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How to Sell Better
"One of the most valuable things I've gotten from NSCA has come from its Business & Leadership Conference. The information at this event tells me how to run my business better, how to sell better, and how to be a better boss and employer." ~ Marla Suttenberg, Sapphire Marketing
Providing a Professional Development Community
"NSCA has given me the professional development that so many of us crave. Being able to learn from your peers, take their examples, and implement them into your own business life is really important for me. NSCA has created a community that supports each other." ~ Gina Sansivero, AtlasIED
Helpful Information About Market Trends
"NSCA has been a phenomenal organization for us. It has definitely helped with my professional development. The staff is second to none, and they care about our business and the desire to see it increase. We get lots of helpful information about market trends from NSCA as well." ~ Frank Pisano, BrightSign
NSCA Success Story: Developing a New Project Management Team
For a long time, Santa Rosa, CA-based PCD’s management team served as the company’s project managers. This approach worked well for a while; as work picked up, however, project management needs grew as well. As a result, PCD needed to develop its project management team from the ground up – and wanted to give the people in these new roles enough knowledge to be effective. So they called on Nadim Sawaya of Enterprise Performance Consulting - an NSCA Member Advisory Councilmember - to get everyone on the same page.
NSCA Success Story: Financing to Capture More Deals
Inteconnex was working closely with a client on a complete IT infrastructure upgrade, totaling approximately $120,000 in equipment. To avoid incurring 100% of the expenses upfront, the client was interested in financing the project. After hearing about NSCA Business Accelerator GreatAmerica, Inteconnex did some investigating to learn more about how its financing services worked – and then decided to complete the company’s first GreatAmerica financing deal. “Our first deal with GreatAmerica was awesome,” says Marc Meyer, Inteconnex president. “If I could route every deal through them, I would.”
NSCA Success Story: A ‘Sound’ Business Decision with Insperity
After realizing that a bookkeeper wasn’t the same as an HR manager, Electro Acoustics concluded that it needed help. So it connected with NSCA Business Accelerator Insperity to learn more about bringing in a full-service HR solution. This allows the company to focus on the work and its customers while Insperity takes care of HR-related government compliance, training and development, employer liability management, and benefits plan administration. Now, Insperity can offer a retirement plan and big-company benefits.
NSCA Success Story: Estimating Labor Units Accurately
Coming from a 20-year history in broadcasting, Pat Vaughn felt a little behind the curve when he first joined integrator Simpatico in 2014 and needed to better understand loaded labor costs in his new role. “I started to quickly realize that labor is the single biggest factor impacting profit and loss for a project,” says Vaughn, Simpatico’s vice president of service delivery. While conducting a search online, he found the Labor Installation Standard guidelines. The document quickly became the most valuable tool he had to ramp up his level of expertise and experience with commercial installations.
NSCA Success Story: Giving CTI the Resources It Needs for Continued Progress
When it comes to strategic growth, Conference Technologies Inc. (CTI) knows all about it. Among the fastest-growing companies in the integration world, it manages 24 locations around the country and has successfully expanded from a small AV firm with local reach in St. Louis to a nationwide integrator that services a global customer base. The company credits NSCA in part for its success as it continues to expand while maintaining a focus on employee engagement and customer satisfaction.
NSCA Success Story: Boosting Cashflow with RMR
When Naperville, IL-based Sound Inc. noticed that more of its customers were shifting away from owning their own hardware, the company knew it was time to rethink how it positions its equipment and service offerings. Sound Inc. wanted to find a partner to help launch an as-a-service model. After contacting NSCA, the company learned about GreatAmerica and its financing services. In one year’s time, Sound Inc. increased its sales by nearly five times. Learn how here.
NSCA Success Story: Deciding on Appropriate Staff Compensation
As Dallas-based Master Video Systems (MVS) searched for a project manager and three technicians to work on a specific project, the company was also looking for industry-specific guidance on job descriptions and payment structures so it could be competitive in the market. After checking in with NSCA, MVS discovered a few different resources that helped the company determine appropriate and attractive compensation levels. Instead of doing broad-brush searches, the company was able to go right to industry-specific data to make decisions.
