Is HVAC the Best Sales Job in the Country?

Auto industry analyst Ed Wallace doesn't come out and say it, but when he notes that financial sales incentives for new car salespeople are about half of what they were in 1975, he implies that reduced compensation has had an adverse impact on industry sales professionalism. Read Ed's column here.

Selling cars is a challenging job, but not more challenging than, say... selling air conditioners. Car salespeople deal with buyers who walk onto the car lot with a mix of apprehension and antagonism, but also with desire.

With HVAC, the buyer's desire is certainly less and maybe missing altogether. Plus, the location of the HVAC sale is the buyer's home turf. And, HVAC financing programs aren't as good. In contrast to the auto industry, the typical HVAC company doesn't have a financing manager who works with 20 different lenders to get C-credit prospects financed.

Yet, in contrast to the car industry, HVAC sales income has increased over the last 20 years. With industry standard commissions of 8% to 10%, company advertising, company generated leads, and escalating prices (thank you government) leading to fatter commissions, selling HVAC may be one of the more lucrative sales jobs around.