Thanks for watching this video. This is one class from the 2022 hvacr symposium in in claremont florida. We have the symposium every year and so to find out more kind of upcoming go to hvacrschoolcom. Symposium big thanks to our sponsors for this event.

Which was accutools and truetech tools. They're the two title sponsors. That made the event possible in this excellent session. John ellis talks about selling indoor air quality solutions and of course.

Doing. It ethically man. What a pleasure to be here. What a great event and you know it's kind of mind boggling.

The collective knowledge and experience at an event like this you know i i can't you can't even put a number to it. But uh thank everybody for being here thank you for to brian for giving me the opportunity. So hey out of all those peoples that raise their hands let's narrow that down a little bit. So uh.

How many have sold iaq products. Okay now let's narrow down how many people sell solutions awesome. That's what i want to see so uh like caleb said. So uh my my company is dynamic air consulting.

And what that is is it gives me a chance to go in the field and work with clients and create a solution space scope of work that's tailored right for what they what they're experiencing what their pain is or whatever conditions they're going through. But in that i get to bring contractors in the field with me. We use that for a coaching experience. And i i just got all kinds of toys.

And i i get to bring those in the field. They get to use them see how they work and then at the end of the at the end of the time. We get to actually create a solution for that client and of course. It's up to them to price it and bid it because i i don't know the the marketplace uh for everybody's uh businesses.

I'm a coach and field service trainer for the new flat rate. That is a built for you menu pricing that uh. It and we're not a pricing company. We are a software and process development company.

And what we do is we take a look at what you need to be profitable and we create a menu based on what your pricing is we don't do any pricing. So wonderful opportunity. I travel all over the united states and i work with companies and i put a uniform on and i get in the van and we go run calls i work with plumbing electrical heating and air conditioning. We just added a chimney module for chimney repair and cleaning and then we'll talk about some new stuff that we got going on towards the end.

I have the wonderful opportunity to teach indoor air quality for dyke and amanda goodman. Now when they approached me. They said. John we really want to create a curriculum for the industry and we understand that you might be the right fit.

And i said i would absolutely love to be that guy. But i will not stand in front of a group of people like this and sell products because that's what everybody else does so the the the curriculum was developed for the hvac industry. It's building science building forensics and indoor air quality from a mechanical point of view. And it's been well received and i'm teaching that all over the united states.

My next class will be in wooddale illinois. I think a couple people are going and uh. We'd love to see you you can see me afterwards. I can get your information send you the uh info on how to sign up.

So let's uh let's jump in i think i gotta here. It is so here's what we want to talk talk target uh today. Um. We are a process driven industry and all the the service industry uh all of them across the board.

We all have processes. We have a process on how the csr answers. The phone. We have a process on how a service technician handles a service call.

We have a process for for uh handling warranties. We've got a process for maintenance. We got a process for service for installation. We have a process for commissioning.

We are process driven. So i have come up with um through my experience a process to address indoor air quality and so uh. I want you guys to understand as i talk about this i've been doing indoor air quality at a very high level for a very long time my customers come to me with a variety of conditions that you may or may not see in your experience. Cystic fibrosis copd immune deficiencies oncology debilitating asthma.

I have clients that have come to me with lung transplants and so this is real indoor air quality. What i what solutions. I come up for my clients their life depends on it and and their quality of life and so debilitating asthma. All the way down to a garden variety you know seasonal allergies so in in creating a process indoor air quality investigate analyze and quote.

It's a three step process you have to do all. Three you have to do them in order our industry goes right to the quote for the longest time now uh with current events in the pandemic and different things we are getting bombarded with all kinds of gizmos and gadgets and and in very tricky marketing. I mean marketing is is is hard to navigate in and of itself. But unfortunately.

We we hear indoor air quality boom. We go right to a product and write to the quote and totally discount. The first two steps so in that we'll kind of break that down for you so. The investigation process is what we call discovery.

So we have we have to go in and and collect a certain set of measurements. If you will if you don't test. It's just a guess so we we want to be thorough. And so.

The investigation process or the discovery starts with gathering data now that being said i often start with a questionnaire that i send out and it's some basic questions. But at least it starts the conversation and and i like to send it to them ahead of time because i want them to fill it out together so significant other and family members whatever that may be so that i have as much data from them as i possibly can so i can move forward and know which direction. I need to go so review. The resident's complaints that's what the questionnaire is for in my in dealing with acute patients.

