Business Development & Marketing

Managing Supply Chain Disruption

In this paper, FMI and the New Horizons Foundation will share with you what best-in-class SMACNA member contractors have learned– and give you the tools to be more effective in managing supply chain disruption.

RESIDENTIAL: Google Ads are a Great Way for Contractors to Gain New Business

For many contractors, Google Ads is a complex landscape, but a couple of tips and tricks can simplify the process. 

Webinar: The Steel Pricing Crisis

With the price of steel rising steadily and showing no signs of dropping soon, many contractors are left facing situations where profits on projects are suffering. SMACNA designed this webinar to provide the critical information our members need to come up with practical solutions when facing profit loss due to the current price of steel.

Now Available - Ventilation Verification Webinar

Hear directly from several industry experts on the benefits of adding Ventilation Verification to your existing service offerings and how already familiar TAB skills and techniques can play an important role in offering this service to clients.

Deteriorating Backlogs: Responding to a New COVID-19 Reality

When 2020 kicked off, the construction industry was flying high. With a steady flow of work and bidding opportunities, large infrastructure projects on the horizon and sureties offering a seemingly endless supply of bonding, most contractors were hitting all-time-high revenues and profits, with healthy backlogs to keep the momentum going.

The Bidding Hack: 5 Ways to Increase Your Bid Win Rate

The pandemic led to one of the most difficult years in memorable history for the construction industry — one in which specialty contractors were hit particularly hard. According to a recent report from Autodesk, project bidding dropped roughly 34% in the 60 days following March 19, 2020, the day the first U.S. stay-at-home orders were mandated.

RESIDENTIAL: HVAC Rebates Help “Frontline” Customers

When COVID-19 hit, SMACNA St. Louis looked for ways to help contractors help their customers who worked on the frontline of the pandemic.

RESIDENTIAL: Experts - 2021 Will Build on Last Year’s Booming Residential Market

While not likely to be a record, the HVAC and sheet metal industry should see steady demand for residential services, experts say.

Maximizing Cash Flow, With or Without a Second PPP Loan

The stricter eligibility requirements for second draw Paycheck Protection Program (PPP2) loans excluded many construction companies from the new round of COVID-19 relief.

Clean Rooms Critical to Pandemic Response

Clean room projects offer SMACNA contractors the opportunity to showcase their expertise

Strategic Selling: A Systematic Approach to Winning Work in Complex, Competitive Environments

In this EDGE Conference session, Anderton helps you craft strategic approaches to bid specific work opportunities that will increase the likelihood of your company being selected to build the project.

HVAC Customers Seek Improved Indoor Air Quality

Across the United States, residential contractors have seen an increase in business as clients adjust to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Webinar: Federal Contracting for Small Businesses

The third in the five-part Federal Contracting webinar series reviewed how your company can take advantage of the opportunities available through new and existing Federal Government Small Business programs.

Webinar: Teaming and Joint Venturing and COVID-19 in Federal Contracting

The second webinar in our five-part series focused on the use of teaming and joint venturing as a strategy to secure government work. Host Ed DeLisle, Esq., an expert in federal contracting and construction law, guided participants through the process.

Staying Calm and Seizing Opportunities

Recognizing that strong, steady leadership in a time of crisis is an essential skill, SMACNA partnered with Eric Anderton, a trusted construction-industry expert and business partner to host a webcast on how you can rise to the challenges presented by the coronavirus pandemic and seize available growth opportunities.

Webinar: Federal Procurement Overview

The first webinar on the subject of contracting with the Federal Government explains what many other contractors have already discovered — how easy and profitable working for the Federal Government can be for your business.

St. Louis SMART, SMACNA Chapter Buck Residential Work Trend with Marketing Efforts

A cooperative relationship, as well as combined training and marketing efforts, have contributed to major growth in the St. Louis residential HVAC service market.

The Roadmap for an Enduring Organization

Why is it that only about 30 percent of privately held companies move beyond the founder and transition to a second generation? One primary reason is that there is no roadmap from “here” to “there.”

Tom Schleifer’s Construction Company Self-Analysis Program

In 2019, Dr. Thomas C. Schleifer developed the Construction Company Self-Analysis Program.This do-it-yourself diagnostic tool offers the equivalent of an independent expert evaluation of every aspect of a construction business.

Contractors Gravitating to Prefabrication for Sheet Metal and HVAC Projects

Prefabrication is far from a novel concept in the world of construction. Homeowners in the United States, for example, have purchased prefabricated houses for more than a century to live a more affordable version of the American Dream.

