|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
In this episode of the 8-Figure HVAC Brands Podcast, Netrocket founder Daniel Dramshev meets the team from Hunters HVAC at AHR Expo in Las Vegas. The San Antonio company has grown since 2008 without paid ads, Yelp, Google Maps, or truck wraps. Instead, they rely on referrals, customer service, and constant team training, and still hit 22% to 33% net profit.
About the guests
| Company | Hunters HVAC |
| Location | San Antonio, Texas |
| Guests | Manuel Gómez, Manager, and the Hunters HVAC team |
| In business since | 2008 |
Net profit targets of 22% to 33%
When Daniel asks whether they focus on revenue or net profit, the answer is net profit. One partner targets 22%, and the other says he usually works at 28% to 33%. Daniel points out that many contractors at the expo are below 10%.
Their advice for owners stuck at 10% or less is simple: be professional, keep your commitments to the customer, and focus on customer service.
Zero marketing, all referrals
Hunters HVAC spends nothing on marketing. No Google Business Profile, no Yelp, no paid ads, no truck wraps. After more than 15 years in business, people know them and recommend them.
“Referrals are the best.“
Their competitors in San Antonio do the opposite and spend heavily on TV, radio, and online ads. Yet at a recent dealer meeting, Hunters HVAC exceeded their suppliers’ equipment and material targets by 30%.
A small, well-trained team
The team isn’t large, but they say their technicians are more knowledgeable than most in the trade, and that’s what drives efficiency and profit. They invest a lot of time in training, sometimes starting at 6 a.m. with new hires before the day begins.
“If you spend the time to train your guys the right way, that return will come back to you.“
Asked who matters more, technicians or sales, they say everyone. A system has no value until the installer does the job, and the whole team, from the sales rep to the person bringing parts, makes it work.
The 80/20 rule for employees
Their long-term strategy is built around people. If 80% of the employees do what they’re supposed to, the company will do great. Most owners, they say, spend too much energy on the 20% who don’t perform and end up losing the good ones. Hunters HVAC does the opposite and takes care of the 80%.
They also put people in the right roles. A great technician isn’t always a good lead installer, and pushing someone into the wrong role hurts the whole team.
Improving the system every year
Every year, the team spends a few weeks reviewing what went wrong and what worked, with customers, employees, and even the office. Then they set a plan to improve. Thanks to that system, the team can run without the owners for a few days while they’re at the expo.
One year they had fewer sales but more profit. The next year they had more sales and similar profit, because they paid out more in bonuses and incentives. They see that as a fair trade: when people earn it, they appreciate it more and work harder for it.
Growing to eight figures without ads
The company is already at multiple seven figures, and one of the partners wants to reach $10 million. Their estimate: if they keep doing what they’re doing, they can get there in about four years without extra advertising or burning out.
Not in ChatGPT, and not worried
When Daniel checked ChatGPT for HVAC contractors in their area, Hunters HVAC didn’t show up. The companies that did are the ones that advertise on TV and radio. The team wasn’t surprised, since they’ve never done any marketing. Still, as more homeowners ask AI for recommendations, being visible there is becoming its own channel. Learn more about AI SEO for HVAC companies.
For more conversations from the same trip, see our full AHR Expo episode with six HVAC contractors.
Subscribe on 8-Figure HVAC Brands Podcast
New episodes of the 8-Figure HVAC Brands Podcast come out every week, so subscribe on YouTube to catch the next one.
