AUGUST 2016
The
MERCHANT
Magazine
THE VOICE OF THE WEST’S LBM DEALERS & DISTRIBUTORS – SINCE 1922
SALES & MARKETING SPECIAL ISSUE
ALWAYS TESTED ALWAYS TRUSTED ALWAYS TRUCKING Your ccustomers usto us tome me e rs n never ever er sstop top building. Tha That’s why we never With in-stock products ready stop trucking. W ith thousands of in it to ship, count on Weyerhaeus Weyerhaeuser Distribution to deliver what you need, eed, on time, with a solid handshake. Call 888.453.8358 3 or go to Weyerhaeuser.com/woodproducts to find your closest Distribution Center and product offering.
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August 2016
n Volume 95 n Number 2
The
MERCHANT
Magazine
www.building-products.com
The
MERCHANT
A publication of 526 Media Group, Inc. 151 Kalmus Dr., Ste. D200, Costa Mesa, CA 92626
Magazine AUGUST 2016
The
MERCHANT
Magazine
President/Publisher Patrick Adams padams@building-products.com
THE VOICE OF THE WEST’S LBM DEALERS & DISTRIBUTORS – SINCE 1922
SALES & MARKETING SPECIAL ISSUE
Go for the gold Sales & Marketing Special Issue
James Olsen Hiring Your Team
Shelly Smith Adams Marketing Plans
Alex Goldfayn Revenue Growth
Dave Kahle Your Elevator Speech
Special Features
Linda Taylor Web Presence
Bob Phibbs Motivation
Lori Sallee Print Advertising
Steve Kleber Blogging
In Every Issue
9 FEATURE STORY
6 ACROSS THE BOARD
MDF PRODUCERS SEE RISE IN SHIPLAP
14 FAMILY BUSINESS
10 PRODUCT SPOTLIGHT
INVESTING IN PVC TRIM
16 COMPETITIVE INTELLIGENCE
12 MARGIN BUILDERS
42 MOVERS & SHAKERS
LBM INDUSTRY TAKES ON POKÉMON
20 NAWLA: THINKING AHEAD
42 ASSOCIATION UPDATE
23 SALES & MARKETING SPECIAL ISSUE:
44 NEW PRODUCTS
AIMING FOR ECOMMERCE EXCELLENCE • OLSEN ON HIRING SALESPEOPLE • GOLDFAYN ON REVENUE GROWTH • SMITH ADAMS ON MARKETING PLANS • KAHLE ON THE ELEVATOR SPEECH • SALLEE ON TRADE ADVERTISING TIPS • TAYLOR ON A WINNING WEB PRESENCE • KLEBER ON BLOGGING • PHIBBS ON MOTIVATING EMPLOYEES
51 EVENT RECAP
56 CLASSIFIED MARKETPLACE 56 IN MEMORIAM 56 ADVERTISERS INDEX 57 DATE BOOK 58 FLASHBACK
INLAND GOLF IN COEUR D’ALENE
Online BREAKING INDUSTRY NEWS, EVENT PHOTOS, & VIDEO
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THIS MONTH’S EDITION AS WELL BACK ISSUES OF THE MERCHANT CAN BE VIEWED DIGITALLY AT BUILDING-PRODUCTS.COM
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Vice President, Marketing & Circulation Shelly Smith Adams sadams@building-products.com Publishers Emeritus David Cutler Alan Oakes Managing Editor David Koenig david@building-products.com Editor Stephanie Ornelas sornelas@building-products.com Contributing Editors Carla Waldemar, James Olsen, Alex Goldfayn, Dwight Curran Director of Sales Chuck Casey chuck@building-products.com
How to Advertise PRINT or ONLINE Chuck Casey or Patrick Adams Phone (714) 486-2735 Fax 714-486-2745 chuck@building-products.com padams@building-products.com CLASSIFIED – David Koenig Phone (714) 486-2735 Fax 714-486-2745 david@building-products.com
How to Subscribe SUBSCRIPTIONS Phone (714) 486-2735 Fax 714-486-2745 sadams@building-products.com or send a check to 151 Kalmus Dr., Ste. D200, Costa Mesa, CA 92626 U.S.A.: One year (12 issues), $22 Two years, $36 Three years, $50 SINGLE COPIES $4 + shipping BACK ISSUES $5 + shipping FOREIGN (Contact sadams@building-products.com for surface and air rates, including to Canada) CHANGE OF ADDRESS Send address label from recent issue, new address, and 9-digit zip to address below. POSTMASTER Send address changes to The Merchant Magazine, 151 Kalmus Dr., Ste. D200, Costa Mesa, CA 92626. The Merchant Magazine (ISSN 7399723) (USPS 796560) is published monthly at 151 Kalmus Dr., Ste. D200, Costa Mesa, CA 92626 by 526 Media Group, Inc. Periodicals Postage paid at Newport Beach, CA, and additional post offices. It is an independently-owned publication for the retail, wholesale and distribution levels of the lumber and building products markets in 13 western states. Copyright®2016 by 526 Media Group, Inc. Cover and entire contents are fully protected and must not be reproduced in any manner without written permission. All Rights Reserved. It reserves the right to accept or reject any editorial or advertising matter, and assumes no liability for materials furnished to it.
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ACROSS the Board By Patrick Adams
I’ve lost something
I
’VE LOST SOMETHING and I fear I won’t find it. I just completed a week-long road trip, visiting with great people in our industry and driving over 1,500 miles across beautiful parts of California. During drives like that you have a lot of time to think. I remember I used to do that when I was younger…go on drives and think. At some point, my “schedule” stopped allowing such frivolity. As I looked out the window while breathtaking settings whizzed by at 80 mph, I thought about settlers who once passed over this landscape with nothing more than a wagon, a couple of horses, and a head full of dreams. Stories would later be written about these adventurers so that those living in more “civilized times” could live vicariously through them. Publications like National Geographic and LIFE took agonizing care to capture that perfect picture so that readers could share a hint of the overwhelming emotion that the photographer had experienced. I’d spend a lot of time looking at every detail of those images imagining being there and, for a while, I felt like I was. But now when we feel like it, we can Google anything and in 0.0013 seconds we can obtain 148 million “relevant” results. Stores used to close at 5:00 p.m. and all day Sundays. We used to watch our children instead of viewing them on our phone as we post yet another image to social media about our “experience” to our “friends.” Every night used to be family dinner night, and I remember watching the news to learn about what was happening across our great country and world with eagerness, excitement and pride. I remember going on road trips as a child. The cars were slower and there was no traffic. We had no DVD players or A/C. I looked at those trees and I could smell the surroundings. I remember, because everything went by slower then. When I started in business, my eagerness to find success was surpassed only by my quest to keep score so that I would know when I “got there.” It’s funny because since those early days, I’ve traveled millions of miles and it seems like they’ve flown by even faster than 80 mph. As I drove on this trip, I thought about what it would be like if our current pace was not possible? What if we still relied on horses and still had to handwrite our mail to loved ones who lived away from us? Would we look at that single tree in the distance as it slowly grew closer and somehow appreciate it more? Would we take more care to make sure that every word on that handwritten letter expressed exactly the meaning that we felt inside? My daughter just “graduated” PreK while I was away and in the fall she starts “Big Girl School.” I can’t believe that five years could go by so quickly. I wonder what I’ve missed in that time while I was driving 80 mph? My wife and I shared an anniversary while I was gone. I left her a card, but I wonder if the words that the author wrote really
expressed all that she truly means to me? I wonder if I’ve made the effort so that my family, friends and employees truly understand what they mean to me? Bank account balances, business card titles, social media likes, and stamps on passports are all ways to keep score on your pursuit of “success.” But time is the only thing that is limited in our lives and it seems, the very thing that with all of our “advancements” we have more of, that we now consider the least. They say how much more time advancements have given us, but what have we done with it? Are we getting more from that time? This summer, I’m going to take time to think about all of this. I’m going to think about how long it took for us to build this great nation and to look around at the beauty of the place we call home. I’m going to think about all of those who have sacrificed for us and lost time with their families so that I could be with mine. I’m going to think about how to make lasting memories for my family so one day the next generation has a better measure of “success.” Most of all, I’m going to take the time to find the time that I’ve lost, to make sure my time is spent on what’s really important. I hope each of you do as well. I’m a successful man—I’m rich in being surrounded by truly special people who make the world a better place every day and in that I still have time to consider how to best use the time I have left. On this drive, I found something I lost. Find what you’ve lost. Take the time to take a walk or drive just for the fun of it. To make sure those around you know how you feel. Look at our flag and consider what it really means. Look at those old pictures and consider all they went through so that you could have what you have today. As always, I am grateful for our wonderful readers, clients and this great industry. Thank you for your feedback and I hope you all have a summer that is time well spent in a manner that feels a bit slower than normal! “There’s only one thing more precious than our time and that’s what we choose to spend it on.” ~ Leo Christopher
Patrick S. Adams Publisher/President padams@building-products.com
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FEATURE Story By David Koenig
Shiplap ahoy! MDF producers answer the call
DO-IT-YOURSELFERS want the shiplap look, so manufacturers are making it more affordable and easier to install on walls and ceilings. PacTrim’s Pioneer Series interior MDF wall boards are preprimed for time and cost savings. (Photo of Hatcliff Construction project The Grove, Franklin, Tn., by Carolyne Raney, Simply Irresistible Photography)
I
F YOU ’ VE WATCHED any home design or remodeling show in the last year you know the shiplap look is making a comeback for interior walls. From Craftsman to farm house to modern—call it shiplap, nickel gap, nickel slot, or T&G—the clean lines are in demand by homeowners and designers across the country. “We are seeing it increase,” says Dan Beaty, director of sales, TLC Mouldings, Willacoochee, Ga. “It started about a year ago and has been increasing ever since. I think it is just a new look that is actually an old style, of course, which is very trendy right now that fits hand in hand with the Craftsman-style home being built all across the country.” The resurgence has been enabled by the product now being available in MDF, instead of just solid wood.
Building-Products.com
Melissa Morinelli, sales and marketing manager for Pacific MDF Products, Rocklin, Ca., explains: “In yesteryear, the product was natural wood and that is very expensive today. If you’re looking for a stain-grade product, you’ll want natural wood. Many times the original wood shiplap is painted in the renovation. We offer a more affordable product that’s easy to install and looks great. That ‘designer look’ is now within reach to many more people.” She suspects the popularity of HGTV and DIY TV networks have also been an influence. “Many (oncamera) designers love blending the old with the new and some of the well-known ones—like Joanna Gaines of HGTV’s Fixer Upper—loves shiplap! Renovation shows are extremely popular right now—Fixer
Upper, Flip or Flop, Love It or List It, Property Brothers, Rehab Addict, Good Bones, and the list goes on.” To make the look even more accessible to DIYers, Pacific MDF Products recently introduced the Pioneer Series interior MDF wall boards. “People can now get the traditional shiplap look without the worry of filling knots, priming, and trying to install warped boards,” Morinelli says. “Our boards come already primed, ready to install and finish. With our precision sizing, once you place your first run on the wall the rest of the pieces are easy going. The 16-ft. length also makes it easy to install over long walls popular with today’s open concept living.” Although shiplap is most associated with woodsy Craftsman and coastal Cottage styles of architecture, their resurgent popularity isn’t limited to a single area. Suppliers have found demand across the country—and it’s showing no signs of slowing. Shiplap NickelGap T&G NickelSlot
What’s In a Name? For the most part, shiplap/nickel gap/nickel slot/T&G are just different designations used across the country. Technically, they’re slightly different, but the average person doesn’t usually get that technical. Shiplap and T&G technically say how the product works—shiplap one piece “laps” over the other, T&G (Tongue & Groove) has a “tongue” that fits in the “groove.” Nickel gap/Nickel slot is sometimes used because the look, once applied to the wall or ceiling, has a gap between each board that’s about the thickness of a nickel. – Melissa Morinelli, PacTrim Shiplap NickelGap T&G NickelSlot
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PRODUCT Spotlight By Dominick Pileggi III, Wolf
Investing in PVC trim Combining strength and style ite products, but perhaps the most frequently selected option is composed of polyvinyl chloride or PVC.
