The famous Peter Drucker said "culture eats strategy for breakfast." The one thing he didn't say, but inferred, is that culture stems from great leadership. In a time where seemingly everyone is running faster than ever and, for much of your staff, this year may have been a grind, a strong culture that is reinforced by appreciative leadership, is critical. Consider … [Read more...] about Building and Keeping a Winning Culture Through Leadership
Return to Basics Can Drive Sales
Recently Prokeep developed a sales playbook white paper for HVACR distributors that is a great reminder of the sales basics that inevitably every salesperson, sales manager, branch manager and marketing department … forget. Companies, managers, and individuals forget because everyone is too busy supporting “the” customer, “the” opportunity, developing “the” next new … [Read more...] about Return to Basics Can Drive Sales
Danfoss Introduces New EVR and NRV Solutions for HVAC and Refrigeration Systems
Danfoss Launches EVR and NRV Safety Valves to Meet Stringent UL 60335-2-40 and UL 60335-2-89 Standards Danfoss, a global leader in engineering technologies, is proud to announce the release of its new and reliable EVR and NRV Safety Valves, approved to meet UL 60335-2-40 and UL 60335-2-89 standards. As the industry faces tighter safety regulations, the Danfoss EVR solenoid … [Read more...] about Danfoss Introduces New EVR and NRV Solutions for HVAC and Refrigeration Systems
Prokeep Helps Capture the Text and Turn it Into Dollars
As distributors seek cost-effective ways to improve customer experience, improve productivity and have a cost-effective sales tool, while doing all of these digitally, HVACRTrends is pleased to welcome our newest partner, Prokeep. Prokeep offers a unique solution to distributors, which can also cost-effectively and easily be used by manufacturer representatives, which … [Read more...] about Prokeep Helps Capture the Text and Turn it Into Dollars
Is Your Team Curious? Are You Investing in “Ventures?”
Recently I was talking with a client about strategic planning as they are beginning their journey to define their path forward to 2030. They’ve set a goal, identified values, have a vision of their purpose, and currently have a strong business. The executive management team is being brought together to share insights and build the “framework” of the plan. After that, others … [Read more...] about Is Your Team Curious? Are You Investing in “Ventures?”
CRM … Today’s Marketing Backbone
Marketing for distribution today requires more nuance than ever before. It is no longer solely counter days, events (especially golf!), flyers, short-term promotions and logoed items. It's more about strategy, analysis, targeting customers, determining messaging, tailoring offers to selected audiences, promoting your value proposition and more. Further, giving a flyer to … [Read more...] about CRM … Today’s Marketing Backbone
Embrace Change to Adopt AI and Improve Profits
The concept of digital transformation, let alone AI, as a future driver for your organization is probably a folly unless … You have a leader, and leadership team, which believes in change. There are two key words in the above sentence … “leadership” and “change.” Leadership infers vision, an ability to perceive “need,” an entrepreneurial mentality that desires growth, … [Read more...] about Embrace Change to Adopt AI and Improve Profits
Rebates + Actionable Intelligence (AI) = Increased HVAC Profits
I was with a manufacturer last week and we discussed distributor acquisitions and “the why?” One of the data points we discussed was the declining net profitability of the business as a percent of sales and the corresponding increase in the contribution that rebates make to distributor profitability, which is increasing. They further affirmed this with the comment “that … [Read more...] about Rebates + Actionable Intelligence (AI) = Increased HVAC Profits
Are / Can Distributors Be Demand Generators?
Recently I visited a manufacturer client who asked me about “the channel”. Specifically, they wanted to know: “What drives distributor product selection, what is the food chain, what’s the value of each?” “Are distributors proactive in creating opportunities and selling our types of products?” In all transparency, this is a manufacturer who is owned by a PE firm and … [Read more...] about Are / Can Distributors Be Demand Generators?
Ferguson Q4 Earnings Report … Preparing for Increased HVAC Focus
Last week Ferguson shared their FY Q4 earnings and held their analyst call. While not “focused” on the HVACR market, Ferguson is growing in this space and sees opportunity to increase their influence and, more importantly, gain share in the market … and they have the war chest available to make the investments and “buy-in.” From the Ferguson earnings call (words in italics are … [Read more...] about Ferguson Q4 Earnings Report … Preparing for Increased HVAC Focus
