BPD August 2017

AUGUST 2017

BPD

Building Products Digest

THE VOICE OF THE LBM SUPPLY CHAIN — FOR 35 YEARS

ANNUAL SALES & MARKETING SPECIAL ISSUE

PARALLAM® PLUS PSL Timber is tough, but Parallam® Plus PSL takes your customer’s most demanding application to the next level of durability. Our strong and long engineered wood beams are Wolmanized® to stop termites and fungal decay, even where framing comes into contact with the ground or moisture. Backed by a 30-year limited warranty that ensures long-term strength and confidence.

Call 888.453.8358 or go to weyerhaeuser.com/woodproducts to find your closest distributor and product offering. , Trus Joist and Parallam® Plus PSL are registered trademarks of Weyerhaeuser NR. © 2017 Weyerhaeuser NR Company. All rights reserved.

CONTENTS August 2017

Volume 36 n Number 8

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Roadmap to Success Sales & Marketing Special Issue

FAST CLOSE

BRANDING

MORE TRAFFIC

MAX PROFIT

INCREASED VISIBILITY AHEAD

Special Section

Features

29 SALES & MARKETING ROADMAP

10 FEATURE STORY

JOIN SEVEN TOP SALES & MARKETING

EXPERTS AS THEY LAY OUT WINNING DIRECTIONS FOR MAKING YOUR MORE TRAFFIC TO YOUR BUSINESS,

12 PRODUCT SPOTLIGHT 14 INDUSTRY TRENDS

WONDROUS COLORS TRENDING ON MILLWORK & WALLS

16 COMPETITIVE INTELLIGENCE

AUGUST 2017

BPD

CYPRESS UPDATE: INSIDE & OUT SIDING WITH MODIFIED SOFTWOOD

BRAND MORE VISIBLE, DRIVING AND CLOSING MORE SALES.

Departments

Building Products Digest

IN ALCOA, LUMBER REIGNS

THE VOICE OF THE LBM SUPPLY CHAIN — FOR 35 YEARS

ANNUAL SALES & MARKETING SPECIAL ISSUE

WHAT TO EXPECT IN HUMAN RESOURCES FROM TRUMP

24 NAWLA: THINKING AHEAD BUILDING BUSINESS — ONE RELATIONSHIP AT A TIME

47 BEST ADS OF THE YEAR

The Official Publication of

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30 OLSEN ON SALES 34 THE REVENUE GROWTH HABIT 52 MOVERS & SHAKERS 54 NEW PRODUCTS 59 ASSOCIATION UPDATE 60 IN MEMORIAM

18 TRANSFORMING TEAMS

BPD Digitial Edition at www.building-products.com

8 ACROSS THE BOARD

60 CLASSIFIED MARKETPLACE 61 DATE BOOK 61 ADVERTISERS INDEX 62 FLASHBACK

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OUR MARKET MOVES QUICKLY… DON’T GET LEFT BEHIND!

BPD Building Products Digest President/Publisher Patrick Adams padams@building-products.com

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Vice President Shelly Smith Adams sadams@building-products.com Publishers Emeritus Alan Oakes, David Cutler Managing Editor David Koenig • david@building-products.com Editor Stephanie Ornelas sornelas@building-products.com Contributing Editors Carla Waldemar, James Olsen, Alex Goldfayn, Claudia St. John, Dave Kahle Contributors Steve Cheatham, Henry DeVries, Ian Faight, Sarah Fryer, Matt Lee, Warren Reeves, Stu Schlackman, Devin Stuart, Kate Zabriskie

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JANUARY 2017

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Building Products Digest

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INDUSTRY NEWS & MONEY-MAKING STRATEGIES FOR LUMBER & BUILDING MATERIAL DEALERS & DISTRIBUTORS

THE VOICE OF THE LBM SUPPLY CHAIN — FOR 35 YEARS

FALL DECKING SPECIAL ISSUE • TREATED WOOD SPEC TOOLS • LVL BEAMS

2017: THE YEAR AHEAD • SOUTHERN PINE UPDATE • IMPORT DUTY CONFLICT

Eassy on the eyes.

Easy to o install.

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Director of Sales Chuck Casey • chuck@building-products.com

Building Products Digest

INDUSTRY NEWS & MONEY-MAKING STRATEGIES FOR LUMBER & BUILDING MATERIAL DEALERS & DISTRIBUTORS

2017 DECKING & RAILING BUYERS GUIDE • NAWLA TRADERS MARKET RECAP

Sales & Marketing Coordinator Chelsea Hiers chiers@building-products.com New AWPA Standards for Treated Wood There is an important change in the U1 Standards establishing new guidelines for wood treated to UC4A Ground Contact General Use. As an example, joists and beams shall be treated to UC4A (ground contact when they are diffcult to maintain, repair or replace and are critical to the performance and safety of the entire system.

Advertising Sales (714) 486-2735 Chuck Casey chuck@building-products.com

For more information visit

kopperspc.com Introducing g Outdoor Acc ents decorative hardware . Y Yo our customers can easily add style an nd strength to their outdoor projects. The new Simpson Strong--T Tie Outdoor Accents line e of structural connectors featu ures an innovative screw and washer set that combines the ease of installing a screw with the look of a bolt. And, with a black powderr--coa at finish, this hardware offers st yle that’s designed to last. ®

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To lear n mo To ore about Outdoor Accents decorative hardware, visit our web bsite strongtie .c com/outdooraccents or call (800) 999-5099.

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Phone (714) 486-2735 Fax 714-486-2745 BUILDING PRODUCTS DIGEST is published monthly at 151 Kalmus Dr., Ste. D200, Costa Mesa, CA 92626, (714) 486-2735, Fax 714-486-2745, www.building-products.com, by 526 Media Group, Inc. (a California Corporation). It is an independently owned publication for building products retailers and wholesale distributors in 37 states East of the Rockies. Copyright®2017 by 526 Media Group, Inc. Cover and entire contents are fully protected and must not be reproduced in any manner without written permission. All Rights Reserved. BPD reserves the right to accept or reject any editorial or advertising matter, and assumes no liability for materials furnished to it.

