Are you looking into a career as a service technician in the HVAC, electrical or plumbing fields? Or are you already a field technician looking to level up? After servicing thousands of technicians, we know the skills and characteristics of a successful field technician.
To be a successful field technician, you must practice certain qualities that will ensure your success. Field service technicians are the heartbeat of a service organization, so you first must recognize that you have an important role!
Techs are responsible for performing the services that bring in revenue for a company, as well as interacting with customers.
In fact, the field service industry alone is a multi-billion-dollar industry that is evolving rapidly into a high-tech and high-skill sector. It’s vital that you have these six qualities:
- Taking pride in your appearance
- Politeness and professionalism
- Performing well under pressure
- Communicating effectively
- Going above and beyond
- Adapting easily with a positive attitude
1. You take pride in your appearance
First impressions are a significant part of your job as a field service technician. Before you even speak, your customer will notice how you present yourself.
Remember, you are the face of a company. Your appearance can reflect on your organization.
Most of the time, you’re working inside the home or building of your customer, which may be a private and intimate space. Your customers will feel more comfortable if you’re professionally dressed, and be sure you are wearing a uniform or branded clothes that your company provides.
Make sure you are well-groomed and that your toolbox and truck are in order. Nobody wants a sloppy technician around or in their building.
2. You are professional and polite
As a reflection of your business, acting professionally and politely to customers is a must. Being friendly to customers puts everyone at ease and sets the stage for a positive service selling experience.
Take the time to explain what you are doing, and how long the service will take to complete. Check in with your customer before, during and after the job. Do they have any questions?
Follow up with the customer after you leave the job to make sure there are no issues and they are fully satisfied with their job? We recommend that you set up automated follow-up emails to be sent the day after each job to thank the customer for their business.
3. You perform well under pressure
This is an important quality for field service success. Your job is stressful and you’re always on the road. You can experience traffic jams, vehicle failures, and other unexpected issues.
No matter how optimized your scheduling software is, some of these problems and hold ups are unavoidable.
Despite these incidents, what matters is how you handle them. Can you stay calm during traffic on your way to a customer? Are you okay being uncomfortable? How do you handle a customer complaint? Keep these things in mind and assess how you’ll react in stressful situations.
Let’s look at a couple common situations and how a successful field technician would handle them:
- A customer complains that your prices are too high: Instead of arguing with the customer, take a moment to walk them through the quote and any equipment so they understand every piece of the project that goes into pricing. If possible, present a variety of solutions to the customer so they can decide on a price and service that suits their budget.
- Your boss has you working on too many jobs each day: It happens – your schedule is full and you can barely keep yourself above water. Try calling a meeting with your supervisor and explain you are a hard worker who wants to advance but that you need some help on your current jobs. Suggest solutions that may help – could your route be optimized so you spend less time driving so you can better pace yourself during jobs?
- A job ends up being more complicated than you thought, and you are going to be late to your next assignment: Call your dispatcher and see if someone else can make the next job. If that isn’t going to work, call and apologize to the customer and explain you are late and that you can either go to the appointment later or reschedule. It’s good to get out in front of a situation like this.
4. You’re a great communicator who can sell
How well can you articulate? Can you answer any questions or concerns that your customer has with clarity? Can you clearly explain add-on services to close an upsell?
Much of the field tech industry relies on constant and effective communication between the tech and customer, dispatch, and colleagues. For this reason, you must be able to relay information accurately to ensure efficiency within the organization.
Many times successful field technicians find themselves wearing many hats such as selling. Follow these selling tips to become an articulate sales pro without coming across as pushy:
- Explain the fix in layman’s terms– don’t get too much into the specifics that customers won’t understand. Explain the problem and how your solution will help
- Offer a good-better-best option to give the customer a choice. This puts the emphasis on them and what may be their best option. Explain which benefits they will get with each tier.
- Suggest a maintenance agreement to keep their equipment running smoothly throughout the year.
5. You go above and beyond
To please your customers, you must take every opportunity you can to satisfy their needs and wants.
To do this, you must improve your skills and knowledge as a field service technician. This means that you take classes or more training to enhance your skills and keep yourself updated with the latest news within the industry.
When you are smart and well-prepared, you can better articulate complex problems and smart solutions to your customers. This will show your customers that they can trust you, and they are then more likely to call you again and again.
You don’t want to be the type of field service tech that does their job and leaves; you want to be the type that builds meaningful relationships with their customers, works diligently to solve problems, and does more than expected.
6. You adapt easily with a positive attitude
The service industry is ever-changing. As a field tech, you need to stay updated with the constant changes within your industry.
The tool or machinery you’re using today could be obsolete by tomorrow. As a result, you must learn quickly, act strategically, and stay flexible in problems that arise.
Staying positive even on hard days can be a challenge, but will produce much better results. Surrounding yourself with the right people, exercising regularly and setting goals can help you stay positive and competitive in your field.
This Is What A Successful Field Technician Looks Like!
Now you know what it takes to dress for success and execute a challenging job as a successful field technician. While several factors contribute to your success, your work will have many rewards and benefits.
You are what makes the company run and when you focus on these qualities you foster growth in the organization as a whole!
Now you are ready to focus on these 6 traits:
- Taking pride in your appearance
- Politeness and professionalism
- Performing well under pressure
- Communicating effectively
- Going above and beyond
- Adapting easily with a positive attitude
Related: 8 of the Best HVAC Podcasts For Technicians in 2023
