How to Use HVAC SPIFFs to Boost Business Profit

Traditionally, a SPIFF is a short-term bonus offer to help deliver quick results. 

Say you’ve got a distributor deal on 20 high-efficiency units, and they need to move this month. What's the first play you call?

"Let's run a SPIFF."

It’s the classic move for a reason. A quick $100 bonus for every tech who sells one. It’s fast, simple, and feels like you're pulling a lever to make sales happen.

And often, it works.

Your star salesperson might sell 15 of them. You move the units, the tech gets a nice bonus, and the distributor is happy.

But SPIFFs can be impactful beyond the short term. Creating programs that reward your techs for things like 5-star reviews, reducing callbacks, and on-time arrivals can help you create a transparent performance pay plan that motivates your entire team to act like owners.

What Is an HVAC SPIFF (And Why Are They So Popular)?

A SPIFF (Sales Performance Incentive Fund) is a bonus paid to an employee for achieving a specific, narrow goal. 

Sometimes SPIFFs can be short-term-focused like the “sell 20 high-efficiency units this month” used above but they’re most effective when they’re implemented as part of a long-term vision to grow your business. 

A SPIFF bonus (is not a commission) and is separate from the employee's regular compensation. It's a cash incentive designed to drive a very specific behavior.

Some common SPIFFs include:

• $50 for every smart thermostat added to a job.
• $25 for every job completed without a callback.
• $25 for every new maintenance agreement signed.
• $20 for every 5-star review from a customer. 

SPIFFs give you a way to motivate HVAC technicians and increase your revenue. 

How SPIFFs Increase Revenue

SPIFFs are generally a win-win for both your technicians and your company and one of the fastest ways to align your team with your overall company goals.

For your technicians, SPIFFs offer a clear path to win and increase their pay. ‘Do X, make Y.’ They don't have to wait for a quarterly review and their effort today results in cash in their pocket this week.

For your business, you can promote the behaviors you know drive growth. Things like 5-star reviews, maintenance plans, and reducing callbacks. 

Business that run incentive pay plans with ShareWillow regularly see improvements in key business metrics like: 

• Increased revenue per technician
• More technician generated leads
• Higher profit margins per job

SPIFFs work best as part of a complete compensation system, here’s how to build a plan that drives growth…

From SPIFFs to an Incentive Pay System

The most successful HVAC business we work with at ShareWIllow move beyond single SPIFFs to create performance pay systems — transparent, data-driven incentive plans that align your entire team around the goals that actually drive long-term profit. 

The best way to get started with incentive pay is to build a list of Key Performance Indicators (HVAC KPIs) that define a "win" for the whole company. For your service and sales techs, their incentive is no longer just a flat SPIFF for one item. Instead, it’sl tied to a range of metrics that impact the profitability of your business like job profitability, customer reviews, first-time fix rates, and valuable attachments like maintenance agreements.

You can also look to offer incentives to Dispatchers and CSRs on your team through metrics like call booking rates, efficient routing, and ensuring the techs hit their on-time arrival goals.

When everyone is rewarded based on a transparent set of metrics, the game changes and everyone pulls in the same direction. The tech won’t rush a job because they’ll want their "zero callback" bonus. The dispatcher works harder to route techs efficiently because it boosts overall job profitability. That's how you truly grow your heating and air conditioning business.

How to Launch Your New Incentive Plan

1. Define Your One Key Goal(s) 

Look at your business data and see where you have the biggest opportunities for growth. But don’t try to fix everything at once — this is where I see most businesses go wrong with incentives. Instead, you should start with 1-3 KPIs that will make the biggest immediate impact on your business.

• If your callback rates are high, focus on first-time fix rate.
• If your competitors have more reviews and dominate Google, incentivize 5-star reviews from your techs.
• If you’re focused on job profitability, offer incentives for maintenance plan sign ups. 

2. Keep Measurement Simple

Your plan needs to pass what I call the  "10-second test." Can a tech explain to their spouse in 10 seconds how they make a bonus? If not, it's too complicated.

• Bad: "Bonus is tied to a 10% increase in profitability, weighted against a 5% reduction in drive time, calculated on a rolling 30-day average..."
• Good: "If my first-time fix rate is over 95% this month, I get a $200 bonus."

3. Communicate the Why 

It’s important to get your team onside with any new incentive pay plan. Some techs find it frightening at first, worrying that their pay is a risk, so explain that they’ll still get the same hourly base, but these incentives offer them a way to increase their average hourly pay. 

Share the numbers behind decisions too. For example, if callbacks are an issue, be transparent: “Callbacks cost us $30k last quarter. That’s money that we should all be sharing, if we reduce callbacks, there’s more profit and I want to share that with you.”

SPIFFs or incentive pay turn challenges that may seem like management issues into things every individual cares about because it impacts their take home pay. 

This Is Easier Than It Sounds

Building an incentive plan doesn’t have to be intimidating. But tracking it all in a spreadsheet quickly becomes overwhelming for owners and confusing for your techs. That's where employee incentive software comes in.

We've designed ShareWillow to be the simplest platform to help you design, launch, and manage an incentive plan based on what we've learned from helping hundreds of service companies build theirs. 

ShareWillow has all the guidance you need to create an incentive plan that attracts and retains top employees and gets your entire team motivated.

Final Thoughts

A simple HVAC SPIFF is a tool for short-term growth. But a transparent, whole-team performance pay system is an investment in your company culture and your sustainable, long-term profitability.