I use what's called a queasy report. It's actually from the medical community and uh it will it'll narrow down and get to like specifics chemical sensitivities and different triggers and different things i don't send that to all clients. But on some of my severe. I do and then so we want to review the the complaints and the existing condition before any action before any action is taken towards improving indoor air quality you can't fix what you don't know about assess the effects of the poor of poor indoor equality on the inhabitants.

So whoever's living in the space. Whoever occupies that space they are experiencing something and we need to be able to assess what effects. What are they feeling a lot of times. They will already have been to an allergist and they'll already know what they're allergic to but we need to assess that and what what kind of effect that is having on the inhabitants keep in mind that effects are often delayed and cumulative depending on each occupant's gender metabolism age.

And other sensitivity factors now i say sensitivity factors as people are exposed to irritants and allergens and chemicals and different things they become sensitized and so that's why we say sensitivity once you go to the next level. You are compromised and so uh low level long term exposure to different pollutants will move you from one category to the next. So. You will become compromised.

Low level long term exposure to radon carbon. Monoxide. Different. Things.

I've got lots of experience. Where we came out and it's like oh well we didn't know and a year or two of being exposed and now they are compromised. So i want you to understand that so measure. The air quality conditions in the space.

So how do we do that well there's lots of different ways. Um. I i use a couple of different products. Air advice is one air answers is the other and i see on forums.

Oh man you can't get your 30 minutes. You know testing is is ridiculous well i agree to a point. But you got to start somewhere. So if i can get a 30 minute snapshot and at least.

Know what's in the space. Preliminarily and and i can at least have a direction to go. And i can start a conversation that will lead to longer testing. And more in depth testing.

And so uh that's the air advice and air answers is fantastic. It's an it's a relatively new product that is basically a cih in a in a box certified industrial hygienist it's measuring more on the organic side can actually speciate some uh some molds and spores rodent and anthropod droppings and different things so you have to start somewhere. But that starts the conversation that leads into further testing take into consideration that uh concentration of indoor and pollutants may vary over time so uh in my career. I've got to work with a lot of really really cool cihs and virologists and and different things um.

And what we find out is there's events especially when you talk about vocs. It's an event or a spike. And so what happens during that event is you'll spike and then the levels will taper off and it may happen. A couple times during the day.

I worked in a lot of schools and every day at 10 15. The kids came back from being at recess and the level spiked. Because all the little kids were bringing in with them particulates and different things and then uh. There's uh.

I was doing one school and it would spike and it was when the diesel trains pulled up and were refueling and the br and the uh the predominant winds were bringing those gases towards the classroom. So we put a time signature to that and we're able to you know see that that's what happened so uh keep that in mind that you may be taking some measurements. Hey everything is fine and but you know what you could get a spike or an event and things change quickly uh when we're measuring uh in the microbial realm of things. So.

This is the unseen realm of things we have surrogate contaminants. So uh. A good example are older sheet metal. That's starting to decay and rust.

You know you've got the galvanizing. The nickel it starts to break down you get rust particles well those rust particles in and of themselves aren't really a a pollutant per se. I mean it's not good to breathe them. But what happens is they get moist and mold will attach they'll become aerosolized when you take a sample and it gets to the lab.

They're looking for a specific pollutant. Which has a size and a shape. But it's actually on the rest. Which has a different shape.

But become aerosolized and then that is a target irritant for an occupant and so we have we have to be able to understand that it's not always just night and day on what we're looking at so identify the source of balloons. I can't drive this home. Enough anybody who's had my class knows that i say source control. Source control.

Source control. The pollutant. Where's it coming from okay. Let's get a handle on that let's see if we can't control the source.

Okay source control so once we've gathered our data and so i i go in deep. So we we want to uh and we'll go uh into this a little further so i want to measure what's in the air and look for target innotence based on my interview with the customer. So what's in the air. Then i want to look at the building.

So this is where the building science principles come in and we we do a series of tests blower door infiltration pressure mapping moisture mapping i want to know what's going on in the space and then we also look at existing mechanical systems. Which would include your air distribution system. Uh filtration and other things and so those are three of our categories. That we really want to pay close attention to and then what does that mean when it comes to the to the client.

So we've gathered all this data. I always do system performance so i take static pressure i convert that in air flow. But as an air bounce technician. I had a flow hood in my hands.

All the time so air flow delivered capacity on both heating and air conditioning. Total airflow. Which would relate to air exchanges per hour within the space. What effects does my hvac have on my building pressures and then my filtration rates and people often say well.

