Instructor Led
Professional Staff
Atkins, Wayne
Wayne Atkins has helped thousands of HVAC, Plumbing, and Electrical Contractors throughout the United States develop more profitable businesses.
His years of experience date back to 1986 when he joined the industry as a Dealer Business Consultant in the Northeast. Since 1993 Wayne has worked independently with contractors as a consultant and as a group trainer. He has received several industry awards along the way.
Wayne's expertise includes: Financial Management and Net Profit Pricing, Business Plans & Budgets, Residential and Commercial Marketing, Residential Sales & Sales Management, Organization & Planning, Installation Production Management and all aspects of Service Departments.
Wayne's training is approved for the continuing educational (CEU) requirements in the following state's: Ohio, Alabama, Texas and North Carolina. Wayne presented at the 2000, 2001, and 2002 National ACCA Conferences as well and the 2001 PHCC Kentucky State Conference. Wayne is a member of NE ACCA and has served on the board of directors for NE ACCA and CHCC.
LaPlant, John & Vickie
"John and I have spent almost the entirety of our working careers in the HVAC industry. And call it crazy or call it love, but that is a combined 55 years working with contractors and distributors.
"And Vicki and I agree that everything we know about the heating and air conditioning business has been learned from contractors and distributors. Fortunately, we have worked with some of the very best in the industry. So the ideas, processes, and strategies that we share in our training seminars are the best from the best."
In 1979, Vicki went to work for a major HVAC manufacturer in their education department and a career in the HVAC industry was born. Vicki worked there in a variety of capacities from training director to Vice President of Dealer Development and finally as Vice-President of Marketing. She started Vital Learning Experiences in 1995 and John joined the company full-time in 1997, after working in their training department where he developed and taught technical courses for installers and service technicians and ultimately worked in numerous positions from sales to director of quality.
Lewis, John
Quality Management Resources
In John Lewis' 29 years in the HVAC industry, he has been heavily involved in product, leadership, organizational development, and sales training. Since 1993, he's led his own training company and provided skills improvement in these areas for a diverse group of organizations.
John's training strength lies in his ability to draw people into the learning experience at all levels of the organization. He works to create a sense of cooperation and teamwork across organizational boundaries. The goal in his many innovative workshops targets interpersonal skills improvement for managers, sales people, service techs, installers, and office personnel. He also has developed financial workshops specifically for principles and managers in the HVAC industry.
Since graduating from Northeastern University, John experienced Manufacturing Engineering, Dealer Sales, Marketing, Distribution Management, Regional Management, and Distributor and Dealer training. He also spent several years consulting with HVAC dealers in financial and organizational matters; and with installers and service technicians learning how to identify and solve problems specific to their trades. This experience provided insight into how contractors operate and manage a business successfully.
McCormick, Pat
Sales Excellence Training
After 18 years of experience in the H.V.A.C. industry, Pat reached one of his major goals as he started his own company-Sales Excellence Training (SET). From 1994-98 SET customized and conducted training programs for contractors, distributors and manufacturers all over North America. SET continued to prosper when Pat joined forces with Blue Dot Services, a major consolidator, at the end of 1998. For four years, SET worked exclusively with Blue Dot to develop a complete retail sales system that was unparalleled in the industry.
Today Sales Excellence Training is dedicated to continue its systematic, step-by-step approach to the retail sales process and the betterment of the home improvement industry. SET is equipped and ready to develop product-specific selling tools that are customized to fit individual needs. Every product, from a complete retail system to a one-hour seminar, is backed by a 100% satisfaction guarantee.
Teder, John
International Comfort Products Training
John Teder has been traveling across the USA and Canada for the past 20 years conducting business and sales classes for ICP Training. After receiving his degree in Business Administration from Indiana State University, he worked in retail management picking up valuable customer relations skills. Immediately prior to starting his career in HVAC, he worked with E.K. Williams as a small business consultant, working with a variety of small businesses (100 employees or less) and consulting with them monthly on their financial statements and profit building, tax saving ideas. He uses most all the skills he learned in those early years today leading business, sales and customer relations workshops for ICP.
Many of you have seen John's Profit Shots monthly webinars, or viewed one of the monthly "Teder's 3 Minute Sales Tips" on the branded GO! sites.
John uses a hands on, high impact style to engage the students in the workshops. He understands that the majority of HVAC business owners start their business with amazing technical skills, but few have any business or sales skills. As John says "Don't come to my workshops to learn the difference between a condensing unit and a heat exchanger, instead bring a calculator, a sharp pencil and an open mind and we'll talk about making some bottom line profit!"
Tom Grandy, Bill Kinnard
Grandy & Associates
Grandy & Associates has been a leader in business training since 1987. Our vision is to "teach contractors how to run profitable companies" and we accomplish this through full day seminar / workshops, one-on-one consulting, industry specific software, educational materials, hiring solutions and desk-top publishing.
In addition to trade associations work, Grandy & Associates does extensive business training for contractors through wholesalers, distributors and manufacturers across the country including many national franchises.
For contractors serious about profitable growth, we offer the three-day program called the "Basic Business Boot Camp". The boot camp covers every aspect of running a profitable company including proper labor pricing by department, cash flow and cash flow budgeting, collections, service agreements and tax tips.