Building Energy Codes: Why Should Homeowners Care?

Residential HVAC contractors take note: Homeowners overwhelmingly put energy efficiency at the top of their list of essential and desirable features, according to a survey by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB). 

Decision-Making Framework for New Market Opportunities: A 10-Step Process

Are you ready to add a new line of work or a new market for your existing line of work? Market opportunities can present themselves in a variety of ways:

• a customer could ask your company to expand geographically;
• an employee might offer up specific skills;
• or a new market in need of service can have a strong pull.

Enhancing Your Organizational Structure: An Approach to Profitable Operations

This white paper focuses on traditional and functional organizational structures. It offers a simple and easily understood contrast and comment on the appropriateness of each approach. In contrast to the traditional structure, the paper concludes that a functional analysis of a firm’s operations can be “a tool for designing their organization going forward. It views a contracting company as a system of various inputs coordinated to create one desired outcome.”

Using a Board of Directors, Peer Groups and Other Resources to Challenge and Enhance Performance

This white paper offers advice and suggestions on the effective use of outside resources to improve performance of HVAC and sheet metal contractors.

A New Era of Customer Service: How to Manage Customer Relationship

This paper includes a list of best practices to identify customer needs and satisfaction and outlines a cost-effective process to create a customer-centered culture. The white paper was written for HVAC and sheet metal contractors by Tom Schleifer, an author with experience and instant credibility in the industry.

Successful Marketing and Business Development Strategies for HVAC and Sheet Metal Contractors

This white paper helps HVAC and sheet metal contractors use marketing and business development more strategically. It also provides an approach on how to create a plan, implement it, measure the results and, ultimately, create a long-term plan to build customer relationships and backlogs.

Risks and Opportunities for HVAC and Sheet Metal Contractors During the Construction Market Recovery

This white paper describes and analyzes contractor risks associated with a recovering economy and market.

Strategic Thinking

Strategic Thinking is a blueprint for contractors seeking to use the Futures Study to improve their position as the industry recovers and stabilizes.

Contractor Success Stories: Adapting to the Post-Recession World

The Great Recession has had a profound and long-lasting effect on the U.S. construction industry – including the HVAC and sheet metal industry – forcing many companies to look inside and reevaluate their services, clients and markets as well as their vision and strategic goals.

Risk Assessment Model: A Practical Guide for HVAC and Sheet Metal Contractors

The report helps contractors as they seek to identify early on, which risks/opportunities deserve resources, develop early stages of an effective project risk assessment/management plan, and improve results using effective risk assessment/management tools.

A Comparison of Operation Cost Factors: Union Versus Nonunion HVAC and Sheet Metal Contractors

The New Horizons Foundation sponsored this study that compared operating costs of union and nonunion contractors. The study concluded that cost differences in total costs, labor costs, fabricated ductwork, and crew mix contributed to the operating cost differences between union and nonunion firms.

Measuring Customer Loyalty: A Benchmark Study of HVAC and Sheet Metal Customers’ Satisfaction

Customer loyalty can be the key to business success or failure. The New Horizons Foundation initiated and funded a study to gain greater understanding of customer requirements with the intent to improve the competitiveness of HVAC and sheet metal contractors.

Residential HVAC Trends: Home Improvement Centers Enter the Installation and Service Market

This study examines trends and drivers that will impact future scenarios, specifically for the HVAC industry and the union segment of the trade. The research was developed through a combination of interview and surveys with HVAC industry stakeholders and an in-depth literature scan of private and public documentation, trade press, and industry reports.

Tool and Material Management Systems

This guide provides practical considerations, tactics and processes that apply specifically to managing tools, equipment and off-the-shelf, consumable materials. It provides an easy-to-reference list of considerations, tactics, and processes for implementation and ongoing improvement.

Providing New Services in a Changing Industrial Market

The COVID-19 pandemic took the father-son team of Ernest J. Menold and Ernie P. Menold, third and fourth generation leaders at Ernest D. Menold, Inc., by surprise. The Menolds are now positioning themselves to help clients comply with new health guidelines.

Mini-Split Systems in Residential Retrofit Applications

Mini-split systems are being marketed for installation in new construction in smaller homes but are also being utilized in retrofits. This paper addresses some benefits and limitations of mini-split systems in residential retrofit applications.

PEW Charitable Trusts Energy Efficiency Resources

Pew is working to increase the amount of industrial energy efficiency to help create jobs, spur private investment, improve competitiveness, and enhance resiliency.