DucTales September/October 2017 by NADCA

Vol. 29, No. 5 • September/October 2017

SEE PHOTOS FROM THIS YEAR’S EVENT

Also in this issue Higher Ed Focuses on HVAC Training

Managing Your Business’s Online Reputation

Pro Tips for Generating Leads

Contents Editor Sarah Black Publisher Jodi Araujo, CEM

Features

POSTMASTER: 1120 Route 73, Suite 200 Mount Laurel, NJ 08054 Phone: 855-GO-NADCA Fax: 856-439-0525 E-mail: info@nadca.com Website: www.nadca.com DucTales Magazine is published six times annually. NADCA annual dues include a paid s ubscription to DucTales. Yearly subscriptions to DucTales are available for $50. The National Air Duct Cleaners Association (NADCA) prints DucTales Magazine to provide its members and the HVAC system cleaning industry with a forum for the discussion of topics of interest. To that end, NADCA tries to include within DucTales a wide range of ideas and opinions. The ideas and opinions expressed by the authors who write articles for DucTales, however, are solely the views of the person expressing them, and do not necessarily represent the views, positions or policies of NADCA, its members, or its officers, directors or staff. NADCA is not responsible for claims made in advertisements. NADCA does not endorse any particular manufacturer or supplier of equipment, chemicals or related products, nor any particular model of equipment.

ECO BOX DucTales magazine text and cover pages are printed on SFI-Certified Anthem Plus Gloss paper using soy ink.

The SFI certified sourcing label is proof DucTales magazine is using fiber from responsible and legal sources. The Sustainable Forestry Initiative® program integrates the perpetual growing and harvesting of trees with the protection of wildlife, plants, soils and water. The Sustainable Forestry Initiative® program promotes responsible forest management.

Managing Your Business’s Online Reputation

In Every Issue

NADCA News

President’s Letter

2017 Fall Tech Recap

Chief Staff Executive’s Letter

A Day in the Life of a NADCA Intern

Executive Director’s Letter

Member Spotlight: Basys

New NADCA Members, ASCSs and CVIs

Committee Spotlight

Your Business

Industry News

Bogged Down by Paperwork? You’re not Alone

In Brief

Become a Lead Generation Machine

New Commercial HVAC System Monitoring Tool

HVAC Industry a Top-Rated Area of Interest in Higher Education

President’s Letter

Leadership, NADCA Style By Richard Lantz, NADCA President and Chairman of the Board

A coach is someone who can give correction without causing resentment. — John Wooden

s my time on the NADCA Board of Directors has gone by (six years and counting), I’ve continued to learn more and more about the distinction between management and leadership. Leadership is defined as the action of leading a group of people or organization. Conversely, management is defined as the process of dealing with or controlling things or people. So, we manage process; we manage expectations; we manage our budget … but do we manage people? Certainly that is the case in our day-to-day business operations. By virtue of training and measuring productivity, we must manage our resources, our people. But do we grow and develop our employees into leaders when we manage them? Or do they more successfully learn and flourish when we lead? Lead by actions, lead by words and lead by building a culture defined by the actions, decisions and demeanor of the owner or general manager of our businesses. Does that translate to the association world? A world consisting of

volunteers who give tirelessly of their time with no real tangible return on that time investment other than the satisfaction of having affected change for an industry or organization close to their hearts (or wallets). I’m telling you that I do not want to be, nor expect to be, managed. Whether it be by my Chief Staff Executive, my Executive Director, my fellow board members or even another sitting President. In this board room with my peers, we are equal. We share in the responsibility of fiduciary duty, duty of care and loyalty to the organization. Not to ourselves, not to our businesses or our husbands and wives, but to NADCA. Is it sometimes difficult to put on our NADCA hat and work through an issue when the resolution may not be the best decision for our own companies? Sure, it can be hard for some. But when we look through this lens where all decisions, effort, activity and budget considerations are driven solely for the greater good of the industry and our members at large, we know that we have to lead each other to the solution that best drives the mission, vision and strategic direction of the association.

Does that also put money in our members’ pockets? Does it train and educate and build an environment of professionalism? We sure hope so because that is why we are all here, giving this time away from our own companies to build a future for this industry. Dwight Eisenhower once said, “You don’t lead by hitting people over the head – that’s assault, not leadership.” Pretty powerful, yet so simple. I’ve watched and I’ve learned from leaders past and present, in the board room with NADCA, in meetings with affiliate organizations and within my own personal community. I take what I see, what I like and what works, and I mold it to make it my own. My approach, my attitude, my direction and my words are all thoughtfully delivered with one goal in mind – to motivate and lead my board and my executive staff toward success. Those success metrics ebb and flow and change with the landscape of our industry, but the confluence of consistent teamwork and leadership remain at the core of all drivers of success.

