Industry News

Industry sales experts Candy and Mike Cunningham will lead four in-depth live virtual workshops designed to help members navigate the sales landscape and implement a strategic vision for growth

Business Development Resources (BDR), the training and business coaching authority for home services industry professionals, announces the return of its Trailblazer Sales Academy, an ongoing sales development program specifically for territory managers and distribution sales teams.

Trailblazer Sales Academy helps participants develop sales skills, leadership agility, and a strategic vision for territory growth through four live virtual workshops with additional tools and resources for continuing learning. The program is led by BDR trainers Candy Cunningham and Mike Cunningham and is based on their combined four-plus decades of experience as top-performing territory managers.

“We’re preparing territory managers and distribution sales teams to blaze their own trails and make their dream territories a reality,” said Matt MacArthur, Senior Vice President of Training and Marketing for BDR. “Trailblazer Sales Academy equips members with all the tools they need to build and implement the strategies and processes that will help them reach their goals by taking ownership of their sales results.”

Trailblazer Sales Academy kicks off in January 2025 and runs through May. Each four-hour training session teaches participants the best practices for top-performing territory managers. Sessions for the academy include:

• Drive Sales and Help Dealers Win in Q1 (Jan. 7): Discover how to drive first-quarter results and help your dealers check pricing and costs to ensure they are well-positioned for the year.
• Build Your Strategic Sales Call Process (Feb. 11): Learn how to build a checklist to prepare for a sales call and develop a strategic sales process to follow before, during, and afterward.
• Find the Right Dealer Through Targeted Prospecting (April 3): Learn the knowledge and skills to effectively identify and engage with high-potential prospects to maximize your results.
• Help Dealers Install More Jobs Through Labor Leverage (May 8): Discover proven methods for helping dealers install more jobs through leveraging labor and optimizing their workforce effectively.

The academy also includes self-paced courses to help participants continue to develop their skills in between the live sessions, along with targeted podcasts episodes to prepare academy members for their next workshop.

Learn more about the Trailblazer Sales Academy at https://www.bdrco.com/trailblazer-academy/.

GlassHouse, the only outbound sales platform built specifically for home service businesses, today announced an exciting new partnership with Textla, the industry leader in SMS marketing technology. This partnership will empower GlassHouse customers to access the best SMS platform for reaching their target buyers, while providing Textla customers with advanced tools to target homeowners using GlassHouse’s customer intelligence platform.

Thanks to this partnership, home service businesses using GlassHouse and Textla together will be able to target homeowners in any neighborhood in America and send effective SMS campaigns that drive results. GlassHouse’s customer intelligence capabilities combined with Textla’s expertise in messaging, deliverability, and SMS campaign performance provides a powerful solution for generating new business.

“SMS campaigns have quickly become one of the most effective channels for ‘digital door knocking,’ said Jimmy Speyer, CEO of GlassHouse. “Our clients are driving incredible growth by using targeted messaging to reach their ideal buyers. This partnership with Textla means that our customers can now take their outreach to the next level, leveraging best-in-class SMS capabilities to turn every opportunity into a closed deal,”

GlassHouse customers will benefit from Textla’s industry-leading technology, gaining access to high deliverability rates, performance analytics, and best practices for driving customer engagement through text messaging. Meanwhile, Textla customers in the home services space will be able to leverage GlassHouse’s advanced customer intelligence to build effective audiences for SMS campaigns, ultimately helping them reach the right buyers at the right time.

“Our partnership with GlassHouse is a game-changer for home services businesses looking to scale,” said Luke Brickman, Founder and CEO at Textla. “GlassHouse’s targeting capabilities combined with our SMS technology will empower businesses to turn every door knock into a valuable lead and ultimately drive greater success in their communities.”

The partnership between GlassHouse and Textla comes at a crucial time when home service businesses are seeking efficient ways to generate new leads and grow their revenue without relying solely on traditional channels. By combining Textla’s SMS expertise with GlassHouse’s ability to identify potential customers in targeted neighborhoods, this solution enables home service businesses to conduct highly targeted, effective outreach.

Looking ahead, home service business owners who want to experience this innovative partnership firsthand will have the opportunity to demo the GlassHouse-Textla integration at the Service World Expo from October 15th to 17th in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. Come see how GlassHouse and Textla can transform your outreach strategy and drive growth.

The Ask Caleffi team is back with another insightful Coffee with Caleffi webinar, focusing on pressure-reducing valves (PRVs) and their role in plumbing systems. Cody Mack and Kevin Freidt will explore the various options PRVs offer to designers and installers, highlighting how these valves can assure reliable water pressure in a variety of plumbing applications.

