Presenters
Key Note Speaker: Rich Muller
U.S. Navy former Top Gun Instructor, Business Entrepreneur
You Can Transform Your Team Into Top Gun Performers.
The title card at the opening of the movie, “Top Gun” reads “On March 3, 1969 the United States Navy established an elite school for the top one percent of its pilots. Its purpose was to teach the lost art of aerial combat and to ensure that the handful of men who graduated were the best fighter pilots in the world. They succeeded. Today, the Navy calls it Fighter Weapons School. The flyers call it: TOP GUN.”
Rich Muller didn’t attend Top Gun. He taught it.
Rich knows about Top Gun Performance. After graduating from St John’s University in New York on a rifle scholarship, Rich enlisted as a Naval Aviator. He flew two combat tours in Vietnam and was asked to be among the Navy’s second group of Top Gun Instructors.
“Everyone knew who the good fighter pilots were,” Rich said about that time. He wasn’t only one of the best, he was better. He trained the best.
In between tours at sea, Rich earned a master of science degree from the University of Southern California. Upon leaving the Navy, he entered the Southern California commercial real estate market with Coldwell Banker Richard Ellis (CBRE). Rich applied his Top Gun approach to business, leading by example, motivating, and training. He quickly made his office number one in the nation and generated $3.8 million net profit!
Recruited by a competitor, Rich assumed command of a struggling local firm and increased the number of sales agents from 20 to 54 while racking up $300 million in sales. After making others wealthy, Rich decided it was time to boost his own bottom line and founded Vintage Realty, a successful commercial real estate firm serving a Dallas suburb.
An outstanding, polished, dynamic public speaker, Rich entertains, inspires, and enlightens audiences with humor, stories, and powerful lessons for business leaders and sales professionals. Rich limits his public speaking these days, so you do not want to miss this rare opportunity to learn how you can transform your team into Top Gun performers.
Key Note Speaker: Kenny Chapman
President of Peterson Plumbing
C.H.A.N.G.E. Your Business For the Better
Kenny built a highly profitable plumbing/HVAC company, which created personal freedom that allows him to travel and pursue other endeavors. One of those endeavors was to help others achieve the success and fulfillment in their lives that Kenny found in his. Author of the influential book The Six Dimensions of C.H.A.N.G.E., Kenny has toured the continent as a motivational speaker, sharing the stage with such greats as Les Brown.
In Las Vegas, Kenny will share his program for growth and prosperity with the Service Roundtable. He will address leadership, strategy, life balance, and planned implementation, challenging you to set bigger goals and to take action to achieve them. Kenny Chapman is one of the service trades’ brightest stars. You do not want to miss him.
Ron Smith
Author of HVAC Spells Wealth
Few people have had as much influence on an industry as Ron Smith. From a $500 loan and a dream, Ron built one of the country's most successful air conditioning companies. In today's dollars, Modern Air Conditioning's annual revenues would total $40 million. For an air conditioning company located in Fort Myers, Florida, a small, one season market with a transient population, that's not bad.
Ron was one of the air conditioning industry's great innovators. He literally invented the residential service agreement. When Ron started his company, air conditioning was still largely new construction driven, with some add-on installations. Service was seen as a necessary imposition. Ron changed that and taught the industry that service and replacement work was highly lucrative.
Ron's innovation didn't end with Modern Air Conditioning. He started the Service America franchise system, which was the industry's first private contractor group. Later, he formed Ron Smith & Associates, creating the Dominant Market Share training program, training thousands of contractors on retail marketing. If that's not enough, Ron served as the COO of Service Experts through their purchase by Lennox Industries. He was inducted into the Contracting Business Hall of Fame and is a founder and Board member of the Service Roundtable.
Today, many people who never knew Ron's story are learning about him through his best selling book, HVAC Spells Wealth. The strong sales of the book surprised Ron. The book was written as his gift to the industry and he never expected to sell many copies. In typical fashion, Ron has broken all of the rules. He shunned the New York publishing houses and traditional promotion methods. The book has sold on word-of-mouth about the quality of information. Plus, thousands of contractors who Ron helped have purchased his book. Some buy copies for their competitors, hoping to spread Ron's message and thereby, elevate the industry.
Jim Hinshaw
Sales Improvement Professionals, Inc.
Upon graduating from the University of Missouri at Rolla, Jim started his career with the Trane Co. After several sales positions, he moved to Phoenix, where as manager of Trane's residential division, he enjoyed a 50% market penetration. Jim's background includes positions as President of one of the oldest and largest air conditioning companies in Arizona, residential start-up specialist for the Carrier Corporation, and an officer in a Carrier owned service agency.
