TL;DR
HVAC contractors buy marketing when the pitch names a page they should have and do not, a number their competitor is beating them on, or a rebate program they are leaving on the table. This is the defect list and the cold email that lands.
HVAC has three demand spikes a year, a stack of federal and state rebate programs the average shop cannot navigate, and a customer that will Google financing before they Google the shop name. Any one of those is a place a marketing agency can sell in on. The one that closes fastest is the rebate page, because the rebate is money the shop is losing this week.
Which HVAC shops are the buyers this year?
The IRA and 25C credit changed the sales conversation for residential HVAC. Shops that can name the credit on their site convert visitors two to three times more often than shops that cannot. The buyer for your retainer is the shop that has not caught up.
- Residential shops between three and twenty five techs. Owner still runs sales for the big tickets.
- Shops in a state with a live rebate on heat pumps or SEER 15+ equipment.
- Shops that show up in permit data as installing over a hundred systems a year, with no matching web presence.
The defect list to prospect on
| Defect | How to spot it | The pitch |
|---|---|---|
| No SEER 15 or 25C credit page | Site search for 25C, tax credit, IRA. If it returns nothing, the page does not exist. | A rebate landing page that names the credit, the eligible equipment, and a payment estimate. |
| No financing partner listed | Search the site for Wisetack, Synchrony, GreenSky, FTL. None means no financing is wired. | A financing integration and a payment calculator on the highest traffic page. |
| No emergency AC or heat line | Look for a page or banner that promises same day service. Missing on eight out of ten sites. | An emergency landing page and a Google Ads set that runs on heatwave and freeze weeks. |
| Permit velocity is high, GBP presence is thin | City or county permit portal shows the shop pulled 400 permits, GBP has 12 reviews. | A ninety day GBP push turning happy customers into public reviews. |
| Service area pages missing | Site has one contact page for the whole metro, not a page per city. | A service area page build across the ten towns the shop actually serves. |
- Defect
- No SEER 15 or 25C credit page
- How to spot it
- Site search for 25C, tax credit, IRA. If it returns nothing, the page does not exist.
- The pitch
- A rebate landing page that names the credit, the eligible equipment, and a payment estimate.
- Defect
- No financing partner listed
- How to spot it
- Search the site for Wisetack, Synchrony, GreenSky, FTL. None means no financing is wired.
- The pitch
- A financing integration and a payment calculator on the highest traffic page.
- Defect
- No emergency AC or heat line
- How to spot it
- Look for a page or banner that promises same day service. Missing on eight out of ten sites.
- The pitch
- An emergency landing page and a Google Ads set that runs on heatwave and freeze weeks.
- Defect
- Permit velocity is high, GBP presence is thin
- How to spot it
- City or county permit portal shows the shop pulled 400 permits, GBP has 12 reviews.
- The pitch
- A ninety day GBP push turning happy customers into public reviews.
- Defect
- Service area pages missing
- How to spot it
- Site has one contact page for the whole metro, not a page per city.
- The pitch
- A service area page build across the ten towns the shop actually serves.
How do I open the cold email?
The opener is a page they should have and do not, or a number their competitor is beating them on. Not a promise. A page. A number.
Template
Subject: 25C credit page on {shop} Hi {first name}, the 25C credit for a heat pump is up to two thousand dollars this year. Your site does not have a page that names it. {competitor} does, and their page ranks first for {credit keyword} in {city}. I build these pages for HVAC shops on a two week turnaround. Want me to send over the competitor page and a mockup for {shop}? {sig}
The subject line names one credit and one shop. The body names one competitor and one keyword. The ask is a document, not a call. That is the whole email. Anything longer is you selling instead of them buying.
What actually gets replies
- A screenshot of the competitor page inside the follow up, not the first email.
- A permit count you pulled from the county portal, not a made up number.
- An email sent at 6:45am in the shop's time zone, before the dispatcher takes over the inbox.
What price and cadence hold?
Below two thousand a month, the shop treats you like the third agency they tried. Above four thousand, they expect a paid media buyer full time. In the middle, a two day a week retainer covering rebate pages, GBP, and service area content is a fair trade for both sides.
How do I pull permit velocity?
Most counties post permit data as a searchable web report. The good ones have a filter for HVAC change out. Pull the last twelve months, sort by contractor, and the top of the list is your prospect list.
Is 25C going away?
The federal credit is scheduled through 2032. Some state programs shift each year. Say the current dollar amount and the current year, not the general concept.
Should I mention SEO in the pitch?
No. Mention the page, the keyword, and the competitor. SEO as a category has been sold badly into HVAC for a decade.
Sell the page that is missing
HVAC shops do not buy SEO. They buy a page that names a rebate their customer is asking about. Prospect on the missing page, open on the missing page, and the retainer follows.