NADCA News

NADCA Committee Assignments Annual Meeting Committee Chair: Mark Zarzeczny Immediate Past Chair: Michael Vinick Peter Bagley Rachelle Cunningham Frank Forrest Tommy Gwaltney Peter Haugen Anthony Paterno Cindy White

Daniel Bowman Kelly Dexter George Grozan Terry Lee MJ Palazzolo Ray Strozyk

By-Laws Policies Procedures Committee Chair: Dan Stradford Immediate Past Chair: Richard Lantz

Melinda Allen Sharon Altenhoff

Certification Committee Chair:

April Yungen

Norman Foster Mike McDavid Clint Orr Duane Whetzel

Rick MacDonald Andrew McLaughlin Todd St. Ores Cindy White

Education & Safety Committee Co-Chairs:

Mike White Rick MacDonald

Jeff Bagley Frank Forrest Chet Goetz Jerry Lawrence Kehau Mendes Kevin Uilkie Michael C. White

Mike Dexter Ron Gray Richard Lantz Andrew McLaughlin Robert Rizen Tom Wengert

Subcommittee: White Paper Committee Chair:

Dan Stradford

Subcommittee: Fall Technical Conference Co-Chair: Co-Chair:

Rick MacDonald Jimmy Meyer

Perry Bagley Dennis Cicala Frank Forrest Richard Lantz Kehau Mendes Kevin Uilkie Michael C. White

Jim Castellano Mike Dexter George Grozan Mike McDavid Robert Rizen Tom Wengert Vito Moscato

Subcommittee: CVI Marketing Task Force Chair:

April Yungen

Mike Dexter Rick MacDonald Mark Zarzeczny

Richard Lantz Mike White

Ethics Committee

Chair: Dan Stradford Immediate Past Chair: Richard Lantz Melinda Allen George Grozan Michael O’Rourke

Kelly Dexter Mike Wine

Finance Committee

Chair: Dan Stradford Immediate Past Chair: Richard Lantz John Line Al Sutton

John Muller Mike White

Industry & Public Relations Committee Chair: Mark Zarzeczny Immediate Past Chair: Richard Lantz Dave Adams Carlos Boothby Charles de Azagra Terry Donohue Bill Hippen Dan L’Herbier MJ Palazzolo Andrew Rodgers Slade Stricklin Stephen Worrall

Perry Bagley Jim Castellano Kelly Dexter Peter Haugen Clayton Ivany Scott Moritz Billy Prewitt Larry Stabb Travis Tassey

Subcommittee: Anti-Fraud Task Force

Chair: Andrea Casa Immediate Past Chair: Michael Vinick Julio Cesar Arencibia Nicolas Charland Eric Gordon Hugo Hernandez Al Sutton

Nelson Constanza Javier Dominguez Peter Haugen Rick MacDonald Travis Tassey

Membership Committee Chair: April Yungen Immediate Past Chair: Kevin Uilkie Perry Covello Peter Haugen Andrew McLaughlin MJ Palazzolo Sheldon Smiley Mark Zarzeczny

Gary Croshaw Jared Klinger Jimmy Meyer Andrew Rodgers April Yungen

Subcommittee: Regional Coordinators

Chair: April Yungen Immediate Past Chair: Kevin Uilkie U.S. Northwest – Vito Moscato U.S. Southwest – Matt Kelly, Kehau Mendes U.S. Northeast – Rick MacDonald, Nelson Constanza U.S. Southeast – Tommy Gwaltney, Perry Bagley Canada Region 9 – Gary Baskin Canada Region 9.5 – Nicolas Charland Mid-East Region 10 – George Thomas Australia Region 11 – Italy Region 12 – Andrea Casa China Region 15 Central & S. America – Richard Lantz

Leadership Development Committee

Chair: Mark Zarzeczny Hal Ayer April Yungen Justin Viar

International Affairs Committee

Jim Castellano Kelly Dexter Stephen Worrall

Subcommittee: Editorial Committee Chair:

Richard Lantz

Kehau Mendes Dan Stradford

Jimmy Meyer April Yungen

Chair:

Richard Lantz

Standards Committee

Chair: Bill Lundquist Immediate Past Chair: Richard Lantz Paul Burns Brad Kuhlmann Rick MacDonald Patrick O’Donnell

Charlie Cochrane Greg Long Mike McDavid Byron Ware

Strategic Planning Committee Chair:

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Richard Lantz

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Chief Staff Executive’s Letter

Communication is Key in a Growing Industry By Jodi Araujo, CEM; Chief Staff Executive

f you remember the column I wrote about first impressions, the following research will not come as a surprise. According to a Burning Glass report of 25 million job postings, from manufacturing to clerical, “communication skills” was the No. 1 required skill in 13 of 15 job categories. In the remaining categories, “communication skills” came in at No. 2. The report calls communication a “foundational” or “baseline” skill. A baseline skill is a minimum qualification. If two job candidates have comparable experience and credentials, the job often goes to the one who is more well-spoken, wellwritten, and has a more confident presence (first impressions!). A recent Wall Street Journal article pointed out that there are 30 million good jobs for workers without college degrees in America today. That’s the good news. The bad news is that there are 2.5 workers for every one of those good jobs. A job candidate must set themselves apart if they hope to get hired.

