olSen on SaleS

Confident and caring

What is the demeanor of the Master Seller? If we ask 100 salespeople what kind of seller they are, 99.9% will respond, “I am a relationship seller,” but 80% of them won’t know what kind of relationship they are attempting to develop with their customers or how to do it.

Many sellers try to be as agreeable as possible and hope the customer likes them best. Others are only interested in getting the order. On the surface it appears that the first strategy is the best, but both strategies are flawed and lead to poor treatment by customers and poor results for the salespeople who employ them.

Obsequious sellers send the message they are not experts. This cloying approach puts off buyers because it’s obvious they aren’t being sincere. They are just boot lickers hoping for the best. Do some buyers want a master/servant relationship with salespeople? Yes. But they are a small percentage of the total and are not the strongest buyers.

Great buyers want strong, confident money-making partner relationships with the salespeople they work with. “If two people agree on everything, one of them isn’t necessary,” observed Churchill. Great buyers feel the same way.

The best approach is a mix of confidence and caring.

How to Project Confidence

The Master Seller is prepared for all questions and objections they will face on every call. They anticipate their customers’ needs and trepidations before they make the call so they can stay calm, cool, and clear-headed. Confidence: •Speak in the calm lower register. We all have an upper and lower register—no need to fake or force it. • Use clear, easy to understand, declarative sentences. • Smile—whether live or on the phone. Act like we are enjoying ourselves. • Humor. A little levity here and there shows confidence. • Positively Assumptive. Master Sellers project the attitude of the possible. • Ask for the order in a natural, relaxed way. Opposite of Confident: • Interruptions. • Beat-around-the-bush-itis. Adding extra words while trying to get to the point makes buyers uneasy. • Verbal tics—double words, (“good, good,” “okay, okay”), um, uhs, ya knows, likes.

How to Project Caring

Journeyman salespeople listen to the Master Seller and ask, “How do they get away with that? I could never talk to my customers like that.” The reason the Master Seller can speak to their customers with some push-back is because their customers know they are coming from a place of caring, not need or greed. Caring: • Work harder for the customer. It is hard to say no to a salesperson who is outworking the competition. The Master Seller knows that one of the best ways to stand out—and show we care, is to bring more value. • On missed orders instead of saying, “Well what are you buying?” the Master Seller gets curious about the order they just missed asking probing questions before moving on to the next item to offer. • The Follow-Up Question. When the customer is talking most sellers are thinking about what they are going to say – because they are winging it, thinking on the fly. The Master Seller already knows what they are going to say, so while the customer is talking they are thinking about an interested and interesting follow-up question. This creates conversational flow and rapport. Non-Caring • Lazy, non-value, boring sales calls. “Whaddya need today?” insults buyers and reeks of laziness and non-caring. • Offering one item only. • When the customer says no, immediately asking, “Well, what are you buying?” instead of drilling down and asking about the product we offered to set up the next call. • Never asking or following up on personal questions.

Seller: “What did you do this weekend?”

Buyer: “Spent some time with my family.”

Seller: “Great. Anyway, I’ve got a deal on...” • Not asking for the order. Not asking for the business sends the message we don’t want it.

A mix of confidence and caring creates trusting partnership relationships that are profitable for buyer and seller.

James Olsen

Reality Sales Training (503) 544-3572 james@realitysalestraining.com

The U.S. Commerce Department has increased anti- dumping and countervailing duties on Canadian softwood lumber imports, implementing tariffs of 17.99%—more than double the 8.99% rate of the prior administration.

The National Lumber & Building Material Dealers Association said it “strongly condemns the decision by the U.S. Department of Commerce to double tariffs on Canadian softwood lumber imports and calls on the Biden Administration to reverse this unnecessary action,” said Jonathan Paine, NLBMDA president and CEO. “As the economy continues to grapple with crippling supply chain disruptions and price volatility, now is the wrong time to impose a new tax on American consumers and small businesses through additional tariffs. These tariffs will only exacerbate the nation’s affordable housing shortage and amplify existing challenges facing lumber and building material dealers.

“NLBMDA strongly urges the Biden Administration to pursue a permanent trade agreement with Canada that eliminates tariffs and brings long-term stability to the supply and pricing of softwood lumber.”

