Articles by Jim Hughes

Creative Ways to Keep Your Customers Coming Back

April 29, 2013

In an industry where it can be years between service calls, and replacements are 15 or more years apart, you need more than great customer service to keep customers coming back. 


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First Quarter Profit Ensures Future Success

February 25, 2013

Earning a profit in the first quarter is a challenge for many, but those who do can expect a very profitable year. 


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How to Train Techs for Service Calls

December 24, 2012
As you prepare for a busy winter season, you’ll start having meetings and scheduling training sessions. You do a lot to ensure you earn a decent profit, but these meetings don’t always turn out to be anything more than gripe sessions. Is there another way? 


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Refrigerant Retrofits: We’re Being Our Own Worst Enemy

December 20, 2012

Contractors have complained for years about consumers holding on to systems that should be replaced. Yet we are falling all over ourselves to come up with ways to keep that equipment operational.


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Certifications Need Standards

November 27, 2012

Having passed many certification tests and proctored many others, I have found faults in the tests used to verify a person’s skills. Certification can be a way to prove competency, but only if our certifying tests are held to a higher standard.


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The Budget Games

October 22, 2012
It is time for the annual Budget Games — and like the movie "Hunger Games," if you don't play the game well it can have dire consequences.
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Want 30 Percent More Work? Then Get Your Head Out of Your Past!

September 25, 2012
Every week, contractors miss out on 30 percent or more of the work they could be doing. The work is there, it’s ready to be taken, and customers are eagerly waiting to give you their hard earned dollars to do the work — if, and only if, you get your head out of your past and join modern society.


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Who Is Your Next Manager?

September 19, 2012
“He was great in the field but he’s a lousy manager” is a common complaint among owners of service companies. So what’s an owner need to do to find a good manager? Here are some guidelines to help you pick the best manager from within.


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Be a Master of Your Business

August 17, 2012
A lot of small businesses try to be “Jacks of all trades” without mastering any. I am not saying that you cannot have more than one trade in your business. Where I see the problem is when small businesses try to do too much within the same trade.


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2013 ACCA Conference & IE3 Expo

Photos from the 2013 ACCA Conference & IE3 Expo in Orlando, Fla.

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Selling Zoning is Easier Than You Might Think

This overview of the benefits of zoning includes tips for selling to consumers and businesses. Tom Jackson discusses options for new construction and retrofit, as well as some ways a residential contractor can get into the light commercial business with zoning products. Speaker: Tom Jackson, CEO, Jackson Systems
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