Business Guide When You Need One
“NSCA has a host of tangible resources, like technical training, economic outlooks, HR and salary guides, legal reviews, etc., that can save a company hundreds of hours and tens of thousands of dollars. Whenever we have a question about our business operations, the first thing we do is check the NSCA library for guidance.” ~ Kevin Miller, President, Coitcom
Better Leveraging Sales Staff
“NSCA taught us how to leverage our salespeople. Rather than bringing in new employees and training them on how to sell, NSCA recommended that we find ways to free up the time of existing salespeople so they could sell more. At that time, our salespeople were averaging around $500,000 annually. Now they're all at $1.2 million.” ~ Robbin Reynolds, Sound Products Inc
Better Solutions, Ideas, and Concepts
"Integrators should join NSCA because being an integrator today is much different than it has been in the past. Many integrators need to change their business models, and you need a trusted partner to help you along that path. NSCA has many solutions, ideas, and concepts, and can be that trusted partner." ~ Rob Simopoulos, Defendify
Connecting a Community
“The most valuable part of NSCA is the people. NSCA staff and members have been a great connection for answering questions, collecting data, and brainstorming. It’s easy to work in our own little silos and make assumptions about the outside world. We all think we’re unique. It’s another thing when you can speak with a peer in a different market who is going through the same exact challenges you are. NSCA provides this important connection.” ~ Matt Preuett, Chief Marketing Officer, AV Solutions
Improving Our Value Proposition
"As a result of NSCA, we have more qualified staff, our pricing is consistent, and our value proposition is much more solidified." ~ Josh Shanahan, Sport View
NSCA Success Story: Coitcom
Being part of a trade organization and the overall community is a huge plus for Coitcom’s development. Because of NSCA, Coitcom has partners and friends throughout the country that it relies on for guidance, experience, and partnership. The Coitcom team is constantly bouncing ideas and experiences off NSCA to get feedback and improve its decision-making. As the world continues to get smaller, the company has also partnered with multiple NSCA members to service clients throughout the country and internationally.
Helping During Crisis
“NSCA has really shone through the pandemic. The work that Chuck Wilson and the team have done bringing members together, sharing information, and economic forecasting has really helped. We plan to get more deeply involved with NSCA because we don’t want to miss out.” ~ John Mitton, VP of Audio Visual Group / CTO, Red Thread
NSCA Success Story: The Value of Project Management Training
After a recent organizational restructure, Lone Star Communications decided to add a new layer of superintendent positions to its operations department. The creation of these positions also created the need for training. Job duties were separated, along with a reorganization of teams and departments, to establish defined superintendent and project management roles. Dan Hiett, senior vice president of operations at Lone Star, reached out to NSCA to learn more about how Enterprise Performance Consulting might be able to help ease the transition for employees impacted by the restructuring.
Helping Me with My Bottom Line
"NSCA is about helping me with my business. There is no organization other than NSCA that will help me with the bottom line." ~ Kelly McCarthy, Genesis Integration
NSCA Success Story: An Immediate ROI on Project Management Training
When his company is in control of a project, Scott Wright, president at Lifeline Audio Video Technologies, noticed that estimated labor and associated costs were right on. Bid projects were another story. Staff members didn't have enough experience or expertise to manage larger bid projects in terms of project management hours. So Lifeline partnered with Enterprise Performance Consulting for onsite project-management training that made a difference right away!
NSCA Success Story: Finding Affordable, Reliable Insurance
For many years, Evco Sound & Electronics Inc. had used the same local insurance company. When Kevin Bauer, Evco president, found out that it was having a hard time keeping the same insurance carrier, however, he decided it was time to start looking elsewhere. To get started, Bauer asked NSCA for insurance suggestions, which is how he learned about TrueNorth, an NSCA Business Accelerator. He gave the company a call and, when the representative mentioned other integration firms Bauer was familiar with, he knew he had found an insurance provider that understood the industry.
NSCA Success Story: Helping a New Business Get Off the Ground
Familiar with NSCA for more than 12 years, Patrick DeZess didn’t get a chance to really experience the benefits it offers until he attended the Business & Leadership Conference in 2015. A few years later, once Augmentering was established, he knew it was important to align his new company with industry associations like NSCA. And one of the best membership benefits he discovered was one he wasn't even planning on ...
NSCA Success Story: Building Better Customer Bonds
In his new role as marketing manager at Bogen Communications, Steve Doran says NSCA and its resources have helped him gain a better understanding of the needs and concerns of today’s low-voltage installers. By better understanding these pain points, it’s easier to find ways to help customers boost sales and profits.
Like a Bible for Business Owners
"From sales and project management to technical services, finance, and accounting, NSCA has developed the bible for a business owner like myself to run a business successfully." ~ Christina De Bono, ClearTech Media
System Showcase
Integrate
NSCA’s official trade journal, Integrate, is a reflection of the NSCA community. Read the stories behind the programs and resources offered by NSCA and learn from your peers.
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- We Are NSCA: Learn about NSCA member company Redwood City, CA-based Coitcom
- I Am NSCA: Meet Matt Preuett of AV Solutions