OPERANNG OPPORTUNITIES

WALLY LYNCH Paid Associates PO.Box741623 Dallas, Tx.75243

agencies as well as directly with their own clients.

tele-marketers with programs built around the 800 numbers. This media doesn't have the rigidity of its broadcast cousins wherein messages are limited in length to 10, 30 or 60 seconds. Most of ttre-calts placed, however' are within a 30 to 90 second range.

I t<eting say that it is more competi' tive than direct mail with a more personal touch. Many call the use of the telephone in marketing the latest media form, to be considered with radio, TV' newsprint and billboards.

They take the position that it facilitates communication of information to customers most interested in what they have to say and most likely to respond' They consider its use to be more selective demographically than the shot gun saturation provided by other media'

Tele-marketers are listed in almost every telephone directory's yellow oaees. The businesses come in several u"iieties and sizes. Their main function is to provide telephone access rapidly and measurablY for their client's messages. They work with advertising

Like many other businesses, some tele-marketers are computerized and provide large input capabilities- for their users. At the other end of the spectrum are those firms which place all calls manually. In between these are those comPanies PartiallY computerized and PartiallY manual. '

Some calls, like an advertising message, require no response, hence no operator monitor' other programs' such as surveys and polls' need manual assistance.

Still another variation on operating structure is the tele-marketer offering "networking." These firms can take a message bY Phone across broad geogtuihit aieas without the expense of iong distance charges. This is accomplished through local affiliates or associates similar to radio and TV net' works.

As you might susPect, there are also

A majority of observers believe that the first 20 to 30 seconds of the transmission are the most critical to getfing the message across. ln this respect' tele-marketing is very similar to the other electronic media. Likenesses don't stop with time Parameters. -Someone, and not the tele-marketer, must identify what to advertise, when and to whom. The media is only the method of conveYing the message' Even though many tele-marketers can help in scriPt develoPment, the customer and/or the ad agency must provide the creativitY.

A final similarity is cost. More than one operator we spoke with could provide a general advertising or a pr-efe^rred customer message at a cost of 280 each for a minimum of 1000 calls to a cost of 200 each for 100,000 Placements of the same message. The cost of only $280 to alert, nudge or contact 1000 contractors or households brings a new dimension to this industry's ability to communicate both economicallyand effectively wherever Ma Bell' et al. go.

If you have ever asked yourself - Am I Competitive? or Am I absolutely sure I buy my Builiins Materials and Hirdware right? Then iou need C.B.S.-Central Builders Supplies Company.

C.B.S. can take the guesswork out of buying. Since 1937, C.B'S' has been helping independent building materiil dealers remain iompetitive with mammoth corporation chains.

Because C.B.S. is a dealer owned non-profit corporation,all discounts, rebates, datings and advertising funds are all passed directly to the participating members'

*C.B.S. has been nationally recognized as "The Place To Go To BUY Los"*

* As you buy more the cost to belong goes down-not up

* C.B,S. has an in-house Lumber Department

* C.B.S. has a General Building Materials Dept'

* C.B.S. has a program with the Blue Grass Tool CompanY

Central Builders Supplies Company 215 Broadus Street

Sturgis, Michigan 49091

Phone: (616) 651-1455

* C.B.S. is dealer owned

* C.B.S. has a state-of-the-art internal communication system with participating members

* C.B.S. Rebates are paid to the members in cash

* C.B.S. has an in-house Building Specialties Dept'

* C.B.S. operates as a non-profit company

* C.B.S. members share in the cost to operate

Headquorres for lhe

*c.B.s. was fearured in the october 1984 edition of the HoME CENTER

Allied Building Centers Magazine

Western red cedar is feeling the pinch of the l5olo tax imposed by Canada in January on lumber exports to the United States. thus ending the threatened U.S. tariff on softwoods from Canada.

The majority of the western red cedar used in the United States has come from British Columbia with about three-fourths of the members of the Western Red Cedar Lumber Association being Canadian companies. Although there are both Iarge and small western red cedar producers in Oregon and Washington, many cedar users feel the BC quality to be superior.

"The only good cedar comes from BC," said Bob Hayden at Riverside Lumber Co. in New Orleans. He and Tom Hayden have been importing it since 1938 for their

With the recognition that good graders are the key to the southern pine industry's continued quest for quality and profitability, Timber Products Inspection, Inc. is organizing a series of regional grading championships.

