Dispatch for Profit is an industry standard practice that can dramatically increase average ticket size. Let's break it down with a simple scenario involving two techs: Bob, the seasoned HVAC veteran with 21 years of experience, and Johnny, the trade school graduate who’s so green that he’s never been out in his own truck until today.
Picture this: Your service zone is 50 miles wide, and it's 8 AM with two calls on the board. Bob is tackling a no-cool at 111 East Street, at the eastern border of your territory, while Johnny is on his way to perform a tune-up on a system you installed last year at 210 Western Ave, perched on the western edge of your service area.
Then, you get a call from a homeowner at 211 Western Ave who explains that her trusty 17-year-old HVAC system has finally stopped cooling. This is a prime opportunity to sell a new system replacement.
At first, you might want to send Johnny to the nearby call, considering he's just across the street, but that might be a huge mistake. Suppose Bob has a 50% chance of selling a new system, while Johnny has only a 10% chance–which is very reasonable for technicians of their experience levels. If the average HVAC replacement ticket stands at $10,000, dispatching Bob is projected to gross your business $5,000, while opting for Johnny would yield only $1,000.
Despite Bob being 50 miles further away, the difference in expected revenue between sending Bob and Johnny far exceeds the cost of Bob's extra travel time.
Of course, there are nuances to consider, and in reality you should rarely send your best technicians on such long drives. Our piece here illustrates how you can do both: send your top performers to profitable jobs while keeping their driving time to a minimum.
Every technician is different, and choosing the right ones for the right jobs can unlock huge profits for your business.
Check out our latest installment in a series about Dispatch—for more insights on boosting your business's efficiency and profitability.