The Strengths of PVC
PVC is the leading substitute for real wood in exterior trim for a reason.
E
is something of a paradox—it can easily be overshadowed in the exterior materials selection or design process by other elements such as siding or even decking. At the same time, trim is an essential component of a home’s appearance, as it provides an aesthetic transition between materials, as well as critical protection from moisture at corners and around windows and doorways. When considering exterior trim, it’s important for contractors to select materials that are easy to work with in terms of design and installation, yet hardy enough to last well into the future. While wood has been a perennial favorite due to factors of ready availability, cost, ease of application and finishing, the wood of today is not the wood of years past. “Fast-growth” or XTERIOR TRIM
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“farm-raised” lumber has become the go-to wood instead of the more dense and durable old-growth lumber. This more popular new-growth lumber features a wider grain pattern, making it more susceptible to moisture, decay, insects and warping over time. Homeowners and builders, in turn, have tried to identify alternate trimboard materials that have all of the assets of wood, with a much higher degree of durability. Many products today have the look of real wood minus the ongoing maintenance issues when used in exterior applications. There are various options available for fascia boards, soffits, mouldings, columns and other outdoor uses making it possible to have an entire exterior that is highly durable against the elements while still looking good. Those materials include composite or capped compos-
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PVC is unique in the world of trim options in that it contains no wood or other organic materials, making it extremely resistant to decay, weather and other external elements. Cleaning and upkeep is relatively easy, and contractors have noted PVC’s durability, as well as its ability to retain its appearance. “I’m a huge fan of PVC products,” says Cole Campbell, owner of Campbell Construction Werks, Lemoyne, Pa. “With proper prep work, PVC will outlast other, less durable exterior elements of a home, and still look great.” Here are a just a few of the benefits that PVC trim can bring to any exterior project: Easy to customize: High density PVC can be cut, routed, mitered and heat formed with precision based on a homeowner’s architectural and design needs. While PVC does not require any painting, it can also be painted to match design tastes. No special tools required: PVC can be cut, drilled, nailed and glued with the tools you have, just as if the material was wood. Tough against moisture: As mentioned, the open-grain structure of some wood trim products can allow moisture, mold and decay to take hold. PVC’s cellular structure, especially the higher density types, makes it practically impervious to moisture from weather and other sources. Recent advancements in technology have been able to heat seal previously open cell edges for easier maintenance and even greater protection Building-Products.com
against moisture and other elements. Resistant to insects and animals: Because of small amounts of organic content that are part of their structure, some building materials can become food or nesting materials for insects, rodents or other animals. Because it contains no organic material, PVC is highly resistant to insect and animal intrusion. Availability of matching products: Most manufacturers of PVC trim products offer a range of complementary mouldings, fasteners and other products. For example, Wolf Home Products offers a Cortex Plug hidden fastener system that matches its signature Wolf PVC Trim products. Suitable for ground contact applications: Because PVC’s resistant to moisture, it can be used in locations that might otherwise be negatively affected by moisture that occurs naturally from the ground. Lifetime warranties: Because of their confidence in the durability of PVC, most manufacturers of PVC trim offer substantial warranties on their products.
PVC care and cost With all of PVC’s benefits, it’s easy to assume there’s no maintenance required. While caring for PVC is relatively easy, there are some specific substances which can cause marring or staining if they come in accidental or unintended contact with PVC trim. Some of these substances include: • gasoline and other petroleum derivatives • PVC glue, caulk, and other adhesives • paint removers, paint thinners, and other solvents • mortar, concrete and other masonry and cement dust Obviously, the sooner an incident of contact with these products is cleaned, the better. Care of PVC trim products will differ between manufacturers. Homeowners and contractors should consult manufacturer’s specs how to clean specific products. PVC trim has a slightly higher price tag compared to some other building materials, but the extra cost is a smart investment, considering PVC’s durability, lifespan and low maintenance.
SPECIALLIZED PROTE ECTION. YOU KNOW YOUR R BUSINESS IS NOT LIKE OT THERS. YOU HAVE V SPECIFIC NEEDS AND A RISKS THAT YOU WORRY ABOUT… THINGS LIKE DUST T COLLECTION, AUTO FLEE ET SAFETY AND FIRE PROTECTION N. YOU NEED AN INSURANC CE COMPANY A THAT T UNDERSTAN ANDS THESE UNIQUE RISKS AND A ISSUES.
MEET MICH HAEL.
Michael Culbreth hass been a Loss Control Services Consultant with PLM/ILM for over 13 years. Over these years he has vissited thousands of lumberyards, sawm mills and wood products manufacturiing operations. He lives and breathess the lumber and building g material indu ustries. Michael’s specific knowledge allows him to provide our customerrs with relevant and practical recomm mendations to protect their businesses. He understands that as a business owner there is no good time e to experience a loss or disruption. M Michael aims to prevent risks that are avoidable and to make sure you are adequately prepared for what ma ay come. He cares about your business. Let him and PLM/ILM help yo ou keep it safe.
P PENNSYLVANIA V LUMBERMENS MUTUAL IN NSURANCE COMPANY IN NDIANA LUMBERMENS MUTUAL INSURA ANCE COMPANY M MAIN 800 752 1895 800.752.1895
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On loccation at Edwards Wood Produ ucts, Inc. in Marshville, NC
– Dominick Pileggi III is senior VP of product development in Wolf’s building products division. He has been part of the Wolf team since 1999. Reach him at djpileggi@wolfhomeproducts.com. Building-Products.com
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MARGIN Builders By David Koenig
Hardware stores bitten by Pokémania ENDALL ’ S ACE Hardware, St. Paul, Mn., has been enjoying a boost in visitors, thanks to Pokémon Go— despite initially having zero awareness of the augmented reality game that is sweeping the country. Unbeknownst to owner Kendall Crosby, the iconic giant metal bolt on the side of his store had become one of the game’s “PokéStops.” All day long, pedestrians mill about the galvanized metal prop, smartphones in hand. But they’re not taking pictures. PokéStops, such as Kendall’s bolt, are where they can replenish their supply of digital Poké Balls, which they use to capture imaginary creatures via their phones.
K
Pokemon Go Glossary Pokémon Go: Popular augmented-reality game that was released on July 6. It uses a free app that is downloaded to players’ smartphones and works with their GPS and cameras to superimpose Pokémon on the real world.
Pokémon: Short for “pocket monsters,” they’re the variously shaped and sized creatures that players try to capture in the game.
Poké Ball: Digital ball players throw at Pokémon to capture them.
PokéStop: Real-world location where players can go to collect Poké Balls and other items.
Lure: An item that attracts Pokémon to a PokéStop. Pokécoins: Currency to buy lures and other game items. Trainer: Players who train their captured Pokémon to battle other players’ Pokémon. BOLT-LIKE prop embedded into a side of Kendall’s Ace Hardware, St. Paul, Mn., is a “PokéStop” for the popular smartphone-based Pokémon Go game.
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Gym: Real-world location where players train their Pokémon or battle others’. Building-Products.com
FACEBOOK FLASH: Martin’s Hardware & Rental, East Troy, Wi., is using social media to draw game players to its store.
The critters can be found just about anywhere, including inside home improvement stores. Do it Best field rep Sean Mandli plays the game with his family, and during their travels he has detected Pokémon activity near the co-op’s retailer members. “Thus far, I have seen Pokémon hanging out at six of my members’ locations,” Mandli said. “They are always outside of the store. I haven’t seen one inside at this point. In fact, just yesterday, I
took my family to see the Pleasant’s Hardware store in Richmond, Va., that I helped convert in February from Ace to Do it Best. Sure enough, outside the store, in the parking lot was a very rare Pokemon with approximately seven pods of ‘Pokers’ trying to capture it. There was also a PokéStop in the parking lot. “In short, our members are definitely seeing an impact at their stores from this game being played. However, not a single one of them knew that the game was being played in their presence—other than the gaggle of pokers aimlessly wandering around their parking lots. Nor have any of them even shown the least bit of interest in finding out more about the game or wanting to use it to their advantage.” Granted, even some merchants who are aware of the game don’t welcome players and post signs in front of their businesses to ward them off. The store owners figure the players are not there to shop or fear that they might get hurt. Players have been known to get so absorbed in their virtual reality screen that they don’t pay attention to their real-life surroundings—a real danger at a business with high, heavy racks and moving forklifts. Yet more and more stores are embracing the fad, hoping to draw new people into their stores and convert them into future customers—or even immediate customers, perhaps by stocking extra phone batteries or external phone chargers. Merchants can also pay to have Pokémon Go
“lures” appear inside their business, which are designed to draw the digital creatures to the area—suspecting a crowd of players is sure to follow. Mandli said, “I have thought of what I would do if I owned a store and there were several imaginary avatars running around outside. I would embrace it. Our members could actually capitalize on the phenomena by simply acknowledging that they are a destination for pokers by putting a note on their Facebook page or even setting up a table outside their store with some products that they could claim—‘buy these real tools to conquer your own Poké Projects around your home.’”
“EEVEE” has been spotted by Pokémon players hanging around the paint counter at Beisswenger’s Hardware, New Brighton, Mn.
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FAMILY Business By Deb Houden, Ph.D.
Introducing teens and young adults to the family business C
ONTINUITY IN THE family business is dependent upon the next generation. Because there are many facets to that continuity, the best place to start is with education.
Education Starts Early Preparation with the next generation should start early. The biggest impact during preparation is developing a positive attitude. The way that employment, ownership, interpersonal interaction, and self-sufficiency are talked about in the family home sets up an underlying attitude that can be sustainable during the next generation’s lifetime. If employment is discussed at home as an opportunity for self fulfilment, problems to solve, goals to achieve, relationships to enjoy, and responsibilities to honor, children look forward to employment in the business. On the other hand, if employment in the family enterprise is discussed as a stressful, boring and stagnant duty with relatives who are hateful, children foresee the business as an obligation, where they must work but will never be fulfilled.
Education In Progress As children grow through their teen and young adult years, more tangible introductions to employment can be made. Oftentimes, children of entrepreneurs have an intimate knowledge of the family enterprise as they grow up. They spend time there playing or exploring while accompanying their parents on the weekend. In later generations, the opportunity for teenage exposure to the business dwindles. Limited contact with the business may hinder the knowledge and perceived opportunity for that child. The innate understanding of exactly how the company is run or how products or services are rendered does not develop in the same way it does when children are around the business more often. So, more explicit structures for exposing kids to the business may be needed.
Employment Education Some potential ways for children to become involved with the family enterprise are after-school and summertime employment in appropriate areas. Employment education should include: • Setting learning goals each week. • Communicating progress • Receiving constructive feedback to promote the ability to listen and reflect upon areas of needed improvement.
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College-aged kids can work in areas of interest or at other companies that may have similar skills needed for the family’s company.
Ownership Education Introducing ownership at an adolescent stage is as easy as inclusion in the family meetings. Parents can develop a culture of ownership by carving out time to create, attend and participate in their own family meetings. To increase interest and participation, invite the teenagers to develop part of the agenda. Their involvement underscores the importance the family places on their involvement.
History Education Finally, storytelling at family meetings by older senior generation members is a good way to capture the attention and educate younger members. Stories of the early days, of mistakes made and small triumphs achieved, help younger members understand that nothing was ever perfect, that sometimes there were failures, but the family endured. Those stories create a sense of hope and wonderment. Preparing the next generation takes time and energy, but the rewards are immeasurable—for family and business. – Deb Houden, Ph.D., is a speaker and consultant with the Family Business Consulting Group, specializing in helping family-owned businesses with family communication, transition and next generation development. Reach her at (608) 695-2502 or houden@thefbcg.com. Building-Products.com
COMPETITIVE Intelligence By Carla Waldemar
This jack-of-alltrades is a Jill M
ARIETTA (POP.