Manufacturing, blue-collar and trade jobs that do not require a college degree are no exception to the rule. Consider the air duct cleaning industry, your company and your competitors. The really successful companies are those with articulate leaders, whether a member of the sales team, a technician or an owner (yes, I do know that for most of our members, you sit in all three of those seats). Many NADCA members come to mind when I think about those who have individuals in customer-facing roles and there is a direct correlation to the size of the business and the positive reputation of the company. With low barrier to entry industries and entry level positions, it’s quite difficult to find articulate individuals to step into these customer-facing roles and deliver the level of service you expect for your business - the kind of service that drives more business. More good news: there is a trend toward trade, blue collar and manufacturing training and education post-high school. We are finally recognizing and suffering the consequence of a shortage in skilled trade workers. Area high schools are bringing back programs that were eliminated with budget cuts (remember shop class and home economics?). This means more skilled

NADCA Officers Treasurer Mike White, ASCS, CVI (’20) Clean Air Systems of LA, Inc. P.O. Box 6210 Shreveport, LA 71136 (318) 869-0344

President Richard Lantz, ASCS, CVI (’18) Virginia Air Duct Cleaners, Inc. 1149 Waters Road Chesapeake, VA 23322 (757) 407-3845

mike.white@cleanairsystemsiaq.com

Secretary Mark Zarzeczny, ASCS (’20) Advanced Clean Air Specialists, LLC 1234 Market St., Unit 40839 Philadelphia, PA 19107 (609) 980-1880 ductone123@gmail.com

richard@virginiaductcleaners.com

1st Vice President Rick MacDonald, ASCS, CVI (’18) Armstrong Duct, Vent, Hearth & Home 531 Front Street Manchester, NH 03102 (603) 627-7016 rmac@ahpv.com 2nd Vice President Dan Stradford, ASCS (’18) Action Duct Cleaning 2333 Lincoln Ave. Altadena, CA 91001 Dstradford@aol.com

NADCA Directors April Yungen, ASCS, CVI (‘18) Air Management Industries 8351 Elm Avenue, Suite 102 Rancho Cucamonga, CA 91730-7639 United States (909) 945-0041 airmgmt@tstonramp.com Jimmy Meyer, ASCS (‘19) Meyer Machine Supply & Equipment 241 Depot St. Antioch, IL 60002 (800) 728-3828

jimbob@meyermachine.com

Andrea Casa, ASCS (‘19) Alisea SRL Frazione Tornello 120 Mezzanino, Italy 27040 (+39) 0382-583090

Kehau Mendes, ASCS, CVI (’20) AIRPRO Indoor Air Solutions 1916 Democrat Street Honolulu, HI 96819 (808) 832-1178 kehau@airprohawaii.com Mike Dexter, ASCS, CVI (’20) Air Quality Control Environmental 3933 NW 126th Avenue Coral Springs, FL 33065 (954) 707-0794

mikedexter@airqualitycontrolenv.com

andrea.casa@alisea-italia.com

NADCA Headquarters 1120 Route 73, Suite 200 • Mount Laurel, NJ 08054 Toll Free: 855-GO-NADCA • Phone: (856) 380-6810 Fax: (856) 439-0525 • www.nadca.com

NADCA Staff Jodi Araujo, CEM Chief Staff Executive

Kristy Cohen Executive Director

Ashton Hald Meeting Manager

Victoria Ramsay Client Services

Holly French Membership & Certification Coordinator

Brian Flynn Standards & Specifications Marketing Manager Christina DeRose Industry Relations Manager

workers flooding the market in a time when baby boomers are retiring and our infrastructure needs continuous repair and growth. The struggle to find competent, reliable and skilled workers should lessen over the next 3-5 years as millennials choose bluecollar jobs. According to a recent Forbes article, the American dream of going to college, holding a job for 40 years and retiring has gone by the wayside with the arrival of the millennial generation. More and more, millennials are signaling their

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satisfaction with work in the bluecollar trades. Why? The cost of a college education has been steadily rising since the 1970s when public funding dwindled and turned higher education into a for-profit endeavor. Employment in trades is booming and in some cases, offers better pay than some positions for which a college degree is required. According to statistics from the U.S. Department of Labor, projected growth for the carpentry trade alone is expected to be 24 percent through 2022, and will deliver an

SEPTEMBER â&#x20AC;˘ OCTOBER 2017

average wage of almost $90,000 per year. As you may have guessed, carpentry almost never requires a college education, and most of the skills can be learned on-site, apprenticeship-style, much like air duct cleaning. And according to the Forbes article, while carpentry sets a great benchmark, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not the only industry poised for explosive growth. By the end of 2017, as many as 600 major semiskilled professions, like air duct cleaners, could realize a growth rate of 5 percent or more. What does 5 percent growth look like for your company?

