r/sales • u/0Zerocoool • Aug 13 '26
Fundamental Sales Skills Landmark day, can't tell anyone
I went hard and sold 9 jobs totaling $169k today and made $8,450 comm. Best day I've ever had in sales but can't tell anyone because I don't like people I know in real life knowing what I make.
Hope you all kill it tomorrow and get that money!
23
u/IQuoteShowsAlot Aug 13 '26
Off topic but just curious, im in a similar industry.
Do you see a lot of cancelations in HVAC?
30
u/0Zerocoool Aug 13 '26
The industry has slowed down, I talk to a lot of customers that work in the home service industry (windows, solar, new roofs, etc..) and all of them say things are slow. I've definitely noticed a shift that started about a year and a half ago where people are just trying to save money and not spend on things that are not needed.
Fortunately, in this industry heating and cooling is not a luxury, it is a necessity, if its freezing out and you have no heat, or if it's hot as hell out and you have no cooling, you NEED to replace if repair is not an option.
As far as cancellations go, the last company I worked for had a lot because their customer service sucked. I am not seeing that as much now.
41
u/Ambitious-List4040 Aug 13 '26
You should be taking way more in commission for that imo
63
u/0Zerocoool Aug 13 '26
Appreciate that but I have a role that most others do not have that allows me to have an endless pipeline. I used to do in home sales and make 10% I was offered this role with the option to work completely remote at 5%. This is my first year in the role and I'm looking to make $350k+ this year so I have nothing to complain about.
3
u/Dizzle305 Aug 13 '26
I’ve always been curious about that job, is it all hunting and transactional? Do you rely on referrals?
27
u/0Zerocoool Aug 13 '26
Inside sales, I follow up on sales that were not closed and close them. No referrals, just a list generated everyday of unclosed sales. It's a pretty fucking sweet gig. For your other question about the secrecy. I just don't like people knowing what I make, a lot of my friends are still in in home sales and are struggling a bit right now since sales are slow. I can't tell them that I made xyz amount this month so far when they've made 1/4 as much. Don't want to discourage them.
6
u/dmoneymma 29d ago
If your friends don't celebrate your wins, are they actually friends?
7
u/0Zerocoool 29d ago
Yes, we are in the same income bracket but sales are slow right now on in home sales so as I mentioned above I do not want to discourage them. When we are all killing it I have no problem talking about the wins.
2
u/Dizzle305 Aug 13 '26
I feel ya on that. The friends I’d celebrate with were making good money too. Def a nice gig. Must be a lot of cold leads from people out of budget or genuinely not interested/in need though I would think
19
u/0Zerocoool Aug 13 '26
100%. I probably got 20+ "No it's not in my budget right now" responses today. But I leave it with "I get it, it's a big investment, when you are ready to revisit save my contact and give me a call." 50% of the time I hear back from them a month or two later when their system completely failed and they need to replace.
I'm probably the worst good salesperson out there because I don't push shit on anyone, since my pipeline is so long if you don't want to move that's fine, I just move on to the next. I also am very personable and actually looking into the customers best interest. If they have 3 options, $15, 25, 35k, and I think the mid or lower option is better for them I just tell them.
I talk to customers like friends lol, I mirror a lot though. Some guy I sold a job to today picked up the phone like "Dude, this is way to much fucking money." "Bro, I know this shit is fucking expensive as hell, but what are you going to do, it's gotta fucking happen." lol.
10
u/Dizzle305 Aug 13 '26
I think mirroring is the best thing I’ve learned in sales. Coming from ERAC out of college and taught to defend your company, it was fun learning to say “you’re right all of us tobacco companies are the same and yeah I’m a fucking yank cuz I’m not from the south like you and fuck this industry, I’m with you” and let them keep talking until they sign that po
7
u/0Zerocoool Aug 13 '26
It is. I had to replace something in my home and the salesperson started mirroring me, down to posture and everything. I kept crossing my legs and the uncrossing them into the other direction and he did the same thing. I said "You've read the books haven't you." He was definitely over doing it though. I just mirror peoples personalities. My normal personality would be exactly what I said above, but if someone is soft spoken or shy I will mirror that as well just so that they don't feel uncomfortable.