15,000) is so close to Ohio’s southern border that you could probably toss a baseball into West Virginia. So, talking to the folks at Contractors Building Supply, Inc., based in that town, you get the feeling that its customers can reap the benefits of good ol’ Northern knowhow married to that Appalachian sense of neighborliness and pulling together. Marietta wasn’t knocked off the map by the recent recession. “Things are pretty booming,” says CBS’s owner, Jill Wright. Ours is “a mid- to upper-income town with lots of new housing starts, plus additions and remodeling,” despite the by-now ancient history of its coal industry shut-down and oil and gas industries on the way out, too. In fact, CBS is only 18 years old, established in January 1998 just after its predecessor, Moore’s, closed its doors that December—“definitely not a good thing,” she echoes the town’s view of the looming vacancy. But a good thing followed. ASAP, Jill’s dad, with a business partner, started up a new lumberyard and took on 80% of Moore’s former employees. He bought out his partner three years ago, and today “he’s trying to retire,” his daughter laughs. Jill originally came on board to help with bookkeeping, accounts payable, and so on, and as present owner, those bucks still stop at her desk. To keep accounts receivable alive and flourishing, she’s made some recent changes and additions, both to SKUs and services—projected to position the company to meet today’s shifting markets. Pro business has always been the outfit’s bread and butter, amounting to
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KNOWLEDGEABLE STAFF is one of CBS’s biggest draws.
70% of its trade. These pros are drawn to CBS by a triple pull, leading off with convenience. It boasts a 55,000sq. ft. drive-thru warehouse on the same lot, plus a boom truck among its delivery options. “We load you up, so it’s easy-in and easy-out. We wait on you hand and foot,” Jill promises. CBS’s 17-member staff is the second lure, at the ready with product knowledge and customer service. “The contractors are very familiar with our people. They can call us and say, ‘Hey, I need...’ and we send it right out to them.” These pros are also treated to an annual Contractors Night and ongoing PK training events sponsored by specific vendors. Third, that amazing warehouse stocks everything—and I do mean everything—a fella needs to build a house, from start to finish: a huge selection of lumber, drywall, electric, plumbing, insulation, roofing, and
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flooring—hardwoods of quality, plus tiles—all available for immediate delivery. (Any obscure items, they’ll special-order.) Kind of knocks the boxes out of the running. Plus CBS sports two dedicated outside sales personnel to scout for new starts, introducing themselves and the services they offer. In addition, another dedicated inside salesperson is on hand to help with design ware and do take-offs and blueprints as well as answer any questions. And yet. And yet, CBS was allowing the boxes (starting with several Lowe’s within a few miles’ drive) to slurp up most of the retail business. Jill recently took note and proceeded to widen her focus to attract local DIYers. “Our business wasn’t so well-known to them (and our name—Contractors Business Supply—didn’t help,” she laughs.) “So we remodeled and remerchandised, expanding our showroom, Building-Products.com
the K&B department, the cabinetry and electrical, and added more breadth to items we already carried, like gloves. We also added housewares and cleaning supplies to appeal to women shoppers.” And a Ladies Night is in the planning stage. To get the word out, CBS pumped up its ad campaign, starting with social media, primarily Facebook, as well as circulars in the local paper. “We’ve always done TV. But some customers thought you had to be a contractor to come to CBS. Our new slogan is, ‘Go where the pros go.’” The adjusted layout helps, too. “Up front, we target men DIYers, while back in the showroom, we target women. Sure,” Jill realizes, “there are those who may shop the boxes for price, but most folks ‘get it’: It’s more than simply cost. It’s service and knowledge.” Another new facet: the just-launched rental department. “I really enjoy it. I hired a manager with lots of knowledge and experience with rental. He’s taking the bull by the horns, and it’s starting to take off. We’re still gathering ideas of items to add.” CBS is also dipping its marketing toes into the waters of the commercial/industrial sector, another diversification aim. “It’s been a little slower for us to grow,” allows Jill, “because there are four people in town also after it, so
EXPANDED K&B department has helped broaden appeal to consumers.
there’s a lot of competition right now.” Her company is pursuing a piece of the pie by promoting its deep well of knowledge and services offered. Plus, that amply-stuffed warehouse that provides a quick turnaround on orders. Fortunately, the recent recession didn’t bite a huge hunk out of Marietta’s economy. Jill never had to resort to layoffs—“just tighten our belt a little, pay attention, no frivolous use of overtime,” etc. Nor has she had to withstand the blowback sometimes experienced in our industry in days past by being a female boss. “I’m fortunate that it’s never been a problem. I work with a really good team of knowledgeable people, and we all have the same goals.” She also notes that store manager John Hughes, whom she hired two years ago, is “evenkeeled, a really good fit. We both have the same vision for the company”—which is to grow and expand. “I’d like to continue to expand the rental department, to grow the retail environment, to increase sales, and”—why stop now?— “maybe add another yard. It’s been fun being here every day, to see peoples’ projects, what they’re picking out. I’ve got a lot of years left in me, and I love all that stuff!” Carla Waldemar cwaldemar@comcast.net
CBS OWNER Jill Wright is overseeing a range of changes and additions, both to SKUs and services.
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SUPPLIER Briefs
Activists Threaten Oregon Mill
West Coast Lumber Inspection Bureau was granted accredita-
Swanson Brothers Lumber is on high alert after a group called SAP claimed on an Earth First! website that it had placed dozens of spikes in logs at its Noti, Or., mill. President Larry Konnie said some logs are stacked as high as 50 ft., making it hazardous for people to climb and examine them. So far no one has found any spikes or evidence that anyone trespassed at the mill, but all workers are encouraged to take extreme caution.
tion by the International Accreditation Service to provide third-party inspections for cross-laminated timbers.
Historic Weyerhaeuser Building Moved
Davis Ace, Davis, Ca., is drawing up plans to build a second story for added office and storage space. The store also renovated its parking lot with drought-tolerant landscape. Ace Hardware is planning a new location in Cottage Grove, Or.
KKR & Co. is buying Epicor Software Corp., Austin, Tx. Huber Engineered Woods
filed suit alleging Georgia-Pacific’s ForceField air and water barrier system infringes on patents for its ZIP System sheathing and tape products.
Viance’s D-Blaze Fire Retardant Treated Wood reportedly has become the first pressure-impregnated FRTW to earn GreenGuard Gold Certification.
lumber sales. In 1938, after Mill A was converted to a pulp facility, the office building was moved to Mill B on the other side of town, operating until 1979. It was donated to the Port of Everett in 1983 and relocated by barge to the waterfront. In 1986, it was placed on the National Register of Historic Places. It will now be renamed Weyerhaeuser Muse and serve as the centerpiece of two-acre Boxcar Park, part of a planned $330 million, mixed-use Waterfront Place Central development.
Knight Building New Plant/HQ
The historic Weyerhaeuser Building was relocated from the Port of Everett, Wa., to a new park a mile away, where it will be used as the backdrop for a performance venue. It was the third move for the 6,000sq. ft. Gothic structure, which was built in 1923 at the company’s first mill in Everett. It took over one year of planning and 11 hours to transport the building, which weighs about 350 tons—nearly half of the weight being a massive concrete and steel safe that had been used to hold all the money from its
Building envelope rainscreen manufacturer Knight Wall Systems has begun construction on a new 20,000sq. ft. fabrication plant and headquarters in Deer Park, Wa. The new facility will also include 4,500 sq. ft. of offices and conference room space for the executive team. “We have had steady and significant growth since we launched our first product in 2010,” president Doug Knight said. “This new plant will accommodate our expansion now and provide flexibility for further growth down the line.”
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Rough Timbers 3×4 – 3×12 (8’ to 40’) 4×4 – 4×12 (8 to 40’) 6×6 – 6×12 (8’ to 40’) 8×8 – 8×12 (8’ to 40’) 10×10 – 10×12 (8’ to 40’) 12×12 ( 8’ to 40’) Up to 16’ x 24’ – 48’
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the finest timbers available, delivered to customers accurately, honestly & on time.
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THINKING Ahead By Mark Brennan, U.S. Lumber Group
3 ways to aim for ecommerce excellence E
booming trend in the business-to-business sector. According to Forrester, U.S. revenue from B2B (business-tobusiness) ecommerce is currently clocking in at $780 billion—more than double the business-to-consumer sector. So how can the wholesale lumber industry ensure a piece of the action? By paying close attention to the customer experience, for starters. The B2C (business-to-consumer) shopping experience paved the way for what’s expected from B2B ecommerce, so any lumber wholesaler entering the market or already there should take a page from the playbook of the Amazons of the world and follow suit. We are still working on our ecommerce platform to make the experience for the customer as easy as possible. Here are some of the things we’re learning as we tackle the ecommerce challenge: COMMERCE IS A
1. Content Management Is King Having great product descriptions and photos that are enticing to buyers is only part of the equation. Presenting it the right way is critical to engaging your customer targets— and if it’s not structured and orga-
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nized the right way, your product content won’t present well to customers. Buyers need to know that the product they’re looking at is the right one. They rely on you to provide all the product information they need. Rich product information—complete with images, item codes enhanced descriptions and sizes, etc.—will all help make potential customers confident to buy online. The more attributes you have, the easier it is to categorize and organize products on your site. The result is easy site navigation for your buyers. Most lumber wholesalers are
August 2016
dealing with 3,000 SKUs that fluctuate constantly as new product lines come in and others are retired. Data in this industry is fluid, and you have to be able to stay on top so your customers perceive your business as orderly and efficient.
2. Find Your Value Add When it comes to transacting business online, the lumber industry is still fairly young. As such, potential customers are unlikely to make a change in their purchasing behavior if they don’t perceive a value in it for them. In some cases, the decision to (or to not) buy online is a generational
Building-Products.com
A Special Series from North American Wholesale Lumber Association
thing, and in other cases it’s an ease-of-use issue. It’s important to make it as easy as possible to allow customers who want to buy online to do so. It’s incumbent on you (in conjunction with your IT and marketing departments, if you have them to lean on) to add value to the transaction. For example, maybe you decide to allow online customers access to more detailed product information, such as brochures or videos, that will better equip them to deliver value to their customers. Or you could provide product recommendations to repeat online customers based on their history. By doing so, you’re giving them information that could help them make their budgeting and purchasing decisions as easy as possible. Online selling takes the human interaction out of selling, but that doesn’t mean buyers no longer want that type of special treatment. Buyers still seek out sellers who go the extra mile to make them feel
About NAWLA NAWLA (North American Wholesale Lumber Association) is the association that delivers unparalleled access to relationships and resources that improve business strategy and performance through sales growth, cost savings, and operational efficiencies for wholesalers and manufacturers of forest products and other building materials that conduct business in North America. Learn more about how NAWLA can help your business at www.nawla.org.
Building-Products.com
important and special. Although it’s trickier to provide this type of personalization and attention when online, it’s still possible through technology.
Build Negotiation & Memory Skills at Wood Masters At NAWLA’s Wood Masters course, Oct. 25-26, immediately prior to the Traders Market in Las Vegas, you will learn more about program selling, memory training and advanced negotiation skills—essential skills for sales professionals. Wood Masters is intended for professionals with three or more years of experience or those who have successfully completed the Wood Basics program. View the agenda or register now at www.nawla.org.
3. Get the Word Out—And Be Flexible Once you have an ecommerce platform in place, it can still be a challenge to get your customers or potential customers to use it. One of the ways to get the word out to customers is through email marketing, in the form of communications about products, perhaps combined with sales incentives. Here again, personalization is critical: You should consider the kind of email messages and incentives that will most resonate with your buyers’ interests, needs and budgets. Maybe there’s a personalized discount you can apply based on knowledge of a given customer’s product purchasing history. Tactics like this will all help the customer feel special, which in turn can help close the sale. Finally, a note about flexibility: We want to do business with customers in any way they want to do business with us. What does that mean when it comes to ecommerce? It means that if our customers want to call us, fax us, email us or send over a personal shopper, we’ll do business with them because we want to have an outlet for however our customers want to do business with us. It’s all about being able to provide our customers with accurate, engaging information and giving them as many outlets as possible to easily access it. Like other B2B entities, wholesale lumber operations have a huge opportunity to grow business with ecommerce—assuming you do
things the right way. Selling online is challenging, but practices like this can go a long way in helping make ecommerce a vital part of your sales effort. If you’d like to explore ecommerce platform options, or talk to peers who have started an ecommerce program, join me at NAWLA’s 2016 Traders Market. More than 1,500 forest product industry buyers and sellers will converge at this year’s Traders Market, October 26-28 at The Mirage in Las Vegas. To learn more or register, visit www.nawla.org. – Mark Brennan is program manager for U.S. Lumber Group, Atlanta, Ga., and a member of North American Wholesale Lumber Association’s marketing committee.