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August 2017

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ACROSS the Board

By Patrick Adams

No shortcuts I

MUST HAVE been born an “old soul.” That’s what they say when you don’t fit in with “modern thinking.” While it appears to me that many are exhausting themselves to find a shortcut so they don’t have to work so hard, I’ve always believed that simple hard work is the shortcut.

It has become so rare in fact that hard work has become easy to spot because there are no shortcuts when it comes to quality. When you hear a race car fire up, that sound and feeling? A hand-built engine. The finest cigars or whisky that create a lasting memory? Handmade. A watch that you buy envisioning that someday you will pass it down through the generations? Handcrafted and assembled. The home you decide to raise your family in…

I remember once in a rush, I bought some imported “kit” Adirondack chairs for the front yard. They came from the same place a lot of things do these days and came in a box.

After several hours trying to follow horrible directions, modifying pieces that were not designed well, and rummaging through my own hardware to supplement missing screws, they were together. Less than three months later, they were wobbly and needed to be refinished. After another day of work, they looked good and sturdy again. Three months later, they were back in the same condition and found a new home in a landfill. I then spent weeks downloading plans, shopping for just the right cedar, and taking my time cutting, sanding and assembling. In the end, we have chairs for each of us that , now several years later, are just as good as the day I built them and likely still will be when we finally pass them along to someone else.

There is no doubt that machines are faster in most things. Not necessarily better, just faster. McDonald’s drive-through is also faster than sitting down for a meal with family, and driving Interstate 5 to Northern California is certainly faster than taking Highway 1. We are living in a time where speed seems to be the only thing that is measured in absence of assessing quality or what we do with all of this “extra time.”

But this is an interesting quandary isn’t it? Should speed and looking for a shortcut be applied to everything? Does quality and credibility not matter anymore? Is everything consumable? When you are looking for new equipment at your facility, is it simply who is fastest and cheapest?

When a loved one has a severe illness, do you simply take them to the local urgent care? It is in this area of decision that I spend of lot of time pondering whether the next generation will understand the difference that sometimes, it’s OK to get McDonald’s, but you certainly wouldn’t get it for your family’s Thanksgiving dinner, would you?

I haven’t used this column for the typical self-promotion you see in most publications and I’m not going to start now. However, I would like to share some information.

Like most of you, I don’t believe in taking shortcuts and do believe the quality of our work is a reflection on our personal character. In these days of “fake news” and the world believing that all is “going digital,” we believe quality counts.

We view our role in the industry as providing you with the accurate and timely news, information and products that will help you successfully run your business. For over 95 years now, we’ve figured out that the shortcut is simply working hard. We believe that every word, every page, and every product is something we are personally vouching for.

Although it is a lot more work, we publish monthly so that you can get the timeliest information. While some gather news clippings from their home-based offices or even sell “ad-vertorials,” we personally attend over 60 industry events annually to hear firsthand how the market is doing. While some will say that everything is going digital, I will ask when is the last time any of you remember or clicked on a digital ad anywhere? We don’t accept ads from companies that we cannot personally vouch for and the editorial we publish is something you can trust.

There are no shortcuts when it comes to hard work and the best quality and while many things are built to be consumable, we’re proud to be the leading publication in an industry built to last through the generations!

From our family to yours, we hope you’re having a summer filled with quality times and hard work!

“Some people dream of success while others wake up and work hard at it.” ~ Winston Churchill

Patrick S. Adams Publisher/President padams@building-products.com

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FEATURE Story Southern Cypress Manufacturers Association

Cypress update: Inside and out C

YPRESS IS BUZZING this year as homeowners and builders are looking now more than ever for an exceptional building material that offers natural durability, good looks, and versatility.

“Cypress is a unique wood species native to the Southern states,” says Stephen Logue, Battle Lumber Co.,

Wadley, Ga. “It’s a beautiful wood that’s readily available in various sizes and aesthetic grades. And what’s been attracting more people to the species is its durability to withstand nature and the elements.”

It all happens naturally. Cypress trees produce oil in their heartwood called cypressene. The oil acts as a

preservative, making cypress products naturally resistant to decay, fungi and insects like termites and carpenter bees. Having this natural preservative makes cypress an ideal alternative to other wood species that need to be pressure treated with chemicals.

“Our cypress business has really increased this year, and not just in our

EXTREME DURABILITY and authenticity are among the many reasons why dealers are quickly looking to cypress as a go-to building product, esspecially for the interior of the home.

(All photos courtesy of Southern Cypress Manufacturers Association)

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CYPRESS is having a revival in the marketplace, particularly in siding, among homeowners who prefer a classic, distinct look.

area,” Logue adds. “We’re getting calls from up north and out west—parts of the country that have traditionally been cedar territory. From our experience, builders and design professionals are looking for comparable products at competitive prices. Cypress offers that, and more.”

Brian Meier, Cypress Rose Sawmill, Homerville, Ga., also confirms cypress’ current revival in the marketplace,

Building-Products.com

especially in siding. “Homeowners seem to prefer the classic, distinct look of cypress siding,” he says. “This year, the standard bevel and rabbeted bevel patterns have really been gaining popularity. We expect the interest in cypress to continue along with the stronger housing market.”

In Gatesville, N.C., Nancy Tuck of Gates Milling agrees: “In our area, we’ve seen a renewed interest in cypress bevel siding. But we’ve also noticed a growing trend towards tongue-and-groove siding with a nickel joint, as well as shiplap. The straight sightlines of these patterns, paired with the charm of cypress, offer the perfect blend of contemporary and rustic appearance.”

The species’ good looks and honey hues are right at home indoors, as well. “Cypress beadboard and planked ceilings are really popular right now,” Meier adds. “We’ve also been seeing cypress beams used as accents for vaulted ceilings.”

And while many homeowners lately are choosing to dress up their walls and ceilings with the clear look of Select grade cypress, or the knotty character of #2 grade, Shepard Haggerty, Williams Lumber Co. of North Carolina, Rocky Mount, N.C., says pecky cypress is becoming his company’s hottest product. “People are drawn to pecky cypress because its naturally occurring pockets and holes offer intriguing character,” Haggerty says. “Pecky cypress is being used for everything from paneling and coffered ceilings, to cabinetry and accent pieces.”