Executive Director’s Letter

Tackling What Matters Most By Kristy Cohen, NADCA Executive Director

It’s been a very busy year for NADCA as we continue to tackle the issues that matter most to our members. And, I’m pleased to report that we’ve seen great success in several key areas.

Trademark Infringement NADCA’s efforts to shut down false claims of membership and certification by non-member companies is in full force and we’ve had our most successful year yet. Since 2014, we’ve pursued 240 trademark violations and have successfully closed 239. Just this year alone, we’ve closed 126 out of 127 cases, a 99 percent close rate. A case is considered closed when the trademark violation is removed and the infringer ceases false claims of membership, certification and/or use of the NADCA logo. Using a strategic approach, when NADCA receives or finds cases of infringement online, we immediately identify the hosting provider of the infringing company’s website and file official cease and desist to have the infringement and false claims removed. By seeking action directly from the web hosting providers, we’ve seen a much quicker response and higher rate of success in enforcement without having to incur the costs of attorneys.

Additionally, we’ve shut down several pervasive infringers on Facebook via Canadian Buy/Sell/Trade groups. In July, NADCA staff aggressively pursued the infringement by reaching out to the Group Administrators who have removed all posters claiming NADCA membership/certification that couldn’t be verified via our Find a Professional Directory. In August and September NADCA pursued Trademark Infringement complaints on Kijiji (a Canadian EBAY subsidiary). Submitting complaints via their online process and with diligent follow-up we successfully closed 25 ads that were wrongfully claiming NADCA membership/certification. For infringers making false claims via other advertisement such as print ads, coupon mailers and truck decals, we continue to pursue cease and desist action via our attorney. If you see infringement, please report it to NADCA via our online form at nadca. com/report-trademark-infringement so that immediate action can be taken.

Driving Business to NADCA Members NADCA’s efforts to drive business to our members in both the residential and commercial sectors continue to pay off as more consumers become aware of the importance of hiring a NADCA member for their HVAC

cleaning projects. Since July 2016, our marketing efforts have reached over 4,000 engineers, architects and specifiers who now have the NADCA General Specification and understand that it’s not enough to hire someone who says they will clean to our standard – they need to specify NADCA membership and certification in the quality assurance sections of their specifications. In the residential sector, we’ve reached more than 4 million consumers through our print and video ad placements to help educate consumers on the importance of proper cleaning and avoiding the scammers. NADCA members are encouraged to utilize and share the Breathing Clean consumer marketing pieces, along with our General Specification and energy savings findings available at nadca.com on their own websites and social media. NADCA is committed to tackling the issues that matter most to our members to ensure long-term prosperity and growth. To learn more about these important initiatives, we encourage you to visit nadca.com, follow NADCA on social media, get involved in a NADCA committee and join us for the 29th Annual Meeting & Exposition in Palm Springs, California.

Industry News

In Brief FRENCHTOWN, MONTANA

LONDON

Montana’s 2017 wildfire season has extended into the school year, and the Missoula County Health Department has been working with the public to get HEPA air filtration units into local classrooms, which don’t have air-conditioning. Since August 1, the area has experienced 35 days of air quality levels classified as “hazardous.” Residents are scrambling now, but they are laying the groundwork for being better prepared to provide clean air to students in the face of wildfires, which are likely to take place with increasing frequency in the future.

UK-based Architecture Foundation, a design advocacy group, held a competition challenging architects to come up with creative solutions to London’s housing shortage. Winner PUP Architects prevailed with their H-VAC apartment—a small apartment hidden in large ductwork on existing buildings’ rooftops. The move exploits a building code loophole that allows buildings to install rooftop HVAC systems without permits. The apartments only mimic the look of a large HVAC exhaust and are not functional.

LEXINGTON, KENTUCKY

FAYETTEVILLE, GEORGIA

Students from Rochester, Michigan-based Oakland University were awarded membership and an invitation to publish their work about indoor air quality in the ASSE’s Journal of Safety, Health and Environmental Research. Erika Cleary and Mary Asher researched indoor air quality in the area by collecting and logging samples from study areas every two to five minutes. Results found that particulate and gaseous pollutant levels in facilities in their communities are a concerning human health issue. Clear and Asher presented their work at the Safety 2017 Professional Development Conference and Exposition this June in Denver, Colorado.

