After-hours service calls can be a tricky proposition to juggle. Offering the convenience to your customers can be a big draw, as they know they’ll never be caught without heat or air conditioning. But figuring out how to manage the process and what to pay for it can be difficult. In this month’s Snapshot Survey, we’re asking all about after-hours service calls to get an idea of what’s working in the industry – and what isn’t.

Over four-plus decades in the industry, Mark Matteson has mastered the skills it takes to not just survive, but thrive as a salesperson.

In the latest episode of the Contractor Coffee Club podcast, Mark lays out the philosophies and strategies that have helped him achieve unrivaled sales accomplishments -- and can help you, too.

Plus, he discusses recent industry survey data on health benefits, and how benefits and culture factor into recruiting and retention.

Does your company have a formal, data-driven forecasting process to attempt to ensure the correct inventory is on hand?

Log-in to access last month’s research summary report on Inventory Management, as well as the full Snapshot Survey archives.

Visit the interactive Contracting Best Practices Library on EGIA.org/University for training and education resources on inventory management, material handling and more.

On ContractorConnect.org, JD asked:

“We have recently begun the implementation of a new operating system that will incorporate both the mechanical and electrical divisions of our company. There is some hesitancy due to, of course, fear of change! My question is whether any of you have changed operating platforms or made other significant changes to your operation and if so how you 'sold' the rest of your organization on the idea that it was the best move for the company.”

See other contractors’ and consultants’ feedback, and join the conversation yourself, on Contractor Connect – the latest EGIA member benefit free for all members.

EGIA’s acclaimed live educational workshops are back this fall and, as always, registration is free for EGIA Premium Members! Upcoming workshops include:

The EGIA Foundation has selected its first-ever class of scholarship recipients, a group of students who will be pursuing education in an HVAC-related field at an accredited two-year college, vocational or technical school, or other approved institute during the 2018-19 academic year!

One of the EGIA Foundation’s core activities, the scholarship program helps to improve the ongoing workforce shortage in the home services industry by awarding twenty $2,500 scholarship to select dedicated individuals who are currently seeking education to better prepare themselves for a career in the industry.

For five decades air balancing has been specified by mechanical engineers on nearly every commercial project. In recent years, air balancing has moved into the energy efficiency market as a method of verifying the operating performance of both residential and commercial HVAC systems.

Let’s take a look at how new air balancing reports are placing manufacturer specifications and measured field data side-by-side to prove how efficient an installed system is operating.

EGIA has partnered with National Comfort Institute (NCI), the HVAC industry’s leading technical training organization, to create the High Performance HVAC Alliance which delivers a powerful new joint membership opportunity for contractors. The new alliance membership option includes all the benefits of both EGIA and NCI premium memberships at a significantly reduced rate.