Redwood Empire Lands in Texas

On Dec. 1, Redwood Empire and its Pacific States Industries division started up a new distribution and value-added facility in Houston, Tx.

Formerly operating as a bulk distribution center for Home Depot, the 20-acre site is situated near the Port of Houston, with nearly 200,000 sq. ft. of covered storage and two rail spurs capable of spotting six cars. It will operate as a Redwood Empire Distribution and value-added facility focused on domestic and imported softwood and hardwood with an emphasis on redwood, North American cedar, and sugi.

Redwood Empire began importing lumber from South America and Asia in 2001 and has been at the forefront of popular species such as ipé and sugi lumber and fencing, becoming one of if not the largest importer and distributor of the species today. Sales for the location will be handled out of Redwood Empire’s West Coast sales office.

Redwood Empire is owned by the Burch family from California. Operations include a redwood lumber sawmill; redwood fence, post and rail mill; value-added operations; treating plant; and distribution centers in Northern California, all supported by family-owned timberlands.

U-C Coatings Adds Repair Products

U-C Coatings, Buffalo, N.Y., has acquired Abatron, Inc., Kenosha, Wi, manufacturer of LiquidWood and WoodEpox wood restorers and Abocrete and Aboweld concrete repair products.

“Abatron is a great addition to U-C Coatings that will expand our specialty offerings, especially to the contractor and DIY markets. The acquisition continues our emphasis on environmentally friendly, high performance products,” said Eric Degenfelder, CEO of U-C Coatings.

Operations will continue in Buffalo, Kenosha, Seattle and Portland, Or.

Orgill Hits Million Item Milestone

During the fourth quarter of 2021, Orgill reached a significant milestone in its efforts to help independent retailers enhance their eCommerce capabilities as the number of individual items within its shareable product information database grew to more than one million.

“Nearly a decade ago, we realized that independent retailers would need access to all of the product data, images and information for the products they carry in order to populate their eCommerce engines. And, if they were going to properly represent their store brands, this would also include products that Orgill may not supply,” says Boyden Moore, president and CEO. “Today, with the help of our customers and industry partners, the enriched product data that we make available to our customers has grown to exceed 1 million unique items and continues to grow.”

To make this amount of data easily accessible to retailers who subscribe to the service, Orgill houses the information in what is called a Product Information Management (PIM) system. At its core, the Orgill Industry PIM is a database of enriched product data that its customers can use to populate their eCommerce websites, point-of-sale (POS) systems or in a variety of other functions, including for products not stocked in Orgill warehouses.

Ace Unveils New Turnkey Franchise Model in Mexico

As Ace Hardware continues to grow globally, Ace Hardware International Holdings, Ltd., a subsidiary of Ace Hardware Corp., has opened its first store in Monterrey, Mexico, with plans to open 13 additional stores by the end of 2022. The store is the first under Ace’s new turnkey franchise model announced in 2020. Ace now operates in approximately 70 countries and has opened more than 900 stores globally in the past five years.

With 15 employees, the new Ace Hardware store occupies more than 14,000 sq. ft., with 2,000 sq. ft. dedicated as a showroom featuring decorative tile, plumbing fixtures and bath accessories.

“We are excited with the grand opening of our first Ace Hardware in Mexico. It is the first of many stores we plan to open,” said Miguel Brunell, franchisee. “Our team is committed to delivering on Ace’s brand promise of knowledgeable and helpful service, a wide assortment of quality products, and a convenient shopping experience.”

“Mexico is a growing market, particularly for home improvement,” added Macedonio Garza, Ace Mexico Country manager. “With the demand for home repair, maintenance and improvement products on the rise, this is the perfect opportunity to introduce Ace Hardware, a convenient and helpful hardware store model, to serve our neighbors in Mexico.”

Ace franchisees in Mexico benefit from a turnkey business model and a trusted brand with nearly 100 years of renowned service. In addition, Ace International has a staff of 27 at its office in Monterrey to guide and support franchisees.

The franchise program in Mexico offers a variety of flexible store formats ranging from 300 square meters to 3,000 square meters and offers both Mexican and global brands.