Why you?

[rvenv sEcMENT of the lumber industry has a value I-llproposition: the mill, the remanufacturer, the office wholesaler, the hybrid office/inventory-on-the-ground wholesaler, the full-service wholesaler, the retailer, and the specialty retailer. Whoever we are, we must be able to know and articulate (sell!) our value.

Let's talk about the wholesale distributor and broker value. They are similar. What value does a good broker bring?

Credit. Most accounts want to use more money than their bank allows. Using a broker can expand and leverage a customer's credit.

Time. It takes time to stay on top of markets. Brokers spend 1007o of their time thinking about-living in-the market. A good broker is looking for deals for us all the time.

Non-standard Product or Delivery. Producers usually have a production mentality. Producers want to sell their product the way it comes out of their plant. When customers need a customized tweak, brokers can often bridge the gap.

Example: The mill produces 2x4 in ratio l-l-2-3-4-4. That is the way they want to sell it. If the customer wants to buy it 0-0-0-6-10, often a broker will sell the shorts to one customer and sell the longs to another.

Consistent Quality, Competitive Price. If the customer wants consistent quality at a competitive price, brokers are a good option. Buying from a single high-line producer will solve the quality issue, but may leave the customer uncompetitive. If the high quality producer is on another product when the need arises, or has sold their production to a higher price level, consistency will be difficult. A broker will be able to keep us in a variety of high-quality product, competitively priced, on a regular basis.

Expertise. A broker may have an expertise in a product or market that is foreign to the buyer. A buyer or business owner may buy 150 products, whereas the broker may deal all day with six to 10 products.

Global Market Knowledge. Producers see the market from their point of view. Customers see the market from their point of view. A broker has the advantage of seeing the market from many points of view.

Hustle. A single supplier can hustle only so much; they have fewer options. A broker has many options to "hustle" for the account.

Negotiation Expertise. Brokers are expert negotiators (or should be). If the account does not want to or is not good at negotiating, using a broker is a great option.

Creativity, New Ideas, Best Practices. Because brokers talk to many different businesses, they are exposed to more ideas than the average person. A good broker always asks questions about what is working. A good broker will keep his accounts up to date on all changes in the market, be it price, product and other trends.

Risk Insurance. Having all our supply eggs in one basket is risky. Brokers are a good balance against supply problems (from a single source).

Market Insurance. The broker who takes positions in the market takes the risk out of the market for their clients. The position of the position-taking broker is, "I am always ahead of the market-heck, I make markets-therefore I will always be your most consistently competitive option."

Proprietary Relationships. Brokers can get accounts into suppliers that are beyond their reach for whatever reason. Accounts can also use brokers to buy from suppliers with whom they have a poor relationship.

Flexibility. Brokers can supply flexibility on terms. Not all, but many, brokers will give preferential terms.

Broker Value Example: We are experts at _ and We have lifetime relationships with producers. These producers count on us to move X amount ofproduct for them every month. We have access to lumber that the average broker doesn't because we are close to and live with the suppliers.

In addition, we have a fleet of truckers who work for us exclusively. While many are having trouble booking loads, we are able to get our customers' product when needed.

We also run many programs and contracts that allow us to mix and match tallies for our customers that are otherwise difficult to find. These ffiw' programs also keep our customers consistently competitive.

We are financially strong. We have grown with our customers. in very competitive markets, and continue to do so.

What's your value proposition?

James Olsen Reality Sales Training (503\ 544-3572 james@realitysalestraining.com