The home heating oil industry has a long and proud history, and Fuel Oil News has been there supporting it since 1935. It is an industry that has faced many challenges during that time. In its 77th year, Fuel Oil News is doing more than just holding
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www.fueloilnews.com | FUEL OIL NEWS | SEPTEMBER 2014 19 Fuels tanks, features a 16-foot bed and a lift gate. It was scheduled to go into ser- vice after the show. The seminars covered a variety of subjects, including how to ensure appropriate water qual- ity in hydronic systems; train customer service representatives to rec- ognize personality types (including their own) for better results; and how to use e-commerce Web tools. Additional sessions focused on how mobile and in-cab technology can improve profits; and the ins and outs of Autogas dispens- ing, including the com- ponents needed to do it. With the advent of high-efficiency wall- hung condensing boil- ers comes the need to ensure water quality, said Bruce Marshall in the seminar on hydronic systems. Marshall is training coordinator for Emerson Swann, Rocky Hill, Conn., a manufacturer's repre- sentative for Fernox USA, Altoona, Penn. He said many new models of the wall-hung condensing boilers have smaller internal waterways than their predecessors. Chemical reac- tions caused by various metals, plus glycol, result in galvanic corrosion that eventually restricts water flow over a number of years and can cause a boiler to burn out. Marshall likened it to arteriosclerosis—hardening and thickening of the walls of the arteries in humans. Marshall advised treating hydronic systems with a cleaner such as Fernox F3, designed to clean distribution piping and emitters; and adding an inhibitor to curb corrosion and scale build-up. Systems with ECM circulators raise another main- tenance issue, Marshall noted, since such pumps incorporate magnets in their motors. Installing filters with their own magnets to draw magnetite (iron oxide) from the system, combined with the use of an inhibitor to help prevent further corrosion, can address the issue. Learning the social styles of prospects and customers can help a dealer build its business, said Barry Harris, a veteran of more than thirty years in heating oil, HVAC and propane and now vice president of Pro Image Communications, Wilbraham, Mass. Harris addressed attendees of his seminar, "Selling to Different Social Styles." The social styles, based in part on a model borrowed from The Social Styles Handbook by Larry Wilson, are: analytical, driving, amiable and expressive. Analytical personalities focus on facts and logic; are care- ful not to commit too quickly; and act when a payoff is clear. Driving personalities—"drivers"—focus on results, and are take-charge types; they make quick decisions and they like challenges. Amiable personalities cooperate to gain agree- ment; they provide support and communicate trust and confidence. Expressive personalities create excitement and involvement; they share ideas, dreams and enthusiasm; they motivate, inspire and persuade. Customer service reps need to know their own social style, Harris said, so they can adapt to that of their prospects, con- nect with them, understand their needs and gain their trust. Customer service reps need to know their own social style, Harris said, so they can adapt to that of their pros- pects, connect with them, understand their needs and gain their trust. Mobile and in-cab technologies are making real-time intelligence and a long-awaited goal–the paperless office–come true, Bill Stomp told attendees listening to his pre- sentation. Stomp is vice president, senior consultant, with Digital Dispatcher in Jenkintown, Pa.