How do you do a filtration rate well you need to have some tools i use a laser particle scanner and it gives me uh it gives me 003 microns in in numbers and so i measure what's going in and what's coming out now. I got a filtration rate. Now you can look at the your your pressure drop and all that other fun stuff that we do. But that's all data.

We gather once we've gathered all that data and we pull it together it's time to analyze and so compare the data and the customer information obtained during the uh discovery process determine if the pollutant can be removed from the space. So a lot of times uh in the pursuit of energy. We're building homes. Tighter and tighter and tighter and so that's fine.

But we're bringing stuff into the space that's off gassing uh behavioral is a huge one you know you try to look at behavioral or what what are people cooking. What are they using for cleaning materials. You know what do they use in their washer and dryer. You know are they are they using products that they wash their pillow their their bed clothing in and then bury their head in a pillow and that could be a problem.

So these are all things that we got to keep in mind as we're looking. And so is the pollutant in the space or is it outside the space. And my infiltration is bringing everything in air is the medium on which everything travels. Okay.

One cfm in equals. One cfm out. We have air movement in every space on this planet. And so we have to be able to identify pathways.

What the pollutant is how it's getting into the house is it in the house can we move remove it from the space. Those are all things that have to be taken into consideration while we're trying to analyze our data determine the best way to reduce the levels of the pollutant one can it be removed two should we look for dilution if we've got high carbon dioxide and we can't eliminate it from the space because they've got you know they're cooking. And doing things and uh maybe they have a a you know a wood burning stove or something which i got in my house. But uh so now we got to look for a dilution tvocs could be another one is dilution the right answer.

If we can't remove everything from the space. Now and only now are we ready to quote. We've had our interview. We've gathered data we sat down with the data.

We've analyzed it we've we've connected the dots between what our data is telling us. And what's going on with the customer now. We're ready to create a solution and a scope of work provide customers with options based on everything. We discovered during this uh uncovered during the discover and the analysis of the data explain how each option works.

What upkeep is involved how much will it cost and provide different solutions. So the last part of that is provide different solutions. It is not unusual to have a multi tiered solutions based scope of work. If the space has microbial growth and in its minor.

It hasn't colonized yet and we're not into a full blown remediation. But if we have microbial growth or we have dust mites in the space. What is the cause of that we might have high humidity. So a dehumidification might be part of that solution.

We've got high particulate level in the house and so part of that might be better filtration we might find that we've got high carbon dioxide or high tv ocs and so without removing that from the space ventilation is part of that process. So as you build this scope of work. It's like well. Why do we have high particulate levels in the house.

And it's like oh. My goodness we've got very high infiltration. So all the filtration in the world is a wash. If our infiltration is out of control.

We need to get a handle on that so part of that solution now we're at four levels would be doing some basic air sealing and trying to get uh get that under control and or can we offset that with positive pressure apparatus in the house and so you can see it starts to build real fast and so having them understand that as you explain. Mr. Mrs. Homer your your allergist says.

You're allergic to dust. Mites. And and particulates. Here's the solution for that you've got chemical sensitivities or multiple chemical sensitivities.

We've got high tvocs here's a solution for that and then we just build it we've got we've got humidity problems here's a solution for that so. It's really easy to build a multi tiered solution for your indoor air quality uh client. Help the com customer make uh. Based make their decision based on facts you have to keep it just a matter of a fact not on emotions.

That's a tough one sometimes and uh you'll know why so i'm going to tell you a little more about that so it'd be safe to say that we're pretty much hvac here. So i'm going to narrow this down into selling iaq approaches from our point of view as an hvac professional. So it's a different approach. There's a little bit of a paradigm shift here.

And so we have to go in and kind of clear our mind and look at it through a different set of lenses okay. It's very important to understand when dealing with clients a lot of times. There's a medical condition involved okay i closed my session if you were here last year. I closed my session with uh.

I have had wonderful opportunity to work with families and children all over the united states and some in very very bad condition arden was one of them. She was just about a bubble girl. Multiple chemical sensitivities environmental conditions full blown body rashes. She had uh asthma.

Really bad asthma. She had food allergies she was practically a bubble girl. And so you think that the parents are a little emotional about that absolutely so a medical condition could be involved we have to understand that if you don't fully know what that is research. It and then uh the the customer believe me they know and they'll be happy to tell you what they're experiencing and what their condition is so heightened emotions so emotions are running high especially.

When children are involved. Oh. My goodness so it's said and and and hear me in the proper context that people will give part of their paycheck to be comfortable. But when their children are involved.

