Driving in the Fast Lane: Rogers Heating & Cooling

By Lynne Brandon

The young entrepreneurs are the face of the HVAC industry that is changing with the times

South Boston is the home of Rogers Heating & Cooling. No, it is not the well-known northern city but a small town in Virginia near Danville. The young entrepreneurs are the face of the HVAC industry that is changing with the times. In 2018, Joey Rogers took the helm of the company founded in 1996 by his father. Like many family trade businesses, Rogers started small with three employees.

Time, tech and talent showed up and they just hired their 36th employee. Rogers has 22 trucks, all wrapped. Alyssa, Joey’s wife, also has a podcast and they have a strong social media presence. Employees are tech savvy in the primarily residential business.

Timeline

Joey Rogers grew up with a wrench in his hand and shining flashlights for his father who worked in electrical, HVAC and plumbing. Joey recalled playing baseball in the summer and helping his father through his high school years. He went to Danville Community College where he was the president of the National Technical Honor Society and valedictorian. In a stroke of good fortune and timing, his professor helped him get a position at the local Trane commercial service office in Danville. Six years passed and Joey was happy with life and working at Trane.

In another stroke of timing, Joey’s father had surgery and needed Joey’s help with the business. At the same time, Joey was running for the board of supervisors. He won the election and joined the family business in 2015. He credits the board of supervisors for propelling him forward in the family business.

“I was an elected official and we had to be involved with the local community,” Joey said. “Leaders mentored me and it helped the business to grow.”

When he first joined the family business, the action-oriented man rolled up his sleeves and went to work. First up was serving customers at a higher level. Rogers prides itself in providing customers with a world class experience.

Branding Strategy – Knocking on Doors

Before Joey coming onboard, his father’s company did commercial work. Joey pivoted the company’s focus to residential.

“My comfort zone was commercial work but I wanted to grow the residential side. “I wanted to create a brand,” he said and purchased Rogers Electrical & Air Controls.

Alyssa joined the company in 2017 and brought her marketing expertise with her. On Jan. 1, 2018, the two launched the new brand and put their feet on the gas pedal.

Alyssa has a communications background and quickly went to work on effective branding strategy. For their big release they showcased their first wrapped vehicle, also the first fully wrapped vehicle across all industries in the area. Alyssa did not stop there. She went as far as renovating their office and took the vision of the wrapped fleet and used the same colors throughout the entire building.

“We wanted to be consistent with our brand across the board which included our office,” Alyssa said. “We want to be trendsetters in our region and we are always trying new strategies.”

Rogers picked out striking colors to get attention. “I made it clear that we wanted to look different by picking colors that stand out,” Alyssa said. “The wrapped vehicles are great word of mouth and worth the money we spent. We did not have a lot of capital at that point but we spent money on wrapping the trucks, uniforms and social media.”

Rogers did not have a website for two years but instead dipped their toes into social media first. “We wanted to let people know the face of Rogers and social media turned out to be a great recruitment tool. Essentially, we viewed ourselves as politicians and knocked on doors to get to know people in the community.”

The newly renovated Rogers office building with one of their wrapped vehicles

Joey and Alyssa Rogers

Jolly Rogers, Rogers Heating & Cooling mascot

The Rogers Team

“In the beginning, everyone wore a lot of hats,” said Alyssa. “We basically did grass roots marketing.”

They took time to brand their business, train employees and meet the community. Employee training takes place several times a week and they are active in Service Nation. “It was a turning point in our business when we joined in 2020,” said Alyssa.

The Rogers speak at conferences whenever they spread their message and hone their public speaking skills. They advocate for women in the trades. “There are so many opportunities for women in this field,” Alyssa said. Rogers believes in training employees extensively in the use of technology and service.

“We try to be a premiere service employer with our culture and compensation,” said Alyssa. “I believe we offer the best compensation in the industry that is second to none with a full package that includes vacation, health insurance and other benefits.”

At the heart of their success lies the incredible Rogers team, whose unwavering dedication and collective expertise propel their mission forward with unparalleled professionalism and passion.

Technology Power

Rogers’ marketing acumen is on display with Alyssa’s podcast that is live every Wednesday and social media presence and visible in the customer-friendly and information heavy website.

“I have always wanted to do a podcast and give back to the community,” she added. “Our podcast is for the community not just the trades. I reach out to other businesses and showcase them as well as interview our own employees so we can share updates with the community.”

Alyssa gets 15,000 views weekly for the podcast. Joey remembers the old days of paper tickets, phone voicemails and his dad’s pager. He is glad those days are in the rear view mirror. “Technology has made it easier to serve customers faster,” said Joey. “Nothing has helped us grow faster than technology. All of our technicians and staff have iPads and cell phones.”

Community Partners

Last March, Rogers Heating & Cooling teamed up with The Ward Burton Wildlife Foundation to host an invitation-only late model stock exhibition race at Orange County Speedway in Rougemont, North Carolina. Headlining the event was Ward Burton, NASCAR Daytona 500 champion, behind the wheel again. Racing America was also present making it a nationally televised event.

“We try to be involved in as many community events as we can and make a yearly calendar in advance so we can plan,” said Alyssa. “If you live around our area, you will most likely see Rogers at the majority of the events you attend.”

Eyeing Growth

“We are laser focused on growth and the future is looking great,” said Alyssa. “We have grown more than 800 percent in the last three years. For the third year in a row we have been recognized as one of Inc. (magazine) 5000’s Fastest Growing Companies in America.”