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Fireworks Spark Yard Fire A fire broke out July 4 at Town & Country Roofing & Solar, Brentwood, Ca., that officials are blaming on illegal fireworks. The blaze started in a two-acre open field and quickly spread to the company’s nearby supply yard. The fire caused around $100,000 in damage due to massive burning through stacks of building materials, according to Fire Chief Hugh Henderson.
Bostik Schools Customers Adhesive and sealant manufacturer Bostik Inc. has opened three new technical training facilities, to educate dealers, distributors, contractors and designers on every aspect of floor covering installation. The new facilities—in Temecula, Ca.; Dallas, Tx.; and Wauwatosa, Wi.—“have been set up with full hands-on training rooms and cutting edge classroom environments. To achieve the best possible back-and-forth communication, we envision both classroom and actual demonstration sessions never to have more than 25 attendees. That way, we can keep events more personalized and hands-on,” said Chad Bulen, technical services manager.
facilities, including president David Hughes and COO Drew Dickinson. Hardwoods has 32 DCs—25 of them in the U.S.—plus a sawmill and kiln drying operation. “This is a highly strategic business combination that brings together two successful, growth-oriented companies to create the number one distributor in our industry,” said Hardwoods’ CEO Rob Brown. “The transaction meets our objective of increasing our distribution capability in additional U.S. markets, particularly in the Eastern U.S. It also aligns with our ‘strengthen commercial’ strategy by deepening our presence in the attractive commercial market.”
Hardwoods Picks Up Rugby Hardwoods Distribution Inc., Langley, B.C., is acquiring Rugby Architectural Building Products, Concord, N.H., for $107 million. The deal will give Hardwoods a coast-to-coast U.S. presence and purportedly create North America’s largest distributor of hardwood lumber, panels and interior architectural building materials. Rugby’s 560 employees are expected to stay on at its 31
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA Hoo-Hoo Club raised $22,000 for charities from its May 20 Don Gregson Memorial Golf Tournament. There were 140 players in attendance along with 12 Marine guests from the Wounded Warrior Battalion, Camp Pendleton. Benefitting were the Wounded Warrior Project, City of Hope, Homes for our Troops, and the Gregson scholarship fund at Rim Forest High School. Pictured left to right are members David Tait, Bryan Callaway, and Mike Nicholson.
Lock-Deck Laminated Decking w w w. l o c k d e c k . c o m
800-547-4209 sales@disdero.com www.disdero.com Disdero Lumber Stocks & Manufactures the Most Complete Line of Specialty Lumber Products in the West
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AUGUST 2016
The
MERCHANT
Magazine
THE VOICE OF THE WEST’S LBM DEALERS & DISTRIBUTORS – SINCE 1922
SALES & MARKETING SPECIAL ISSUE
Go for the gold Sales & Marketing Special Issue
James Olsen Hiring Your Team
Shelly Smith Adams Marketing Plans
Alex Goldfayn Revenue Growth
Dave Kahle Your Elevator Speech
Linda Taylor Web Presence
Bob Phibbs Motivation
Lori Sallee Print Advertising
Steve Kleber Blogging
Sales & Marketing Special Issue
James Olsen on Hiring Your Sales Force
Hiring to win
Sun Tzu was a Chinese strategist and general who wrote The Art of War, required reading by the U.S. military and the CIA. The underlying tenet of the book is: “All battles are won and lost before they are fought.” No phrase is more vital than Sun Tzu’s for the building of a sales team. The easiest, quickest and most profitable short- and long-term solution to building a strong sales team is to hire talented people with an aptitude for sales. Vilfredo Pareto was an Italian socio-economist who discovered the 80/20 rule; Pareto discovered that 80% of the land in Italy was owned by 20% of the people. The 80/20 rule holds true of many things: 20% of the carpet in the room you are sitting in right now will get 80% of the wear, 20% of the cherries on any tree will get 80% of the sunlight, 20% of the players on any team will score 80% of the points, and mostly importantly for business 80% of all business will be won by 20% of the sales people in your market.
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Our question then becomes, what are the attributes of the top 20% in the sales world and how can I attract, develop and retain that talented top 20%?
Hiring Math Sales cultures of old would say, “We’ll hire five at a time and see who makes it.” Those days are done. The investment in time, money, momentum and resources is just too expensive to make poor hires. Example: Start with 100 inherited reports. Ten must go. They must be replaced with 10 A players. How many do you have to hire and fire to get to your 10 A players at a success rate of: 25% – hire 40, fire 30 90% – hire 11, fire one Which is easier? Less expensive?
Hiring Salespeople to Win Hire Slow, Fire Fast. This is an underlying philosophy. Do not hire to “fill spots.” Write a good/creative ad. Ernest
August 2016
Shackleton’s Arctic exploration ad: “For hazardous journey, small wages, bitter cold, long months of complete darkness, constant danger, safe return doubtful, honor and recognition in case of success.” What kind of person answered this ad? Involve your team. Have many different people should interview your potential salespeople? Have back room staff as well as your current salespeople. This will create buy-in from your team. Everyone on your team will have a different perspective. Over time you will find that some of your current employees have a better “nose” for talent than others. Something social. Take your potential hires to lunch, dinner or to play golf to see them in social situations. Trial Period. Depending on your state’s employment laws you will have a certain “trial period” in which you can let employees go without any legal hassles. Make sure to check with your HR department and know exactly what those time periods are. Managers Beware! It’s not a club. Make sure you and your team know that. They can be taller, prettier, smarter and have more hair than you. We are hiring sales talent in whatever shape or size it comes in.
The Interview Screening applicants by phone is the first step. It is the most efficient. We will be able to weed out the truly disqualified. We will also avoid our own (human) positive prejudice towards the attractive. Equally efficient, as our second Building-Products.com
step we can screen applicants by Skype or WebEx before the onsite interview.
In-Person Interview The goal of the interview process is to find out the candidate’s true character/nature. Of course they must have the education and experience required for the position, but for beyond that, and more important for your business is their character. We know what kind of person will thrive in our organization. We are looking for the top 20% who will fit in with our culture. People are putting their very best foot forward in the interview process. We need to discover what is behind their “best foot.”
Group Interview It is good to have more than one person interview the applicant at once. Observation is much easier when we are not speaking, so while our teammates ask questions we observe and vice-versa. Decide ahead of time who is going to ask which questions and in which order. This avoids duplication and saves time. If you, as a member of the interviewing group, have decided the candidate is not right for the job, stop asking questions; this saves time.
Finding True Character To get our potential hire to show us their true character we must get them to relax. We must ask them some off-beat or unable-to-preparefor questions to find true nature. Examples: Do you know how to sing? What’s your favorite song? Movie? TV show? Sports team? Who is your favorite singer? Hobbies? Who was your favorite grade school teacher? Why? What would they say about you? Favorite grade/high school/college subject? Why? Your favorite instructor? Why? Did you play sports? Who was your favorite coach? Why? Did you work growing up— where? How long? Detail. Building-Products.com
All above, what about your least favorites? What would your least favorite teacher say about you? What would your best friend, mother, father, brother or sister say is your weakness? Do you read books? Which ones? What’s a lot of money? What are your goals? Ask tough questions about the job available, such as required travel.
Situational Question Another effective way to find true character is to ask the applicant an ambiguous situational question with moral implications. These questions are impossible to prepare for, thus: We see our applicant’s true nature. We see them under pressure. We test their ability to think on their feet. This is an example I use when interviewing sales managers: “Your #1 producer calls you at 3:00 a.m. on Sunday morning. They are drunk, downtown and don’t know exactly where they are. They don’t want their spouse to find out.” What do you do?
Testing There are several companies that make tests we can give applicants. These tests are another tool that will confirm or challenge our personal feelings about the applicant. The two tests my clients use are the Hogan Assessment, which is a sales profile test that compares applicants to your already successful salespeople, and the CORE Abilities test, which tests general intelligence and math acumen.
work through school? Competitive Spirit. Any kind of competitive activity by the applicant shows that they know how to compete. This is essential in sales. Sociability. They don’t have to be the life of the party, but they must be able to communicate with a wide spectrum of people. On the negative side we are looking for: Excuse making. Excuse making of any kind is a deal breaker. These people will not be held accountable. Job-to-job hoppers. People who cannot stay in one place for a long time will not help us grow. Beware the likeable. Some salespeople want to be liked more than they want the business. Don’t be a transition. Make sure we hire people that view our company as a career, not a stepping stone to other things.
Positives of Hiring Right Wrong hires are the most expensive mistake a business can make— time and money are wasted. Momentum is killed. The right hires (A players) produce. The right hire is easier to manage. Talent attracts talent. Hiring right also creates leadership backup plan. Business is challenging. Let’s build a team that can stand up to that challenge by hiring the right people for the job.
Tell Them No We simply say, “John, it was close but we just don’t feel this is going to be a good fit for you.” See how much they want to job and see how they will fight for business when the customer says no.
What Are We Looking For? On the positive side we are looking for: Initiative. What have they done? What have they started? Did they August 2016
James Olsen is the founder of Reality Sales Training, Portland, Or. After 20 years in sales with Nike, North Pacific Lumber, and Forest City Trading, in 2001 James started his own sales training business, devoted tohelping companies and individuals achieve rapids sales growth. Contact him at (503) 544-3572 or james@realitysalestraining.com.
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Sales & Marketing Special Issue
Alex Goldfayn on Revenue Growth
Revenue growth truths Y
ou deserve more revenue. Because you do great work. You help your customers a great deal. They are very happy. That’s why they’ve been coming to you for years, and sometimes decades. Sure, sometimes they’re upset, but that’s life. If you zoom out from the individual problem, your customers are thrilled with you. You save them time. You save them money. Your reliability helps them sleep at night. Your great work allows them to focus on other important tasks. As such, they deserve more of your help. And more people like them— your prospects—deserve to enjoy your value. And you deserve for your sales to grow. So does your family, which supports you. So do your customers, prospects and vendors, all of whom wish to work with a thriving, successful organization as opposed to a struggling, contracting one. Your customers only know about a small fraction of what you can sell them. Customers niche us into being a provider only of what they buy from us. Just because we tell them we do other things does not mean they know we do these other things. How many times has a customer told you, “I didn’t know you did that,” when you’ve already told them about that very thing? Therefore, we must systematically tell people about all of what they can buy from us. It’s impossible to over-communicate. There’s no such thing as telling people too much about the different things they can buy from you. So tell them. Tell them on the phone. Tell them by email. Tell them in person. Tell them by snail mail. Just tell them.
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You’re not lucky when your customer chooses you, or picks up the phone when you call. The customer is lucky to have you. This is how to think. We need confidence and boldness to improve sales quickly. We are not intruding when we call the customer. We are not imposing, or taking their time. We are offering them our great value. They would like to have more of it. They are buying things from your competition right now that they would like to buy from you. Feel strong. Feel confident. And behave boldly. Your customers love you. They’re lucky to have you. Customer testimonials make us bold. You cannot sit down at your desk and decide that you are wonderful, and your customers love you, and that you will now think and behave accordingly. That’s really, really hard to do, maybe impossible. If you are an owner, or a manager, you can’t simply tell your staff that they are amazing and wonderful, and ask them to behave accordingly. The way to do this is to hear how wonderful you are from your good customers. Because they will tell you. If only we’d ask, they would tell us. Ask your customers what they like best about working with you. They will tell you. Then ask them how that helps them. They will tell you. Then ask them if you can use their comments in your materials. They will almost always say yes. Now you have the fuel to make yourself and your colleagues more bold. Want to grow revenue? Communicate more! The more that people hear from us, the more they
August 2016
buy from us. So, let them hear from you. Systematize these communications as you would automate deposits into a savings or investment account. Assign somebody to follow up on all quotes and proposals, three times ideally. Add a did you know question to the signature of every email. Send a good newsletter every two weeks, and pre-write several of them so you have some in the bank. You’re probably on the phone with, or in front of, customers all day long. Don’t end a single conversation before asking for the did-you-know question, or, perhaps, for a referral. Customers want to buy more from us. We need to help them do that.
