NOW IN OUR 51st year of publication, CONTRACTOR has been the leading magazine to bring you industry news as well as management advice on how to improve your business operations.
In an increasingly competitive market, we realize that you have more information at your disposal and more ways to receive it than ever. These options go well beyond the printed page, which can be confining even when the pages are tabloid size.
That’s why CONTRACTOR is committed to fulfilling your information needs in ways that go beyond our magazine, or even our Website, www.contractormag.com. Starting this month, we’ll introduce two new vehicles that we believe will complement both our magazine and Website in providing value to you.
We’re excited to bring you a series of one-day educational and networking events that will take place in April and May in six cities across the country. Later this month, we’ll introduce an electronic newsletter that will deliver business advice and content that you won’t find in the magazine.
Our Comfortech RoadShow Series recognizes that the last thing that the plumbing-and-heating industry needs is another big trade show. Working with our sister publication, Contracting Business, our goal is to present a day of business education and networking tailored exclusively for plumbing and HVAC contractors.
While we do see value for contractors who take advantage of some of the industry’s longstanding, national events, we also understand that a number of you are reluctant to invest the time and money needed to travel to these shows. The movement in the industry in recent years to consolidate trade shows, in some respects, has hurt those of you who have fewer venues to visit that are closer to where you live and work. We’ve noted that fact in this space previously.
We’ve designed our RoadShows to be regional so as not to require more than a few hours’ drive for many of you or an overnight stay in a hotel. The RoadShow will make stops in San Diego, April 14; New Haven, Conn., April l9; Chicago area, May 3; Fort Collins, Colo., May 18; Portland, Ore., May 24; and Sacramento, Calif., May 26.
Although your drive may be short, we’re committed to making your trip worthwhile. Speakers include two of CONTRACTOR’s most popular columnists, Dave Yates and Mark Eatherton, who will give you tips on how to add hydronics to your residential plumbing business. Dave will be in San Diego, New Haven, Chicago and Sacramento; Mark will be in Fort Collins and Portland.
Matt Michel, CEO of the Service Roundtable, will give the keynote address on Comanche Marketing at all locations. Industry consultants Ron Collier and Ron Smith will discuss, respectively, how to devise and implement a performance-based compensation plan in your plumbing company and how to make maintenance agreements a cornerstone of your plumbing business.
If you live within driving distance of one of these RoadShow events, I personally invite you to attend. More details on these events, along with a list of education-minded corporate sponsors that are supporting the Comfortech RoadShow Series, appear on pgs. 56 and 57 of this issue.
Now, while your participation in our RoadShow events requires you to attend, our new electronic newsletter will be sent to you at your e-mail address. Industry writer, speaker and consultant Mark Matteson will contribute to the newsletter on a monthly basis with advice on marketing, sales, people skills and business operations. Mark’s writing style and common-sense approach should appeal not only to business owners, but also to the next generation of owners and managers.
Our mission is to be the No. 1 source for industry news, business management advice and new product information exclusively for plumbing, heating and piping contractors, and it’s been that way for the last five decades. We believe that our new in-person events and e-newsletter support that pledge.