Accelerate Sales With AI: 4 Ways HVACR Teams Can Turn Challenges Into Opportunities

By Helen Piña

The HVACR market faces significant headwinds in 2024, from inflation and supply chain disruptions to a market that appears to be leveling off after several years of significant growth.

The American Institute of Architects Consensus Construction Forecast projected a slowdown in nonresidential construction expected to continue into 2025, while the Associated Builders and Contractors reported a modest decline in customer backlog in February 2024 compared to the previous year.

“While it is far too early to predict an industry-wide downturn given that confidence readings continue to signal growth along sales, employment and profit margin dimensions, it appears that a rising tide of project cancellations and postponements has begun to make its mark,” ABC Chief Economist Anirban Basu said in a recent HARDI analysis.

Inflation and high interest rates are causing customers to delay new purchases in favor of repairing existing equipment, while the new EPA restrictions on emissions from HFC refrigerants will impact the sale of certain systems.

However, the remaining 8-month construction backlog and the transition to new, more energy-efficient systems presents growth opportunities for distributors who can identify contractors who are most likely to buy and maximize the value of every order.

With a solid foundation of business intelligence along with using artificial intelligence (AI) to analyze customer purchasing data, HVACR sales teams can prioritize their efforts to focus on the most profitable opportunities.

Here are four high-impact strategies to consider.

1. Use Business Intelligence To Identify Your Most Profitable Customers and Products

The Pareto Principle likely applies to your HVACR distribution business, with 80% of your profits coming from just 20% of your customers. Knowing which customers are most profitable and focusing your team’s efforts there is key to your future growth.

This is challenging if you’re only relying on your ERP for the data. You may be able to export sales data for each customer, but one account could have dozens of different locations. By the time you consolidate that data into a single report at the account level and repeat this for every account, the information is likely already obsolete.

Business intelligence software that centralizes sales, customer, and product data – and accurately consolidates bill-to and ship-to information – into easy-to-understand dashboards and reports will give your team clarity in this area.

With real-time visibility into your best accounts, you can develop specific plans to grow each one.

2. Using AI for Personalized Product Recommendations

With buyers more likely to delay new purchases and extend the lifespan of their systems, your sales team can demonstrate greater value by recommending related parts to customers before they realize they need them.

You can use AI to analyze past order data for each individual customer and recommend complementary products based on their recent purchases. Your team can add these recommendations to their next quote or send them in a follow-up email. These personalized recommendations can significantly increase the average order value, helping to offset the lower frequency of new equipment purchases.

AI can also help your team reach out at the right time, based on each customer’s buying cycle.

You may already know your contractors are most likely to service equipment in the spring or fall, but you may not realize one of your best customers always performs this work in early April and mid-October. Reaching out just before their normal ordering window will increase your likelihood of closing the deal while building trust and loyalty.

3. Turn Inventory Liabilities Into Revenue

HVACR distributors continue to grapple with significant supply chain issues. The 40% reduction in HFC production has already led to shortages and price hikes for refrigerants like R-410A, while demand for other products, including systems that use this and other refrigerants with a high global warming potential, are already beginning to dwindle.

Adding AI to your business intelligence data gives you clearer insight into inventory liabilities and opportunities. AI can analyze all your inventory and sales data to identify which products are declining in sales and which customers are most likely to buy those items, based on their past order history.

When you’re using a BI tool that is integrated with your CRM, you can then automate email campaigns targeting those likely-to-buy customers, so you can get that slow-moving stock off your balance sheet.

4. Use AI For Predictive Sales Forecasting

A more volatile market makes sales forecasting more time-consuming as team members are constantly called upon to provide updated numbers and help with re-forecasting.

AI excels at predictive analytics, making it an invaluable tool for timely, accurate sales forecasting. AI can analyze years of historical data, accounting for seasonality and other fluctuations, allowing your team to adjust your forecast more frequently without creating more demands on your sales team.

Instead of continually revisiting the forecast, they can focus on building stronger relationships with your best customers and identifying new opportunities.

Embrace AI with White Cup

To harness the full potential of AI, HVACR distributors need integrated solutions that combine CRM and business intelligence. White Cup’s AI-powered CRM and BI software provides a seamless integration with your ERP system, making product and purchasing data visible across your organization. This enables AI to recommend the next best actions for your sales team, such as identifying the best related products to recommend to a customer, based on their individual purchase history.

White Cup’s AI can also analyze customer buying cycles, alerting your team when it’s time to reach out or follow up. It can alert you to slow-moving inventory and which customers are most likely to purchase it so your team can move those products faster. At a time when every sale matters more than ever, this proactive approach ensures your team never misses an opportunity.

Distributors who are beta-testing our custom-developed AI models for predictive forecasting have saved weeks while achieving nearly 90% accuracy. This precision allows your team to make informed decisions, enhancing their ability to meet sales targets and drive growth.

To learn more about how to introduce AI into your sales processes to increase revenue, join us at noon EST June 11 for Scale Up Sales With AI: How To Identify Your Best Growth Opportunities And Increase The Value Of Every Order. In this HARDI webinar, you’ll discover how strong business intelligence forms the foundation for successful AI initiatives and see firsthand how AI can transform sales forecasting, inventory management, and customer engagement.

By embracing AI, HVACR distributors can turn today’s challenges into tomorrow’s opportunities, driving growth, efficiency, and customer satisfaction. Don't miss this chance to future-proof your business and stay ahead in a competitive market.

Helen Piña is the VP of Marketing for White Cup. With a powerful CRM that empowers team members to act on their best opportunities faster, business intelligence solutions that transform customer and product data into crystal-clear insights, and precision pricing software, White Cup helps distributors shift from reactive, siloed customer interactions to proactive, collaborative growth strategies. Learn more at whitecupsolutions.com.