Recently we did a project for a manufacturer to help them prepare for a sales meeting. They wanted to understand what their staff was thinking but they wanted a 3rd party to gather the insights to ensure their team that there would be anonymity. They questions related to how the “go to market team” (Sales, Marketing, Product Development / Engineering, Customer Service) … [Read more...] about New Product Introductions – Why they Fail
Distribution Strategy
Learning from the Front Lines: Insights from Auer Steel’s BrewCast Series
At HVACR trends we have been following innovative channel leaders like Auer Steel and Heating Supply and their excellent outreach programs for the past year. Contractors know that the business is about more than equipment. Success depends on how well you engage homeowners, develop talent, and prepare your team for what is coming next. This fall, Auer Steel is curating … [Read more...] about Learning from the Front Lines: Insights from Auer Steel’s BrewCast Series
Volcanoes make noise. Glaciers shape markets: Bosch in HVAC
Volcanoes erupt. They grab attention, change landscapes overnight, and leave everyone scrambling to adapt. Glaciers, by contrast, move almost imperceptibly. Yet over time they carve valleys, redirect rivers, and permanently reshape the terrain. Bosch has chosen to act like a glacier in the U.S. HVAC market. Their recent $8 billion acquisition of Johnson Controls–Hitachi’s … [Read more...] about Volcanoes make noise. Glaciers shape markets: Bosch in HVAC
Engineering Better Sales: HVAC’s Moneyball Moment
Most HVACR companies spend a lot of time on products, pricing, and promos. But sales execution? That often gets overlooked. If you’re still managing sales by gut feel and muscle memory, you’re leaving margin on the table. It’s time to take a Moneyball approach. In Moneyball, the Oakland A’s figure out how to win by asking better questions and using better data. They stopped … [Read more...] about Engineering Better Sales: HVAC’s Moneyball Moment
Creating more time for your inside teams to service customers
This week we’ve been on calls with key distributors and working on our latest benchmark research about how automated order management is creating “barriers to exit” for customers. We are preparing this full report for a webinar and white paper in partnership with our friends at Conexiom. I’m excited to be co-presenting this webinar and crafting the white paper research … [Read more...] about Creating more time for your inside teams to service customers
EARNINGS Analysis: AAON Q2 2025 Results
An uneven HVACR Market and some supply chain restraints created a flat sales environment for AAON in their Q2 results. AAON – AAON, the Tulsa, Oklahoma headquartered HVAC manufacturer of HVAC equipment for commercial and industrial markets, announced 2Q 2025 earnings on August 11. Net sales during 2Q decreased 0.6% to $311.6 million. The year-over-year decline was … [Read more...] about EARNINGS Analysis: AAON Q2 2025 Results
Copper Tariffs: Minor Home-Buyer Bump, Major OEM Headache
How a 50% duty on semifinished copper drifts past consumers and lands squarely on coil makers, lineset extruders, and the distributors who serve them. The drama that wasn’t, at least for homeowners When the White House dropped its Section 232 tariff proclamation on July 31, slapping a 50% duty on copper pipe, tube, wire, rod, and sheet effective August 1, it sounded dire … [Read more...] about Copper Tariffs: Minor Home-Buyer Bump, Major OEM Headache