Alex Goldfayn is author of The Revenue Growth Habit and runs The Revenue Growth Consultancy, which helps companies and sales departments grow revenue quickly and easily by implementing simple communication techniques. Reach him at (847) 459-6322 or alex@evangelistmktg.com.
Building-Products.com
Sales & Marketing Special Issue
Shelly Smith Adams on Marketing Plans
Plan your work— then work your plan Over the years, I have heard my father say, “Plan your work and work your plan.” It is something that has stuck in my mind and I often remind myself of. In a nutshell, what he is saying is to create a strategy and then move forward executing that strategy. It has always been a tried and true rule in my life. Sounds easy, but how often is it executed? You could easily think about your annual marketing plan and budget the same way. Create the budget and “work” to follow the plan. However, is that necessarily the right way to look at a marketing budget? It’s certainly an easy way to look at it, but let’s delve into this a bit further. As a marketer, planning your annual marketing strategy and budget is not always the glamorous part of the job. We tend to think of marketing as advertising, trade shows, social media, and more, which are all actually “tactics” of a larger plan. It is all those things, but creating a true strategy is the very essential part of the process. How can we do all the fun marketing things on our list without the annual budget that supports the strategy? Taking time to plan, strategize, and execute a good marketing budget is essential to continuing on-going success and ensuring stability through difficult times. The most common practice when creating a marketing budget is to look at what was spent last year and base the future year’s budget on that. The problem with this strategy is it seems to happen every year with little change and without regard to what set that dollar amount in the first place. This often leads to marketing plans that sit on a shelf and things continue as “business as usual.” The downfall of this practice is that during good years, opportunities are
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left on the table. During bad years, you just hold on and hope to get through it. How do we change the way we plan our annual marketing budget? The best way I have found in developing a marketing budget is to treat your marketing as an investment—something that delivers a return over time. For example, you make an initial investment in your company’s website. You probably won’t see a return immediately. Over time it will help build your brand and in return generate leads that increase sales. This is no different than a new piece of equipment. The more you can treat your marketing budget like an investment, you’ll begin to build the idea that marketing drives revenue and isn’t simply a cost center. Think about it this way: marketing spending today delivers returns in subsequent months. So much in fact that I would argue that marketing budgets, like capital expenditures, should be amortized over the time of your average sales cycle! Now that you are thinking about your marketing plan as an investment in the future of your business, let’s look at how we go about creating it. To create a good roadmap to guide business ahead, focus on three BIG IDEAS that you would like to accomplish for the year. To come up with these goals, let the following questions help guide you: • What did we do well last year (and what did others do poorly)? • What could we save money on while maintaining what we did well? • What could we improve on (and what did competitors do better than us)? • What is the cost of improving? • What are the expected sales and costs related to any of the above answers? As mentioned, focus on a few main goals and then keep Building-Products.com
your tactics aligned to those goals. I say this because often companies try to do “everything.” It always sounds impressive, but how do you execute a great strategy when you have too many things on your plate, not to mention the risk of spreading your marketing dollars thin! Trying to do too much assures that you will do nothing well! Focus on three big goals, apply careful thought and strategy to those goals, create your budget “investment” around them, and execute! Here’s one big idea, for example: most sales goals are focused on acquiring new customers. However, if you look closely, you will likely see that 20% of your current customers generate 80% of your sales, while only purchasing around 40% of their goods from you. Why not focus on getting your existing customers to source more of their products from you instead of your competitors? You know they pay, you already have a relationship with them, and once they do buy more, the positive effect on your margin will have greater results than a new customer would! Two more ideas might be focused on alignment and measurement. Do you currently know how long it takes to transition a lead to being a new customer? Do you know your cost of acquiring a new lead? Do you know the one-, three-, and five-year value of a new customer in sales and profit? When you launch a new product, have you measured the sales volume you need to generate in order to break even on the investment? Align your sales compensation plan, marketing and advertising plans, website and social media, tradeshow exhibits and other tactics all around these central goals, measure the results and adjust accordingly. To sum things up, you need to know the outcome you want to achieve in order to determine the strategy, tactics and budget that will get you there. Begin by— • Thinking about your marketing plans as investments with measured results • Narrowing your marketing plans down to three “big ideas” that you wish to accomplish • Assessing the costs related to these goals • Creating your budget to support these goals Now all you have to do is to execute the plan and get started on the real fun of marketing—WORKING THE PLAN!
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Shelly Smith Adams has a near-20-year career in consumer marketing campaigns and strategies working with some of the leading publishers in the U.S. Her specialty of unifying go-to-market efforts into an integrated strategy has been used by organizations ranging from startups to multi-national corporations. Contact her at sadams@building-products.com
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Sales & Marketing Special Issue
Dave Kahle on Your Elevator Speech
The incredible power of an elevator speech “Why should someone spend time with you?” That was the question I asked the six salespeople who were the subjects of an intense week-long training session. The response? Blank stares. Some uncomfortable fidgeting. Nothing anywhere close to a coherent, persuasive response. That experience made me realize the need for what I call a “valueadded proposition,” and what many people refer to as an “elevator speech.” It is a well-thought-out, meticulously prepared, and memorized set of ideas that ultimately answer the question above. It should exist in several different versions: 1. There should be a one-page (250 words or so) description of • who you are • what you do • why your customers and prospects should care. 2. That should be reduced to a 30word version that should be memorized by everyone who has contact with the customer. 3. Finally, that should be further reduced to a four-to-eight word version that can accompany every communication, from web site advertising to face-to-face interactions.
Why this is important “Five minutes or it’s free.” That was the banner hanging over the fast food restaurant near my house. I noticed it as I drove past one day. Interesting. In a mini-environment of
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intense competition (there must be a dozen fast-food options within a mile of this road), they chose to focus on one aspect of their offering—speed— and turn it into a “value-added proposition.” In a world of other options for the customer, they chose to take their strength, turn it into a benefit for the customer, and boil that down to say to the customer, “Buy it from us. We’ll guarantee quick service.” It had its desired impact. I noticed the banner, and decided to stop in for breakfast. The waitress took my order, noted the time on the order pad, and handed me a stopwatch! I took up the challenge, clicked it on, and waited to see if they would perform. The order arrived within five minutes. I noticed the waitress look at her watch and note the delivery time on the order pad. Let’s consider what we can learn from this experience. First, the valueadded proposition consolidates some of the strengths of the organization, and turns them into benefits for the
August 2016
customer base. Then, it translates those benefits into a “proposition” that challenges the customer to become involved. It reaches out into the world and says “Consider me. Here’s why.” It serves, then, as a proactive way to interest and attract potential customers. Just as importantly, it helps refine who you are as an organization. You will become who you tell people that you are. For example, I suspect that the restaurant did not have a quantity of stopwatches in their inventory prior to deciding to toss “Five minutes or it’s free” into the world. I suspect that the order forms were modified to accommodate the claim, that the wait staff was trained in the processes to implement it, that some items came off the menu and others were added, and that there were some cooks who don’t work there any more because of their inability to be who the restaurant said they were. Once you say that you provide “outstanding customer service,” or “the highest quality products” for example, you have to back that up. You must become who you say you are, and actually do what you claim you do. The value-added proposition, then, brings with it tremendous power to focus your image to your customer base and, at the same time, organize your internal operations to deliver what you say you will. From the point of view of the sales force, the value-added proposition gives them a focal point—a place to hang their claim for uniqueness. But it also gives them a wedge into the Building-Products.com
doors of the prospect, and an appropriate topic of conversation with every contact. That’s why the 30-word version should be memorized and practiced until it can be delivered accurately, fluently and persuasively.
How to do it The creation of a value-added proposition can be much more significant than it may look at first glance. Once you understand the power of this set of words to attract customers, equip salespeople, and shape operations, you will realize that this can be a “bet the business on this” strategic initiative. Get it wrong, and your organization’s very survival may be in jeopardy. Get it right, and it can provide fuel for your growth for the foreseeable future. So, it ought to be treated as a major strategic initiative in your organization, and given the allotment of
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resources that accompany such efforts. Gather your best people for a brainstorming session. Capture the output, and bring it to a more analytical group to refine. Put it in the hands of your best communicators to create the three versions mentioned above. Then, test it before you commit to it. Put it in the hands of some salespeople and gather their comments. Float it by some of your customers whose honest opinion you expect. Run it through the search engine optimization folks. Refine it until you are ready to live with it. Then, publish the short version in every conceivable place. On business cards, letterhead, voice mail messages, websites, email signatures, etc. Bring the salespeople in, require they memorize the 30-word version, and train them in persuasively presenting it. Lots of role-play and practice here. Do the same with anyone who has regular customer contact.
Finally, publish the one-page version. Make it into a hard copy leavebehind for the sales force. Publish it on your website. Hand it to every vendor. Distribute it to everyone who has an interest. Then, watch as it begins to flow into every aspect of your business, stimulating and shaping your growth.
August 2016
Dave Kahle is one of the world’s leading sales authorities—a trainer, speaker and author of a free weekly Ezine and 12 books, including How to Sell Anything to Anyone Anytime. Contact him at dave@davekahle.com
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Sales & Marketing Special Issue
Lori Sallee on Print Advertising
Reach better buyers with trade advertising D
espite the popularity of the Internet and social media, print is still the dominant and most trusted form of marketing. Today, most buyers are 60-90% through the sales cycle by the time they contact you. It’s a safe bet that they’ve already been exposed to your company online, in social media, in person, and at conferences/trade shows. Why not give buyers a consistent experience wherever they are? Connect your trade advertising to touch points online, in social media, on the phone and face to face. Marketing consistency begins with content strategy, goals and metrics.
Content Strategy Identify your audience and what matters to them. Use the following questions to build a strategy. 1. WHO is your ad for? Everyone is not your buyer—but someone is. Use buyer personas to define who they are and more importantly, who they aren’t. PRO TIP – One size doesn’t fit all. 2. WHAT’S in it for THEM? All buyers want to know one thing: What’s in it for me? (Or, “How will this help MY business?”) Before produc-
tion begins, take time to identify buyer pain points and gain points. Addressing buyer’s concerns before talking about your company, products or solutions, demonstrates you know what matters to them. 3. WHY should they buy this? Map buyers’ problems (pain points) to your products/services (gain points). Make it easy to see how you solve buyer’s problems quickly, and effortlessly. PRO TIP – Bulleted lists of features and benefits have limited persuasive value. 4. WHY should they buy this from YOU? What is the exclusive value you provide for the buyer, that competitor’s can’t claim? The thing buyers can’t get anywhere else? This is your differentiator, or unique selling proposition. Audit your competitors and ensure your message is unique. Beware of common industry claims: years in business, year company was started, family-owned, quality, customer service, solutions, awards, lean manufacturing, “the best,” etc. Remember, your differentiator is something no one else can own—only you.
Goals Identify the purpose of your trade advertisement Use the following questions to clarify goals. 1. WHO is this for? Is it for a product launch? Is it for engaging a new audience segment? Is it for boosting sales in an existing audience segment? Specific content reaches better buyers faster than generalized content, and helps you stand out from the noise. 2. Where will buyers go? Create a sales path for buyers beginning with the trade advertisement. Map content to each step in buying cycle: STEP Awareness Interest Consideration Intent Evaluation Purchase Loyalty
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CONTENT Ad Content Ad Contact Info Ad Landing Page/Social Media Ad Landing Page Downloads Ad Landing Page CALL TO ACTION Follow Up Email Newsletters/Social Media Building-Products.com
3. WHAT will buyers do? A clear call to action (CTA) guides buyers through the sales path you’ve created for them. Foster immediacy by connecting your CTA with the buyer’s most intense pain points. Passive or vague CTA’s are confusing, demotivating and easy for buyers to ignore.