Geoff Philippus, custom cabinet maker in Mandeville, La., says he works with pecky cypress often. “We recently completed a massive kitchen island with matching built-ins, showcasing pecky cypress. The visual effect is like nothing else out there. It’s one of my favorite projects.”

Natural durability! Good looks! Versatility! Cypress has it all. And it’s making its mark indoors and out.

–For more information on building with cypress, visit www.cypressinfo.org.

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PRODUCT Spotlight

By Matt Lee, Kebony

Siding with modified wood B

UILDING MATERIALS are constantly being innovated and a perfect example of how technology has improved traditional materials is modified wood. Wood is one of the oldest building materials ever used but it certainly isn’t free from certain disadvantages, just as many organic materials are. Pre-treated lumber may be useful for actual construction, though the market for a beautiful wood product that wasn’t composite or a faux wood-grain plastic was fairly untapped for some time.

Modified softwood looks just like real wood, has many of the same properties that make wood such an attractive option, plus it also offers greater longevity, durability and more.

In addition, modified softwood is extremely versatile in how it can be used in construction and architecture.

How It’s Made Although the exact process used to modify softwood does vary between manufacturers, overall the technology is fairly similar. Unlike composites or other lumber-blend materials that also incorporate plastic fibers, modified softwood uses pure wood. There is very little processing and the softwood board remains exactly the same—but stronger.

The modifying process involves the use of a chemical and heat. This chemical is a bio-based liquid that is very much like an alcohol in essence.

The softwood boards or panels are thoroughly impregnated with this liquid and then placed in special ovens. The boards are cured and dried, finally emerging to look essentially

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DURABLE and beautiful, modified softwood is a great choice for exterior siding and trim.

(Photos courtesy of Kebony)

just the same as the original softwood but far harder and longer-lasting.

Benefits in Siding One of the most commonly seen uses for modified softwood is using it as cladding. Wood siding will always be a classically beautiful choice, but any home contractor or architect knows that more and more clients are turning away from wood due to highmaintenance needs. Modified wood is an ideal solution in these situations.

Some of the main benefits of using modified wood in place of traditional wood siding include: Greater Longevity – You can expect properly maintained modified wood siding to last 30 years or more, though this can vary between regions.

Less Maintenance – Modified softwood requires no special reAugust 2017

staining or other treatments normally associated with wood. Simply powerwash it off annually or twice a year like you would with other siding.

Genuine Wood Finish – Since this is actual softwood, the boards will naturally develop a soft gray patina over the years, just like most other woods.

Impressive Durability – The modifying process increases hardness to over 40 on the Brinell hardness scale. This means modified softwood is actually harder and more durable than the high-quality hardwoods.

Natural Fungal Resistance – The combination of the wood cell wall expansion and the impregnation of the bio-liquid means this softwood product is unable to develop fungus, rot and similar issues that can happen with normal wood.

Building-Products.com

No Dangerous Toxins – Wood treated with some chemicals may present concerns in applications intended for direct contact with people. Though it is a chemical, the bio-liquid in this wood is rendered non-toxic and completely harmless.

Modified softwood cladding gives you everything you could want in normal wood siding, just without the typical problems associated with it.

Other Uses Opting for modified softwood as siding isn’t where this material stops.

As mentioned, modified softwood is essentially just as versatile as any other wood product. Some other excellent situation in which modified wood really shines includes: Decking – Due to the incredible hardness of modified softwood it is perfect for decking needs. Needless to say it is ideal for normal home porches, but also is a great rooftop deck material. You can also use it for terraces, porticos, and even boat decking.

Roofing – Wood roofs look stunning but, just like siding, many do not want to deal with the care.

Modified softwood is going to outlast any other wood roof.

Piers – Since modified wood absorbs far less water than normal wood, it is a great material to use around water. Modified softwood piers look far more attractive than steel or aluminum while also outlasting other types of woods or composites.

Furniture – This material comes in board form and can easily be used in furniture projects. These projects could be anything from a homemade bench to full custom kitchen cabinetry.

Flooring – Modified wood is toxin-free, which means it’s safe to use for indoor flooring. It is ideal for high-traffic areas or residential homes with kids and/or pets.

Modified softwood is an extremely promising building product that is only going to continue to grow in popularity. Its characteristics of being a highly advantageous material to use combined with just how many different ways it can be used is impressive to say the least. Whether you’re looking to re-side a house, build a deck, or design an architectural art piece, chances are using modified wood is a smart way to go.

Building-Products.com

HOT COLOR combinations in paint and design include sunny contrasts of springtime and seaside shades found in the Natural Wonders palette.

Meet the fastest large character print head on the market

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With a revolutionary new design, you can now get 8x more life between maintenance intervals at a much lower cost of ownership. German engineered for high performance printing precision and durability, mark any substrate with confidence.

For more information call 440-232-0555 or visit reajetus.com.

August 2017

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INDUSTRY Trends Interior & Exterior Color

Wondrous colors trending in design T

paint shades will be trending next year, blogger and Dunn-Edwards color expert Sara McLean looked at the big picture of the many influences that drive color and design trends—everything from world events, lifestyle, fashion and food to trends in travel, wellness and individuality.

Dunn-Edwards identified five hot color palettes, each with an emphasis on Celebrations—of memories, natural wonders, the stars and unknown, life’s adventures, and childhood joys.

O PREDICT WHAT

Memories

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“Trends are inspired by so many sources... from finding happiness in the little things, rebellion and shock values, individuality, adventure and one-of-a-kind experiences,” McLean explains. “Even the increasing infusion of technology influences trends.

All these elements provide a wealth of experience for creating a storied, well-lived life.”

The color palette evokes a romantic spirit, with a highly stylized design that is luxurious and feminine. People are revisiting traditions and classics and re-creating stories for today’s lifestyles.

Colors include blue-greens, lacquer red, dark-brown wood hues and bronzed caramel, lightened with touches of grayish pink and gold.

Trend 1, Memories – A return to the classics of the 1940s French fashion chic, art deco and art nouveau.

Trend 2, Natural Wonders – Inspired by nature and innovation, there is a desire to be surrounded by

Natural Wonders

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The Stars

Building-Products.com

nature without leaving the city. A back-to-basics focus on well-being without giving up modern comforts of city life.

