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As seen in the May 2007 edition of HVACR Business magazine.How co-workers, a calendar, communications, and critiques contribute to a structured, meaningful training plan. Part three of a three-part seriesIn the first two parts of this series (see www.hvacrbusiness.com/smith), I covered five steps of a nine-step process that I use to establish a structured, meaningful training…

As reported in the October, 2008 edition of HVACR Business magazine.The services you provide and the expertise you possess are what the customer is buying, not a product brand.  In the early 1980s I came to a realization: The hvacr contracting company I owned at that time was establishing its own brand in our market area.…

As seen in the June 2006 edition of HVACR Business magazine. Don Beveridge, an inspirational speaker, says: “Whenever you have no discipline for non-performance, your company always has declining standards.” What a great quote! Being an effective leader doesn’t mean you always get to do the fun things. A leader does what is necessary to…

As seen in the September 2007 edition of HVACR Business magazine. The four basics of customer service. If you are an hvac retail company, your present customers, as well as any new customers, are looking for four items — and they are not complicated. In fact, they are very basic. Yet, most companies do not…

As seen in the April 2007 edition of HVACR Business magazine.- Take three more steps toward creating a structured, meaningful training program. Part two of a three-part series I hope you have established a company-training file, which in last month’s column (seewww.hvacrbusiness.com/smith) I recommended that you do to help you get your company-training program in…

As seen in the March 2007 edition of HVACR Business magazine. Having owned and managed four hvac companies and visited literally hundreds of contractors, I have determined that training on the contractor level is provided by one of two methods: 1) osmosis; or2) in a structured and meaningful manner. Unfortunately, training by osmosis is the…

As seen in the April 2006 edition of HVACR Business magazine. You have probably heard the phrase “Are you working in your business, or are you working on your business?”. It is a phrase that has been used for many years, has a nice ring to it, and I certainly agree with the principle and…

As seen in the June 2007 edition of HVACR Business magazine. Correct identification and alerting customers to imminent problems also can help. As a contractor, I always spent a lot of time worrying about our service-callback expense. Many of the contractors I have visited are concerned about the same problem, and it is quite common…

As seen in the November 2007 edition of HVACR Business magazine. Having documented procedures empowers co-workers and helps them succeed. When working with companies to help them succeed and grow, I am often asked how I define highly successful contractors. For me, these four elements need to be present: 1) Annual double-digit net profit;2) Annual…

As seen in the December 2007 edition of HVACR Business magazine. Informing customers will help them understand lifetime costs and move past initial investment costs. When you or one of your company’s sales representatives presents a proposal on an equipment replacement system and are told by the home-owners that the price is higher than competitors’…