A homeowner with a seventeen-year-old furnace makes three calls. Three companies come out, and three quotes arrive over the following week. One of them gets the job, and in our experience it's often not the cheapest. It's usually the one the homeowner understood and trusted, from whoever got back to them first.
If you're doing plenty of quote visits and not winning many, the problem usually starts well before anyone looks at the price. Below is where we see quotes go wrong most often, plus a few Ontario rules that affect how you're allowed to sell.
They're comparing quotes they can't read
Picture the kitchen table. One quote says "96% high-efficiency furnace, installed, $X." Another lists a make and model number, the efficiency rating, the venting work, a new thermostat, removal of the old unit, a ten-year parts warranty and a separate labour warranty, an install date and a note that the price holds for thirty days. The third is a number scribbled on the back of a business card.
The homeowner can't tell whether the first and second are for the same furnace. They can tell which one looks as though the company knows what it's doing.
A quote that wins usually has:
- The make and model number of each piece of equipment, so it can be looked up
- The efficiency rating, written as a number rather than "high efficiency"
- Everything the price includes: removal, venting, ductwork changes, thermostat, any permit
- Parts and labour warranties, listed separately, with how long each lasts
- Who registers the manufacturer's warranty, and when
- The earliest install date you can actually keep
- How long the price is good for
Two or three options at different price points help too, as long as each one says plainly what the customer gets for the extra money. Make the middle option the one you'd put in your own house and say so.
Somebody else got there first
A furnace that has stopped working in January isn't a three-quote job. The first company that answers and can come today gets it. Even for a planned replacement, the first company to visit sets the terms of the comparison: its quote becomes the benchmark the others are measured against.
Look at how long it takes you to get from a missed call or web form to a booked visit, and from the visit to a written quote. If the quote goes out by email two days later, someone has probably already sent theirs from the driveway. A same-day quote, sent as a PDF and as a text with a link, is one of the cheapest improvements a small HVAC company can make. If calls are going unanswered in the first place, our post on missed calls and AI receptionists covers the options.
The visit feels like a sales pitch
Ontario homeowners have good reason to be wary. For years there were complaints about door-to-door water heater and furnace rentals, high-pressure sales and contracts that were hard to get out of. In 2018 the province changed the rules for furnaces, air conditioners, water heaters, air and water treatment equipment and duct cleaning, and a lot of your customers still remember the stories.
So anything that feels like pressure counts against you: an "only good today" price, a technician who says the old furnace is dangerous without showing why, a salesperson who won't leave without a signature. The Ontario government's own advice to consumers is that they don't have to sign on the spot and shouldn't act just because a salesperson says their equipment is unsafe.
So leave the written quote and go. If you've found a genuine safety problem, show them, write it down, and tell them they're welcome to get a second opinion. Mention the cooling-off period before they ask about it. When one company is happy to let the homeowner take their time and the other two are pushing, it's not hard to guess who gets the call back.
The rules you need to sell within
This is general information, not legal advice. The current rules are on ontario.ca's page for businesses, and if you're unsure how they apply to you, ask a lawyer.
First, the customer has to start it. For these products, a contract made at the customer's home has to come from a visit the customer asked for, for example by calling you or filling in a form. A quote visit they booked through your website is fine. Knocking on doors to sell furnaces is not, and a contract that comes from it is void: the customer can keep the equipment without paying.
Second, no new contracts on maintenance calls unless you asked first. A technician on a repair or tune-up can't sign the customer up for a new furnace or air conditioner during that visit. The exception is where you already have a contract with them and you asked beforehand whether they'd like to hear an offer, and they said yes. The technician can still leave written material. In practice, have the tech note the equipment's age and condition, leave a leaflet, and then book a separate quote visit if the homeowner asks for one. You can also just ask the question when the maintenance visit is booked.
Third, there's a 10-day cooling-off period. Contracts for these products signed at the customer's home can be cancelled for any reason within 10 days of the customer receiving a written copy. Make sure your contract says so clearly and that the customer gets a copy.