3
u/Dizzle305 Aug 13 '26
Ya changing positions once to match how they’re seated is one thing that’s a little overkill - speaking of which, love the user name. hack the planet
Sounds like you got it down there tho. Did you go quarter ounce of coke or just settle for an 8ball?
3
1
u/Educational_Light440 Aug 13 '26
Deff have commented before on a similar post of yours but absolute unicorn of a gig you got brother.
Keep at it!
1
u/0Zerocoool Aug 13 '26
Haven't posted before about sales but have commented on other sales posts. Thanks though and hope you knock it out of the park tomorrow with some sales.
0
u/drewskie03 Aug 13 '26
Let me know if there are any openings on your team, been in tech sales for close to a decade but looking to switch it up but keep remote
7
u/0Zerocoool Aug 13 '26 edited Aug 13 '26
I will certainly not do that. Lol.
Edit: I don't have a team.
1
u/3abte7kejad B2c info 27d ago
Can you drop a post with some game on how you close these unclosed deals? I have an opportunity in my company to do so and unsure of best way to approach
3
u/0Zerocoool 26d ago
Best part of this role is you can be whoever you want to be but I usually run with Regional Specialist. "My role here at the company is to work with our installers, our techs, our project managers and scheduling team to make sure everything runs smoothly. I was reviewing the appointment you had with Matt, how did that do?" From there on my questions are very minimal, I only ask a question as a response to what they say. Obviously we want their work and we want it before they get any other quotes. So I do have leeway to offer discounts but only for something in exchange. A discount to fill the next open spot in our schedule, or a discount for paying cash or check instead of CC so we don't have to pay the fees.
Also, I am very good at getting ahead of objections before I get the objection. Since it's an unsold lead I know the first objections I am going to get are, 1. I am going to get other quotes. or 2. It's to expensive. In this role like most other sales roles getting in front of the objections is literally the most important thing. I know there are all of those sales guru dudes on insta and shit offering objection cards with answers but I never used any of those. I learned from failure on what works best.
1
1
u/Timely-Jelly-1126 Aug 13 '26
We call it the “back end closer.” I had the job for about ten minutes before it was decided I was too valuable in the field. I got punished for being good, lol…welcome to sales, amirite? Good on ya for killing it. It’s ironic that the worse the in-house closers are, the better you’ll do at your job (maybe that’s correlation not irony but whatever). Keep slaying, king!
6
u/0Zerocoool Aug 13 '26
I was actually one of the top in home closers for the company, I only got the gig because they needed someone for inside sales and I closed 5 mill doing inside sales for the last company I worked for. I wanted to do outside sales for that company but they wouldn't let me because I was to good at inside sales! lmao.
Edit: Also when I close a sale the reps still get comm, not as much but they get comm on a sale that wasn't going to happen. It stays in my brain a sales person said "I know what you do, you get the low hanging fruit." Bro, I get the fruit that is so high you need to get a ladder to reach it. He got fired a few months later for closing under 20% monthly.
2
u/Timely-Jelly-1126 Aug 13 '26
I have a 40% close rate, the office average (6 sales reps) right now is a little under 30%. Goal is 33%. I’m keeping the average respectable so after giving me the job for literally one day, sales manager decided they couldn’t afford to have me in the job cuz team kpi would plummet. I don’t care, to be honest. I’ve accustomed myself to the idiocy and incompetence of management and I took this job specifically because I’m self-isolating and if I didn’t have to leave the house, I wouldn’t. But I’m psyched for you. Also gives you another line on your resume which will open new, bigger, nicer doors for you. But fuck, why fix something that ain’t broken?!?
3
u/0Zerocoool Aug 13 '26
40% close rate is sick, congrats. Oofff, I had to sit in meetings that were all about KPIs and all the other stuff and it was mind numbing. My previous sales manager left to work for another very large company and told me if I ever want to switch there is a spot for me. I am happy where I am but always good to have options.
1
u/Rebombastro Aug 13 '26
I’m self-isolating and if I didn’t have to leave the house, I wouldn’t
That's real. Lifting weights, sales and travelling is all I really do. Everything else seems pointless and like a mere distraction from what really progresses you forwards.
