BSCAI President Talks Goals For 2019

Michael Diamond, managing partner of AffinEco, is the 2019 BSCAI president PHOTO COURTESY OF AFFINECO

Building Service Contractors Association International (BSCAI) introduced Michael Diamond, CBSE, as its new president at the CEO Seminar in January. Diamond, managing partner of AffinEco in Bridgeport, Connecticut, will lead the association for 2019. 

Diamond grew up in the cleaning industry, working at his father’s contract cleaning firm Premier Maintenance Inc. In 2000, Diamond purchased the company and two years later created United Services with fellow building service contractor Paul Senecal. In 2012, the pair joined both companies under the AffinEco umbrella. 

In this Q&A, the new president discusses the benefits of joining BSCAI and what opportunities lie ahead for the association in 2019. 

What are BSCAI’s future goals and how as president do you plan to reach them?

The association’s No. 1 goal is making members aware of its value. BSCAI currently offers a variety of benefits: education, networking, purchasing discounts, etc. However, during my time as a board member, and now as president of BSCAI, I — along with my fellow board members — am constantly looking for ways to add more value to our members. 

As practitioners and business owners, the board can help give input on programs, education and resources that will help members grow their businesses and people. We want to make sure that everything we do addresses the needs of our building service contractor members, whether that is programming, networking at events, sharing legislative information or leveraging our group purchasing power with suppliers and partners.

BSCAI is also actively growing its members through the use of social media, prospect outreach and current member engagement. There are a lot of building service contractors that could benefit from the offerings of BSCAI and we are working to share the story with as many as possible. 

We’re working with suppliers to introduce BSCAI to their customers, and working with partners like Contracting Profits to share the stories of success and growth that come from taking advantage of the membership benefits. We also think about growth in terms of engagement and, to us, that means promoting benefits to current members and helping them extract maximum value from their investment in membership.   

What are the biggest benefits of 
joining BSCAI?

Education for management — BSCAI is the “Business Resource for Contractors.” We focus on providing a community of owners, leaders and trendsetters with tools that support growth, insights for managing the business, and resources for advancing individuals. BSCAI is well known for our advanced designations and we added the Registered Building Supply Professional (RBSP) designation for suppliers in 2017, and we’ll see our latest designation for site supervisors debut later this year.

Close behind education is networking with fellow BSCs for solutions regarding operations, finance and sales. The access that BSCAI provides for a worldwide network of business owners and BSC leaders is one of the biggest benefits that I’ve enjoyed in the years that I’ve been a member. Certainly the in-person interaction at events is the primary way members think about networking, but BSCAI also makes it possible to network on committee activities, task forces and virtually, as well. 

In addition, BSCAI members have 24/7 access to a robust membership database that allows you to search by state/region, by name, or even by types of facilities cleaned. This member resource allows members to pick-up the phone or send an email to set-up an in-person visit or discuss issues and solutions virtually. 

Networking is a great benefit of being part of this community — I’m often surprised by how willing members are to share ideas and insights that are working for them. It’s really remarkable how much members care for each other and are willing to share information to avoid common mistakes and help fellow BSCs succeed.

What are member benefits most BSCs don’t realize they can receive from BSCAI?

There are so many great benefits that members can take advantage of … I am often surprised by the number of benefits that BSCAI negotiates with leading vendors that provide substantial savings to members of the association. 

With our Affinity Programs offering discounts on background checks, office supplies, HR consulting, equipment rentals and much more, or the BSCAI Purchase Advantage Program for supplies we use every day to deliver our services, members should really look into the potential for significant savings, in some cases saving several times the actual cost of dues. 

Another offering that members may not realize is available to them is self-paced online education. BSCAI has launched the BSCAI Knowledge Center with nearly 100 hours of recorded content, archived webinars and new online courses. Look for even more content being added this year, including training that meets requirements in some states for managers and frontline cleaners.

What is your advice to new association members?

Get involved and attend. An old lesson from my mom was, “You get a ROI multiple of what you put into a group by volunteering.” In my experience that multiple is exponential.  

There are a number of committees that you can participate in, events that you can attend, and training that you can bring to your teams. If you have particular passion for an issue in our industry there is likely a committee of people working on it at BSCAI. Be part of the progress that BSCAI is making for the industry.

How can BSCAI help BSCs increase sales?

BSCAI is focusing on sales training this year and we plan to have more education available to help members understand sales principals and industry best practices. There is an entire track of sales education offered each year at BSCAI’s Contracting Success Conference and material specific to sales in our BSCAI Knowledge Center .

Also, don’t be afraid to network with other BSCs at events. They will often refer business between markets that they don’t serve.