And it's a medical condition or their health and well being they'll sell the farm now that that you we have to hear it in the proper context. We have to understand that going in and we're not to prey on that but just understand emotionally how invested they are and what you have to say and coming up with a solution for their family their children uh. Maybe they're they're a parents might be there. But these are things that we all we have to keep into consideration.

We have to have some empathy and and compassion and understanding. But we have to keep the emotion out of it okay. We we have to keep the emotion out of it as we're trying to create a solution a lot of the physicians think you just need more medication. I can so our industry.

The medical community. We have a habit at throwing prescriptions at everything and so oh this is what's going on we gotta. We got a medicine for that we we've got uh pharmaceuticals for that and hey we just came up with a brand new pharmaceutical. If you sell x amount of this for us and give them to your patients.

It's like it's like free r. D. If you will research and development. Hey.

We'll send you to hawaii. And so there's there's a huge incentive for doctors to sell prescriptions now hear me right prescriptions and pharmaceuticals can be good uh in in the right you know. But but a lot of times they treat the symptom and not not actually what's going on and and so uh that being said uh in my experience uh. I worked with uh with a gentleman gene sperling.

He was a respiratory pharmacist by trade degree in pharmacology from the university of oklahoma and uh. He had a relationship with a lot of doctors so we worked with ucla medical center children medical center. Usc medical center. The la children's hospital and several prominent immunologists oncologists and allergists in and around la and beverly hills area now because he speaks doctor talk the hepa rules.

Didn't apply to him. And i got to be sit in on some of those conversations. So we had doctors actually prescribing our services. Now that sounds like a lot of weight to that uh.

So we we weren't able to get hmos and ppos to pay for our services. But at the end of the day when there's a prescription attached to it or a hard recommendation. We were able to get it a very um friendly tax write off for the work that we did so yes doctors tend to throw pharmaceuticals at a lot of stuff and and i want and and i want us to be able to understand that by changing indoor environments. We can take the pressure off of what they're experiencing and a lot of times and these are case studies clients.

I worked with they go off medications their quality of life lung lung function and capacity. All this stuff starts coming back. And so cystic fibrosis is a death sentence. They are going to die from cystic fibrosis.

Now they've made good progress copd. There's no cure. They will die from copd. So our goal is to give them the best that they can have and also quality of life and in hopes get them off some of their medications we had a lady in uh.

Um brandon you know we talked about helen in my class and so she had copd. She was about 56 lung capacity her doctor prescribed our services. We did a total fix on our house. And then with diet exercise and and being in a clean environment it's not just indoor air quality we are changing indoor environments completely changing the environment so she went off of half her medication and the doctors were quite astounded because she went from 56 lung capacity up over 60.

It actually improved. They were astounded and that was that was a a great case study for us because they started referring more and more clients with with uh like conditions for for us. So um. That's uh.

It's important to understand what's going on on the medical realm of things i'm not saying you all need to be doctors. But we need to understand also keep in mind that you're probably not the first contractor. So when these people are have a child or even themselves. And and they they're looking for solutions.

They want a solution and they get a line of contractors down the street and they all come in and they all say the same thing. We can install in insert name a product here and you're going to be better because the sticker on the box. Said so and so they're probably uh pretty aggravated and fed up with the whole thing because every contractor is coming in and saying the same thing over and over they're throwing products at people and not offering solutions and that's where our industry's at right now and it's it's unfortunate. But i'm trying to change minds.

One room at a time so so indoor air quality issues cannot be solved with a cookie cutter approach. I coined this phrase from the medical community and its prescription without diagnosis is malpractice. Hear that prescription without diagnosis is malpractice. Our industry goes right to the prescription by throwing products at people and hoping for the best who's got kids you got kids stand up how many kids you got three how old are they ten six and two my goodness.

Gracious you love them do anything for them how would you feel. If your kids weren't feeling. Well now we're not talking about covet. We're talking about you know they've got a cold and they're miserable and a fever and they're you know and your heart is bleeding for them and they feel miserable and you feel miserable because they're miserable.

And it's time to load them up and take them to a doctor. So you go to the doctor. And you walk in and the receptionist says hey come on in and sit down. And you do you're all signed up.

And then all of a sudden. The door opens and says. Oh hey and tosses you a bottle of prescriptions says try this call me in two months. How would you feel about that yeah might even be pissed off wouldn't you yeah.

That's what we do in our industry. What size are you large thank you for participating here's a shirt making air great again iaq matters. Yeah so do you understand the connection. There if we went to our doctors and then they're really good at this.