For nine years Jim served as Vice President of a 23 year old residential and light commercial service and replacement company, running their sales and installation division. During his time there, his division grew 300%, replacement sales topped $3,000,000 per year, and company closure rate exceeded 60%. Even though Jim's price was always 10% to 50% higher than his competition, his closing ratio on replacement systems averaged a phenomenal 80%! Over 60% of the company sales leads came from referrals of some kind; he believes in networking and shares that passion and ways to accomplish that in his sessions today.
Jim retired from the contracting business in 1999 when he formed his own training company, Sales Improvement Professionals, dedicated to bringing his real-world experience to help enhance your sales and marketing efforts. He enjoys training sales, technical, and management team members using tools, not tricks to improve sales and profits. Jim believes in the individual (one size does not fit all), and works with each person in the session to improve their productivity in all areas of their lives. In 2007 Jim started doing training and consulting work in the solar industry, and has done approximately 25 training sessions per year in that industry alone.
When not working, Jim enjoys traveling with his wife May, who is also his business partner. They moved the business to Colorado in 2005, following their grandson McKade, who is a genius! Jon and Mike, Jim's two sons are also involved in SIP Inc.
Ben Stark
President Stark Air Industries
Ben Stark may be the E.F. Hutton of the service trades. When he talks, people listen. They listen because Ben is one of the great students of business and invariably offers wise counsel.
He built his first company from a scratch start to 18 employees and $2.5 million in sales in 1996 before selling to Service Experts. As General Manager, Ben oversaw the combination and operational merger of four companies resulting in a 100 employee, $12 million business.
After fulfilling his contractual obligations to Service Experts, Ben did it all over again. Starting from scratch in 2000, Ben built Stark Air into a 44 employee, $6.5 million company with consistent double digit net profit. His company is a repetitive Consumer Choice Award winner and Ben has been an ACCA member of the year. As a serial entrepreneur, Ben not only has air conditioning and plumbing ventures to his credit, but also direct marketing, home energy and testing, and more.
Ben is widely respected for his acumen and generosity. He shares with anyone who asks and is a Service Nation Alliance Advisory Board Facilitator.
Charlie Greer
Service Roundtable Servant Leader
Charlie Greer is the creator of Tec Daddy's Service Technician Survival School On DVD, Creator Of the Slacker's Guide To HVAC Sales On Audio CD, Creator of Charlie Greer's Sales Survival School, and the Discount Club. He is the 2008/2009 Tom McCart Consultant-of-the-Year, a Service Roundtable Consult & Coach Partner, a monthly columnist for Contracting Business Magazine, a member of the Contracting Business Editorial Advisory Board, and a Service Roundtable Servant Leader.
Since 1989, Charlie has traveled the country, working one-on-one with Plumbing and HVAC contractors, their salespeople, and their field service personnel. His unique method of turbo-powering residential maintenance agreements, boosting per call average sales, increasing residential replacement sales and project work can be applied in every kind of company, from large to small, in big cities and out in the country.
Charlie has accumulated a wealth of practical, hands-on experience that he brings to life in his popular and exciting workshops for both Plumbing and HVAC.
Kerry Webb
President and founder of PEAK Leadership
Kerry Webb has been energizing managers and business leaders with his personalized training for over 20 years. He most enjoys working with small and medium businesses and has provided training for managers at large corporations as well. His client list includes Jerry Kelly Heating and Air, IDC Engineering, Paradigm Engineering, USAA Insurance, Bell Helicopter, Vought Aircraft, Eastman Kodak, the Zig Ziglar Corp., and many others.
His consulting and training practice began with an invitation to join a team of Harvard MBA’s in an elite train-the-trainer program for leadership development. Kerry has consulted and trained hundreds of leaders to raise the level of workers’ performance by creating friendly, customer-focused, cohesive work teams. In addition to consulting, training, and motivational speaking, Kerry is the author of numerous articles in the field of leadership. Kerry is also the Boot Camp Instructor for the Service Nation Alliance. His clients give him the greatest compliment by recommending him to others.
Bob Mader
Editor-in-Chief of CONTRACTOR Magazine
His hope is that if the magazine can be accused of any bias, it’s that it is pro-contractor.
He has served as a moderator of the International Association of Plumbing & Mechanical Officials Emerging Technology Symposium and has been the presenter the Plumbing Instructor of the Year Award for which CONTRACTOR magazine is the sponsor.
