Russ began in the HVAC industry as a Comfort Advisor in the mid-90’s. He quickly rose to the top and found himself training other HVAC salespeople. It did not take long for him to learn that being good at something, did not necessarily mean you could teach others. He was not sure why he had the success he did when asked the reasons behind his behavior. This was the beginning of his obsession of not just learning the right thing to do in the home, but the reasons why. 

In his pursuit of answers, he realized most sales training worked completely against human nature. Closing techniques, negotiation tactics, leading questions, objection isolation, trapping the customer with their own words, etc. The same behaviors that gave him his initial success, were the very things preventing him from achieving more. These “traditional” sales behaviors triggered customer’s defenses and fears, forcing the customer into the market to seek a safer experience. 

So, he turned to psychology, human nature, behavioral economics, and understanding how effective communication really worked. With his foundational training concepts of statements of alignment, the key to crafting good questions, the ability to prove intent and competency, and deliver information with impact while creating safe environments, his customers are compelled to not only act, but review the experience as blowing their expectations away. When Russ’s process is executed correctly, neither the salesperson nor the homeowner will every feel an ounce of pressure. 

For the last two decades, Russ has trained thousands of HVAC sales professionals the foundational skills necessary to achieve the BPO (Best Possible Outcome). His students do not just learn to love their job, but the way they do their job. They realize that “compelling” your customer to act produces much more success than “selling” your customer. The ability to compel resides in the environment you create. This environment of success is achieved through technique, design, and a true service mind-set. Once Russ’s students realize they are not in the home to get something from the customer, but do something for the customer, they begin to achieve success in ways they never thought possible. 

Russ now has more than 10,000 hours of ride-along time as a sales and technician trainer with his HVAC clients. To this day he gets the opportunity to run 5-10 calls a week. He does this to not just teach, but he demonstrates his techniques for his students. More importantly, Russ believes you must always be learning your craft if you are truly a professional. So, even though Russ is brought in as the teacher, he is forever the student. 

As bad as most sales training is, technician training is just as bad, if not worse. Technicians are taught to manipulate, pressure, and coerce the customer. In his travels throughout the US and Canada, Russ saw the frustration in their process even though their leadership believes it is working. Most technicians have a natural desire to serve their customer and possess the right mind-set for a positive customer experience. However, they are often burdened with processes that they are embarrassed or ashamed of. This cognitive dissonance causes many technicians to fall far below their true potential. Not to mention a bad customer experience which will tarnish or even destroy a company’s brand. Instead of the win-win-win, you get a loose-loose-loose. 

Technicians find Russ’s training particularly refreshing because he gives them back their dignity. They are taught and encouraged to truly serve the customer by providing information without opinion. When opinion enters the mix, the customer see’s agenda, which triggers the customer’s defenses. This produces poor results, and the technician begins to doubt his process. He/she then begins to deny the customer the benefit of information because they fear a poor outcome and do not want to appear like they are “selling”.

Russ has captivated audiences all over the country with his down to earth way of connecting with those in attendance. Many leave wondering, how they have missed so many simple things over their entire career, while others leave feeling invigorated having learned why many of the things they have figured out, work. These whys are the key to mastery; because you no longer behave out of situational instinct, you now begin to create. Good salespeople take orders, great salespeople create opportunities. 

Many who hear Russ speaker report they immediately felt like they were listening to a real honest practitioner with a perfect, current grasp of their daily reality…not just some classroom trained, trainer. 

For the last decade Russ has consulted his clients in every facet of the business including all management positions, company culture and leadership, market positioning, internal systems support and tracking just to name a few. 

For the last 20 years, thanks to his training, countless Comfort Advisors and Technicians have exceeded positional expectations and learned to not only love what they do, but more importantly, the way they do it.