But they don't even see us and they just toss you a bottle of medication. Say hey give this a try call me in two months. But yet our clients call this. Say hey i've got an indoor air quality.

You're like hey install this product. And call me in two months. Let me know how it's doing. There's no difference prescription without diagnosis is malpractice.

We're guilty of malpractice every day in our businesses. Hopefully. It's not you guys. It's the other guy.

But i'm just saying that's where our industry's at so the bulk of the industry also as part of their business model is focused on selling new equipment and indoor air quality is an add on a bolt on accessory. It's like here's your new equipment. We're going to sprinkle a little bit of indoor air quality in there to make you feel better that's where our industry is at i'm telling you there's a paradigm shift we need to go into our indoor equality and we need to be focused on indoor air quality and sprinkle it with a little bit of equipment. The equipment is our add on when i talked earlier.

It's like we got a multi tier right solutions based approach scope of work for our clients did i mention equipment in any of that list. No the equipment comes later and it will come so we have to focus on indoor air quality. So if that's your focus going in your customers feel like you care about them. Well you should care about them and they're going to know that they just want to be heard they want to be heard they are living in a nightmare in a dream.

They're living in hell. When i worked with arden they they searched far and wide. They were going all over the united states looking for answers for their child. So we did a scope of work from her for her and it really helped uh.

She you know her medical conditions were so acute that anything i did isn't going to be you know a cure. But we can give her better quality of life and help promote healing and getting through whatever they're experiencing and so uh more than caring for the american dollar. So i want to say something and hear me very very clear. So there's some spiritual principles here.

We don't worship money right. We don't worship money. But money is the fuel that fuels. The engine that is our company.

Okay we are in business to be profitable you keep your employees working you keep their families. Fed they can buy a house and do things it gives you the ability to have trucks and tools and and better serve your company. So we don't worship money. But money is the fuel that fuels the engine that is our company.

If you are profitable well guess what when there's a when there's a a veteran that came back and needs help and you're profitable. Guess what we're going to give you a system or there's there's the the family who's fallen on bad times. And and they you know and you have the ability because you're profitable in your business to go ahead and help them or you can donate to charities and you can do different things so so money is not to be worshipped. But it is the fuel so i want to be perfectly clear in that and we all need to be profitable in our businesses.

Uh and this will totally separate you from the rest. If you're not standing out you're blending in so you need to stand out evaluate the needs of the customer. Ask questions listen to the customers issue whatever they're feeling medical whatever and then you can assess the equipment um. I just did um so i travel all over the united states and i work with a lot of companies and i work with clients and i was just in port here on michigan and it was cold.

I came here and i was like but uh the client uh had been working in the oil refineries. He was compromised. He was well past sensitized. He was compromised can't breathe in his own house.

He can go take a walk and immediately feels better. And so when we're having uh when we're having our sit down conversation. All eyes were on him. And it was all about him all about him all about him.

And what's he experiencing what did the doctor. Say you know what what happens at what time of the day. And it was all about him and in the den. We hear this little voice and it was his wife and she says does anybody care.

How i feel absolutely. Ma.'am come on in ask questions listen to the customers. Nobody talked to her and she came in and she said you know i always thought my cousin my husband was a little cuckoo right because he said experiment. But i realize that there's actually something going on and she said you know i'm having a little bit of trouble breathing.

And i sing in choir at church and i haven't really been able to sing and i really miss that and it was because of her exposure to what was going on she was becoming sensitized. So he was compromised. She was becoming sensitized and it's like oh. My goodness.

She just wanted to be heard. And so we yes. Ma.'am come on in we apologize. And that's like we we got so laser focused on the husband that we totally missed.

What was going on with the wife. She just wanted to be heard so um educate the customer now. There's a lot of oh. You don't educate the customer.

But you know what in this instant instance. It's okay believe me the the customer will educate you especially. When medical conditions are going on and and and how long they've been experiencing stuff. And what their kids are going through and how many trips you know and what this specialist said in this specialist and and so they'll educate you but the education process would be explain the conditions that you found in the home because we're looking at the unseen hey they know something's going on.

But they they can't pinpoint it and so it's up to us to go in and see the unseen and connected to what the customer's going. What's going on with the customer and then related to the equipment. Age we can start to look and bring that into the com into the into the conversation. You see how i've been kind of i've been talking about equipment.

But it's been iaq focused and we're slowly bringing it in and i'm going to explain how we have that uh that conversation so you you walk them through it and you help them decide your solutions. What what's in their best interest and so you'll be able to start to connect their dots. And they'll be saying. Oh yeah.

