Well, it’s that time of year again. Thank heaven! The phones are ringing with customers wanting service and with leads for replacement systems. These are the times we look forward to all year.

Well, it’s that time of year again. Thank heaven! The phones are ringing with customers wanting service and with leads for replacement systems. So now we have a different problem to deal with than trying to keep our technicians and installers busy. All of this is good if we handle it properly.

Several months ago I wrote about the need for us as contractors to do the right things to encourage young people into choosing our trade. Lately, however, I have become aware of the fact that there is another area of need that we in the industry are going to have to address - interest.

Each one of us contractors realizes the need for training. Some of us do it more than others. Almost everyone provides some type of technician training for their service technicians and installers.

How many of you do any business training for your service technicians and installers? I’m guessing not very many. However, how many of you have ever been asked by one of those service technicians or installers regarding the fact that you charge at least $90–130 per hour and yet he only takes home $25 per hour?

I’m not really much of a fan of reality show television, but I must admit that the title and concept of “Undercover Boss” intrigued me. If you haven’t seen it, this new show premiered right after the Super Bowl.

I’m not really much of a fan of reality show television, but I must admit that the title and concept of “Undercover Boss” intrigued me. Its premise is that the president/CEO of a large corporation goes “undercover” within his own company to see how things are operating.

In our last column, we looked at the things we need to understand about the makeup of our customers. Now our job becomes that of determining which media does the best job of reaching potential customers. Whereas a few years ago there were just a few advertising options available, now the options are almost endless.

I had a dream, (or was it a nightmare?), that I spent my next 30 years advertising budget on a 30 second Super Bowl commercial. When I woke up, I remembered I had spent the previous day working on my ad budget for the year. The irony of the Super Bowl ad hit me. In my dream I hadn’t bothered to determine who really is my audience.

I had a dream, (or was it a nightmare?), that I spent my next 30 years advertising budget on a 30 second Super Bowl commercial. It was so obvious; our company name seen by millions and millions of people and us associated with the biggest annual sporting event.