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Establish Yourself as an Expert
An excellent way to promote the experience and expertise of your contracting company is to establish yourself as an HVAC expert. An expert becomes the go-to person when consumers have comfort questions or problems. It can help make you and your company more well-known and prominent in your community.
by Greg Mazurkiewicz
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Coming Face-to-Face With Facebook and Tweeting
More and more companies are turning to social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter as a new means of advertising their products and services, especially to those tough to reach young people. But if it’s showing up in this column, you can guess there must be risk involved.
by Richard D. Alaniz
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Selling Secrets Revealed
The word “salesman” has earned the ill-fated reputation of being someone who can’t (or shouldn’t) be trusted. But business is based on sales, so what’s a business owner to do? My advice is stop calling them salespeople. Expert, advisor, or specialist are much better choices when it comes to labeling our employees.
by Randall Murphy
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Legal Liability for Ergonomics and Add-On Equipment
The best of intentions can often lead to the worst of results. Technology can be a particularly problematic issue, especially when it comes to the areas of ergonomic issues and add-on (or aftermarket) equipment. If used incorrectly, these types of equipment can lead to sprains, strains, or even more serious injuries.
by Richard D. Alaniz
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Writing Attention-Getting Advertising Headlines
In his book, Confessions of an Advertising Man, noted ad expert David Ogilvy wrote, “The headline is the most important element in most advertisements.” To get the most out of your advertising dollars, you must make sure you give extra special attention to your headline.
by Greg Mazurkiewicz
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Ricci v. DeStefano: Sotomayor’s Headache or Yours?
In her confirmation hearings,
perhaps no part of Sonia Sotomayor’s judicial work received more attention than
her opinion in Ricci v.
DeStefano. This case illustrates the
problems employers face in trying to make employment decisions
without running afoul of Title VII — the law prohibiting employment
discrimination.
by Richard D. Alaniz
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Getting to Know GINA — The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act
It may sound like the plot from a science fiction movie — through genetic testing, someone finds out she may develop a serious disease, her company finds out and fires her, and she can’t get health insurance because of this future health risk. Congress, though, took steps to ensure this scenario does not become reality.
by Richard D. Alaniz
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Advertising Requires Frequency and Continuity
The memory of consumers is short. Your customers and prospects will not remember an advertising message that they see or hear just once or twice. The message has to be repeated. For advertising to be successful, your message has to have sufficient frequency and continuity.
by Greg Mazurkiewicz
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Laying Off Employees? Don’t Get Bit by Recent Changes to COBRA
The changes to COBRA provide an employee with a subsidy from the government that covers 65 percent of the cost of COBRA health insurance coverage. The subsidy is a nice idea. But as always, the government decided to create a bunch of new administrative red tape for employers to deal with.
by Richard D. Alaniz
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Developing an Advertising Strategy
Before developing your advertising, you need to think about and develop a strategy. What is it that you want to accomplish? Just as you develop an overall marketing plan, you need to develop an advertising plan of attack. Once you formulate a winning strategy, you can employ it for years to produce effective advertising.
by Greg Mazurkiewicz
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Lilly Ledbetter: Wait, That Happened How Long Ago?
Trivia question: What was the first law that President Obama signed
into law after being elected? Answer: President Obama’s first act upon taking office
was to sign the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009. Although it hasn’t
received much fanfare, the ramifications of the Act are only now starting to be understood.
by Richard D. Alaniz
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Take Advantage of Publicity
Advertising is only one way to get your message out to customers and prospects. Be sure to use all the marketing tools at your disposal. For a low-cost way to promote your HVACR business, take advantage of publicity opportunities.
by Greg Mazurkiewicz
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New Law Eliminates Employers’ Best Defense to ADA Claims
Why do you need to worry about recent changes to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)? If you answered, “Because I’m going to start losing lawsuits,” you would be right. In a nutshell, the amendments expand the definition of disability and broaden the number of employees who will be covered by it.
by Richard D. Alaniz
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100 Ways to Cut Costs
Now more than ever contractors are searching for ways to cut costs. How you go about cutting costs is just as important as where you look for cuts. Begin a systematic examination of your expenses in the office and the field. Then use the list in this article to generate thinking on possible new areas for cost reduction.
by Glenn R. Matteson
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The New FMLA: It’s Not Just for Pregnancies Anymore
When someone mentions the Family and Medical
Leave Act (FMLA), many people immediately think of pregnancies. And FMLA is a
resource for employees impacted by pregnancies, but it’s much more than that. New regulations governing the FMLA have become effective, so it’s a good time to review FMLA issues.
by Richard D. Alaniz
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Think Twice Before Cutting Your Advertising Budget
The immediate reaction by many companies during a recession is to cut their advertising. Advertising is seen as an expense and all expenses are subject to trimming in difficult times. However, advertising should be looked at as an investment that helps to increase your sales now and in the future.
by Greg Mazurkiewicz
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Can You Keep a Secret? More Importantly, Can Your Employees?
A recent survey found that a substantial number of employees admitted to stealing confidential employer information. Your proprietary company information is vital and there are a number of steps you can take to greatly reduce your risk of theft.
by Richard D. Alaniz
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Do Good and Take Credit for It
One of the old sayings in the pubic relations field is “Do good
and then take credit for it.” HVACR contractors should take this to heart. When
you do something good for the community, make sure they know about it.
by Greg Mazurkiewicz
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Background Checks: Is an Honest Employee Too Much to Ask For?
In the old days, a background check consisted of a couple phone calls to a former employer and a reference check. Modern background checks involve a comprehensive investigation. But the law draws some clear limitations on what can be considered valid criteria and what crosses the line into unfair discrimination.
by Richard D. Alaniz
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Coupons Attract Consumers
Consumers are always looking for a bargain. In today’s struggling
economy, that is especially true. No one wants to pay full price for anything.
So why not offer a coupon with a discount?
by Greg Mazurkiewicz
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Discrimination by Association — What Employers Need to Know
“Association discrimination” claims arise when an employee claims he or she has been discriminated or retaliated against because of an association or relationship with a disabled person. Employers need to tread carefully in this area.
by Richard D. Alaniz
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If You Have Too Many Employees to Manage
So what do you do if you really want to be a hands-on manager but
you just have too many employees to manage? I’ll have managers say to me, “I
have 72 people; how do you manage 72 people?”
The first question I ask is: Do you have a chain of
command? Or are you really managing 72 people?
by Bruce Tulgan
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Companies Need to Prepare Now for ADA Changes
When President Bush signed the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) Amendments Act of 2008 into law, it signaled major changes in the legislation that prohibits workplace discrimination against people with disabilities. When the law becomes effective on Jan. 1, employers need to be prepared for those changes.
by Richard D. Alaniz
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Women Are Decision-Makers; You Better Be Talking to Them
According to a recently released survey by Pew Research Center, women are the key household decision-makers. When it comes to deciding on major home purchases, managing household finances, and other decisions, women are very much involved and often are in charge.
by Greg Mazurkiewicz
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