By Todd W. Thomas
Managing Director
IDEA
Consumers flock to credentials.
It’s a fact.
Go back 30 or 40 years to the days when auto mechanics
were among the least trusted people in society.
The ranked below door-to-door salesmen, lawyers and even members of
Congress among the least honest professionals.
Those days are largely gone, and as it turned out, the
shady shade tree mechanic wasn’t run off by angry car owners. Rather, they were replaced by Mr. Goodwrench™,
ASE™ Automotive Service Technicians, and other credentialed professionals whom
the general public came to recognize as dependable and professional.
As a quick aside, it should be noted that many
independent auto mechanics were included in the group of credentialed
professionals. Nor should it be presumed
that prior to this move towards certified technicians were all mechanics dishonest. That is simply not the case.
However, it was difficult for many motorists – especially
those who were in need of mechanics while traveling, or when in a new town – to
determine which of them were trustworthy.
It wasn’t that ethical, skilled mechanics weren’t available to the
general public, it’s just that the only way to determine who they were was by
trial and error.
So, the automotive industry put its collective heads
together and – to simply a process that took approximately two decades – created
credentials that the general public came to recognize.
That is where the automated vehicular gate community is
today. We are in the formative years of
helping the general public recognize the professionals in our industry.
Certification is open to anyone who wants to
participate. It is not
exclusionary. However, history provides
no evidence that unprofessional players have any interest in going through the
process of earning credentials, and even those who might, would come out of the
process with a new view of their business model.
NOMMA has worked side by side with the Door and Access
Systems Manufacturers Association (DASMA), the International Door Association
(IDA) and the American Fence Association (AFA) to produce two important
certification programs:
·
Automated Gate Operator Installer Certification
(AGOIC)
·
Automated Vehicular Gate Systems Designer
Certification (AVGSDC)
Both are administered by IDEA, a non-profit credentialing
and educational institute that was created in 1996 by the door industry, and
which has since broadened its programs to include companies and individuals in
the automated gate industry.
The AGOIC program was launched in 2008 and has
experienced robust activity since the first testing was offered at AFA
FenceTech show the same year. The course
of study used for this certification is largely the basis of the Operator
Installer School. Since its inaugural
year, more than 900 individuals have enrolled in the AGOIC program, and more
than 600 have been issued the credential.
The AVGSDC course was offered at this year’s FenceTech in
Orlando, and already has issued 78 credentials and more than 100 have enrolled.
Both of these programs are produced and maintained by
IDEA through the Automated Vehicular Gate Systems Coalition. Brent Nichols of Picasso Gate services as
NOMMA’s representative on this coalition.
How does this help me?
Voluntary credentialing may be the most powerful and cost
effective marketing tool available to AFA members. Here’s why:
·
Certified individuals and their companies are
permitted use of the trademarked logo for letterhead, business cards,
advertising and any other marketing item.
Consumers frequently recognize such emblems as a qualifying mark, and will
limit the field of potential product and service providers to those displaying
the logos.
·
Using information to draw attention to one’s
certification(s) in sales proposals and bids can often make the difference
between getting a major contract or losing out on the basis of price.
·
Promoting one’s certification can lead to more
business. As word spreads that there are
credentials in the automated gate industry, more specifications, facility
managers and public officials may begin to require them.
·
Since a strong emphasis of certification is
public safety and strict adherence to UL 325 and ASTM F2200, insurers and risk
managers are especially attracted to the credentials.
It is imperative that the automated gate industry
continue the push towards professional installations. Each time there is a tragedy involving one of
the industry’s products, the question is asked in the media, Why did this happen? All too often the answer to that question is a
lack of adherence to manufacturer instructions and nationally recognized safety
standards that apply to the automated vehicular gate system. Although certification is not a warranty
against such failures in the installation process, it does require the
installer to learn the proper and safe installation methods and defines the
certification bearer as a professional who is always expected by the issuer to
do so.
Most importantly, certification is frequently the answer
to the question: Why should I hire you
instead of your competitor? As more
professionals become certified, the easier it becomes for the consumer to
separate them from the field.
How Will the General Public Know What
Certification Means?
Certification has become the most widely recognized form
of professional recognition in all service and construction-related
trades. A frequent misunderstanding
among industry participants is that it is important for the general public to
recognize the acronym of the certifying organization. This is not true.
For example, ASE Certified Automotive Technicians were
used as one of the types of credentials used in that field. Most people recognize the certification as
one that required specialized training and some form of documentation – such as
a test – to validate the individual as certified. That’s the part that matters to consumers,
and that is why it’s irrelevant that most people do not, in fact, know what
“ASE” stands for.
Your customers will view your certification(s) the same
way. Earning and utilizing these
credentials also gives you the opportunity to tell your story in the proposal
and sales process.
Certification is a remarkable sales and marketing tool,
because it validates through an independent, non-profit third party
organization that which others can only claim.
Now, go ahead and Google “ASE.”
For more
information or to register on-line for AGOIC and/or AVGSDC, visit www.dooreducation.com, or call Debra Welhener at 937-698-1027.
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