The judges were impressed with the thoroughness of the program. "This is a very useful tool for the growing HVAC business. It is geared more towards residential than commercial, but there are some nice features for all contractors. It's like having a ‘real time' business advisor at your fingertips," said one judge.

Dealers that subscribe to Net.Prophet have access to the online learning tool 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to use at their convenience and pace. Net.Prophet has a complete business evaluator for a contracting business. The business evaluator is a series of questions that dealers answer in the areas of pricing, accounting, financial principles, leadership, residential add-on replacement, service agreements, and service department operations. Based on how the questions are answered, the evaluator will link the contractor to articles and templates, and put them in touch with other successful people in the industry.

Silver Winner

Right-Sales from Wrightsoft (www.wrightsoft.com) provides an easy-to-use sales system with customized in-home presentation capabilities and sales management organization.

It is designed to separate a contractor from the competition and increase sales and profits, while involving the customer in creating a personalized comfort system. It incorporates Manual J load calculation procedures while automating the entire sales process, including proposal generation, purchase orders, and Internet updating of product, pricing, and data sheets from manufacturers and distributors.

Wrightsoft marketing communications manager Lisa Skoczylas described the product application this way: "Right-Sales is designed for managers responsible for company performance, sales managers, salespeople, and marketing professionals. It's easy to create a repeatable sales process by including product data sheets, videos, PowerPoint slides, and other information unique to the company to help the sales staff present the company with the same consistent front."

"This is a very useful product for the residential contractor. It has a nice integration between sales management and the sales process with the customer," said one contractor judge.

A manager can view the latest details of any salesperson regarding the person's closing ratios and sales against company set goals. Drill down further to view the sales performance regarding all proposals, whether they are won, lost, or still pending. Another judge commented, "This has the potential to make the contractor/salesperson more productive and effective."

Bronze Winner

The Coleman (www.coleman.com) Customized Direct Mail Program, which is an online component of the Build-A-Brochureâ„¢ Program, won third place in the Dealer Design Awards competition. One reason the judges chose this product was that it serves as a good means of marketing support for HVAC contractors. "This is a nice marketing concept for the residential HVAC business. The direct mail capabilities are very useful for small contractors who may have organized their lead generation systems. It looks like a handy way to track a company's marketing efforts."

The Direct Mail Program is available to Coleman Libertiesâ„¢ dealers. The customizable Web-based system is accessed through the Coleman dealer extranet. It allows dealers to send solicitations to new and existing customers, via a zero-targeted reverse search capability. Dealers can send their solicitations to homeowners by zip code, street address, or custom database.

Mickey Smith, Coleman brand marketing manager said, "Dealers may select as few as 20 addresses, making lead generation and tracking manageable for any size effort. It provides an economical customer relationship management system for dealers. Coleman's Direct Mail Program and Reverse Directory search keeps existing and potential customers informed about promotions, seasonal announcements, and products."

Honorable Mention

One product received honorable mention from the judges in this category: TOM-Total Office Manager from Easy Street Inc. (www.easystreetinc.com).

Publication date: 07/18/2005