Soft-sell works for redwood dealer

load up. Although the lines of distinction are sometimes blurred, Poole estimates his professional to do-it-yourself mix is about 50/50.

At Poole Lumber, the philosophy is to provide the customer with as much product knowledge as possible and let the customer make the decision. This means the sales people have to know what they are talking about, but the result is products like redwood end up selling themselves.

Weldon Poole founded the retail lumber company in 1945 when he returned from Navy service. He had previously worked in almost every aspect of the lumber business including operating his own mill. The business is now run by his sons, Wallace and John.

There are over 106,000 square feet under a roof completely devoted to lumber storage. No lumber is stored outdoors. Customers can drive in to

In Covington, Poole Lumber Co., draws on a mix of rural and suburban trade made up of about 40{0,(m people. One of the goals of advertising and promotion is to draw trade from New Orleans which lies 35 miles south across Lake Pontchartrain. To do this, Poole uses soft-sell advertising promoting a variety of specialty products like redwood, which customers may not be finding closer to home. The results have been profitable.

The campaign uses television and newspaper advertising. Poole finds t.v. the most effective medium for their style of sales. They have avoided some of the traditional pitfalls of t.v. advertising like the hype, hard sell, pie-in-the-face antics. Poole used a local agency to produce a commercial with moving pictures to show his business and highlight specialty products. He contacted the California Redwood Association for pictures of finished redwood applica-

Story at a Glance

Redwood "sells itself" . all storage indoors ...50150 trade mix. effective advertising atlracts 13lum customets.

tions. Following the already established style of customer education and soft-sell, Poole Lumber Company has developed an effective advertising campaign that draws potential return-customers.

Customer education is also achieved through the use of promotional materials, such as product literature and audio-visual aids. Poole Lumber uses two La Belle projectors-one is a free standing model which turns itself on as customers approach it. They run programs like CRA's Redwood Decks To Build & Enjoy and Choose & Use Redwood Like A Pro! to give customers background information while selling them on the beauty of the product. Poole uses CRA literature and the Redwood Design-A-Deck Plans Kit to help d-i-yers and provide design ideas.

Redwood heartwood products have strong sales appeal in the damp, decay-prone Louisiana climate. Clear all heart, the top-of-the-line architectural grade and construction heart, the knotty, garden grade are strong sellers. He also carries clear grade redwood in a variety of patterns. Poole was the first in his area to introduce knotty, redwood rustic sidings. He first offered one of the thick-butt bevel patterns and the resulting demand was strong enough that Poole carries four different bevel and shiplap patterns of redwood rustic sidings. Poole says, "Rustic sidings are competing with cedar in price and performance in Louisiana. " He promotes rustic siding because there are less problems with knotholes and splitting.

Employees at Poole Lumber Co. occasionally attend redwood meetings conducted by their redwood wholesaler. These informal meetings help to keep the sales staffup-to-date on the business.

Using the soft-sell and customer education may take a little more work than other styles of business. But, Poole Lumber Co. provides services customers might not be able to find in other stores. Is there profit in it? Wallace Poole says: "Since 1945, every year has been better than the last. "