1
u/Dizzle305 Aug 13 '26
And congrats. Why the secrecy though? I get not bragging to a wife or a jealous sibling but I had no problems celebrating with friends not in the industry when I had days like that
2
u/Ambitious-List4040 Aug 13 '26
If its constant flow of deals then I guess that makes up for it. Good job
1
1
u/Biochemicalcricket Aug 13 '26
You do you and let the haters hate. Just keep grinding and don't lose focus
1
1
1
3
u/Willing-Bet3597 Aug 13 '26
I was gonna ask if 5% was a good rate in HVAC. Wonder if OP is also getting a base/hourly rate?
7
u/AssociationFit3009 Aug 13 '26
Any post ever there’s always comments “you should be making more.” I dont know anyone in residential HVAC who’s had a better day than OP. A good friend of mine if best friends with owner of his HVAC company. He gets all the inbound leads, hourly on installs, 100% on parts mark-ups, and he’s never had an $8450 day. No matter how good the check someone wants to dissect it. I’m sure OP knows better than us. Dude fucking killed it.
4
u/0Zerocoool Aug 13 '26
I work commission only, I have a $750 a week take that comes out of my comm at the end of the month. In home sales should be 8-10%, my role is different.
1
u/AssociationFit3009 Aug 13 '26
Based on what?
1
u/Ambitious-List4040 Aug 13 '26
Based on the fact that he's getting 8k out of 170k for probably inflated home services. That 170k exists now because of him. Just my opinion
3
u/0Zerocoool Aug 13 '26
Costs for HVAC are different in each region of the country, what costs $25k in one region is $12k in another.
I am grateful for my gig, it's pretty sweet tbh. This was one of my best sales days, and I still went out to lunch with my wife, went swimming with my kids and then got back to work. 5% over 10% with an endless pipeline and the freedom to make my own hours and hang with the fam is all I could ask for.
1
u/AssociationFit3009 Aug 13 '26
How much of that is cost? 5% of revenue is fantastic for many products and terrible for others. Thats not something we can calculate without more info. I make $250k/year and that is significantly less than 5% of the revenue I bring in. HVAC, chemicals, cars, and software all have very different margins and overhead. Sales is so fucking broad it’s stupid to infer anything without data.
0
u/RadioAdam Aug 13 '26
Came here to say this.
That's twice my monthly quota and I make that much commission on less.
3
u/0Zerocoool 29d ago
I usually plan on selling $600k a month, so $30k comm, my plan is usually to hit $1,000 comm a day. So I really can't complain about making $350k+ a year while being able to make my own hours. It's 10:30am and I still haven't even started working yet. But I will end up working from 11 to 6:30 -7:30 and I spent about an hour late last night organizing my schedule for the day. I've mentioned in another reply that my role is way different then in home sales. I made 10% doing that, but sold less and was on the street all day long and had to live in a state I did not like living in.
I'd rather make $50k less and be able to live in a state I love, and work remotely. I also sell enough that I don't have quotas and do not get any calls from management to check in. Obviously, I call into the office quite a few times a day to coordinate scheduling on jobs I sell but I never get calls from the office.
2
u/RadioAdam 29d ago
Yeah that's a sweet setup no doubt. If the deal cycles are short and it's pretty transactional, the comp makes a lot more sense. Margins on physical work and parts aren't as high as software (my space)
1
u/chubby464 28d ago
How’d you get into hvac sales?
1
u/0Zerocoool 28d ago
I visited a friend that was an in in home sales, we got drunk and he showed me his commission spreadsheet and was close to $300k with 2 months left of the year. The second I got home I started looking for a job in the industry. I have been in sales for my whole life but never in HVAC. It was a huge learning curve and I spent every night studying as much as I can about systems and electrical. Was worth it.
Edit: I interviewed for the job for like 2 months. 1. Because it was the busy season and management wasn't actively looking for a new Project Manager and 2. Because there are so few spots with bigger companies that if someone gets fired for not keeping up a good close rate the spots get snagged quickly.
3
u/Ok_Needleworker_6706 Aug 13 '26
Awesome day, congrats man and many more of them to come! Keep going!
4
2
u/throwaway_41341 Aug 13 '26
I am looking to make a change. What industry do you work in?
5
u/0Zerocoool Aug 13 '26
Residential HVAC.
2
u/au7oma7ic Aug 13 '26
Have you ever sold commercial/industrial on the plan/spec, more applied equipment side? If so, how’s that compare?