And be upfront about liens and rentals. The province tells consumers to ask whether a company will register a security interest on their home. If your financing or rental program does, explain it before they sign, not after.
Your website has to back up the visit
After the visit, the homeowner goes online and looks you up, so your website and Google profile are part of the quote. They're looking for a few specific things.
- Price ranges. Not an exact figure, but "most furnace replacements we do fall between this and this, and here's what moves the price." Homeowners who've seen a range don't get a shock at the kitchen table.
- A page that explains an installation. What your installers actually do on the day, with photos of your own jobs rather than stock pictures.
- Reviews that mention installs. If all your reviews say "great service on my AC repair," they don't help much with a decision worth thousands of dollars. Ask installation customers for a review specifically. Our post on getting Google reviews covers how to ask.
- Licences. Name the TSSA certificate classes your installers hold. We explain why in Your HVAC Phone Only Rings When It's Cold.
- Rebates. If a rebate program applies, a page with the date you last checked it and a link to the official program is worth more than a banner saying "Rebates available!"
Follow up, politely
A lot of quotes don't go to a competitor at all. The homeowner meant to call you back, the old furnace kept going for another week, and they forgot about it. Following up fixes most of that, and it doesn't need to be clever:
- Send the written quote the same day.
- Call or text the next working day to ask whether they have any questions.
- Follow up once more about a week later.
- If they still haven't decided, send one short message when the weather turns.
Keep each message short, useful and easy to say no to. Under Canada's anti-spam rules, a message that just gives someone the quote they asked for doesn't need consent, and an inquiry gives you implied consent for six months for follow-ups, which is plenty for this. Our missed calls post goes into CASL in more detail.
Count what happens to your quotes
Before changing anything, go through the last three months of quotes and note for each one how long it took to get the written quote out, whether anyone followed up, and whether you won. Patterns show up quickly: quotes sent the same day close better, or quotes with three options close better, or one salesperson closes a lot more than everyone else.
Fix the slowest step first. That's usually the time it takes to get the quote out, and it's the cheapest one to fix.
If you'd like us to look
We build websites for HVAC and home services companies that back up what your team says on the visit, with price ranges, install pages and reviews where homeowners will look for them. See our HVAC and home services page, or get in touch.
Frequently asked
Why do homeowners get three quotes for a new furnace?
Because it's a large purchase they make once every fifteen or twenty years, they can't judge the equipment themselves, and many Ontario homeowners have heard about aggressive door-to-door HVAC sales and rental contracts. Getting three quotes is how they protect themselves. You can't stop them doing it, but you can make yours the easiest one to understand and trust.
What should a written HVAC quote include?
The make and model number of each piece of equipment, its efficiency rating, everything included in the price (removal of the old unit, venting, thermostat, any permit), the parts and labour warranties stated separately with their lengths, who registers the manufacturer warranty, the install date you can actually offer, and how long the price holds. A homeowner with three quotes on the table will usually pick the one they understand.
Can my technician sell a new furnace during a maintenance visit in Ontario?
Generally not, unless it was arranged in advance. Ontario's rules for furnaces, air conditioners, water heaters and similar equipment say a business can't enter into a new agreement for those products during a repair or maintenance visit, unless there's an existing contract and you asked the customer beforehand and they agreed. The technician can leave written material and the homeowner can call you to book a quote visit. Check the current rules on ontario.ca; this is general information, not legal advice.
Is there a cooling-off period on HVAC contracts signed at the customer's home?
Yes. Ontario gives consumers a 10-day cooling-off period on these contracts, starting on the day they receive a written copy of the agreement, and they can cancel without giving a reason. Tell the homeowner about it yourself. It costs you nothing and it signals you're not one of the companies they've been warned about.
How fast should I follow up on an HVAC quote?
Send the written quote the same day as the visit, call or text the next working day to answer questions, and follow up once more about a week later. After that, a single message when the weather turns is reasonable. Most lost quotes are never followed up at all, so a simple, polite sequence already puts you ahead of most of the competition.
Sources
- Rules for businesses entering into contracts at a consumer's home, Government of Ontario
- Door-to-door sales and home service contracts, Government of Ontario
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