In Georgia’s 234-acre Pinewood Forrest community, traditional HVAC systems are out and geothermal pumps are in. The developers of the mega-project are touting the consistent underground temperature, which is approximately 58 degrees year-round, the lack of noise, and lowered costs as the benefits of the futuristic energy option. Pinewood Forrest, which is 30 minutes south of Atlanta, will be the first large-scale project in the US to rely entirely on geothermal energy.

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Industry News

New Commercial HVAC System Monitoring Tool

arrier is introducing a suite of digital solutions designed to allow commercial customers to monitor their HVAC system’s performance, energy usage, service and maintenance through a new equipment dashboard and mobile application. Leveraging the rapidly expanding capabilities of the internet of things (IoT) and cloud-based applications and data management, Carrier’s SMART Service connects customers with SMART Service-enabled equipment.

The tool provides real-time visualization of vital system and component level health measures and deeper insight into operating performance and efficiency, all with remote access. Users can also remotely monitor the health of their portfolio of chillers in realtime and have oversight of key operating parameters, recent energy consumption trends, and weather forecasts to help predict future usage. Advanced notifications can be setup within the app to alert when equipment is operating outside predefined parameters.

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An online community portal allows customers to keep track of service and maintenance history, and improves their asset management capabilities for their complete portfolio of HVAC equipment. Users can request and track service online, as well as automate service requests from smart connected equipment, improving budgeting and scheduling. The system also stores site-based service history and account information to provide greater continuity between service technicians, facility managers and others involved in the HVAC system’s operation and maintenance.

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HVAC Industry a Top-Rated Area of Interest in Higher Education Job opportunities are behind the increased attention to the field

chool is officially in session as consumers seek higher education programs and certifications to prepare for a competitive job market. According to the Sparkroom Q2 2017 Higher Education Inquiry Generation Review, fields such as business, nursing, computer information sciences and mechanics, among others, remain among the more popular higher education programs. The report shows the demand for mechanic and repair technologies/technician programs has been on a general upward trend, with HVAC technician programs holding the top spot in the mechanic/repair technologies category.

Jobs Jobs Jobs Data shows consumers may be more focused on the tangible benefits of job placement or career advancement when assessing their education goals and choosing a program. In an evolving, competitive job market, advanced degrees, diplomas and certificates are becoming a minimum requirement for many jobs. “What we’re seeing from our data is that the debate between online and campus-based higher education programs is changing as more institutions are shifting their strategies to meet the needs of career changers and millennials that are laser focused on jobs,” said Jeff Meola, Business Intelligence and Analytics Director at Sparkroom. D U C TA L E S

HVAC and Mechanic and Repair Technologies Demand for mechanic and repair technologies/technician programs has been on a general upward trend. More specifically, HVAC interest has been on the rise since 2015 and in 2016 increased by 17 percent. According to the BLS, the projected increase in employment for HVAC is jobs much higher than the national average, coming in at 14 percent.

TOP 5 PROGRAM CATEGORIES (Ranked By Q2 2017 Interest)

2. Business, Management, Marketing and Related Support Services 3. Computer and Information Sciences and Support Services 4. Education 5. Mechanic and Repair Technologies/ Technicians

HVAC Tops the List for Diploma Programs Diploma programs appear to be a valuable option for consumers as more than one-fifth of all student inquiries related to this degree level in Q2 2017. Campus-based diploma programs remained vastly more popular than online diploma programs. In Q2 2017, the interest was 40 percent for campus-based diploma programs versus just below 2 percent for online diploma programs. “The higher education sector needs to shift focus and evolve to best serve individuals. Whether they are seeking different credentials or different learning experiences, these institutions need to create programs that are meeting the needs of tomorrow’s job market,” added Meola.

SEPTEMBER • OCTOBER 2017

Health Professions and Related Programs

TOP 5 MECHANIC PROGAMS (Ranked By Q2 2017 Interest)

Heating, Air Conditioning, Ventilation and Refrigeration Maintenance Technology/ Technician

2. Automobile/Automotive Mechanics Technology/Technician 3. Diesel Mechanics Technology/Technician 4. Electrical/Electronics Equipment Installation and Repair, General 5. Autobody/Collision and Repair Technology/Technician

TOP 5 DIPLOMA PROGRAMS (Ranked By Q2 2017 Interest)

Medical/Clinical Assistant

Heating, Air Conditioning, Ventilation and Refrigeration Maintenance Technology/ Technician

Office Management and Supervision

Automobile/Automotive Mechanics Technology/Technician

Dental Assisting/Assistant 11

Your Business

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ht of eals Weig Business v e R y d all New Stu en on Sm d r u B e v ti dministra

n average, small businesses currently spend around 120 days a year on administrative tasks like paperwork and accounting alone, according to a recent Sage report. Imagine what you could do with all of that extra time. The survey found that, in the United States, 4.9 percent of a small business’ time is lost to administrative tasks. If that time were returned, the nation’s GDP could increase by an added $335.3 billion. Small businesses already account for over 50 percent of the United States’ GDP, as pointed out by Small Business Trends.

