yet you should start as a tech or a helper, you can show off your skills by making sales as a tech.
But really you aren’t going very far without understanding hvac inside and out
I am in Residential HVAC sales; it is pretty lucrative.
The way you get into it is by listing general sales experience on your resumé. Try to post quantifiable results on your resumé to show that you exceed targets. Besides this, do a little research about what products are out there and apply for jobs. You don’t need to be very specialized or have a degree to get into this kind of sales, which is great.
If you have any questions or need any help, feel free to reach out to me.
Lots of hvac manufacturers companies have sales internships for business grads or entry level sales roles
Im in insurance sales and enjoy it, P&C. 100% work from home, good benefits and pay, also a stable industry to work in as everyone needs it.
I just started under a State Farm agent and I really like it to. Wouldn't say the pay is good though. Who are you working for? Feel free to dm if you'd rather keep it private
Allstate/National General, direct as well not under an agent, make hourly plus commission
Why HVAC?
Servers are good with people and I've seen many transition to recruiting.
Terrible time to do that though.
I like the growth of the industry and it’s very resilient.
Eh. Careful there. We are at the tail end of a bubble, manufacturers reporting massive drops this year in units shipped, cost has shot through the roof, PE has destroyed the good faith of customers. Go to any HVAC sub and you'll see the homeowners have figured it out. The growth the next decade will come from the 6-8 man shops where the guy in the home or the owner will make the sale, not sending salesmen in.
Entry level for distribution will be a training program or counter sales. On the contracting side you are going to have to impress some sales managers to get in.
Go stop in at local a wholesale distributor Most have a counter area. Ask to speak with the Branch Manager. In my experience, many locations have a need for counter associates and/or warehouse/logistics. It’s amazing how quickly you can advance by having a willingness to learn and keeping a positive attitude.
Similar to OP I’m looking to enter sales in HVAC. I did an apprenticeship as an electrician/ refrigeration Mech but since then I have gone to uni and work in recruitment for roughly 7 years. Would be interested to see if you guys think this exp would be a good transition in the UK.
Look up who reps Daikin, Captiveaire, Cambridge, Price, and Greenheck in your zip code and apply to those reps. Should be ~3 companies. You could also do the same for boilers and get into water side HVAC but I don't know a lot about that
I’m in hvac sales. Mostly residential. It’s been a great career for me. Feel free to DM me with any questions.
Why are you honing in on HVAC?
You have a better option?
Go into a segment where you have passion and/or knowledge. I sell chemicals and clear $200k.
What’s your definition of lucrative? Do you have any technical knowledge of any particular industry?
It just depends man.
Lucrative as in rewarding and a comfortable salary.
Go get some sales experience first. You have to start somewhere. Then start applying once you have gotten a good taste of sales. A lot of people think sales is great…then they find out it’s a lot harder than what they first thought. I’ve been in tech sales for almost 15 years. Thought about getting out many times…but I can’t because I’ve did this for far too long now.
I sold uniforms for one of the big three, cut my teeth and after two years was offered a sales role with nearly 100k base including the standard fixings.
Uniforms is a tough grind but other companies poach due to the good “hunter” mentality. DM and I can help you dial in a stepping stone job in the industry.
Although I am now doing the hvac sales roll, I really enjoyed uniforms and the company I worked for. Miss all of those dudes/days
You're probably not gonna get a opportunity with a company that can actually earn you the good money without any sort of home service experience.
I would recommend cutting your teeth with another company in the home improvement sector that's a little more entry level. Some place like water softeners, water restoration, window treatments, closets, etc. after a year of proven experience, then you might actually have a shot with a company that will pay out good commission
« Bartender » is front line people skills.
Would you say that you’ve positively interacted with most of the « cohorts » and « tribes » that live in your local market?
Bartend on the Las Vegas strip. All tourists.
Do a little market research on how Walmart broke into the "retail" business.
They avoided the "big" local markets (major urban areas) in favor of the smaller underserved communities. People in the small "local markets" are wary of outsiders and prefer to transact with members of their community.
"Trust" is everything in these markets.
So what "local market" are you targeting for your "sales" adventure?
Google "GROK." If you grok the "local market," you'll find it much easier to "connect and engage" with your prospective customers.
If you want to work for a larger enterprise, you might suggest a "grok" approach for capturing business in the smaller communities.
Most commercial hvac sales locations would highly prefer an engineering degree or background for selling equipment since you are assisting quite a bit of engineers on laying things out etc. You can always look at mechanical contractor service sales. That is commercial but owner driven and relationship focused tok
you standin there holdin that bachelors degree thinkin it opens the door but you done messed up discountin the time you spent pourin drinks. thirteen years behind the bar means you got a phd in talkin to folks. sales aint nothin but listenin to a man complain and offerin him a cure for his misery. in hvac you sellin comfort to folks who boilin in they own livin rooms. they was always gonna need heat in the winter and cool air in the summer so the demand dont never dry up. you gots to walk in there and tell them you know how to handle difficult customers cause you done dealt with every drunk in the city. that skill is worth more than technical know how. if you can upsell a top shelf whiskey you can upsell a new condenser unit. hvac sales is lucrative cause comfort is the one thing folks gots to have.
Only do HVAC sales if it’s B2B / commercial. I would NEVER recommend ANYONE doing residential / D2C sales in HVAC.
If you have a degree I would pursue other industries tbh. There’s a lot more money to be made out there but that’s just me
Like what? I’m all ears.
Only do HVAC sales if it’s B2B / commercial. I would NEVER recommend ANYONE doing residential / D2C sales in HVAC. If you have a degree
Depends what your degree is in. Industrial equipment, rental equipment, I would kinda stay away from tech right now, it’s volatile with the whole AI thing. Oil & gas.
Stay away from anything that is D2C like solar, gutters, roofing, HVAC etc.
Just do B2B.
I am trying to get out of sales currently. It’s a constant grind of “nice, you hit your numbers last month, but if you miss them this month, it’s a problem”
Welcome to every job as an adult
Not true. I was an operations manager and it was not like that. Yes you have to show up and do your job, but in sales there’s so much out of your control - it’s VERY different than “every other job”. You can show up to work in sales and bust your butt everyday for 2 months and do everything perfect in sales and still have a meager pipeline or soft numbers for those 2 months, because of one reason or another Or any timeline for that matter