Colors are casual with springtime and seaside influences, with coral tones, aquatic blues, and overexposed color with sunny contrasts like salmon, lobster, pebble and ocean.

Trend 3, The Stars – Fantasy experiences increase with the use of virtual and augmented realities. Life is experienced through dreams and imaginations—unnatural nature.

Retro, vintage tech is trending, along with futuristic possibilities.

Colors are inspired by the exotic and unnatural natural world of fantasy.

Pastels are layered with lacquer and glow. The influence of technologically based color creates layers of gloss and bling, with shocking pops of rose, hot pink, dark blue, and 1980s retro colors.

Trend 4, Adventures – Through myths, lore and legends, oral storytelling recalls the historical narratives of cultures and people throughout the world.

The call to adventure and new worlds are for those who desire to be transported to faraway lands, creating a life filled with personal stories of adventures and lessons.

These lush, extravagant colors are found in nature such as reds, emerald greens, amber, lava black, and mystic purple with infusions of lava black, Adventures

HOT COLOR combinations in paint and design include the nostalgic hues of the Memories palette (above top) and the sunny contrasts of springtime and seaside shades found in the Natural Wonders palette (above lower).

Childhood Joys

earthy brown, dark reds, blues and purple.

Trend 5, Childhood Joys – Creating a fairytale for one’s life adds joy and pure love of life. It reflects the comfort and routine that allows the child to be free to dream of other worlds with rainbows and laughter, fun and games, and new adventures through picture books, fairy tales, science fiction and fantasy, moral tales and children’s poetry.

Colors are chic, sophisticated basics with classics of navy, burgundy, gray and beige, along with near-primaries of blue, green and orange.

Building-Products.com

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COMPETITIVE Intelligence

By Carla Waldemar

In Alcoa, lumber reigns G

UESS WHAT ’ S manufactured in Alcoa, Tn.? Okay, that was easy: aluminum. Starting right before World War II, a plant opened to turn the new wonder metal into tanks and planes.

Today it’s a mainstay of Ford Motor trucks. But that tiny town near the Smoky Mountains can boast another vital supplier that’s been around far longer, harking back to 1925—and that’s Anderson Lumber Co. Even before folks needed aluminum, they needed homes.

Today, picture-pretty log homes and pine siding are in demand in the gorgeous Smoky Mountains, along with decks and cabins to rim the region’s many lakes and rivers. In Alcoa and twin city Marysville, fine schools draw young families, while the scenic surroundings and yearround golf act as retiree magnets. Here custom dwellings, condos, apartments and remodeling old stock for the flipand-sell market also contribute to

SLICK window and door showroom helps seal millwork package sales.

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TENNESSEE DEALER’S recent rebrand even has competitors coming to check it out.

Anderson’s bread and butter, abetted by significant commercial projects.

So it seems like Steve Coleman’s dad and granddad asked the right question at the right time. As contractors back in the Fifties, they figured they’d help their work along by owning a supply house, making their own moulding and getting themselves far better service. “Ever think of selling?” they asked Mr. Anderson, who was quick to answer, “Deal!”

The only trouble was, as Steve tells the story, service didn’t improve one bit because their other customers always came first. So, exit Coleman builders; enter Coleman suppliers, gifted with a great downtown location.

Then in 1972, along came urban development to claim their site. They found an even better one smack on one of the busiest highways in the state, leading to the airport, to Atlanta, to increased business in a cluster that grew to include a WalMart, a Cracker Barrel, and a whole lot more. By 1976, the company added its own roof and floor truss shop, and soon doors and millwork, too.

Who’s buying? Contractors repreAugust 2017

sent 80% of Anderson’s trade. And why are they bypassing Lowe’s and Home Depot, just down the road? “We have different—and better—materials,” Steve’s got the answer, “highgrade framing lumber. Premium studs, treated lumber, and decking. Cedar.

Long lengths—24, 26, 36—they can’t find elsewhere.”

Oh, and rental, adds assistant manager Joe Allen: Bobcats, backhoes and other construction equipment, commercial lawnmowers. “With equipment rental, you need a good equipment shop,” he says. “We’ve got fulltime mechanics on board. And we’ve grown our sales and service by adding party rental, too (and the margins are really good). First, though, we had to build a big warehouse to hang and wash the tents, like a giant car wash.”

The 15,000-sq. ft. showroom has a full-service hardware department plus a class-act paint department manned by two full-time staffers. Says Joe, “Customers like our competitive paint prices and brands—top-quality ones nobody else carries, up to $100 a gallon. People even drive over from South Carolina for them.”

Building-Products.com

Factor in the woodworking shop, too, providing special cuts, planers, sanders, and anything you might need for, say, a unique fireplace mantel, odd openings or doors customized to fit. “It brings us people from the box stores, too, wanting us to cut their doors to fit. We also get calls asking ‘Got this?’ We always say ‘Yes.’ So now they’ve learned to just call us first.”

Adds David Paine, Anderson’s advertising and marketing man, “A couple of years ago we rebranded ourselves— remodeled the showroom with polished cement, new layout, new fixtures, sales counter and display areas for our windows and doors and cabinets.” Since then, it’s become a bit of a regional attraction. “Folks from other yards come by to see what we’ve done and if it might work for them.”

It also pleases the area’s pros, and not only for the earned discounts and bonus points, which can lead to free trips. “They know they’re number-one here,” says the boss.

“If there’s a problem, we take care of it. For instance,” he offers, “a man had problems with a door he bought from us four years ago. We told him, ‘We’ll pull it out and put in a new one. No need to keep coming in.’”

Employees (50 in the showroom, 50 in the plant, and 20plus in the rental unit) are valued, too. In Steve’s eyes, “They like working for a family operation—me and my son and my dad before us. It’s an easy, relaxed atmosphere where we treat them like family—get together for lunch, go to a football game. Things like if the door shop meets its schedule, we take ’em out to eat.”

Yet, with long-timers retiring, attracting new blood represents a challenge. “We talk to salespeople, people in the community, people who come in here, plus we’re working with two staffing companies. We let everybody know that, for young people, the door’s wide open. If they’re good, they can move up the chain quick. Our older salespeople take them along on calls, mentor them, teach them how to do take-offs, stairs, sell a window-and-door package.”