Metrics Identify measurements for your trade advertisement Connecting trade advertising to other touch points makes ROI easier to measure and more accurate. Trade Ad —> Phone: This seems obvious, but there are still ads that fail to list a contact
The Elements of Trade Advertisements by Felt Design Group
To reach better buyers with your marketing dollars, activate as many elements as possible
phone number. Track trade ad ROI with a dedicated phone number. Success Indicators: Calls, prospects and conversions Trade Ad —> Web: Instead of simply listing your website home page (yourcompany.com) and never knowing how many visitors came from the trade advertisement, create a landing page and be certain. Success Indicators: Visitors, time on page, click-through rate, newsletter sign-up, etc. Trade Ad —> Social: List your social networks as well as your username—especially if it isn’t your exact company name. Success Indicators: Likes, follows, retweets, reposts, pins, etc. Trade Ad —> Email: Why not use your corporate communications to support trade advertising? Connect verbiage and a dedicated link to your ad in your HTML email signatures. Success Indicators: all of the above Trade Ad —> Conference/Show Utilize pre-show advertising to drive engagement and booth attendance at the show. The busiest booths engage show attendees long before the show begins. “Visit us at booth #___” a few times before the show, isn’t enough to make your exhibit a must-see. Give attendees a real reason to visit your booth first. Reach better buyers by connecting your trade advertising to other touch points using strategy, goals and metrics. Get the most from your marketing dollars.
Lori Sallee is “Idea Wrangler” for FELT Design Group, Costa Mesa, Ca., a brand building agency for building product companies. Reach her at (877) 7641771 or hello@felteverywhere.com.
Building-Products.com
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Sales & Marketing Special Issue
Linda Taylor on Online Marketing
Establish a winning presence on the web W
e’re in a generation where technology is improving quickly. Business deals are made and proposed via email—or even by text. It’s easy to say we can lose our personable skills when we are buried in our phones or computers, but who’s to say we can’t use these resources to enhance those skills and make business greater?
Get Social Networking is huge in this industry. Getting to know someone on a personal level is something that’s almost necessary to make yourself stand out. While passing on a business card after speaking with a potential client is a great idea, another great business tool is having a presence on social media. If you’ve had a great connection with
someone at a golf tournament or tradeshow, keep the relationship going by connecting on social media. Even if they don’t use social media, it’s still a great way to quickly show photos and have a visual aid while you’re promoting your services. Sites like Facebook and Instagram are great tools to share special event photos and business updates with clients one-on-one. “Oh! You haven’t heard about our new update? Let me pull up our profile and show you what we’ve been up to!” Facebook is also a great way to get feedback from your customers, promote special deals, and talk more in depth about your company. Another great way to connect with someone on a more personal level is through LinkedIn, as it is very common amongst business professionals.
Invest Time in Blogging Whatever you specialize in, be the expert. Be the one who people go to first. One way to do that is to build up blog content and provide information not solely about your company’s strengths, but perhaps something that your customers can take away from, something they can relate to. The best thing to do on your blog marketingwise is to provide expert opinion on what you specialize in. Consider sending out a survey to your customers and find out their most frequently asked questions.
tomers in and keep them coming back. Keep menus and tabs in order so when people come to visit they can easily find products, contact information and business news. If there’s too much clutter to your site, it could be hard to fully upload, hindering your customer’s experience.
Start Spreading the News Want to stand out more? Consider putting together a monthly or bi-weekly e-newsletter to send out to your customers. Let them know you’re there for them, without bombarding them with emails everyday. Send out a newsletter with some useful information combined with company updates and awesome visuals, and they’ll want to pass it along to their colleagues. It’s important to take note that while newsletters are very useful, too much of anything is never a good idea. The last thing you want is your potential client banishing you to the junk folder. Quality over quantity is key. Send them a newsletter that will captivate them until they get the next one. While the Internet is moving at a rapid pace, it will never take the place of the personal interactions our industry holds so dear. Instead, use it correctly, to enhance those relationships.
Website Savvy Having a website that’s easy to follow and navigate is a necessity. If you spend time and money promoting your website, it’s important that visitors who view your site are able to navigate it well. A clean website with attractive visuals can draw your cus-
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Linda Taylor is social media and marketing exec at Sharp Communications, New York, N.Y. Reach her at linda@scom.com.
Building-Products.com
WHAT’S IN A NAME? A PROMISE. Since 1855 “My family has been in the lumber business for four generations and we’ve been committed to sustainable forest management since 1940. I’ve been a lumber grader, a forester, a management trainee and a project specialist. As a land-based company, we’re committed to the places where we operate. By nurturing the forests and communities that provide our natural and human resources, we intend to serve our customers for generations to come.” Terry Collins, Forester, Collins Almanor Forest
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Sales & Marketing Special Issue
Steve Kleber on Blogging
Give your building material blog a world-class upgrade W
hen it comes to establishing a building products blog that works for your brand, strategy is everything. If you’re ready to create a blog that does some seriously heavy lifting, we’re ready to show you the elements you need in place to give your efforts the competitive edge.
What your building materials blog is — and what it isn’t Let’s start with what it isn’t. Your blog is not simply a content repository. It’s not a placeholder for unfocused, unintelligent and—dare we say it—outright boring information. Too many companies put entirely too much work into their blogs only to find that they get very little ROI from their efforts. Without a concrete strategy, logical progression, and identifiable call-to-action, they are essentially producing content that offers no chance for response. But, that’s not your blog. Yours will be backed by a solid content strategy. It will feature a diverse mix of rich information, presented in a variety of readable, watchable and listenable mediums. Your content will be likeable, shareable, quotable, tweetable and—most importantly— actionable. Your prospects will find value in everything you publish and will keep coming back because you will use your content to position your company as a thoughtleader in your industry.
8 steps to your new content strategy
Step 1: Six questions to define your blogging objectives What do you want to achieve with your blog? Ask yourself these questions to help define that objective: • Are you driving foot traffic to your business? • Are you increasing sales or generating leads? • Are you attracting prospects locally, nationally or globally? • Are you educating prospects about what you do or products you sell? • Are you updating prospects on your latest happenings? • Are you building your brand? Each piece of content can have two or three objectives, but any more than one could lose focus. Step 2: Use research to know who your prospects are. Knowing who your readers are makes all of the difference. Their motivations, fears, wants and needs will help you create stirring content that drives them to take action. Talk with actual people in your prospect zone. Consider the social value groups of your prospects. Study the competition. Browse user forums and Q&A sites. Read outside blogs and comment on them. Review the latest products in your industry. Attend conferences and conventions. Step 3: Use Facebook Insights to understand prospects Everyone is using Facebook, and you can use it to focus your content creation. Facebook Insights is located in your Admin menu and is a powerful tool to track user interaction on your company page. Here you can discover post virility, likes, reach, “talking about,” and check-ins. And, the best part is that you can download this critical data to an Excel spreadsheet for manipulation and review. Step 4: Establish a content calendar to guide progress Creating a content calendar empowers you to establish a vision of your strategic content going forward. It avoids piecemeal blogging and ensure that you hit important milestones without repeating content. Here’s what to include in your editorial calendar: Date of publication, channel of publication (social media, blog, etc.), content focus, target audience, target event, special holiday or season, hot trends in your industry, who is creating, steps needed, and ad budget Expect your content calendar to change every month or
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year. That’s how you know you’re focusing on the exciting trends in the building materials industry.
blog posts, blog post series, video posts, infographics, product reviews, trend updates, and your company in the news.
Step 5: Ask yourself questions We’re talking about delivering technical, detailed information that motivates prospects to action. If it’s not shareable, clickable, linkable, likeable or action-oriented, then it’s not worth doing. Ask yourself these questions: • Is this piece of content original and interesting? • Does it provide practical advice or relevant research? • Is the information insightful beyond the obvious? • Would you take action from this piece? • Is your article free of obvious ads or promotions? • Would a reputable magazine print your article? • Is your article the right length for it’s topic focus?
Step 8: Continually audit your content You should be reviewing the results of your posts to gauge effectiveness and reach. Repeat what’s working, delete what isn’t. This is another area where Excel spreadsheets can work wonders. Include columns for shares, likes, re-posts, retweets and comments. These are areas where content popularity can be closely examined and graded.
Content is a living, breathing part of marketing Your building products blog is a not a “set it and forget it” machine. It requires daily attention and assessment to return the type of ROI required to make it profitable.
Step 6: Include meaningful, high-definition images Images are the number one type of shared online media. They provide context, aesthetic value, and balance to wordheavy posts. This is when you want to get your graphics department involved in your content creation strategy. Don’t have a graphic department? Outsource the job to an experienced company. Images should be high-definition and formatted to fit the medium you’re using. Step 7: Consistency drives traffic, encourages re-visits The proof is in the numbers. Bloggers who publish daily get several times more traffic than those who blog weekly or monthly. Prospects trust building materials companies that have something to say every single day. Consider the following types of blog content: single
Building-Products.com
Steve Kleber is president and founder of building materials marketing firm Kleber & Associates, Atlanta, Ga. Clients include Feeney, GeorgiaPacific Gypsum, and Walpole Outdoors. He is president of the National Remodeling Foundation. Contact him at skleber@kleberandassociates.com.
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Sales & Marketing Special Issue
Bob Phibbs on Motivation Beyond Commission
3 ways to motivate your employees to sell Motivating employees. It’s always tough in any business. Your goal is to be the go-to name in your field or industry, but you know you haven’t got a snowball’s chance in hell of seeing that level of success unless you can truly engage your customers and clients and keep them interested in your products and services. And the only way to do that is to get your employees to engage those customers, to get them to commit to creating an exceptional experience for visitors so they do business with you, instead of buying from a competitor. The big question is: How to get your employees to focus on the customer? Employee motivation is an elusive creature. Motivating employees is perhaps the hardest thing any manager ever has to work toward. You worry that you’re not connecting, that your words don’t resonate deeply with your employees, and you struggle to figure out a magic formula. And that’s good… That’s because employees don’t come hard-wired to perform well in a vacuum. Unless you can find a way to connect powerfully with your crew, your sales are doomed to failure. It may appear easier to just pay them more. But many times, no matter how much you pay them, after a period of time, their self-motivation wanes. That’s because when you employ people, you are also taking on all of their innate hardships and challenges; the things they deal with at home, along with the things that keep
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them up at night. You are taking on the whole person, for all of the good and the bad that brings. Their natural tendency is to do less and less unless someone encourages them to do more. When it’s time to open the business and welcome your customers each day, it becomes your daily challenge to help your employees put their best face forward, focus on serving the customer, and keep their eyes on the goal of closing as many sales as possible. For some companies, this challenge is settled by simple performance metrics: dollars. You close X number of sales, you get more money in your paycheck. And in many high-end sales environments, a commission or performance bonus-incentive sales metric makes sense. But if you find yourself in a position where commission-based sales don’t work for your company, you still have to find new ways to motivate your employees. Here are three ideas to help motivate your sales associates that don’t
August 2016
involve paying them based on the number of units they move.
1. Give Them Luxury For your best performing associates, it is great to give them a little bit of something special. Maybe it’s a box of especially good chocolates at the end of a hard week. Maybe it’s a bottle of Scandinavian water they weren’t expecting. Maybe it’s a 30-minute massage. Maybe it’s just a handwritten thank you note from you, the boss, who they look up to, mailed to their house. Ultimately, it doesn’t really matter what the luxury is. It only matters that you took the time to think of them and thank them for their amazing work in an impromptu fashion. People want to feel important. If you have good people on your team, make them feel important, and they are more likely to stay on your team. To put a finer point on it, the more important or special that you make them feel, the more likely they will make your customers feel important. A caveat: don’t publish your criteria Building-Products.com
or you will have to do it each and every time much like a contest which defeats the purpose.
Office space—literally—can feel very much the same. It is home. When you designate physical space to an employee, you are telling that person that they have a place here. A permanent place. They matter. This is not a small thing. For your best associates, carve out a place in the back to set their photos of their kids and their dogs, a place for them to pin ridiculous things they might print out from Facebook— whatever. The ultimate goal is to let employees feel at home when they are at work. This only works if you hire people who themselves have some internal motivation. You can’t motivate a rock to move—no matter what you try. If you feel stuck with certain unmotivated employees, don’t give up on motivation but do get rid of the rock-like employees. When you have done the hard job of whittling down your applicants, onboarding them to your culture, and
2. Give Them Time Time is our most precious resource, and there is no sweeter way to reward one of your sales team than to give them a few hours of their time back. So for your top performer this month, give them a half or full extra day off—with pay. Do it without any fanfare. Just let this person stay home, sleep late, take care of their kids, or go to a movie while you cover their shift. Don’t make a big deal about it. It’s not a contest; it’s a gift that you are giving them. And when they come back, they will be refreshed.
