More than 150 industry professionals participated in the 2009 Testing, Adjusting and Balancing Bureau (TABB) conference, held in Philadelphia recently. Focused sessions, coursework, testing, and networking gave attendees a full schedule of educational and career-building activities.
In the final installment of this series, the spotlight shifts to those on the sales frontlines - salespeople and sales managers. In many companies, the sales manager is also a salesperson, so all of these strategies may help you avoid becoming the next HVAC layoff victim.
When much of the continental United States hit a period of very hot, humid weather in late June, air conditioning contractors began to breathe a sigh of relief. Now that we are hunkered down into the “lazy, hazy days of summer,” as the song says, what does the balance of the season portend for contractors?
The Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI) announced on July 2 a decision to delist mix-match coil-blower combinations, effective July 15, that exceed 6 percent of a system manufacturers’ highest sales volume tested (HSVT) combinations. This left many distributors and contractors wondering about inventory issues and how to support previously quoted system ratings.
Extended warranties, equipment costs, and the R-22 phaseout all present distributors with puzzles to solve in 2009 and the coming years. Each region and distributor faces these challenges uniquely, but the standard goals are survival and growth. Lyon Conklin & Co. and Munch’s Supply Co. both know what it means to survive and grow during industry changes.
“Each customer of The Habegger Corporation is unique, and we strive to understand and address their personal needs.” Those are the words of Mike Branson, director of marketing for Habegger, an HVAC wholesale distributor headquartered in Cincinnati, and serving markets in Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, Illinois, and Iowa.
In a 2009 Mid-Year Economic Update Webcast intended for distributors, Adam Fein, Ph.D., founder and president of Pembroke Consulting Inc., reported that the economy wasn’t done being volatile quite yet. He addressed distributors and other attendees on the overall factors that influenced what he termed was a “terrible first quarter.”
The NEWS’ sixth annual Dealer Design Awards’ Testing & Monitoring Products category winners are ready to assist contractors in better serving their customers.
It’s all about the wires this year, or more accurately, the lack thereof. Wireless technology and communicating controls brought the top three competitors gold, silver, and bronze honors in the Residential Controls (including zoning) category of The NEWS’ sixth annual Dealer Design Awards.
The NEWS’ sixth annual Dealer Design Awards in the Commercial Controls category go to two products that communicate and are flexible and easy to install and service admirably.
RSS
