Popcorn

(Continued from page 52 ) vides an interconnected, measurable set of processes and tools that ultimately result in increased sales. Where would McDonald's be today without a system to consistently produce hot hamburgers? Where would Ford be if it had no system to design and build new automobiles? The keys to success for these businesses has been their ability to create and manage effective systems to accomplish their goals.

Sales and marketing can be treated in exactly the same way. The pr(rcess of acquiring customers and then expanding the business with thern can be systematized. If you're successful in creating a working system, you'll be investing your resources in the most effective way, and producing predictable, regular sales results.

Your sales and marketing system should start with a thorough understanding of the needs and interests of the pmspecfs. Fold into that an honest awareness of the unique value your company brings to the market, and you have the beginning framework for your system. Your system should focus on the highest potential market segments, and &velop segment-specific processes and tools to help you reach your market h the most costeffective way.

When your systcrn is designed. you'll also have a set of criteria in place to help yo adequately assess the potential in srch things as advertisements, brochltres, computer prograrBs, etc.

A well-desfcd system allows you to moy€ out of the desperate reactive mode characterized by "Popcorn" and into a confident pro-active mode.

Here are seven quedlbns to drprmine whcthel y{6e"tlii:rdtin! fiorn the "Systerns" pe*pective or thc "Popcorn" mid set.

Do you tpve specific, realistic objectives for yc sales and market-, ing efforts?

Have yoo pirwipely iatnfifreC your highest pofqr,rligl markets s6gments?

. Have you identified the sequence of decisions that a typical prospect goes through to come to a decision to buy your product or service?

. Have you identified the key activities and processes that must take place on a monthly basis in order for you to reach your sales objectives?

Do you have a monthly measurement of the quantity and quality of your key marketing activities?

Arc you able to track exactly how much it costs to create a customer?

Do all of your marketing collateral (brochures, ads, etc.) directly support the purposes and processes of your system?

Obviously. a positive answer to those questions indicates that you have a well-defined sales and marketing system in place. That means that you have gone from reactive to proactive marketing, and that you're well on your way to regular, predictable sales. Negative answers mean that you have some work to do to bring your sales and marketing efforts into a proactive mode to allow you to successfully compete in the turbulent 2lst Century.

- Dave Kahle, "The Growth Coach," is a sales consultant, trainer and author of sLr books, including Ten Secrets of Time Management for Salespeople. Reach him at ( 800) 3 3 I - I 287 : www.davekahle.com.

Seneca Sells Wholesale Unit

Seneca Sawmill Co. has sold its wholesale division to staffers Bob Brass. Dave Brewer. Chris Re and Bob Spagnolo, who have returned the Eugene, Or., office to its original name, Maywood-Anderson Forest Products, effective October l.

Traders include Pat Meyers, Rob Parks. Dick Barnes. Don Wood and Peter Gibney.

Maywood-Anderson was founded in l9'16 by Bill Anderson, who sold it to Jim Weeks, Bob Brass and Mike Phelan in the early 1990s. In 1996, the business was purchased by Crown Pacific and renamed Crown Pacific Wholesale. They sold out to Seneca in 2003. By that time, the Seneca Wholeale operation included six satellite offices-in California, Arizona, Utah, Kansas and Iowa, which have all since been closed "in an orderly fashion," according to Brass.

Lewis Gounty Ready To Build

Lewis County Forest Products begins construction this month on a new random length dimension mill behind its stud mill in Winlock, Wa.

The new facility, slated to start up in late June 2OO7 will have an annual capacity of 22O million bd. ft. Products will include sreen and kiln- dried Douglas fir and hemlock, random width 2x4s and 2xl2s, up to 20 feet in length.

In addition, Random Lengths reported that sister company Mason County Forest Products, Shelton, Wa., has cut back to a single shift at its cuttings mill. Normal operations continue at the on-site stud mill.

Vaagen Bros. Buys Top Rival

Vaagen Bros. Lumber, Colville, Wa., has purchased a sawmill in Usk, Wa.. from a chief competitor. Ponderay Valley Fibre. County records listed the sale of the mill and additional acreage at $20.4 million.

"It adds stability to both work forces," said v.p. Russ Vaagen. "The purchase of logs is the most difficult component of running a sawmill these days. This will allow us to get the right logs to the right mill. Both mills will be stronger."

Both mills compete for timber from nearby Colville National Forest, where thinning operations are reducing fire danger and returning the forest to a more natural balance.

Due to declining prices and demand for lumber, according to Vaagen, "it would have been very painful for both operations to still be going individually."

Started in 1989 by Steve Hartmann. Ponderay initially turned logs into chips for the pulp and paper industry. A sawmill was added to produce rough, green lumber.

"I found myself at a crossroads," said Hartmann. The company had grown so much that it either needed to buy its own planer and dry kiln to produce finished lumber, or sell to a bigger company. Vaagen was the logical buyer, he said, because it had recently added its own planer and dry kiln, although some green lumber will still be sent to Merrin Bros. Lumber. Athol,Id., for drying.

Depot Store Scammed Twice

Home Depot. Delano, Ca., recently sustained two incidents of theft-one outside and one inside the store.

Antonio Acosta, 18, pleaded guilty to possession of stolen property after he and a co-defendant tried to sell wooden pallets they took from the store. He was sentenced to 180 days in jail and three years on probation.

Not long after, cashier James Patrick Nolen. 47, was arrested for allegedly embezzling more than $4,500. According to the Delano Record, Nolen was charged with making four or five fraudulent claims for payment of returned merchandise.