In the United States, 4.9 percent of a small business’ time is lost to administrative tasks.

So what tasks specifically are making small businesses less efficient? The study identified accounting, HR, payroll, tax-related duties, managing late payments, invoice processing and talent acquisition and training as the duties overloading small businesses’ time. Some of these timeconsuming tasks, like accounting, could be streamlined by digitization or with software solutions.

In the U.S., 30 percent of survey respondents said that there was no reason they weren’t digitizing their administrative tasks. Twentyfive percent said it was too timeconsuming, and twenty-three percent said that implementation was too costly. The rest had reasons like processes being too complicated, the incompatibility of their legacy systems or a lack of training.

According to Sage CEO Stephen Kelly, small businesses need to make the switch over to using administrative software, which will save money and time in the long haul. However, one of the main underlying causes of time wasted on administrative tasks can be attributed to government regulations. “Small businesses also face an enormous regulatory burden, forcing them to spend thousands of hours on compliance,” Juanita Duggan, President and CEO of the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), wrote in her op-ed for The Wall Street Journal. NFIB’s Small Business Problems and Priorities survey found that “unreasonable government regulations” is the second largest problem for small business owners. So while digitization can help small businesses manage their time more efficiently, what small businesses really need is deregulation, which will increase productivity and boost the economy. This article originally appeared at sba.gov.

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MANAGING YOUR ONLINE REPUTATION

Don’t underestimate the importance the internet plays in word-of-mouth advertising

our company’s online presence goes far beyond just your own website. Potential customers may find you on Facebook, Yelp, LinkedIn or any other platform where people are sharing information. And what they find there can have a big impact on whether or not they choose you to be their service provider. To put your best digital foot forward, it’s essential to be aware of what the internet is saying about your business, both favorable and unfavorable. This way you can take advantage of good publicity and reviews — and to be prepared in the event of anything potentially damaging.

Preemptive Strikes “The best defense is a good offense,” as the saying goes, and because 14

that’s as true in business as it is in sports, you should start your online reputation management with some good old-fashioned customer service. Earn an exemplary reputation online and off with top-notch work and friendly, helpful interactions with your clients. This will earn you positive reviews, repeat business, and rewarding relationships, and then when errant negative responses pop up online, those customers who know and trust you will be more inclined to respond in your favor. But the internet does have a life of its own, so you’ll need to take preemptive steps there as well. Word of mouth is essential for small businesses, and the internet is the loudest word of mouth there is. You want to control the narrative on the first two pages of your Google search results, and you can do that by securing your position in various online forums so there are numerous D U C TA L E S

reputable sites that will populate the results with your own listings. •

Improve your website’s SEO. This is always a good idea anyway! Make sure your website uses all the right keywords in all the right places. (You can use Google Search Console to check your site for any missing keyword opportunities.) Then buy variations on your domain name and direct them all to your website. For example, velveeta.com takes you to kraftrecipes.com.

•

Create social media accounts. Do this even for sites you aren’t planning to use right now. Include your basic profile and your company bio and upload your logo, and be sure to

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WORD OF MOUTH IS ESSENTIAL FOR SMALL BUSINESSES, AND THE INTERNET IS THE LOUDEST WORD OF MOUTH THERE IS.

link all of your social media accounts to one another. Ideally, pick a few channels to update on a regular basis, even if it’s just once or twice a week. •

•

Claim your business’s profile. Add yourself to any review sites or other business listings sites, including places like About.me, Yelp and Resume. com. As with social media, include your profile, bio and logo. Send out press releases. If you have news to share about your business, let the world know! Consider creating accounts with popular press release engines like PR Newswire if you plan to make press releases a major part of your marketing. Otherwise, post them to your website and share them across social media. Also research local media outlets and send your releases to them. While you never know if it’ll get picked up, the effort may be worth it.

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By taking care of these steps out of the gate, you gain a lot of control over what shows up about you online, and you build a positive and consistent reputation in advance.

•

Use an online social media manager. Set up an account through a site like Hootsuite to keep tabs on any mentions you receive on various social media sites. You can also go directly to those sites and search your name or mentions.

•

Check review sites regularly. You need to know about positive reviews so you can flaunt them and negative reviews so you can decide whether or not to address them, and how.

•

Conduct regular Google searches. This way you can see if anything unsavory is turning up in the first two pages of your search results. Depending on your company’s size and reach, you should do this monthly, weekly or daily.