To pull younger homeowners into the store, David, the marketing man, has turned from traditional advertising avenues to social media—principally Facebook, where the company page is updated three times a week.

Ladies’ Night—a twice-yearly event—also has proved a prime source of new business, attracting up to 100 participants, who can complete take-home projects like planters or holiday decorations. For those ladies who’ve felt intimidated stepping into a manly environment like this, it’s an entrée, complete with snacks, gift cards, and whacks at common home problems like unplugging a toilet or applying weatherstripping. “We’re seeing a good number of them returning,” David states.

Anderson sponsors an annual golf outing to raise $500,000 to support a fellowship at the University of Tennessee supporting research in its cancer center, an homage to a son of Steve’s who died of brain cancer. “It’s an all-day event for contractors and business people, with tremendous support from our vendors,” says Joe Allen. “It speaks well for what the Colemans have done for the community.”

And that’s a lot, including giving back to schools, churches, the fire and police departments. “A SWAT team recently called to ask for windows and doors to blow up for practice,” Steve reports. Sure! That’s all in line with his dad’s credo: If we help kids and schools, we’re also helping parents. “He harped on building community,” says his welltaught son.

Speaking of schools, Joe says, “we have a good relationship with the high school shop teacher. He brings in his Building-Products.com

SPECIAL EVENTS are big generators of new business.

class four times a year and we walk through the store, the lumberyard, the shops. The kids build a little barn structure as part of the class and sell it out front. He adds, “We recently spotted a sharp young man in the group. If he wants to sign on, we’ll hire him!”

All this sounds so positive that I almost hate to ask… but I do: I mention the R-word. Steve gets it. “I saw the recession coming. I told my son, ‘The bubble’s so big it’s bound to burst.’ So we started winding down a bit, watching real close. We quit selling to some contractors whose spec homes weren’t selling.”

Nonetheless, “It hit quick and hard. My son figured how much money we needed daily to keep the doors open, so we started downsizing. Not hiring when employees retired.

Having to lay off a few people—the first time ever.

Downsizing inventory. Selling a couple of big trucks. I volunteered to retire, but then I said I’d stay on, come to work two or three days a week without pay. Plus, we’d just started doing installed sales, which was growing really quick because, now when people couldn’t afford to build a house, they decided to remodel instead, using our cabinets, doors and paint. My son was in charge of the new operation, and when he died, it set us back”—adding business challenges to the devastating personal tragedy. The company did promote an assistant to head the division, which carries on.

The good news is, the future looks far brighter—“pretty strong, since the election. There’s a lot of building going on, both residential and commercial,” Steve notes.

Joe adds, “We now have access to a flooring company.

We partnered with a local showroom in Knoxville to be able to offer one-stop shopping.”

Alcoa is attracting new businesses as well—an ammunitions factory, a gun factory, “lots of stuff going on. An office building at the University of Tennessee.

It takes a team of us to work together and hammer out different parts of the materials list, get ’em some good numbers.” All that commercial activity means jobs are being created. And those new hires will need somewhere to live.

Wait, I have an idea for them….

Carla Waldemar cwaldemar@comcast.net August 2017

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TRANSFORMING Teams

By Claudia St. John

What to expect in HR from Trump O

six months, I have delivered perhaps a half-dozen presentations on what workplace regulations and changes employers can expect from the new president. My sessions always had to begin with a disclaimer: we really don’t know what to expect from the new Administration, so all we’re doing is really reading political tea leaves and wish lists.

Fortunately, we now have some clear signs about the new Administration’s priorities. Of course, the President has free rein to make changes to regulatory issues that are the domain of the executive branch. What will happen in the House and Senate is much harder to predict.

That said, here are some of the initiatives being currently promoted by the Trump Administration: Repeal of the Affordable Care Act. At the time of writing this article, a repeal and replace version of the ACA has passed the House, and the Senate is working on a version of its own. The Senate versions that have been floated so far have met resistance from both conservative and moderate GOP members of the Senate, creating a politically challenging situation for the Senate Majority Leader. Should a version pass the Senate, a reconciliation of the two versions would need to be created and then voted on by both houses before reaching the President’s desk.

Long story short, we have quite a distance to go before there’s an ACA repeal and, given the amount of time necessary for providers and insurers to react to the changes, even if the law is repealed and replaced within the next few months, we anticipate that employers will see no changes until at least 2019.

Our advice is to stay the course and to check in with your health insurance broker—they remain your best source of information about how any changes will impact you and your company.

Obama Overtime Rule. On Dec. 1, 2016, a new minimum salary threshold was to go into effect which would have required anyone earning a salary of less than $47,476 to become eligible for overtime. This proposed rule is currently held up in court. Trump’s new Labor Secretary, Alexander Acosta, said during his confirmation hearing that while he agrees that the current threshold of $23,660 is too VER THE PAST

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low and should be adjusted, it should not be increased to the level proposed by Obama. Rumor has it Acosta is eyeing $33,000 as the new minimum salary threshold. Our advice is to hold tight until either a new rule is proposed or the court acts on the current injunction, but you can expect that the threshold will certainly be increased from its current level.

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Independent Contractor Guidance. Within the last two years of his term, President Obama’s Administration released guidance to employers on how to assess whether an independent contractor should be considered an employee under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The new guidance created a much higher standard of “economic dependence” and would have reclassified many independent contractors as employees.

In one of his first acts as Secretary of Labor, Mr. Acosta withdrew this guidance and returned to the long-standing “control standard” which focuses much more on whether the contractor truly is independent and is able to maintain control over how and when the work should be performed.

For more on how to determine if your independent contractor is classified correctly, search for “DOL Factsheet #13.”

Q. Whatever happened with the proposed increase in the minimum salary threshold to be exempt from overtime?

A. The increase that was put in place by the Obama Administration—from $23,660 to $47,476—in order to be exempt from overtime has been held up in court since December 2016. The Trump Administration just filed a brief with the court saying it does not intend to defend the new, higher level. This means it may go back to the former level or a new level could be established. Our recommendation is to continue and wait and see what the Administration and courts decide.

today, this initiative—should it make its way through Congress—represents a significant change in most employers’ hiring process. Stay tuned!