Join Kevin and Cody to discover how PRVs contribute to achieving peak performance in domestic water systems. They’ll dive into their benefits and provide practical tips for maximizing efficiency and minimizing water waste. Don’t miss this session packed with valuable insights for improving your plumbing systems.

→Can pressure-reducing valves help building owners control operating costs?
→How does a pressure-reducing valve work?
→How do you size a pressure-reducing valve?
→What symptoms will you see when they’re not sized correctly?
→What are the common signs that a pressure-reducing valve might be malfunctioning?

Cody is the National Training Manager at Caleffi North America.  He has nearly 20 years of experience in several roles, which include installation contractor, service technician, application engineer and product manager, across the plumbing and heating industry.

Kevin is the Director of Product Management and Technical Support at Caleffi North America. He has 40 years of engineering experience in the commercial HVAC, plumbing and heating industry.

Skilled Careers Coalition Study Reveals Closing the Knowledge Gap is Key to Inspire Young People to Pursue a Skilled Career

With skilled trades in high demand, Skilled Careers Coalition commissioned the Skilled Trade Insight Research Study to better understand why skilled careers are not being pursued by more young people.

“Our study found the leading obstacle preventing more young people from pursuing a skilled career is not a lack of interest, but a lack of information,” said Mark Hedstrom, Co-Executive Director, Skilled Careers Coalition. “Students have a clear idea of where a four-year college degree or military education can take them, however, they have little to no understanding about vocational schools and apprenticeships, and the dozens of high-paying, skills-based careers that exist across hundreds of industry sectors.”

Students, counselors and parents surveyed shared their perceptions on skilled trades vs. college and military career paths as part of the SCC study which found financial security is the top motivator for youth when choosing a career path, with 76% agreeing that a career in the skilled trades can lead to owning a business and entrepreneurial success. Students surveyed were also drawn to other key aspects of a skilled trade career including job stability, less debt, high quality of life, and high-income potential.

And yet, the SCC study found that only 15% of students surveyed were considering a technical or vocational school or apprenticeship post high school. A lack of information – cited by students, parents and counselors surveyed – emerged as the barrier keeping more youth from considering a skilled career path.

According to the SCC study, a majority of parents (80.3%), counselors (91.3%) and students (92%) surveyed agree that skilled trade workers are as important as first responders and service members. Additionally, when asked if society views those with a traditional college degree as more successful than those who pursue another option, 27% of counselors, 21.3% of parents, and 25.2% of students disagreed. Additional findings from the Skilled Careers Coalition study include:

• Students: 69% said it is outdated to assume a four-year degree is the best pathway to success; while more than 43% said they need more information on technical or vocational schools as an option.

• Parents: While 80% said they have the most influence on their child’s decision-making; less than half (48.8%) admit they do not have enough information about starting the technical or vocational school process for their child. Meanwhile, 84% believe skilled trades provide a stable career path, less time in school, less debt and an overall better quality of life.

• Counselors: Despite their positive perceptions about the skilled trades, more than half (53.9%) of counselors surveyed cite a lack of resources to help guide students who are interested in pursuing skilled trades or vocational programs; while 57% cite workload challenges preventing them from being able to properly understand what future path is best for a student. The majority of counselors surveyed (90%) agree they need to share more information with students and parents about a skilled career option.

Click here to download the complete nine-page Skilled Careers Coalition Skilled Trade Insight Research Study report.

According to SCC, colleges, universities and the military spend as much as $2.3 billion combined marketing to young adults with the goal of recruiting high school students post-graduation. However, for millions of high schoolers, these two options either lack appeal, or just don’t work.

Added Hedstrom, “Millions have built meaningful lives and careers in the skilled trades sector, which is experiencing the greatest demand as the skilled labor gap continues to widen. Skilled Careers Coalition is committed to working with our partners and stakeholders to address the knowledge gap that exists and advance a reimagining of skilled careers as a meaningful and fulfilling career path for younger generations.”

About the Study In June 2022, Skilled Careers Coalition conducted an online survey and series of focus groups in partnership with the American School Counselor Association (ASCA). SCC’s Skilled Trade Insight Research Study methodology included students, counselors and parents and a total of 665 respondents with a margin of error of +/- 3.9%.

About Skilled Careers Coalition The Skilled Careers Coalition is on a mission to close the skilled trades gap in America with a three-pronged strategy to 1) INSPIRE the next generation of youth to see skilled careers as a pathway to lifelong happiness, financial success and career fulfillment; 2) CONNECT the disaggregated ecosystem of skilled trades across America by convening stakeholders across the workforce development landscape of private industry, educators, government, youth, and other interested career seekers; and 3) CONVERT interested Americans into the workforce of tomorrow through available and nascent job training platforms. For more information or to get involved visit https://skilledcareers.org.