3. Give Them Space If you’ve seen the movie Office Space, then you understand the importance of a red stapler. It represents something that is yours. Even if it’s only a stapler, you have earned it.
Wholesale Industrial Lumber
REEL
LUMBER SERVICE
1321 N. Kraemer Blvd. (Box 879), Anaheim, Ca. 92806 Fax 714-630-3190 (714) 632-1988 • (800) 675-REEL 3518 Chicago Ave., Riverside, Ca. 92507
(951) 781-0564
www.reellumber.com Building-Products.com
giving them sales training, your number one job is to see what helps them stay motivated and change it up often. That way it keeps everyone wondering what they will get for hitting a goal, doing a good job or extending themselves for your customers’ benefit. And that’s great motivation for everyone, not just your sales team.
Bob Phibbs is the CEO of The Retail Doctor, a New York consultancy. As a speaker, sales consultant and author of The Retail Doctor’s Guide to Growing Your Business, he has helped thousands of businesses since 1994. Contact him via www.RetailDoc.com.
A
t Reel Lumber Service, we supply domestic and foreign hardwoods. Our products and services include: • Hardwood Lumber & Pine • Hardwood Plywood & Veneers • Melamine Plywood • Hardwood Moulding (alder, cherry, mahogany, MDF, maple, red oak, paint grade, pecan hickory, white oak, walnut, beech) • Milling (moulding profiles, S2S, SLR1E, SLR2E, & resawn lumber) • Woodworking Accessories (appliques, ornaments, butcher blocks, corbels, etc.) • Woodworking Supplies (deft finishes, color putty, adhesives, etc.)
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ur products are widely used in interior finish carpentry, furniture, cabinetry and hundreds of industrial and manufacturing applications. We stock a complete line of complementary products to complete virtually any woodworking or millwork project.
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MOVERS & Shakers Jay Gittins is a new account mgr. and Jody Wolfe a new product specialist with Capital, Woodburn, Or. Both were most recently with International Wood Products. Matthew Dornan is a new account mgr. in Tacoma, Wa. Jonathan Cohen, ex-Builders FirstSource/ProBuild, has joined Weyerhaeuser as area general mgr. for Colorado. Dominick Cosolo is new to sales at Parr Lumber Co., Chino, Ca. David Stallcop has left Vanport International, Boring, Or., after nearly 20 years to join Universal Forest Products as international development specialist. Brad Reed Nelson has joined the sales team at Compotite Corp., Los Angeles, Ca., serving Colorado, Wyoming and Montana from Carbondale, Co. Chuck Wert has left Swanson Group, Glendale, Or., after 18 years to join USNR, Woodland, Wa., as senior vice president, responsible for aftermarket customer support.
Patrick Cardoza has returned to manage Collins Builders Supply, Chester, Ca. Charles Vian has been promoted to planer operations mgr. at Weyerhaeuser, Longview, Wa. Cory Johnson has joined TAMKO as contractor sales specialist for northern New Mexico and west Texas. Pat McEuen, controller, has retired after 37 years and Tracey Moore, VP of human resources, after 32
years with Sierra Pacific Industries, Redding, Ca. Carter Childers retired after 15 years as regional mgr. for Sierra Pacific Windows, Salt Lake City, Ut. Jim Becker has been appointed president and chief operations officer for Guardian Building Products, Greenville, S.C., succeeding Tom Highly, who has resigned. Tona Brix has joined the building supply division at Mungus-Fungus Forest Products, Climax, Nv., report co-owners Hugh Mungus and Freddy Fungus.
ASSOCIATION Update Mountain States Lumber & Building Material Dealers Association changed the location for its Sept. 1 Western Slope golf tournament to Adobe Creek National, Fruita, Co. The tourney is limited to 120 players, and will have a shotgun start, fourman scramble format. Black Bart Hoo Hoo Club is holding a clay shoot Aug. 12 and golf tournament Oct. 14, both in Ukiah, Ca.
Moulding & Millwork Producers Association will visit Bright Wood, Warm Springs Composite Products, Keith Manufacturing, and OSUCorvallis’ wood sciences & engineering departments during its fall Oregon plant tour Sept. 11-14. Portland Wholesale Lumber Association will lead its 2016 Logs to Lumber Tour Sept. 15 at Hull-Oakes Lumber Co., Monroe, Or.
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— Centrally located between I-5 & 99 in Stockton, CA — Call John at (209)
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Light Transformation Spray Foam for the Unvented Demilec’s Sealection 500 open-cell spray foam insulation is now approved through thirdparty testing for use in unvented attics without an ignition barrier, eliminating the need for contractors to add a secondary ignition barrier in those applications. When installing spray foam insulation in an unvented attic, a contractor need only follow the requirements of Intertek CCRR 1063, certifying the testing for issued for Sealection 500.
The easy-to-install, sleek, and energy-efficient Guidelight by SnapPower is designed to provide safety at night by transforming an outlet cover plate into a convenient night light. Requiring no wires or batteries, the frame quickly snaps onto the oulet and provides strong illumination while still leaving all outlets free for use. A built-in sensor turns the light on and off based on current light conditions.
n SNAPPOWER.COM (385) 225-9837
n DEMILEC.COM (888) 224-1533
Carry On Tapco Group’s Grayne engineered shake and shingle siding mimics natural cedar with deep graining, depth, and shadows. Available in six natureinspired colors, its composite makeup is designed to be durable and weather-resistant, and reportedly won’t absorb moisture.
The Milwaukee Tool Jobsite Tech Bag is designed for professionals who need a secure place to store and transport their tools and their technology while on the jobsite. Made of 1680D ballistic material with heavy-duty zippers for maximum durability, the bag has a hard molded base for up to five times the durability.
n THETAPCOGROUP.COM
n MILWAUKEETOOL.COM
Shingles with Style
(800) 521-7567
Building-Products.com
(800) 729-3878
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Shear Power Kett Tool’s new handheld Fiber-Cement Shears quickly cut fiber cement board, siding, or backerboard up to 1/2-inch thick using a center blade to eliminate the airborne dust typically produced with circular saws. The shears feature a powerful 5-amp pistol grip, 2500 RPM variable-speed electric motor to cut through fiber cement at speeds of up to 43 inches per minute. The lightweight, 4.5-lb. tool has a cutting radius of 10 inches for high maneuverability
The Winbag hand-operated inflatable air cushion has been improved and re-rated to lift 300 lbs., an improvement from its original 250-lb. max. The bag can be used to replace shims. The user has infinite adjusting possibilities when installing windows or positioning doors, cabinets or appliances. It is also used as an effective door stopper.
n KETT-TOOL.COM
n WINBAGUSA.COM
(513) 271-0333
Inflatable Helper Holds More
(941) 404-6064
Efficient Anchors Simpson Strong-Tie’s redesigned Drop-In Anchors provide easier installation into base materials. The displacement-controlled expansion anchors are set by driving the plug toward the bottom of the anchor with hand- or power-setting tools. They feature a positive-set marking indicator at the top, making it easier to see when proper installation has taken place.
n STRONGTIE.COM (800) 999-5099
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Inland lumber producers revel in Coeur d’Alene Guests of Inland Lumber Producers made their way to Coeur d’Alene, Id., July 13-15 for some quality time with family and fellow industry comrades. Members and their families enjoyed a relaxing boat ride as they spent time catching up with some of their closest friends and colleagues. Since it wouldn’t be a lumber event without some golf, ILP made sure to host a golf tournament which allowed for casual networking, and concluded with an awards ceremony dinner. Something quite unique about the event is that guests were able to get to know the families of their dear friends in the industry, something they look forward to every year.
INLAND LUMBER guests: [1] Jenna & Aaron Linerud. [2] Jennifer & David Bruce, Jacob Sutherlun. [3] Dusty & Penny Hammack, Pete Henningfeld, Susan Herms. [4] John & Catherine Eshleman. [5] Jenlian Chadwick. [6] Greg Kruse, Cat Duemler. [7] Ed Langley, Larry Schmedding. [8] Wade & Monica Wheeler. [9] Michele & Mark Mitchell. Building-Products.com
[10] Susan & Mark Herms. [11] Linda & Russ Hobbs, Carter Stinton. [12] Cheryll Jones. [13] Cheree & Matt Frank. [14] Ken Koenig. [15] Ann Sutter, Mandy Owens, Howie Halcomb, Trace Sutter, Breanna Kimball. [16] Dave Andrea, Todd Gallant. [17] Marjie & Gunnar Brink. (More photos on next three pages) August 2016
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INLAND PRODUCERS Photos by The Merchant
INLAND LUMBER PRODUCERS (continued from previous page): [18] Scott Anderson, Dave Cochenour, Ahren Spilker, Erol Deren. [19] Donna & Terry Johnson, James Johnson. [20] James Mortimer. [21] Mike Hull, Teresa & Paul Cheatham. [22] Sheila & Mark Carter. [23] Jennifer Swelko, Matt Kelly. [24] Jennifer & David Bruce. [25] Mike & Brenda Gannon, Phil Bradeen. [26] Steve Linton, James Lambert. [27] Derek
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Dryden. [28] Alan Kemming. [29] Paul Waldon, Barbara Hart. [30] William Mordell, Mike Mordell, Dan Graver. [31] Ethan Herrera, Mike Herrera. [32] Marni & Cary Dovenberg, Amanda Durfee. [33] Rich & Jill Mills. [34] Paul Owen, Jennifer & Mike Henley. [35] Garth Williams, Harriss Gant, Al Delbridge. (More photos on next two pages) Building-Products.com
INLAND (continued from previous two pages): [36] Mary Jo Nyblad, Noah Devorshak. [37] Marissa Duncan, Coleman Menke. [38] Chad Burland, Lauren Cuvala. [39] Lance Hubener, Rod Larios. [40] Joseph & Tasha Bettice, Sue & Jim Shelton. [41] Peter & Shelley Stoyanov, Bart Bartholomew, Jim Vandegrift. [42] Ryan & Kelsey Kline. [43] Reid & Elaine Schooler. [44] Taylor Bradish, Matt Bethke. [45] Tony Jones, Building-Products.com
Wade Wheeler. [46] Jake Kimball, James Lambert, Lisa Kimery, Sheri Northrup. [47] Jack Donovan, Scott Hall. [48] Jim Peterson, Terry Barker. [49] John Branstetter, Mike & Barb Voelker. [50] Cass Mummey, Levi Wilson, Jean Wilson, Steve Wilson. [51] Susie & John Malloy. (More photos on next page)
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INLAND PRODUCERS Photos by The Merchant
INLAND (continued): [52] Mike & Bethany Herms, Brad & Karin Schneider. [53] Eric Grandeen, Greg Martin. [54] Frank Peaslee, Dennis Badesheim. [55] Gina Pearcy, Sammy Saunders. [56] Steve Roberts, Chuck Casey. [57] Pat & Cherise Collins. [58] Ron Liebelt. [59] Katie Bradish, Ken Diulio. [60] Tim Atkinson, Brett Mildenberger. [61] Pam & Aaron
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Babcock. [62] Mick Vaagen, Marc & Hanna Smith. [63] Amy & Jon Montague. [64] Fritz & Erin Klosterman. [65] Todd & Amy Pollard. [66] Lisa & Dennis Houghton. [67] Bob Lackey, Michelle Thorp, Rick Palmiter. [68] Darcy & Denny Huston. [69] Tracy & Justin Badraun. [70] Scott Sunday, Stephanie Strasser. [71] Ron Cluster, Dan Griffiths, Michael Boeck. [72] Patrick Adams, Olivia Adams, Shelly Smith Adams. [73] Blakely Dodds, Kevin Dodds, Davis Dodds, Carly Dodds. [74] Matt & Branda Dierdorff. [75] The Grant Phillips, Reid Schooler. Building-Products.com
CLASSIFIED Marketplace
IN Memoriam
Rates: $1.20 per word (25 word min.). Phone number counts as 1 word, address as 6. Centered copy/headline, $9 per line. Border, $9. Private box, $15. Column inch rate: $55 if art furnished “camera-ready” (advertiser sets type), $65 if we set type. Questions? Call (714) 486-2735.