State-Based Initiatives. In the absence of significant congressional action on numerous workplace initiatives over the past few years, many states and localities have moved forward with their own regulatory requirements, including increasing the minimum wage, implementing equal pay rules, establishing mandatory sick and parental leave programs, ban-the-box, and scheduling predictability laws.

Clearly, legislating workplace rules and regulations on a state or local basis creates a sizeable challenge for large, multi-location employers who must track and comply with each regulation. In response, numerous states have passed state workplace preemption laws which make it illegal for localities to legislate workplace standards that differ from those of the state. We can expect to see the rate of state and local employment regulations increase as well the number of state preemption laws.

In the months ahead, we will be monitoring what bubbles up, especially in the area of deregulation and tax reform—the next big areas of change. We’ll keep you posted!

Claudia St. John Affinity HR Group, Inc. claudia@affinityhrgroup.com

Paid Maternity/Paternity Leave. In his 2018 Budget Proposal, President Trump proposed a new federal paid maternity/paternity/adoptive parent leave program. The program would provide for six weeks of paid leave for new parents and would leave the structure and the funding of the program largely up to the states. States would administer (and fund) the program through their Unemployment Insurance (UI) program.

The level of the benefit and funding are largely undetermined at this point, but it is anticipated to be approximately the same level of financial benefit as each state’s weekly UI benefit. Since most presidential budget proposals are really an Administration wish list, it will be necessary for the House or Senate to design and usher this program through to passage, leaving it with an uncertain fate.

Mandatory E-Verify for All Employers. Presently, EVerify is largely a voluntary internet system that enables employers to verify the legal work status of potential employees. E-Verify is mandatory for all federal contractors and, on the federal level, is voluntary for all other employers. Nine states—Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Utah—require E-Verify for all or most employers, with some carve-outs for small businesses.

Eleven states—Colorado, Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Texas, Virginia and West Virginia—require E-Verify for most public employers. Minnesota and Pennsylvania require E-Verify for some public contractors. Nationwide, barely 10% of private employers currently use E-Verify.

In his 2018 budget proposal, President Trump allocated funding to require all private employers in all states to use E-Verify for all hires. Given the limited use of this system Building-Products.com

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Roseburg Building EWP Plant in SC Roseburg Forest Products, Springfield, Or., will expand its operations in the southeastern United States with construction of a new engineered wood products plant in Chester, S.C. “This is an exciting strategic growth opportunity in a business that has done well for us,” said president and CEO Grady Mulbery. “With the continued increase in housing starts in the southeastern U.S., we see ongoing demand growth for engineered wood products in the region and elsewhere.”

Groundbreaking on the planned

state-of-the-art manufacturing facility is expected in early 2018, with anticipated operation start-up in mid-2019.

Once completed, the plant will create 148 full-time jobs.

“This new plant will be the most technologically advanced manufacturing facility of its kind in the world with the highest capacity continuous LVL press in the world,” said Steve Killgore, senior VP of Solid Wood Business. “Expanding our manufacturing capacity in this way allows us to meet growing customer demand for a

versatile product that combines the best of modern processing technology and structural capability.”

The new plant reportedly will make Roseburg the largest U.S. manufacturer of engineered wood products serving independent distributors without captive distribution. Roseburg first established its EWP business in 2001 and currently manufactures RFPI Joists, RigidLam LVL, and RigidRim rimboard at its plant in Riddle, Or.

DEALER Briefs Builders Emporium, Macedonia, Oh., formed in 1970, was acquired by Jacquie and Ian Kubicki, and renamed BEi Supply & Rental.

Drexel Building Supply will build a new store with lumberyard on 13 acres in Columbus, Wi. 84 Lumber is reorganizing into four divisions—Central, Mid-Atlantic, Southeast and Southwest—to facilitate expansion nationwide. Divisional VPs include Dave Dahl (Mid-Atlantic), Billy Ball (Southeast), and Rob Woodrow (Southwest).

Virginia Builders’ Supply , Richmond, Va., has been acquired by 200-branch Foundation Building Materials, Tustin, Ca. Bishop Heights True Value, Lincoln, Ne., is liquidating six months after moving to a new location that, according to owners Dave and Krista Rickman, did “not have the sales we need to continue operating.”

Wheeler True Value Hardware , Warrenton, Ga., has been acquired by Philip Scherer and converted to Wheeler Ace Hardware.

Plummer’s Ace Hardware , Waterboro, Me., and two adjacent businesses suffered heavily damaged in a July 16 blaze.

Steinacker Hardware, Fostoria, Oh., is closing after 25 years.

Roselle Ace Hardware , Roselle, Il., and five nearby storefronts sustained significant damage in a July 17 fire. The business will be closed for at least three months and force postponement of a 10th anniversary celebration planned for this month.

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True Value Considers Sale True Value Co., Chicago, Il., is reportedly mulling a sale of the near4,400-member co-op, according to Bloomberg News.

The 69-year-old firm has hired an investment bank to analyze strategic options, including a straight sale, merger, auction or standing pat.

Possible suitors include private equity firms and chief rivals Ace Hardware and Do it Best Corp.

Ace, based in nearby Oak Brook, Il., has expressed interest, but said that thusfar it has not been contacted by True Value.

Do it Best also signaled its interest, noting its own proximity to Chicago, its past success with largescale mergers, and its similar company histories and independent-minded philosophies.

“Over the last few months, we have welcomed an increasing number of former True Value members into the Do it Best family and we look forward to welcoming many more,” said Do it Best president/CEO Dan Starr.

Industrials manufacturer Great Northern Lumber of Michigan, Lincoln, Mi., is now operating as Northern Industrial Woods, following the purchase of its assets by Weston Forest, Mississauga, Ont., Canada.

The two companies have had a long-standing relationship, and Great Northern extends the reach of Weston’s reman capabilities.

“We are very excited to acquire U.S. assets for the first time in our history,” said Weston president Steve Rhone. “Owning a facility in Michigan allows us to support our customers on both sides of the border.