His first job in the industry was on Contracting Business magazine back in the distant past when it was still called Air Conditioning & Refrigeration Business. In the small world department, he ended up working for the same publisher at which he had his first job when Penton Media bought CONTRACTOR in 2001, making Bob very glad that he had not burned any bridges. He has also served as editor of a refrigeration service magazine and a magazine for general contractors in the pre-engineered metal building market.
He graduated from the University of Notre Dame with a degree in communications.
Mike Morosi
President and CEO of Contractor 20/20
Mike Morosi, is the President and CEO of Contractor 20/20, a service of MultiMedia Advertising Services LLC. Contractor 20/20 provides marketing for plumbing, HVAC, and electrical contractors in over 40 states and Canada. Mike is well known as an author and teacher of best business practices. In a sentence, Contractor 20/20 takes what they and over 300 contractors have learned by “trial and error” and creates systems to help contractors avoid costly mistakes, and take advantage of proven marketing methods. Contractor 20/20 offers profit consulting, advertising agency work, direct mail, internet marketing, website design and production Radio and TV production and placement. They are the largest company of their type serving independent contractors.
Mike and his staff are proud to be associated with the largest and most respected contractor groups in the nation as a Roundtable Rewards Coach and Consult Partner and as a PHCC/QSC Industry Partner. Ann Morosi, Mike's wife, is Director of Research for Contractor 20/20. Mike and Ann reside in Binghamton, New York and have raised 5 children. They are active together in Teen Ministry and on their church Board of Directors.
Jeff Marl
General Manager of Mechanical Service Co., Inc.
Jeff is the eldest child of a very large family and grew up in a small town in the Catskills of New York that supported several nearby factories. At 18, it was natural that he would turn to the Navy to expand his horizons.
During his 20 year career in the United States Navy he earned several commendations and achievement awards, traveled throughout the world, performed jobs such as Gun Fire Control Technician, Simulator Technician, Deception Operator, and Electronics Technician. During this time he continued to go to school and earned a degree in Business Administration.
Joining the team at Mechanical Service Company in 1993, Jeff Marl was tasked to develop and grow the retail operation of Mechanical Service Company as well as support the warranty requirements of the company’s large construction operation. Over the years, Jeff’s role and sphere of influence grew proportionally with the success of the company and his efforts. Leading by example and continuous improvement are the philosophies for which he credits his success. Upon accepting the position of General Manager in 2009, he implemented an overall restructuring that continues to increase Mechanical Service Company’s productivity and efficiency. As a believer of Dominate Market Share teachings by Ron Smith, Jeff continues to keep his DMS book within reach and refers to it frequently.
Supporting the industry in wider circles, Jeff serves on the board of the Hampton Roads Chapter of ACCA and has served as a council member for the Qualified Gas Contractors of Hampton Roads. He also is very active with a regional group of Trane TCS dealers working together to improve the quality of life of their technicians and employees. He is a Master Tradesman in HVAC certified by the Commonwealth of Virginia. He has been certified by National Comfort Institute in air balancing and continues to be passionate about static testing.
Jeff is a nine year stroke survivor who enjoys spending time with his wife Lisa, as well as his son Travis, daughter-in-law Elizabeth, and three grandchildren Ivy, Bryce, and Emrie. In his leisure, he appreciates having a little time for board games, woodworking and golf.
Joe Cunningham
Successtrack Network, founder
Joe Cunningham, founder of Successtrack Network, was one of the industry's first "Million Dollar Men", singlehandedly selling in excess of one million dollars worth of HVAC equipment per year in the highly competitive Houston, Texas market in the 1980's.
Joe went on to develop sales and marketing programs for the industry's major manufacturers and distributors. He was a co-developer of the acclaimed Texas Tough program and was a major contributor to Carrier's Value Added Sales and Service program receiving national recognition for these groundbreaking projects.
Joe was also a key distributor and training program developer and trainer for Retrotec Infiltrometer Systems and helped introduce many contractors to solving "whole house" problems helping them to consistently set themselves apart from and outsell their competitors on a regular basis.
Joe was President of the country's most highly acclaimed HVAC training facility, Future University. He produced and directed the first ever nationally televised training series for the HVAC industry, was involved in the first wave of industry consolidation, has developed proprietary training programs for the HVAC, Plumbing and IAQ industry, is Strategic Training Ally for the major manufacturers and is one of the service industry's most respected professionals.
Joe's step by step, easy to implement processes and procedures have helped thousands of contractors nationwide increase their sales, develop new markets, maximize their opportunities and grow their businesses in any economic climate.
How do I register?
Sign up Form More information available on reservations page.