ST. LOUIS — Plumbers’ Success International welcomed its independent plumbing contractor members here in mid-September for its most recent summit. During the course of the five-day event, the contractors covered pricing properly, training and motivating employees, marketing for growth, and consolidation in the plumbing industry.

Jim Abrams, co-founder of PSI, spoke to members about “winning the war” in the contracting industry when it seems so many independent plumbers are being pushed out of business. He touched on the new programs PSI is bringing its members to help them combat this trend and become more successful.

The list of PSI services include:

• A buying group called BuyMax. The buying group is currently only open to PSI members, but plans are to include other contractors in the future. BuyMax offers reduced prices and rebates on major equipment from plumbing, heating and cooling manufacturers with 24-hour shopping through its Web site, www.4buymax.com.
• In a program being developed for sophisticated contractors called the Masters program, PSI members with double-digit growth and double-digit profitability will be invited to discover higher level business skills from elite professionals outside the contracting industry.
• With its Phoenix program, PSI is demonstrating its dedication to helping its members succeed by providing additional support and ongoing accountability for those who request it. Through action steps, Phoenix will break down complex business systems and ideas into easy-to-implement steps to make its contractors more successful.
• PSI is also producing a program for front-line employees called Zenith Quest. These employees create the first impression a customer has of a company. Zenith Quest’s goal is to have them leave the program with a positive outlook and increased morale.

Abrams also spoke to the founding members of PSI about the possibilities he sees for consolidation in the plumbing industry and their opportunities as part of PSI. He explained three different options existing today that PSI is pursuing on behalf of its members.

John Young, co-founder of PSI with Abrams, spoke to the group regarding marketing for growth. He showed the contractors where they should focus each of their marketing dollars to maximize their growth and dominance in their market.

Mike Diamond, PSI chief executive officer and Los Angeles-based plumber, and Terry Nicholson, president of PSI, presented the attendees with the Profit Quest program. The program includes the Perfection Quest to improve performance of technicians through training and motivation with all the forms and instructions a contractor would need to implement it.

Treasure Quests was announced as part of the program. Treasure Quests will allow PSI members to provide employee incentives with points that can be redeemed on the Treasure Quests Web site for products such as electronics, housewares and tools.

“It’s a powerful motivation tool to enhance performance, keep business fun, and gain the support of the employee’s spouse and children,” Nicholson said.

The first three days of the summit were named “Leadership Essentials,” and they introduced the new PSI members, known as lieutenants, to the PSI system. Nicholson introduced the 55 newest member companies of PSI to Straight Forward Pricing, PSI’s patented pricing system. Nicholson showed the benefits and downsides of time-and-material pricing and flat-rate pricing and how Straight Forward Pricing compares to both.

Speaker Ed Foreman gave a motivational speech on how to have a great day everyday. The Summit ended with the Brainstorming Brilliance session where PSI members gathered to share their ideas with one another.

All these sessions are presented to PSI members three times each year at the organization’s Success Summits.

For more information on Plumbers’ Success International or its Success Summits, contractors should call 800/505-8885.