Monitoring Your Reputation You still need to monitor that reputation, however. This just involves doing a quick regular check of a few different locations to ensure everything is in good shape, and for the most part it won’t take much time at all. •

Set up Google Alerts. Create them for your company name, any of your brand names, and for “[your company] + reviews.” If needed, you can create additional custom search terms to narrow the results. You’ll receive an email anytime something regarding one of those items is posted online.

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Engaging with Customers When customers post reviews about your services, it’s a good idea to have 15

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a standing policy for how to handle both positive and negative reviews. Allowing and encouraging reviews is important in this age of business transparency. Customers want to work with businesses they know they can trust and they know will listen to them — and if you won’t, rest assured that someone else will. With positive reviews, the steps are pretty simple: 1.

Have a plan for whether to respond to all, none or some of your positive reviews.

Compile positive reviews in one location, perhaps a testimonials page on your website, so your customers can see them all at once. If you can manage taking the time for it, responding is a great way to build a rapport with your customers and show them that you care.

Negative reviews, however, are a different matter. The most important thing is to address criticism quickly and politely and to take ownership of anything that harms your customers, even if those things are beyond your control. This is true now, and it was true before the Internet — when someone poisoned bottles of Tylenol in 1982, resulting in three deaths, it could have ended the company had its parent corporation, Johnson & Johnson, not recalled the product and set up a crisis hotline. 16

Major Reputation Management

posted, and only take legal action if you absolutely have to.

If the problem is something bigger than an angry Facebook comment — an exposé in a major paper, a scandal implicating your company — you will probably need to make a statement, and the sooner the better. Get a PR firm to help you, and whatever you do, avoid making a non-apology like “We’re sorry that you were offended,” which will come across as insincere and will inevitably make things worse. “We’re sorry we made a mistake and promise to do better in the future” is a much more sympathy-inducing approach.

In many instances, though, the best way to respond to a negative post or review is to do so quickly and politely. If you need to research the situation before you can resolve it, comment or reply to let the poster know you’re sorry they had a negative experience and that you’re looking into it. Some companies develop reputations for their responses to customer feedback — check out the “Tweets & replies” tab of Wendy’s Twitter page for a mix of their trademark apologies and jokes — and others take a more serious approach. Both are fine as long as the complaints are addressed. Whatever you do, don’t try to quash responses or delete posts — getting caught in a cover-up is a PR nightmare, and it’s easy to get caught if a commenter has taken a screenshot of their post.

If you are upset by a negative review, wait to respond until you have cooled down. This is especially important to keep in mind on Yelp, where things can get heated — and where consumers often go to make decisions about whether or not to use a service provider. If the reviewer is an Internet troll who clearly isn’t looking for a resolution or is simply stirring the pot, let it go. If, however, a review or post is defamatory (untrue), you can take steps to have it removed. Start with contacting the site where the defamatory review is

Try to resolve any issue the same way you would with a customer in person — quickly and professionally, with the dual aims of impressing them with your concern for making things right and creating a customer for life. The Internet can feel anonymous, but it isn’t, and not only your customers, but journalists, bloggers, potential business partners and potential future star employees are all taking note of your behavior in the digital public square. So make sure to shine your halo before you head out there.

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Your Business

Become a Lead Generation Machine Expert tips to maximize your lead generating efforts

utside of managing the bottom line, employees and facilities, business owners are often tasked with a critical mission: generating leads that drive revenue for the business. From commercial to residential jobs, it’s all about finding opportunities to capitalize on, because no matter how good the work you do is, you can’t do it without customers. But there are some simple and effective steps you can take to generate new business — and you can get started right away. Travis Petersen, the owner and CEO of Wind River Marketing, has tips on some of the best ways to spend your lead generation time and budget. Petersen has been working with HVAC and other constructionrelated service industries to market their businesses for over 10 years, and before that, he had an HVAC company of his own for which generated leads. When it comes to bringing in new customers, he says, “You’re opening their eyes to the fact that the system might need to be cleaned.” Here are some ways to do that.

The Big Ones “First and foremost, networking and referrals are obviously free, other 18

than your time,” Petersen says. “When you get a referral, that’s usually a contract handed to you on a silver platter. And that comes from doing a good job for your existing customers. Networking is also a great way to go.” Along with partnerships, these are the lead generation tools where you’ll get the most bang for your buck:

Partnerships:

Networking:

The Overlooked Ones

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Join the Better Business Bureau, the Chamber of Commerce, and Building Owners and Managers.

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Meet with property manager associations.

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Engage with the local community through schools, churches, and other community groups.

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Consider teaming up with mechanical contractors, carpet-cleaning services, security companies, and other home ownership servicers.

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Bring your references.