That's what i'm experiencing uh and then um suggest solutions that'll improve the indoor air quality and the environment keeping in mind. It's not just the air. We are changing environments. And that's where the rubber meets the road once you change an environment.

There are going to start to experience and feel better and less medications and different things. And then advise them to upgrade older equipment before it's an emergency. Mr. Mrs.

Homeowner based on the data that we gathered and the and we analyzed and really looked and based on what you're experiencing. We think we have a solid solution. We'll be able to take care of you know your your the tvocs. The humidity.

The particulates. The infiltration in your building. And you know what mr. Mrs.

Homeowner based on the age and the condition of your equipment. It won't support these solutions your hvac system is the engine. That's going to power all these solutions and we would hate for us to get these all in place. And then your equipment go out.

And you're left unprotected easy conversation to have and because because the the hvac equipment could be what's powering a lot of these solutions again. We want to make sure that it's able to support what they need and then if it goes out in an emergency and if it's a catastrophic failure and you're scrambling for equipment. They're left unprotected. So keep in mind who my client bases are so.

When i say that it really does matter. So when addressing iaq jobs take a little longer. There's no two ways about it and because a lot of care needs to go in during the process. So they take longer here's some of the things that i did in my practice.

I pre cleaned all the equipment using environmental friendly products and having msds material. Safety data sheets available. More times. Than not i would approach.

The client. Say hey. Is there a cleaning product that you use that's friendly for you and your family can i use it and they'll be more than happy to let you do that the work site has to be kept ultra clean uh wearing booties building containments uh encapsulate should say non foil back insulation and so i'm gonna talk about that in a second so and here. It is so absolutely these are my no fly no insulation in the airstream whatsoever.

So air insulation as we know it is an irritant uh and for my clients. If they're compromised. Irritants are a no go okay. No duckboard plenums and i know some y'alls marketplace.

That's what they use there's alternative uh to to duckboard cool duct is one of them. It's a fantastic product both on the performance side of things. And it's ultra clean. And it's a lot of the same you know methodology for cutting and putting together.

Plenums and transitions and things again no raw fiberglass. No duct leakage especially predominant return. Although predominant supply will have a negative effect on this structure. And you've probably heard a couple of talks this weekend that will uh back what i'm saying and no negative pressure in a home so if we can get to if we can get to neutral.

That's great i prefer slightly positive and it's going to vary from climate to climate and and how you accomplish that so you need to format your pricing to accommodate the extra time. I i talk about containments you know i had to learn the hard way. And i was doing a kind of a high profile job and you know i'm a contractor. I'm used to selling down.

You know the plastic and some drop cloths and and i start the job and and then the client walked in they turned white as a ghost. They said uh uh. This is and this was early on in my career before i understood the gravity of what impact. I'm having on on what the customer is experiencing and you know um.

I had to build a containment and so i wasn't prepared for that and so you're going to work with clients that they if you if if you misstep and contaminate. A house and they have to come in and do a top to bottom wipe down and cleaning of a home that gets expensive. So i've i've i've had jobs where i had to do a full blown ingress egress zipper doors sticky mats filtration negative pressure in the containment first time yeah that cost where's that come from your bottom line. I had to learn so uh containments are a big deal and it could be something as simple as just covering everything with plastic or it may you know from that to a full blown ingress and egress you deserve to be paid for that extra time.

I mean you know we're not here to give our way our services. Although. I've i've donated plenty of my services to to children and and people this industry's been very very good to me. But hey you deserve to get paid for that and so going in and not understanding that i needed a containment that was a lesson learned where did i learn it right in my wallet.

So you need to get paid for that extra time that it takes and the care and and the consideration as you're installing uh different jobs uh remember low bid is a race to the bottom nobody wins. Everybody loses the customer loses because they can't get the proper job done for a low bid contractor loses because they're not making the money that they need to and they're cutting corners our industry as a whole loses as we're pushing everything down. It's a race to the bottom not a race. I want to win that's not even a race.

I want to participate in so you are offering a superior product that none of your competition can even come close to and there and your knowledge expertise and experience is a commodity and so you need to charge accordingly. So this is uh. This is not a sales pitch. I want to i want to uh bring to light something that i've been blessed and had an opportunity to be involved in uh with with my position in the new flat rate.

We have created the very first and only in our industry. An iaq pricing. Module and we are excited we put it through beta testing. We chose about 20 contractors.

