From my office window, I see sweating people. They are not engaged in manual labor, nor using a Thigh Master; they are in fact, just standing there. I’m no meteorologist, but in Alabama, this signals summer.

It’s a tricky balance. Techs are technical; salespeople are salesy. (You can quote me on that if you like.) Combining the two is like finding an accountant who’s the life of the party. Yet, the combo of a selling technician can give you a radically effective one-two punch.

My fearless editor, Mike Murphy, who shall remain nameless, wrote an editorial about the tax credit stimulus package for energy savings. He felt that the ARRA program was fairly difficult to obtain compliance for the credits.

Twitter and other social media sites are indeed the rage. Facebook, with a mere 200 million users, is hardly a kiddies’ playground anymore. LinkedIn is “the” social hangout for commercial connections. With myriad other discussion groups, subgroups, and topical hotspots for micro-niching, how’s a marketer to make it anymore?

All marketing efforts are really doors into your business. But it doesn’t matter how many doors you’ve thrown open if you don’t turn entrants into sales. If you’re not closing the sale, you’re sending these costly prospects right to your competition.

What events are you planning to attend for the rest of 2009? What would make you want to attend a training event? What would make you stay home?

I just returned from a marketing seminar for a multistate distributor. Their message was “Change what you’re doing to change the results you’re getting,” which resonated.

It seemed like a good idea to get new tools. I mean, it was Saturday, there were a ton of specials going on. Earlier that day, I’d taken one of my old cars to my favorite shop for a little transaxle leak

You know that energy-efficient homes can also seal in and recirculate germs, allergens, and chemicals. You know this can cause health issues for occupants within the home. You know all this, but your customers don't. Thus, the largest issues facing IAQ in HVAC are your credibility and their awareness.

For the fifth year in a row, "Fast Food" categories scored the worst among U.S. companies for customer service. Definitions from compilers varied from "rude and indifferent" to "inaccurate, unthankful."