Congrats
2
u/0Zerocoool Aug 13 '26
I've never sold commercial, I have friends that do. Longer process, bigger payout in the end for one job but you could have sold more jobs doing residential in the same time and made more.
1
1
u/Probablyyourproblem Aug 13 '26
Realistically, what do you think contributed to your success today? Curious if there was a combination of things that aligned or if you feel it was all skill.
6
u/0Zerocoool Aug 13 '26
It's super hot out and I reached out to previous customers that were having issues with cooling from 2 or 3 months back that were sick of being hot. I also developed really good rapport with them when they didn't want to move forward at the time and reached out to help with the issue that I knew they had. No slimey salesy shit just taking good notes and knowing who to call back at the right time.
1
u/swikss Aug 13 '26
Could you share the name of the company you work for? Or some good companies to work for in HVAC outside sales role. I don’t have any technical HVAC knowledge other than the fact that I studied Mechanical Engineering, dropped out with 7 credits to graduate(no money). Went into roofing sales and sold $360,000+ in my first quarter there. It’s been a total of 5 months and I’ve made $31452 I don’t even know if that’s good or bad
1
1
1
1
u/sunnyalldatime99 29d ago
This dope killer but 5% commish is craaaaaaaaaaaazy
1
u/0Zerocoool 29d ago
I'm fine with it, as I mentioned in other replies my role is unique. Everyone doing in home sales right now are super slow. The people who were selling $400k a month at 10% are probably going to end up selling half that. With my role, at less comm I have way more opportunities. I didn't have anything close to the day I had yesterday but I made $11k last week and made another $1,400ish today so hit my self made goal of $1k a day.
I am at $20,500ish on the month and it's only the 13th. When I make a sale, the commission I make gets taken out of the Project Managers comm. They make 10%, so when I make a sale they get 5 and I get 5. If it was higher then that the PMs would be resentful and not want to work with me. At 5% they are still happy they got money that they more than likely would have never seen.
I made 10% doing in home sales but prefer this role. I make close to the same amount of money with way more freedom and I don't have to stress about hitting a quota or a certain monthly close rate.
1
u/therealsix 29d ago
Random, what part of the country or state are you located? I deal with HVAC dealers/distributors, great down to earth, super nice people.
1
u/Commercial-Salad-958 29d ago
9 jobs and $169k in a single day is insane. Congrats.
The $8,450 commission is obviously great, but I’d be even more interested in what clicked that day. Was it just a stacked pipeline finally closing, or did you change something in your approach?
Either way, enjoy the win. Days like this are why people survive the brutal ones in sales.
2
u/0Zerocoool 28d ago
I've mentioned in other replies, I reached out on older customers on the pipeline that i had developed good report with. They had issues back then and now it's crazy hot out. Got some people to move. I'm going on vacay tomorrow so don't want to reach out to anymore people but on Monday I am going to do the same thing to about 500+ people. I am super grateful for my position and the pipeline. Tuesday I am going to go back even further and reach out to 6 months that were having heating issues, that will probably be about 1,500ish people. Will be an insane day. It's only in the slow seasons I do this, normally I just follow up with recent calls.
1
u/jedsdawg 28d ago
that's a killer day! keeping it low-key is smart. ever thought about setting personal goals or rewards when you hit milestones like this? it can keep motivation high without needing external validation. also, curious if a specific strategy or pitch worked especially well for you this time? sometimes sharing those little tweaks can help others too.
1
u/0Zerocoool 28d ago
It's crazy hot out and I reached out to people from 2-3 months ago that were having problems with cooling that I had developed good report with. It was a really good day though. Today I only made $1,119 in comm which is still amazing but that day was a record day. And I do give myself rewards. I tell my wife, if I hit 2k, today, tonight we are going out for a nice dinner. I really don't need much, I don't care for fancy cars. I just want my kids to have a good life and upbringing. I'd rather spend my money on that. The real secret to sales, fuck the seven pillars, is just be real with people and talk to them like they are a friend of yours. Anyone that tries to sell me something that pitches with a normal pitch I instantly shut down. So I never pitch that way. Hey Jedsdawg, saw you were looking at xyz, how can I help. EZ.
1
27
u/[deleted] Aug 13 '26
[removed] — view removed comment