Sales and service software technology continues to become more common in the HVAC industry, because of this contractors are faced with more HVAC software options than ever before. While competition isn’t necessarily a bad thing, the lines between quality HVAC software provider and the less dedicated continue to blur.

Here are six quick ways to help you pick the best software provider for your business.

Be Vocal

Any salesperson confident in their product is going to want you to participate throughout the product demo. They want to show you how their software can solve your problems and deliver you more profitability. You should ask questions and be conversational. Don’t treat the demo as a lecture. If the salesperson is quick to dismiss your comments, take that as an indicator that this is not the software for you.

Determine Their Core Business

Ask open-ended questions that force the salesperson to discuss their business’ day-to-day operations. You don’t want to put your trust in someone who just sells HVAC software on the side or doesn’t have industry knowledge. Identify what exactly the company does, how long they’ve been doing it and who they do it for. Nobody knows your company better than you, by understanding their core business you can determine if your company is a good fit for the product.

Identify Their Organizational Structure

Several one-man-shops in the software space portray themselves as fully staffed companies. Before committing to anything ask point blank “Are you part of a team?” Once it’s established that your account will be handled with a team approach, you can be more confident that your provider will be able to handle problems quickly, efficiently and accurately.

Evaluate Their Level of Customer Service

You’ll likely be working with your contact for weeks or months as you go through the demo, evaluation, purchase and onboarding processes. You want someone who answers their phone regularly, responds to emails quickly, cares about your concerns and is agile enough to work within your busy schedule. When it takes a person several days to return a call when you’re in the sales process, how do you think that person will behave when you have a problem? You want a partner, not a person just looking to take your money.

Understand Their Training Policy

Do they charge for training? Is training capped? How do future new hires learn the software? What training resources are available? These are all questions that should be addressed during the sales process. The structure of your provider’s training is vitally important to you getting the most out of your software investment.

Ask For References

There is absolutely nothing wrong with asking for references. Generally, it’s a good idea to ask to speak with a customer who has been on the software for about a year.  Then speak with a second customer who the salesperson thinks is most similar to you.  Ask for references only after your product demo has occurred.

Use these six tips to gather enough information to make a quality business decision that helps put your company in a position of success for years to come.  HVAC software can help take your company to the next level, but you must partner with the best provider.