A Good Sales Talk on Color, Style, Remodeling, and Dealer Opportunities

By R. A. Dier, The Upson Company

The big thing the lumber dealers need today is something to focus the interest of the people on building and remodeling.

Their problem is to catch the attention of a sensationmad public-a public bombarded by the movies and jaded by the thrilling headlines of the latest front page murder. They face the task of turning public interest to such an uneventful subject as making needed repairs about the home.

Sooner or later the dealer is going to find his volume of new construction business on the decline and he will face the task of increasing his remodeling business.

We know that only one person out of a hundred is in the market for a new home in any given time. Therefore, new home appeals, attractive as they are, must always hit on a somewhat limited audience.

For every person who is financially able to consider a new home, there are ten people just as interested in remodeling.

Yet remodeling advertising, to be attractive, must be hung on some striking appeal-an appeal that is strong enough to ,compete successfully with the automobile and radio manufacturers' scramble for the consumer's dollar, lfs5-sels1 attracts all of us-we can't help it.

It is not enough to talk about the "quality" of lumber. The constant and hackneyed reference to "service" no longer stirs the buyer into action.

.Yes-undoubtedly some strong arm method is necessary.

One solution-and it has proven effective in our g25s-i5 the appeal to "beauty" and style." If the lumber dealer can paint a picture of a lovely colored tile bathroom, certainly he has made long strides toward catching public interest, just as a new radio or new automobile does.

The love of color is inborn in all of us. Historians tell us that our ancestors, dwelling in rough caves, wore brilliant beads, gaily colored feather headdresses, golden anklets and jeweled ear rings.

Why, today, do we see gaily colored fountain pens, um- brellas, rain coats ? Why is one typewriter manufacturer now finishing his machines in six bright colors?

Simply because we are tired of the same old dull and drab things-like fountain pens and typewriters-ugly umbrellas or cold, lifeless white tiling. We demand something bright, something alive. We are awake to life and beauty.

The Newest Trend-Color in Tile

Waves of style come and go. Nothing is constantnothing is absolute. We progress, we move, we advance. The dealer who seeks success must find out what the public will want tomorreqT-and supply it today.

When the first warm, colorful ceramic tiles appeared on the market, an important distributor refused to stock the new colors because he thought it was a fad which would soon Pass.

He waited. And lvhile he waited, his business did not stand still-it dropped.

And what is true of ceramic tile is equally true of motor cars, clothing and particularly building materials.

In the last ten years, color has been a large factor in the merchandising of building materials.

This short time has seen bright colors added to shingles and other roofing materials. Brightly hued floor coverings have taken the market by storm. Even standard building materials like brick, are now popular only in various shades and colored patterns.

Draperies, wall coverings, lamp shades, color has been added to all.

And so with the kitchen, bath and laundry. Color has made itself the predominant note in all these interiors.

The dealer who recognizes this new trend in public interest will be the one who will capitalize on it and use it to iqcrease his business. He will join the manufacturer in his efforts to appeal to the public through "color" and "style." He will realize that the public has discarded the drab, ordinary and commonplace, and is seeking the stimulating beauty of colorful things.