Some tools that seem inconsequential can go a long way, and their initial investment pays for itself many times over. You can leverage search engine optimization, truck signage, and quarterly emails without doing too much work on your end, and it can make a big difference.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO): •

Referrals: •

Ask customers to be a reference.

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Offer customers a rebate for referrals.

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Encourage customers to post about their positive experience with you on social media.

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“It’s important that clients optimize their websites so customers can find them,” Petersen says. Use keywords to help your site turn up in the right searches. Use Google Search Console to be sure your site is fully optimized.

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Write articles or blog posts for your site, because “it’s all about content these days,” Petersen says.

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Set up a crosslinking relationship with other websites, where you share their links and they share yours. Websites linking back to your site improve your Google search placement.

Quarterly Emails •

Make a list of prospects, either yourself or with the help of an outside company.

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Contact them quarterly or once every six months.

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Use quarterly emails to stay in touch with your current customers too.

Truck Signage •

This one-time investment is a gift to yourself that never stops giving. “It may not be a priority with a lot of companies, but it’s like a moving billboard, right?” Petersen says. “Think about Stanley Steamer. Every time you see one, it reminds you, ‘I think we might have to have our carpets cleaned next week before the holiday party.’”

The Overrated One “I wouldn’t necessarily tell people to stay away from direct mail entirely, but the reality is it’s become very expensive, and it rarely gets to a decision maker,” Petersen says. A carefully planned direct mail campaign can be very effective, but blindly sending out a large mailing without doing your research first probably won’t have a great ROI. D U C TA L E S

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Even at bulk rate, costs for direct mailings add up quickly.

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However, mailing your current customers once or twice a year to maintain a relationship with them and keep yourself in their minds is definitely a good idea.

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And of course, do what works for you—if you’ve had good success rates with direct mailings, keep them as part of your marketing plan. Consider tying each campaign to a specific call to action so you can track its success.

What to Do Next Now that you’ve let people know who you are and what you do, you need to take a few final steps to close the contracts and reassess your methods for the future.

much from Google, and so on. And if you track this in your company’s customer-management software program, you can run reports to get specifics about your ROI on each type of lead generation in which you’ve invested.

Do Good Work The foundational lead generation tool is doing good work and building positive relationships with your customers and within your community. With that as a basis, using these tools is the next natural step to growing your business. You can do some or all of these things yourself, or you can hire an outside firm to act as your sales team. Either way, you’re doing good work, and you need to shout it from the rooftop — and these tools can help you do that.

Follow Up Following up quarterly is essential to closing on leads. “It’s absolutely imperative to follow up on all your proposals, either by email or phone,” Petersen says. “You don’t want to be a pain, but you want to make sure that the prospect has you at the top of their minds. And if you’re the only company following up, that can make all the difference.”

Check Your ROI Keep track of where your business is coming in from. Whether you’re using a software system to enter new customers or you’re filling out a form, include a prompt to answer the question “How did you hear about us?” Then you’ll get an idea of how much business is coming from truck signage, how much from emails, how

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Door-Knocking and Cold-Calling Don’t forget about these old chestnuts! Some things to keep in mind: •

For commercial prospects, knock on doors, hand your card out in a business park, and make cold calls.

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For residential prospects, look up your local laws on soliciting door to door, and make sure not to contact anyone on the Do Not Call list.

NADCA News

ore than 150 industry professionals from around the world gathered in St. Louis in September for NADCA’s Fall Technical Conference, the association’s premiere training event. The conference followed the popular format from previous years, providing hands-on training as well as instructional time and educational sessions. The conference also featured two tracks — beginner and advanced — with tailored content to meet the experience level of participants, as well as a networking reception, generously sponsored by Sunbelt Rentals. “Fall Tech is one of our favorite events because participants have an opportunity to try new tools and

techniques during the hands-on sessions,” says Ashton Hald, NADCA Meeting Manager. The program featured many popular sessions that participants raved about. The top-rated advanced track session, “How to Take Readings to Show Energy Efficiency,” presented by Mike White, ASCS, CVI, and his son Michael White, ASCS, CVI, tackled a hot topic in the industry as more consumers become focused on reducing overall energy consumption and maintaining efficient HVAC systems. Not surprisingly, one of the hands-on sessions was the top-rated session on the technician track, “Liquid Nitrogen for Duct Cleaning,” presented by David Monson, ASCS. “The hands-on sessions are always D U C TA L E S

going to be popular because it gives technicians the opportunity to actually work with tools and practice techniques,” said Hald. “Attendees enjoyed great food and drinks while networking and meeting with vendors at the conference,” said Hald. “It was a perfect addition to the conference.”

Save the Date! The 2018 Fall Technical Conference will be September 13-15, 2018 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Mark your calendars, and we’ll see you there!

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