James Gerdsen Motivates Employees

James Gerdsen has been in the HVAC sales and repair industry for over ten years, and has been the CEO of Apollo Heating and Cooling for five of them.  He completely changed his company to focus on its employees and its customers and has seen record growth. James Gerdsen believes the success of the company has stemmed from customer service and properly motivating his employees to reach goals.

At James Gerdsen’s company, Apollo Heating and Cooling, the business is broken down into two departments.   The two departments are sales/customer service and technical installation/repair. Each department has specific duties, but to promote workplace cohesiveness, James Gerdsen’s sales/customer service department is given a crash course on the technical side and vice versa.  This helps to cut down on misunderstandings, as all employees are on the same page.

The business makes money when products sell, and products sell when employees proactively promote. Incentives are a way to get employees to sell more products, but they have to be done correctly. James Gerdsen uses commissions to motivate his employees.

An example: In a given day a company must sell 5 of product x to cover expenses. Pay the employee a base salary, but then give a percentage of any sales after the initial 5 products are sold. The employee is motivated to continue selling. Of course, the commission formula will vary depending on the industry and products.

Another goal to achieve using commission incentives is customer retention. James Gerdsen uses commission on sales to repeat customers as a customer service motivator. The employee is more than happy to send a thank you or give a “just check-in” call to a loyal customer if it may increase their paycheck.

Just make sure bonuses and incentives are given in a timely manner, says James Gerdsen. If they are given late or at inappropriate times the incentives lose their effectiveness.