The first was held in cooperation with Westvaco Development Corp. at Summerville, S.C., with the assistance of Charles Ingram Lumber Co.,Cox Wood Preserving, Federal Paperboard Co., Georgia Pacific, International Paper and Sterling Wood Products.

customers, mostly custom home builders.

Wholesalers seem to be going one of three ways. Some are getting out of the cedar business, concentrating on alternate products such as redwood or pressure treated woods. Others are seeking out new sources of supply to replace the Canadian producers. Others are accepting their cost lumps and paying the price with the hope that retailers and customers will follow suit. Part of the blame for the shortage and price increase is put on the 20 week strike which was resolved shortly before the tax was applied.

KentColton, executive vice president of the National Association of Home Builders, predicts "There will be an impact on the cost of building a home." The anticipated increase of about $1000 on a house cosring $80,000 to $100.000 will reflect the tax on all Canadian lumber, not just cedar.

Lyle Gramley, chief economist at the Mortgage Bankers Association in Washington, said "lt's not going to be a big blockbuster. lt's the land prices that have been the big factor in pushing housing prices up."

Western red cedar fence manufacturers are the hardest hit. The price increase brought by the 15% tax has laken away the margin many felt they had to have to survive in a competitive market.

At this point, the final outcome is uncerlain, but it appears that those who want Canadian cedar will pay for it and those who don't will buy substitute products or cedar produced in the U.S.

Lowe's Companies Inc. will begin a test of video terminals as sales aids in five of its stores early this year.

Lowe's management said that the terminals will be utilized in three ways. They will enable the salesperson to display more of a product line to customers and help customers determine more clearly what items they may need for a doit-yourself project. The terminals also will be used as a training tool for sales personnel.

P.O. Box 389 Gold Bar, Wa 98251

Two Mill Locations:

GOLDBAR - for sidings-bevel, channel & other products

FORKS . Rosmond, for fine old growth clears

Rctuilcrs can make gttocl r-rse of literature ofl'ered bl" the Wcstern Rcd ( cdlrltrntber \sstreirrlion in reaching cLlston.ters and cclucating sales personncl.

Envelopc stull'ers in lull color are availablc as wcll as pronrotiilnal literature with attractivc colored pictures showing hundreds of $'a1 s to use ccclar i n bu i lcli ng itncl rcmodeling. Inlctrr-rtlrtion cards providing cedar use tips such as nailing and linrshing arc ai ailable as rvell as technical infbrnratiott brochurcs.

The flrst 100 copics are liec. I)riccs on aclditional copies are nrininral. ranging f'ront 100 to 30c. A litcrature list is available front thc Wcslern Red C'eclar .\ssociation. Ycon llLrilding. [)ortlitt.td. Or. 97 20.1.

Inlernroclalisnt. part o1' the ever changing transportation industry since dcregLrlation. stack train serr,'ice. containcrization and competitive rates on piggyback shipntents will be anrong topics discussecl at thc (r6th annual nrccting of the Southern I lardwood l'rafflc .\ssociation, l0:3[) a.nr.. Feb. 26. at the Peabody' llotel, llcniphis. Tn.

SPECIALIZED TREATMENTS NOW AVAILA8LE o Wolmanized Lumber

. Dricon Fire-Retardant

. Creosote

PRODUCTS AVAILABLE o Landscape Timbers o Railroad Ties o Poles o Posts

I Dricon Fire Retardant Treated Wood r All Weather Wood Foundations- r AWPB-FDN StamFed

For informatian on quick sarvico call the treating exqerts!

This cvcnl w'hich ivill kick ofl'the 76th anniv'crsarl' of SIITA will be follorved bl' a.toint luncheon with the Lumbernren's Club of Memphis at I 2:l-5. A IrosPitrrlitr mecting for lriends, carricrs. luntbermen and associates *'i11 be l.rosted bv SIITA l'ronr b lo \) l).n1. ()n the evening helbre the ;.rnfl urrl nlceting.

,\n-u-one engaged in or connected with the lumber or wood products industry is invited and urged to altend. according to Rick Jackett. executive I'ice presiclent. rvho is taking reservirtions.