And it went live and people are using it all over the united states and they're having great success with it because the question is oh well how do how do i charge for this stuff. How do i price this stuff. And that's fine. So one thing i want to make sure that you understand we are not a pricing company.

We are a software and process development company. We take a look at what you need to be profitable. And that's how we built this module. So i'm going to take a couple minutes and just kind of run run you through it so the process of discovery and specialized iaq testing is built into the program and is monetized uh.

I've got probably 80 or 90 000. Worth of testing equipment that all had to be paid for and as you as you go deeper in your indoor air quality uh journey. What's that say yeehaw man. I'm right on schedule so as you get further in your in your journey.

You're gonna realize you need other tools and so those have to be paid for and so you need to be profitable to do that so the new flat rate iaq module looks something like this we have presentation. We are scripted. So we have presentation scripts um. We have the customer menu that looks like that we offer.

Five options. We call them medals and they go all the way up to a platinum our landing page looks a little something like that and so we would go to the iaq module and then once we get to the ieq module. When we start looking at different things we do have a technician checkbook. So if we're doing a certain thing and a certain task and the technician isn't quite sure he can go to the checklist and make sure that he's doing the the proper sequence and work and and then finally we do have a training portal.

So we would go to the iaq module and it starts off with discovery in discovery. We have three categories. We have air safety and that's allowing us to see the unseen and test. The air then we have building safety.

Which would incorporate building testing which would include blower door um zonal pressure mapping moisture a lot of visual and photographs and then uh then we have existing mechanical again. I told you on every job. I look at the mechanical and the duct work and measure and capacities and so that's how it's laid out by using building science. The latest tools and technology best practices and remember the whole house is a system you too can create environments.

Here's my here's my uh my six must look at so thermal comfort thermal comfort has a direct impact on how your clients that are compromised feel so that that indoor environment has to be comfortable. We are in the comfort business aren't we so this should be easy. When we sell comfort uh humidity depending on where you're at i'm in new mexico. We're about zero humidity every once in a while arizona same way and i uh nate makes fun of me.

I don't know if he's in the rooms like oh you you dry climate guys but anyway building pressures no we need to make sure that we look at building pressures ventilation hey. Let's put the v back in hvac you take the v out of hvac. What do you got yeah do we want to be hacks. No.

We don't ventilation is gonna probably be in just about every solution that you have to offer filtration. And then my big one pollutant identification and source control. Source control. Source control.

We really need to dig deep and understand. What's going on in in source. Uh. Pollutants.

And sources. So you'll be able to test design. And implement safe healthy comfortable and efficient environments for your clients. So our industry.

Where are we focused where's our focus right now in our industry in hvac yeah. But what about the equipment. Thank you very much our industry is so laser focused on efficiency. It's not even funny now is that important yeah.

It's kind of important so i have these cards and safety. You know what makes us a safe house you know no electrocutions no fire no explosion no carbon dioxide comfort you know drafty and comfortable you know rooms are the same clean air uh health you know uh no exposure to mold dust pollens chemicals gases uh external and internal pollutions and efficiency you know we all know what that is so during my initial consult with with the client. I i'll say hey you know what take a look at these cards and so i understand where your priorities are can you look at these and lay them down in in what makes them what's most important to you i could be an actor in vegas. One of those mentalists like yes.

99 of the time they set them down just like that the only big would be health and safety. That's how they lay them down. Almost every time. They want a safe healthy comfortable and efficient home.

This is from clients. Hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of them that's not where that's not where our industry is our industry is backwards. So i just wanted to share that with you so uh that being said for information. Uh ieq training.

You can visit. The new flat rate. Forward slash iaq. The amanda brand business academy and the goodman business.

Toolbox is where our trainings are we are part nci is is in this stable of of trainers. And so we've got just some great training and then my my training is in there too uh. We do offer it through dyken. The dyke and air intelligence.

I got to work with dr. Mark jackson uh. The air intelligence is amazing uh they've got some great products. I'm not trying to sway you guys any any direction.

But we work really big with a lot with the clean comfort brand of iaq products. And so. Mr. Akama.

Who owns dyken who is the umbrella company over everything he very eloquently said that hey our box is just sheet metal a bunch of wires a motor. Some components in and of itself. It's just a box. It's you the contractors that breathe life into it and bring it to life and so his philosophy is he doesn't care whose equipment you sell he doesn't care.

If you're first choice second choice or third choice. He just wants to be at the table. And so the clean comfort brand of uh of products is uh is pretty robust and uh and and so have a look at it. If you haven't already seen it.

