Business Management
From the Ground Up Part 3: Who Turned Off the Lights?
My company, Air Genie, is headquartered in Bonita Springs, FL. We specialize in residential maintenance and indoor air quality. We’ll do repairs and replacements, but we don’t market specifically for them....
Why Buy A Competitor When You Can Buy The Phone Number?
A lot of fiscally healthy contractors are taking advantage the current economy to buy weaker competitors. Sometimes companies can be purchased for little more than the provision of a job for the owner and a percent of future sales from his customer list. If the owner would make a good technician or fill a need for a service manager, an acquisition might be the best approach. ...
Customer Acquisition: Cold and Calculating is a Good Thing
It’s time to get focused about your marketing. The stakes are higher and your marketing needs to be very precise, especially when you are intent on customer acquisition. You need to know exactly who your customers are in your service area, and exactly which segments of your service area you should be focusing on. Not all prospects are created equal, and not all areas are of equal value to you. Read on to learn how to develop your Desirability Quotient (DQ) and employ market research to market smarter this spring....
Faith and Fear for 2010
“Faith and fear are different aspects of the same thing,” said Gina McWilliams. Wow. I’d never thought of it that way. Gina had. Gina lost her right leg below the knee in an automobile accident at age 25. Her left foot was severed and reattached. Since the accident, she had 37 different surgical procedures. ...
Benchmarking for Commercial HVAC Contractors
There are many ways to gauge success and high performance in corporate America. Financial statistics come to mind, such as quick ratio, debt/equity ratio,...
Don't sit on the sidelines Explore New Technology Now
From what I can see, 2010 and the first half of 2011 are going to be tough, says Jack Knox, president, R.F. Knox Co., Inc., Smyrna, GA. The company has...
Lead-Generating Strategies, Part 2
In a down economy, HVAC contractors can never have enough effective strategies to generate more qualified sales leads. Continuing our focus on this critical part of your business, I’m going to share with you the “referral secret” that all contractors should be aware of....
Even Accidental Plagiarism Can Cost You
Not only can plagiarism cost your company; it can cost you, your company. That’s right; you can lose your company over plagiarism, even without malicious intent on your part....
The Reward is in the Eye of the Beholder
In the early 1970s I was a young teenager who was completely caught up in the Zeitgeist. I admired the longhaired rebels and radicals who were engaged in protesting the establishment and developing the counter-culture. I didn’t really know what any of that meant, but to me it was all about empowering youth and declaring our independence from the adults. My parents in particular. ...
Lead Generating Strategies for the New Year
In the last article we spoke about what your New Year’s resolution should be, which is to track, measure and manage your sales leads. In this and the next few articles, I’m going to focus on some “outside the box” strategies that can help you generate more qualified leads throughout the year....
Would You Work for YOU?
If you want to earn more, advance in your career, and keep moving up, think about the experience you offer as a leader in the workplace. ...
800 Numbers Have Ring of Success
A memorable phrase helps HVAC contractors capture their local market. Here’s how to choose one, use it, and profit from it. ...
Put Your Company on the Map
As consumer yellow page usage wanes, local Internet search is becoming more important. Search for “air conditioning” and based on your IP address, search engines like Google will serve up local companies, including a map with locations. You want your company on this map....
Follow Social Media Guidelines for Best Customer Response
Social media is about listening. It's trying to get people talking about something important to them, and to your business....
TOOLS OF THE TRADE
MacDonald-Miller Facility Solutions is one of the largest design/build mechanical contractors in the Pacific...
Marketing & Selling Energy Services
The first article in this series explained why mechanical service contractors are the ideal service providers to offer energy savings to their customers....
What's Your Personal Leadership IQ?
As a leader, you likely know how to lead your company or department. But how are you doing in terms of your personal leadership? ...
EPA Provides Answers to R-22 Questions
With the R-22 phaseout scheduled to begin on January 1, the Environmental Protection Agency provides answers to contractors' major questions....
Fish
My buddy Bubba is a pretty good fisherman. He rarely has a dry haul. He could probably be a professional guide. No, he *should* be a professional guide, because he’s not much of a businessperson. I wonder what kind of fisherman he’d be if he fished the way he runs his business....
Parents and Children and Business, Oh My!
After a long day of training when the room clears, I’m often approached by the son-of-a-boss who’s in trouble. His fortieth birthday looms on the horizon, he has worked for his dad for almost 20 years, dad still owns all the stock in the company and all the son has is a job and empty promises. Whether it’s the son or daughter in this situation, what council would you provide?...
Tis the Season for Visions of Tax Tips
As we welcome in the holidays, our thoughts turn to family visits, gifts, sleigh bells and year-end tax planning! There were more than 300 changes made...
Proven Tactics to Generate More Revenue
In the last article, we spoke about the budgeting process and the HVAC Performance Bridge as a means to achieve the budgeted goals for the year. As a reminder, the HVAC Performance Bridge is comprised of the plans, strategies and actions you take to turn your budgeted goals into reality...
The HVAC Performance Bridge
Hooray! It’s budget season. If you’re like most contractors, you’re working on next year’s budget right now. You’ve probably pulled your last three years’ sales numbers for review. You’re making educated assumptions about what your market will look like in 2010, based on the best information you can gather and how that information will affect your financial performance. You’re probably estimating which product lines will grow and which ones will shrink. This is all really critical to the health and success of your business next year, but it’s only as good as what I call the “HVAC Performance Bridge.”...
The Examined Life
“Hola!” “Hola. ¿Qué tal?” “Bien. ¿ y tu?” “Bien.” Paul and I were sixteen years old and had taken highschool Spanish for a year. We called each other every night on the phone and spoke to each other in our new language. More than anything we wanted to test our skill with a real Spanish speaking person, but we did not know any. Then we got the idea to have dinner at a Mexican restaurant. For two boys who had never dined out without their parents, this was a big adventure. We were so motivated that when we made reservations, we asked to be seated with a waiter who could not speak English. ...
How Cool Are You?
My sons recently started talking about being cool, and I recalled my own teenage years and the need to be cool. That driving desire dictated the clothes I wore, the music I listened to, and what subjects I became conversant in. Yet despite all my motivation and effort, it remained elusive. ...
