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recognize that you are different. Your salespeople must get their undivided attention above all the noise of competing people and products. That's your point of differentiation. When you call, they take the call,not because they like you, but because they rely on you!

And that brings us to the shift we are seeing in how sales staffs are recruited today. If you agree that there are vast differences in selling-skill requirements today, then where do you find the talent to meet the challenge? One distributor recently hired someone away from a call center in an unrelated industry. He said, "This guy comes inwith no call reluctance whatsoever. He's just used to it. He knows how to sell and he's making inroads where we hadn't performed well in the past."

None of this implies that there isn't tremendous value in industry knowledge. The question is, can veterans in our industry make the shift to a new way of selling and maximize growth? If not, can you grow your company more effectively by bringing in talented selling superstars, regardless of their industry background?

Has your company returned to double-digit annual growth? If not, why? Are your people saying, "We can't do this, because...?" You can't use the economy as an excuse. You need to be thinking very hard about two things:

Canmy existing salespeople make the required changes in order to return us to double-digit growth?

Can we succeed by hiring the same kinds of salespeople that we have always hired?

The shift from traditional industry professionals toward salespeople with consultative selling skills is an important and timely change. Are you ready to make this change?

- Dennis Connelly is an experienced lumber industry executive who also served on the Joint Coatings Forest Products Committee. He is now v.p. of business development at international sales consultingfirm Kurlan & Associates. Reach him at (508) 3 20 - 4900 or dconne lly @ kurlanas so c iat e s.c om.

THE ELITE ATHLETES of the Los Angeles Hardwood Lumberman's Club converged on Anaheim Tennis Center, Anaheim, Ca., Nov. 4 for theclub's annual tennis mixer.Despite the atvoical90" fall weather, thethree-hour event w6s well attended. Tournament host, Chapman University Hall of Fame member and

LAHLC president Dan Bohannon, organized the mixer. /L-r) David Church, MattPorter, Randy Porter, Ellie Mendiaz, MikeWalters, Teresa Hallock, Grace Wright, Julie Southwell, Dan Bohannon, Kit Rohm, StephenOndich, Vivian& Eric Bloom, Leon Richman.

Update

Western BuildingMaterial Association will host its l09th annual convention Jan. 30-Feb. 1at the DoubleTree Lloyd Center, Portland, Or.

Presentations include an economic outlook by John Mitchell, LBM industry update by Craig Webb, leadership and team building program by Ken Wilbanks, and strategic marketing talk by Scott Ericson and Jennifer Swick, Wheelhouse 20120.

Los Angeles Hardwood Lumberman's Club will host its first meeting of the year at Heroes Restaurant, Fullerton. Ca.. on Jan. 10.

Feb. 7 is the annual pool tournament at Danny K's, Orange, Ca.

WesternPallet Association will gather Jan. 18-22 for its annual meeting at Rancho Las Palmas Resort, Rancho Mirage, Ca.

California Forestry Association has scheduled its annual meeting for Jan. 29-Feb. 1 at Silverado Resort, Napa, Ca.

American Wood Council elected Fritz Mason, Georgia Pacific, as its new chairman during the association's annual meeting in Chicago, Il.

Other newofficersare I st vicechair Rob Taylor, Weyerhaeuser; 2nd vice-chair George Emmerson, Sierra Pacific, and immediate past chairman Brian Luoma, Louisiana Pacific.

New directors are Andrew Miller, Stimson Lumber; Marc Brinkmeyer, Idaho Forest Group; Tom Corrick, Boise Cascade; Danny White, T.R. Miller Mill; Aubra Anthony, Anthony Forest Products; Ray Dillon, Deltic Timber; Michael Giroux, Canadian Wood Council; Pat Patranella, Temple-Inland; Jim Rabe, Masonite, and Joe Patton, Westervelt Co.

National Lumber & Building Material Dealers Association will present a webinar on "Understanding the New Federal Trade Commission Green Guides" Dec. 18.

FTC recently revised and expanded its Green Guides, which are designed to help marketers ensure that the claims they make about the environmental attributes of their products are truthful and non-deceptive.

Hybrid Stain

A hybrid stain concentrate from Eco Chemical promises high quality at lower cost.

Available in 5-gallon pails, Eco 3-to-l can be mixed to produce 20 gallons of semi-transparent stain. Lower dilution ratios will result in a solid stain.

The product combines the beauty of an oil-based stain with the eco-friendly characteristics of a waterborne stain, in both interior and exterior applications.

T ECOCHEMICAL.COM

(800) 6'71-1930

Nautical Accents

The Beachfront collection by Themed Millwork includes l8 hand-carved keystones, onlays, and rosettes.

Depicting ocean creatures and nautical designs, they can be used as accents for furniture, mirrors, chalkboards, and mirrors.

I THEMEDMILLWORK.COM

(866) 35s-631 I

Breathable Wraps

NovaWrap breathable, weather-resistant barrier for both residential and commercial applications is new from IPG.

Made of non-woven polypropylene, the wrap is coated on one side for durability and resistance to water and tears. Compatible with nearly every type of sheathing, it installs easily under brick, stone, fiber cement board, wood, vinyl, metal, and composites.

T ITAPE.COM

(800\ 414-8273

Toolboxes on the Go

Contractor toolboxes from Buyers Products Co. are available in aluminum, steel and polymer in a variety of sizes and configurations.

Cross-boxes suspend from truck side rails, with Jhook mounting hardware that does notrequire drilling, to provide easy access to contents from either side.

Lo-side and pork-chop boxes have low profiles for space efficiency. Topside boxes, available in dimensions up to 96" wide, provide easy access through continuous-hinge doors.

T BUYERSTRUCKBOXES.COM

(440) 974-8888