So. Thank you we have what four minutes for questions. And answers. Let's have them yes.

Sir can i go through what testing tools. I'm using no. I i have a ton of tools. So obviously blower doors right and obviously.

I i have a duct blaster uh and then so i use my my dg uh. My dg 1000 for everything right and and then i have all of that i need to do for i've got flow hoods and turning vein anemometers. I was an air balance technician. I commissioned hundreds and hundreds of units and buildings.

I'm also a economizer commissioning. I've got tools for all that hot wire anemones all that stuff that as hvac tech should have and then i've got my iaq stuff. And i got a ton of stuff. And it's uh.

Too much to even start to go through the list. And even that you would understand what they are yes. Sir. So.

Follow. If your iq devices are giving you what we call normal range. But your occupants. Don't have problems explaining the conundrum that goes along like your reading is okay.

But their personal ability is much more great question. So the question was if your if your uh data gathering in all intents and purposes is pointing to everything's normal. But yet. The customer is still experiencing something that that is a conundrum.

I have i have experienced that before where you can't quite put your finger on it but in the unseen world against surrogate pollutants is probably the direction we need to go so what's not showing up if we were to pull an air sample get it to the lab and they have their what they're looking for their list and and it's based largely on on a microscope right so they look at it they're used to seeing certain sizes and shapes of different things which would lead them to speciate surrogate pollutants don't fall into that category and often are missed and so having the conversation that if we get good filtration ventilation uh. Get our humidity under control would probably be kind as a safe direction to go because you can go deeper you can get lost in the woods with testing so we need to be careful with that brandon running a situation like that you can call in a commercial. Thank you uh so so brandon um brandon uh bouncing off of what he said. If what your what data you're gathering and it's not showing something you can employ a certified industrial hygienist who has the one the knowledge and expertise to take it a little deeper and they may be able with their testing equipment and they've got some cool stuff.

I must say can probably find what you're not seeing but we are capable of pulling some air samples ourselves and getting them into the lab or using something like air answers so great question. Yes. Sir. The customer has asked about new equipment.

How do we broach. This subject. Without falling down a hole of a lengthy conversation and that's been our problem uh. So.

The question is how do you have that conversation and get into a lengthy you know to do and not getting paid for your time so uh. I when i first got into indoor equality. I was launching my career. I gave that stuff away and in hopes to make it up on the back end.

But you never do now fortunately. I had a high closing rate because no one was doing what i did at the level. I did it but but it's a simple conversation. So we promote uh air advice and you love it or leave.

It doesn't matter to me. But if there is some good data in there. And so if we're running a maintenance call and or a a sales call or a service call. It's like hey you know what anybody in the home experience.

Any asthma allergies bronchial or respiratory issues. We need to be concerned about they're going to answer. Yes. Or no.

If the answer is yes. Hey our company's running a special right now. I can do a 30 minute assessment for you would you be interested in that for free and so while you're doing what you do 30 minutes comes right to your phone hey. Mr.

Mrs. Homeowner based on some national averages from the epa. The national lung association and national heart association. My report is showing me that we've got some levels of some certain balloons that are a little high.

But don't worry we do have some options would you like to go over those now you'd go to the discovery. Page and you would show them a page that would allow you to take that deeper dive hey. What should we do and they'll choose an option or they won't. But you know now it's better to know now if they're interested in paying for your knowledge.

Expertise and experience. Then have that conversation that goes nowhere make sense yep. Yes. Sir.

Great question. So the question the last question last question so i i mentioned that uh. We we had relationships and that we could get doctors to prescribe our services and that we weren't able to get a hmo or ppo to write them off. Now.

There are some air purifiers iq. Air. Makes. One's called a health pro plus.

It has a dme attached to it which is durable medical equipment kind of like a a cpap machine or oxygen or those kind of apparatus that can get a tax right i mean get a prescription for but no what we were able to do because of the the the the gravity that a prescription per se from a doctor hey we need to clean up your your indoor environment. We were able to get that you have to have a good tax accountant to write that off and so um just real quick um not to be about. Money but my largest indoor air quality project to date is 14. Million dollars.

I've got several projects that fell in the one two three four hundred thousand dollar range my average residential ticket for a fix fell between seventy and eighty thousand dollars all day every day now offering financing and creative ways to get the job done do it in sections. But those are the kind of tickets that i would get and we're fixing the environment meaning shell work hvac work everything else so it's there just learning how to identify the opportunities having compassion and then going after it. I'll be hanging out for a while come. And see me thank you for your attention.

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