How Coolforce turned 120 technicians into confident closers
MattVP of Sales, Coolforce Heating & Cooling
Coolforce is one of Australia's fastest-growing residential and commercial HVAC companies, with branches in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide and regional centres across 8 states and territories.
The challenge
Great technicians who froze at the price
Coolforce's technicians can diagnose a failing compressor, quote a full ducted system and install it flawlessly. Then the homeowner says “that’s more than I expected.” Half of them dropped the price, skipped the add-ons or promised to email a quote, which usually meant the job was gone.
“Our techs are some of the best in the country at the technical work. But the moment the conversation shifts from ‘here’s what’s wrong’ to ‘here’s what it costs,’ half of them either drop the price, skip the add-ons, or say ‘I’ll email you a quote,’ which is code for ‘this deal is dead.’”Coolforce Heating & Cooling
Australian homeowners routinely get three quotes, so the technician who explains the value and asks for the commitment wins. Sydney branches had a strong manager coaching them. Some regional branches had technicians who had never been coached on selling at all.
The solution
Practice in the ute before every quote
Coolforce built six scenarios around the Australian HVAC market.
- System replacement ($5K to $15K AUD): presenting Good, Better and Best options instead of leading with the cheapest.
- Three quotes: positioning Coolforce as the benchmark, not one more number in the comparison.
- Financing: introducing Humm, Zip Pay or AfterPay at the right moment, so a $12,000 system becomes a $45-a-week conversation.
- Energy efficiency: moving a homeowner from a basic split system to an inverter or zoned ducted solution.
- Maintenance plan: pitching the annual plan before packing up, the step most technicians skipped.
- Emergency call: a dead system on a 42°C day, handled with empathy instead of pressure.
Technicians practiced for five minutes before the next appointment. The AI homeowner pushed back like a real one: “mate, that’s steep,” “I’ll get a few more quotes,” “can you do it for cash?”
The impact
Every branch selling closer to the best one
Average quoted job value rose 31% as technicians presented all three options instead of the cheapest. Finance uptake went from 12% to 38%. The maintenance plan attach rate more than doubled, from 18% to 41%, once technicians had practiced the 30-second pitch and started giving it every time.
The conversion gap between the best and worst branches halved. New hires who finished RepLab certification said they felt ready to present. Earlier cohorts had described their first month as terrifying.
Related: AI roleplay for field technicians and sales teams.