In this time of uncertainty around the trade of softwood lumber between Canada and the United States, this is one more step to ensure we can continue to deliver the exceptional service our customers have come to expect from us.”

Plant manager Joel Blohm will remain.

The 15-year-old company is unrelated to Great Northern Lumber, Blue Island, Mi.

Mississippi Dealer Expands Nabors Building Supply Co., Houston, Ms., has purchased the former Black Brothers Building Supply, Ackerman, Ms., to become its third location. The space is being remodeled and owner Lee Nabors expects to n

Building Products Digest

Lumbermen’s Buys Michigan Prestain Lumbermen’s, Grand Rapids, Mi., has acquired wood products prefinisher Michigan Prestain, Wyoming, Mi. The merged entity will produce and distribute products under the Great American Spaces brand.

For nearly two years, Lumbermen’s has distributed Michigan Prestain products, including Easy Barnwood.

Michigan Prestain was founded in 1989 by Greg Troutt. Its nearly 30 employees will continue working out of its 66,000-sq. ft. manufacturing plant. Troutt will join Lumbermen’s to develop new products and support the combined sales team.

Lumbermen’s has 400 employees at locations across Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, and northern Kentucky.

Deal Leaves Westlake Holding 100 Aces

Weston Buys into US

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be open by early August.

Black Brothers closed in March after 56 years and auctioned off its remaining assets in May.

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Westlake Ace Hardware has acquired two Q.P. Ace Hardware stores in Omaha and Ralston, Ne., bringing the chain to exactly 100 retail locations in the U.S., including 12 in Nebraska.

The Q.P. stores are in the process of being re-branded as Westlake Ace locations, with grand re-opening celebrations planned for later this summer.

According to Westlake, this will be a seamless transition of ownership, personnel in the two stores will remain the same, and operations will not be affected.

Q.P. Ace Hardware will continue to own and operate four other locations in Lincoln, Ne.

Advantage Adds Brazil Mill Advantage Trim & Lumber Co., Sarasota, Fl., has purchased a new sawmill in Brazil, located just a few miles up the river from its existing kiln-drying and processing plant.

The new mill will be named Lumber Queens, recognizing “the rapidly rising role of women in our company and the industry,” explained VP Betty Pelc. “For centuries, the industry has been dominated by men, and for the most part they have done a fine job, but I think women have some long-overlooked ideas for production, distribution, treatment of workers, and ecology that surely will change the August 2017

way things get done.”

The facility will be overseen by the company’s South American division director Viviane Peixoto, and exports will be handled by the company’s U.S.-based import/export manager Vanessa Carrano.

The new facility houses two separate sawmill lines that will process a combined 34,000 bd. ft. of hardwood lumber per shift. A nearby port for receiving barges can carry up to 850,000 bd. ft. of logs at a time. The grounds will include a 10-acre log yard that will stockpile up to 3 million bd. ft. of logs, allowing production to continue throughout the rainy season.

The company is working to obtain FSC certification for the new mill, to complement the existing certification for all of Advantage’s other facilities.

The new mill will provide rough blanks for processing at the kiln-drying facility, which produces decking, deck tiles, hardwood flooring, beams, live-edge slabs, turning blanks, industrial lumber, cabinet-grade hardwoods, and other FSC certified products.

SUPPLIER Briefs IDI Distributors has added a branch in Grand Rapids, Mi. Keene, Mayfield Heights, Oh., has acquired Village Plastics Co ., Barberton, Oh., joining other divisions Keene Building Products, Continental Products , and Dependable LLC. John Hosbach is manager of Village Plastics.

Henry Co., El Segundo, Ca., has acquired fluid-applied waterproofing system manufacturer TQ3 North America, Fairfield, N.J. CertainTeed, Malvern, Pa., has agreed to purchase HDPE fencing maker SimTek Fence, Orem, Ut. Jones Cos., Columbia, Ms., was recently recognized as one of the Best Places to Work in Mississippi for 2017

by Mississippi Business Journal in the mega-large category.

Anniversaries: TH Estes Lumber Co. , Nashville, Tn., 110th …

Atkins Lumber Co., Atkins, Ia., 90th … Wyrick Lumber Co ., Hugo, Ok., 80th … Fortress Building Products, Garland, Tx., 15th.

Building-Products.com

THINKING Ahead

By Steve Cheatham, Everwood Treatment Co.; Warren Reeves, Wholesale Wood Products; and Devin Stuart, Roseburg Forest Products

Building business, one relationship at a time I

N BUSINESS, there are a couple of ways to handle interactions with customers and partners.

One option is the transactional approach, which gets the job done but is something of a one-way street. It might involve calling a general corporate number to speak with whichever random individual answers, addressing the matter at hand, and then moving on to the next order of the day. Done, done and done! It’s functional, and certainly it works for some operations—really busy, high-volume companies, for example.

But for many midsize and smaller outfits, especially in an industry where handshakes often cinch the deal, it’s all wrong. Instead, these companies prefer to get to know the person on the other end of the line, building a personal relationship as well as a professional one as they work together over and over again.

Unlike transaction-based business, this is more like a two-way street. The vendor calls the customer; the customer calls the vendor—and in this way, they both stay connected to the market and where it is at the moment.

Conversations are not limited to work, however.

Sometimes buyers and sellers simply touch base to rehash a football game that took place over the weekend, catch up on each other’s family events, or make plans to get together for an activity they both enjoy. Sharing the details of their personal lives creates a level of mutual trust and respect that is absent when the voice on the phone is nothing more than that, and it fosters a genuine desire to keep one another’s best interests at heart.

I’m So Into You The underlying principle behind work relationships— you take care of me, and I’ll take care of you—has endured from one generation to the next in many a wood and lumber company. It’s so ingrained, in fact, that one

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informal mantra heard throughout the industry proclaims it—“people buy from people,” not from companies.

It might be different if we were servicing the end-user, who might not care where the material for a new deck is coming from; but in distribution and supply, people still want that personal engagement with whomever they’re buying from or selling to. There’s just a comfort level in looking someone in the face, talking to them, and knowing who you’re dealing with.

