Many owners of integration companies started in the AV industry because of their acumen with electronics, so it makes sense that designing and installing sophisticated solutions in homes and commercial facilities is like second nature. Often, the most challenging part of being an integrator is the business management aspect. That’s where organizations like the National Systems Contractors Association (NSCA) come in.
The NSCA’s mission is to provide resources, training and networking opportunities to help its members enhance their performance and improve operational excellence. That means the association focuses on helping its members develop their leadership qualities, while also taking on tough areas such as legislative advocacy.
Tom Leblanc, executive director of the National Systems Contractors Association (NSCA), joined the D-Tools “What’s the Buzz” Podcast to discuss some of the key initiatives underway at the association, including its growing reliance on good data from entities like D-Tools to drive decisions and how smaller commercial AV integrators can compete against large national players.
Leblanc says legislative advocacy is an important area that often falls under the radar with its members. He noted how NSCA is somewhat regularly identifying potentially restrictive regulations that would limit an integrators’ ability to deploy certain projects, especially related to those requiring Power over Ethernet (PoE) systems.
“Electricians don’t love the proliferation of devices that can be powered over low voltage, Power over Ethernet. It’s business-threatening for the." -- Tom Leblanc, NSCA
“Electricians don’t love the proliferation of devices that can be powered over low voltage, Power over Ethernet. It’s business-threatening for them,” he says. “So, it’s no surprise that bills are popping up. And those bills seem to try to move the needle as to what is defined as low voltage and what would be required to be installed by a licensed electrician.”
Addressing leadership in the industry., NSCA holds two in-person events each year aimed at helping members enhance their management skills: the NSCA XBO held in the fall and the NSCA Business & Leadership Conference (BLC) held in the winter. The upcoming event is taking place February 23-26, 2026 in Dallas.
“Most of our training falls on the business side,” Leblanc explains. “A lot of our training stems from a network of business resources partners that we have, including D-Tools. Many of the business resources partners we work with offer training in areas like project management, operations, leadership development, and cybersecurity.”
He notes that the association also has on its website an Essentials Library with countless industry-specific how-to documents and templates that is well suited for self-learning.
Speaking of research, Leblanc commended the data analysis being done by D-Tools. He says NSCA “stays in its lane” in terms of data collection and works only on a few reports. One of those is its biannual Financial Analysis Report for the industry that tracks key financial ratios that allows companies to compare themselves against others for benchmarking purposes on various KPIs.
Similarly, NSCA biannually does a Compensation and Benefits Report that allows dealers to compare their wages and benefits against others in their geographic area.
“That is big to create research that allows companies to set goals,” he notes.
Lastly, the podcast discussion addressed the topic of how smaller commercial AV companies can compete against larger competitors. Leblanc says areas like company culture and niche expertise are just two of the ways that pro AV firms with less than 20 employees can thrive.