Tracy Paul

Founder and Owner of Cornerstone Advertising

October 5, 2023 8:00 am

Sponsored By:

In Tough Times, It's Time To Tighten Up Your Marketing

How has 2023 compared to 2022? For most HVAC contractors who have their operations and sales buttoned up, the last three years were phenomenal. Double-digit grown for many contractors for the last two years, and then we faced the summer of 2023. Our sources show that a majority are experiencing a down year, in some cases near a double-digit decline. And for those of you breaking even after a strong 2022, you are doing great holding your own! So, what is going on? What is causing this? Why aren’t my advertising dollars delivering the return they were before? So then what do I do? How do I adapt to this changing environment? Tracy Paul, founder and owner of Cornerstone Advertising, has been focused on marketing HVAC contractors for the last 25 years. He has been through the markets’ ups and downs and been through the changes in the tactics of marketing and advertising. In this session, Tracy will discuss what is happening in the marketplace and where to focus your expectations and marketing tactics. Maybe it is time to tighten up with sales and CSR training. Maybe I am going to have to hold my teams more accountable with the basics? How much do I spend on Branding verses bottom-of-the-funnel lead gen spending? What guerilla marketing tactics are available to me? How much do I focus on new customers verses relying on the current customer as well? In this session Tracy will be presenting his thoughts, but he will encourage an interactive setting with questions and dialogue. Come and take advantage of the opportunity to engage with a seasoned long-term HVAC marketing expert.

Tracy Paul is the founder of Cornerstone Advertising, a full-service marketing and advertising agency singularly focused on residential-retail, HVAC & Plumbing contractors in North America. Tracy purchased the agency where he was employed in the mid-90’s and via his first client – Dial One Hoosier Heating, Cooling and Plumbing, fell into becoming one of the original agencies specializing in marketing and advertising for the trades. His experience of more than 25 years stretches back to the “BlueDot Days” (late 90’s) and he’s grown Cornerstone alongside the clients he’s represented including: A.J. Perri, DialOne, Coolray, CoolToday and Lindstrom, to name a few. Today, Tracy and his Cornerstone team, work with small, mid-sized, and market-dominant, independent heating, cooling, and plumbing contractors in every climate across the United States. In Tracy’s free time, he is active in the community and his faith; and is an endurance athlete – a 6x Ironman, 14x 70.3 distance triathlete; and ultra-runner working to qualify for the Leadville 100 in 2024.