• Are You In Shape for 2013?

    Sept. 26, 2012
    Budget season is here; it’s time to decide if you’re barely surviving or soaring.

    Budget season is here; it’s time to decide if you’re barely surviving or soaring. There are six areas to review for 2013:

    1. Overall performance. How do you compare to standard industry key performance indicators? That allows you to determine your company’s strengths and weaknesses and plan appropriately.

    2. Employee development. Retention — a dirty word to some in the industry. But a development plan for each employee is a necessary component to retaining employees (don’t forget training).

    3. Strengthen sales. What is your closing rate? What is your average ticket? What are your customer reference rates? It’s about the numbers — see how they add up.

    4. Technician training and certification. Maintaining certifications isn’t the only reason to train your techs — a properly trained tech will have less recall and more first-time completes. Be sure to stay on top of NATE certification.

    5. Leverage resources. How well did your company take advantage of the resources provided by your partners? Suppliers and other vendors offer special programs and incentives to help your business and improve theirs. Have you fully used these to improve your bottom-line?

    6. Expand business. Look at expansion. Do your employees know how they and the company performed this year? Do they know your expectations for the upcoming year? Once you have discussed this with the employees, gather their thoughts and ideas on how to grow in 2013.

    This process will allow you, your employees, and company to be transformed leading to more sales and improved profit in 2013.

    Mike Moore is the HVAC Training Director at HVAC Learning Solutions, an HVAC industry expert in sales, technical, and business training. Visit Mike’s blog for more insights. Mike can be reached on Twitter @hvaclearning or on Google+ at gplus.to/hvactraining.