HELP WANTED LUMBER TRADER Seaboard International Forest Products, LLC is a premier commodity trading firm specializing in lumber and structural panels, and is a division of Forest City Trading Group in Portland, Oregon—the leading wholesaler of forest products in North America. According to Business NH Magazine, SIFP has been one of the Top 10 (by sales dollars) privately owned companies in NH for three years running. We are seeking to fill the position of Lumber Trader. The successful candidate will transition into a trading role and will be responsible for buying and selling commodity lumber on our trading floor. We are looking for a person who can recognize a unique opportunity, and seize it. Candidates should have experience in lumber and sales, integrity, a quick mind, the ability to communicate, a willingness to work hard, and be goal-oriented. To apply, submit your resume to jeff.kern@fctg.com.
John Ambrose Wall, 90, chairman of Power Townsend Co., Helena, Mt., died June 18 of cancer. After serving in the U.S. Navy during World War II, he joined his father’s company, Power Townsend, in 1947. He purchased the firm in 1966, leading its growth until he retired in 1990—although he remained board chairman until his passing. Tom Sliter, 69, owner of Sliters Ace Lumber & Building Supply, Somers, Mt., died July 2. He grew up in the family business, but after college left to become a systems engineer for IBM. At his father’s request, he joined the company in 1979 and took over management in 1986 following the passing of his father and his oldest brother, Joe. He continued to grow Sliters, adding locations in Lakeside and Bigfork, Mt. He served for many years on Western Building Material Association’s board of directors and executive committe and in 2014 received its Distinguished Dealer of the Year Award.
ADVERTISERS Index AGS Stainless Steel [www.agsstainless.com]
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Allweather Wood [www.allweatherwood.com]
Cover II, 50
Robert A. “Bob” Prouty, 80, a 60-year veteran of the western lumber industry, died July 14. He followed his father into the lumber business, at 16 working on a logging crew in Northern California. In 1955 he went to work in sales at Tarter Webster & Johnson, Fresno, Ca., moving to Arizona Box Co., Phoenix, Az.; Frontier Wholesale, Las Vegas, Nv.; back to TW&J to open and manage three yards in Texas; as sales manager for Lee R. Slaughter, Dallas, Tx.; Mid-Sierra Lumber, Sacramento, Ca.; and Big Bear Timber in Southern California. In 1976, he started North Sierra Forest Product with Steve Morgan, staying on until 1978, when he joined Jack’s Box & Crate, Auburn, Ca. In 1981, he launched Wood Fiber Product and in 2008, Northstar International, Sacramento, retiring in 2011. He served in the U.S. Army. Michael Waverly, 73, retired West Coast sales manager, died June 15. His career included LouisianaPacific, Montana de Fibre, International Paper, and Nevamar Corp.
Manke Lumber Co. [www.mankelumber.com]
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Maze Nails [www.mazenails.com]
49
Norman Distribution Inc. [www.normandist.com]
13
Boise Cascade [www.bcewp.com]
48
North American Wholesale Lumber Assn. [www.nawla.org]
55
Boral [www.boraltruexterior.com]
15
Novik Sales Group [www.novik.com]
45
C&E Lumber Co. [www.lodgepolepine.com]
42
Pelican Bay Forest Products [www.pelicanbayfp.com]
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CMPC USA [www.selex.cl]
8
Pennsylvania & Indiana Lumbermens [www.plmilm.com]
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Collins Products [www.collinswood.com]
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Plummer Forest Products [plummerforestproducts.com] Cover IV
Disdero Lumber Co. [www.disdero.com]
22
Redwood Empire [www.redwoodemp.com]
Fasco America [www.fascoamerica.com]
29
Reel Lumber Service [www.reellumber.com]
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Reliable Wholesale Lumber Inc. [www.rwli.com]
39
Fontana Wholesale Lumber [fontanawholesalelumber.com] 17
Roseburg Forest Products [www.roseburg.com]
43
Huff Lumber Co. [www.hufflumber.net]
Simpson Strong-Tie [www.strongtie.com]
27
Swanson Group Sales Co. [www.swansongroup.biz]
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TruWood-Collins [www.truwoodsiding.com]
5
Fiberon [www.fiberondecking.com]
18
Humboldt Redwood [www.getredwood.com]
Cover II, 50
Huttig Building Products [www.huttig.com]
30-31
Cover I
J&L Heat Treating Service
42
Universal Forest Products [www.ufpedge.com]
7
Jones Wholesale Lumber [www.joneswholesale.com]
33
Versatex [www.versatex.com]
19
Keller Lumber [www.kellerlumbercompany.com]
48
Weyerhaeuser [www.weyerhaeuser.com/woodproducts]
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DATE Book Listings are often submitted months in advance. Always verify dates and locations with sponsor before making plans to attend. Western Hardwood Association – Aug. 9-12, annual convention, World Forestry Center, Portland, Or.; www.westernhardwood.com. Black Bart Hoo-Hoo Club – Aug. 12, clay shoot, Ukiah Rifle & Pistol Club, Ukiah, Ca.; www.blackbarthoohoo181.org. Building Industry Association – Hawaii – Aug. 12-14, Remodel It Right Expo, Neal S. Blaisdell Center, Honolulu, Hi.; www.biahawaii.org.
WHAT YOU WANT. WHEN YOU NEED IT. Dimension Lumber Treated Products Domestic
Timbers Green & K.D. Export
Tacoma-Olympia Hoo-Hoo Club – Aug. 14, annual Mel Smeder Memorial Golf Tournament, Tacoma, Wa.; tbilski614@aol.com; (253) 531-1834. National Association of Women in Construction – Aug. 17-20, annual convention, Grand Hyatt Riverwalk, San Antonio, Tx.; (817) 877-5551; www.nawic.org. Ace Hardware Corp. – Aug. 18-20, fall market, Chicago, Il.; (630) 990-7662; www.acehardware.com. Sacramento Hoo-Hoo Club – Aug. 19, Silver Dollar Golf Tournament, Alta Sierra Country Club, Grass Valley, Ca.; (916) 971-2372; jeff.squires@paccoast.com. Tacoma-Olympia Hoo-Hoo Club – Aug. 19, board meeting, Tacoma, Wa.; (253) 531-1834; tbilski614@aol.com World Conference of Timber & Engineering – Aug. 22-25, Vienna, Austria; wcte2016@tuwien.ac.at. International Woodworking Fair – Aug. 24-27, Georgia World Congress Center, Atlanta, Ga.; www.iwfatlanta.com. Orgill – Aug. 25-27, fall dealer market, Las Vegas, Nv.; (877) 6633186; www.showtechnology.com. Mountain States Lumber & Building Material Dealers Association – Sept. 1, Western Slope golf tournament, Adobe Creek National Golf Course, Fruita, Co.; (303) 793-0859; www.mslbmda.org. Los Angeles Hardwood Lumberman’s Club – Sept. 9, Alan Bohnhoff Memorial Golf Tournament, Black Gold Golf Course, Yorba Linda, Ca.; www.lahlc.net. Hoo-Hoo International – Sept. 9-13, annual convention, Pullman Cairns International, Queensland, Australia; www.hoo-hoo.org. San Diego Home Show – Sept. 11-13, Del Mar Fairgrounds, San Diego, Ca.; (888) 433-3976; www.acshomeshow.com. Moulding & Millwork Producers Association – Sept. 11-14, fall plant tours and education program, Madras to Corvallis, Or.; www.wmmpa.com. Pacific Northwest Association of Rail Shippers – Sept. 13-14, fall seminar, Cedarbrook Lodge, SeaTac, Wa.; (503) 656-4282; www.pnrailshippers.com. Portland Wholesale Lumber Assn. – Sept. 15, Logs to Lumber Tour, Hull-Oakes Lumber Co., Monroe, Or.; info@portlandwholesalelumberassociation.org. Sierra Pacific Industries – Sept. 15, 37th annual open house & golf tournament, Riverview Country Club, Redding, Ca., and SPI, Anderson, Ca.; www.spi-ind.com. Mount Storm Forest Products – Sept. 15-16, customer appreciation event, Windsor, Ca.; rick@mountstorm.com. True Value Co. – Sept. 16-18, fall reunion, Denver, Tx.; (773) 6955000; www.truevaluecompany.com. Forest Economic Advisors – Sept. 20, 6th annual forest products forum, World Forestry Center, Portland, Or.; www.getfea.com. Tacoma-Olympia Hoo-Hoo Club – Sept. 23, meeting, La Quinta Inn, Tacoma, Wa.; (253) 531-1834. National Retail Federation – Sept. 26-28, annual digital summit, Kay Bailey Hutchinson Convention Center, Dallas, Tx.; www.nrf.com. Building-Products.com
Manke Lumber Company is familyowned and has been serving the needs of the lumber industry since 1953. We take pride in milling and stocking quality lumber in a full range of commodity sizes and larger dimension timbers. We also answer your market needs for a wide variety of treated lumber products. Our forest products are milled from carefully harvested Northwest trees ready for distribution to you—on time and at the right price. Located in the Port of Tacoma, we have ready access to deep water shipping, rail heads or trucking terminals for longer haul loads. Manke operates its own fleet of trucks and is at your service for straight or mixed loads by truck, rail or sea. We manufacture primarily Douglas fir and western hemlock, including • 2x4 thru 2x12, Lengths 8-20’ • 3x4 thru 3x12, Lengths 8-26’ • 4x4 and wider, Lengths 8-26’ • 6x6 and wider, Lengths 8-26’ • 8x8 and wider, Lengths 8-26’ • Timber sizes up to 12x12
Manke Lumber Company Call 1-800-426-8488
1717 Marine View Dr., Tacoma, WA 98422
Phone 253- 572-6252
Fax 253-383-2489
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FLASHBack 68 Years Ago This Month
BAY AREA millwork specialist White Brothers celebrated its 76th anniversary on the cover of the August 1948 issue of The Merchant—and continues strong to this day.
ELIZABETH TAYLOR
S ixty-eight years ago, The California Lumber Merchant announced that 16-year-old MGM starlet Elizabeth Taylor had agreed to serve as official hostess at the upcoming annual Hoo-Hoo convention at the Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles. During the convention, she was officially inducted into the Los Angeles Hoo-Hoo Club and received the title “Miss Hoo-Hoo Kitten of 1948.” Her new movie A Date with Judy had just come out, in which she played a wild teen, after a string of child roles in the likes of National Velvet and two Lassie movies.
• Ed Fountain Lumber remodeled its office building on South Hooper Avenue in Los Angeles, paved the surrounding lot, and built lumber sheds on site, to allow all of its sales, distribution and administration operations to be centralized at the address. The wholesaler would operate there until downsizing in the early 1990s and ultimately shutting down. • The California Redwood Association established a Farm Structures Division to provide rural dealers and farm users help with selecting proper grades and sizes of redwood and best construction methods for specific farm-structure related applications.
In other August 1948 news: • Fir-Tex sales rep Bob Reid and Lumber Merchants Association of Northern California executive VP Bob Wright teamed up to form a new wholesale lumber company, Reid and Wright, in Fresno, Ca. They initially served from Bakersfield to Stockton, but soon added a mill in Arcata and began selling throughout the West. Decades later, the firm would relocate to Bend, Or., and then Broomfield, Co., before being acquired by Cedar Creek in 2014. Second generation owner Bobby Reid continues in purchasing and sales with Cedar Creek, Englewood, Co. • Johns Manville produced a 15-minute film, How to Build with Asbestos Flexboard, to demonstrate installation to carpenters, contractors and other industry groups. • Twenty-five mills formed the Redwood Shingle Association and began labeling their bundles with the trade name “Verigrade.” An earlier RSA was started in 1911, surviving less than a decade, and in 1935 the California Redwood Association added a short-lived Redwood Shingle Bureau. The new RSA didn’t last much longer.
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ROSS CARRIER Company, Benton Harbor, Mi., was a pioneer in lift trucks and straddle carriers for lumberyards. It was acquired by Clark Equipment Co. in 1953.
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