What recent S101 participants are saying about IgniteSkills Academy
A productive maintenance sales conversation starts with understanding the customer’s business. What is disrupting operations? Where are equipment problems creating cost or risk? What would better performance mean to the people responsible for the facility?
Developing the skills to ask those questions, and act on the answers, is central to IgniteSkills Academy’s S-101 Maintenance Sales Foundation program. Through virtual instruction, an in-person Boot Camp, and follow-up coaching, participants practice a disciplined approach to prospecting, discovery, and communicating value.
What participants are saying
Across eight submitted evaluations from our May and September 2026 S-101 cohorts, participants gave the program an average overall rating of 4.88 out of 5. All eight respondents said they would recommend the training.
One participant put it this way:
“Best sales training I’ve ever been through by far.”
Participants also highlighted active listening, asking better questions, understanding the sales process, and greater confidence in customer conversations. That feedback points to the practical capabilities the program is designed to develop.
A foundation participants can use in the field
S-101 is designed for commercial HVAC sales professionals who need a stronger foundation for developing maintenance agreement business. The program focuses on four connected capabilities:
- Disciplined prospecting. Build a consistent approach to identifying prospects, starting conversations, and creating new opportunities.
- Effective discovery. Ask questions that uncover customer priorities, operational challenges, and the consequences of leaving problems unresolved.
- Understanding cost of operations. Explore how equipment reliability, maintenance practices, and operating expenses affect the customer’s business.
- Communicating business value. Connect maintenance recommendations to the outcomes the customer cares about, including reliability, operating cost, and risk.
Interactive exercises and discovery practice give participants opportunities to work on these skills, receive feedback, and improve their approach before their next customer conversation.
Support continues after Boot Camp
Learning a sales process is a beginning. Applying it consistently takes practice, feedback, and accountability.
Following Boot Camp, S-101 participants receive six coaching sessions over three months. These sessions provide a place to discuss real opportunities, work through obstacles, strengthen discovery skills, and build consistent prospecting habits.
For sales managers, that continued support is an important part of the investment. Participants have opportunities to revisit what they learned while working through the challenges they encounter in the field.
Join the November and December 2026 cohort
If you are developing a new maintenance sales professional or helping an existing team member strengthen the fundamentals, our upcoming S-101 cohort offers a structured opportunity to build those capabilities.
- Virtual training begins November 11, 2026, at 2:00 p.m. Eastern.
- In-person Boot Camp runs December 7–11, 2026, at Embassy Suites by Hilton Cincinnati RiverCenter in Covington, Kentucky.
- Six coaching sessions follow Boot Camp over three months.
Review the program details and register for the upcoming cohort. If you are unsure whether S-101 is the right fit for you or someone on your team, contact Al Lindeman at [email protected].
View S-101 program details and register
Planning further ahead
Our 2027 schedule includes additional S-101 cohorts and S-201 Advanced Business Development. S-201 helps experienced sales professionals pursue larger, more complex opportunities through executive discovery, stakeholder alignment, and business case development.