Everyone in the industry has choices, so it’s important to differentiate yourself from the crowd of competitors who also are vying for the attention of your key individual. You’ve got to figure out who these people are, and you’ve got to figure out how you can be in preferred position instead of somebody else. The way to do that is

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A Special Series from North American Wholesale Lumber Association

not by becoming an email order taker, calling only to drum up more business, or keeping partners at an arm’s length socially. Rather, when you make a habit of regular contact, learn the family dog’s name, inquire about the kids’ activities, plan the occasional fun outing, and treat that individual as a person instead of a job assignment, you win!

What Have You Done for Me Lately?

Successful relationships are not built overnight, however; they take time to shape and grow. Once you’ve successfully accomplished this, their value becomes clear: • You save time, because you don’t have to shop around—you know your “go-to” person has your back.

• You avoid haggling, because when you have a close relationship, everything’s not contingent on price. Rather, there’s more focus on feedback and collaboration so that both sides walk away from a transaction happy and ready to do business together again in the future.

• You can call in a favor if you’re in a bind—and your partner will jump through hoops and bend over backwards to get you what you need.

• You’re on the fast track if there’s a snag. In case of a problem, you don’t have to muddle through layers of people and policy to resolve it—you’ve already got someone on the inside advocating for you so that it’s settled quickly.

• You’ve got a cheering section! When you provide exceptional service through personal interaction, trust and loyalty, the individuals on the other end of that service will gladly vouch for you to other potential partners. That kind of testimonial goes a long way from one business owner to the next and will help grow your business.

Breaking Up Is Hard to Do As you can see, relationships give back what you put into them; but, just like in your personal life, sometimes they just aren’t meant to be. It’s fairly easy to tell if any particular relationship is worth keeping: just run a report on sales and profit. The numbers will betray if this thing you’re in is one-sided. Remember, it’s supposed to be a two-way street. So if you’re not pulling your weight in the relationship, you could find yourself on the losing end of a breakup.

You’ll recognize the signs when it happens, too. One of the first red flags, just like in a real-life romance, is a

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drop-off in communication. If you’re used to chatting with someone every few days but two weeks have passed without a call or email, it’s time to reach out and figure out what’s wrong and how to fix it. In some cases, there may not be anything to fix. Consolidations and industry shakeouts can change the dynamics of a relationship, or dissolve it, with no one to blame.

Luckily, if you find yourself on the rebound, NAWLA is a rich source of vendors and suppliers to cultivate new relationships with at any given time. New relationships of all kinds can and do form all the time. They will continue to do so, as they are a central part of the human experience—and that extends to our work lives. As professionals, we share the same goals—to create and maintain

About NAWLA North American Wholesale Lumber Association is the association that delivers unparalleled access to relationships and resources that improve business strategy and performance through sales growth, cost savings, and operational efficiencies for wholesalers and manufacturers of forest products and other building materials that conduct business in North America. Learn more about how NAWLA can help your business at www.nawla.org.

business—and somewhere, somehow, that starts with one person making a connection with another.

In real estate, for example, that connection might lead to one or two shared transactions. But with wood and lumber, we’re looking for the value of someone to do business with for the long haul. That lifetime customer— and maybe even a lifetime friend—is within reach, if we just invest the time and energy in getting to know who they are once they leave the workplace for the day.

– Steve Cheatham is sales manager for Everwood Treatment Co., Spanish Fort, Al., and a member of NAWLA’s marketing committee. Devin Stuart is marketing product manager for Roseburg Forest Products, Springfield, Or., and also on NAWLA’s marekting committee. Warren Reeves is vice president of sales & marketing at Wholesale Wood Products, Dothan, Al., and a member of NAWLA’s board of directors.

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Savannah Businesses Combine Guerry Lumber, Savannah, Ga., has expanded into the architectural window and door business with its acquisition of HomeSouth Architectural, Savannah.

HomeSouth’s manager, Chris Hall, and team will stay on in their current roles. The products produced by HomeSouth, along with the products Guerry stocks, will allow the combined customers to source everything, from the foundation to the door locks, from one company.

HomeSouth Architectural was started in 2000 by Peter Humphrey as a division of North Atlantic Corp., another family-owned business based in Somerset, Ma.

Alabama Lumberyard Calls It Quits

DASSO recently held a groundbreaking ceremony for its huge new facility in China to manufacture fused bamboo exterior building products.

Bamboo Decking Plant on the Way DassoUSA, Atlanta, Ga., has announced its parent company has broken ground on a new state-of-the-art factory in JiangOu City, Fujian Province, China, to meet growing North American demand for its decking, siding and other fused bamboo building materials.

The 1-million-sq. ft. manufacturing plant will sit on 36 acres and should be completed by July 2018, with 400 workers and the capacity to produce 20 million sq. ft of recently developed “light-colored” exterior building products annually.

DassoUSA is the company’s exclusive sales and marketing arm in North America, with a warehouse in Atlanta.

Separately, DassoUSA is warning North American customers to be wary of selling counterfeit exterior bamboo products. It has received reports that several Chinese companies have begun exporting copycat bamboo products falsely claiming they are selling Dasso products under private label names. All Dasso products in U.S. and Canadian markets are sold through DassoUSA and every carton can be verified by looking for the Dasso logo on the bundle.

Ace Offers Extra Mile Guarantee Ace Hardware is rolling out its Extra Mile Promise, a guarantee that Ace has the expert advice and supplies needed to help consumers successfully tackle any paint project with just one trip to the store.

Available at participating stores nationwide, the vow was created to address and relieve the frustration consumers deal with when faced with the proposition of yet another trip to the store as a result of forgotten items or not enough paint. Ace is so confident in its one-trip guarantee that it will provide free delivery to consumers who may be in need of additional paint supplies.

“While it hurt our pride to learn this, the truth is that while consumers trust Ace as the Helpful Place, far too many of them believed that our speedy sized stores didn’t have enough product to complete their paint project,” said John Venhuizen, president and CEO. “We know this isn’t the case, so to assuage these misperceptions, we decided to stand behind our large paint assortment with the Extra Mile Promise. Our objective is simple: to be known as the #1, best, most convenient, most helpful and most credible store for paint in the neighborhood.”

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With no successor to pass the business on to, Bull Building Supply, Jasper, Al., has closed, according to coowner Bobby Bull.

With he and brother Ed getting on in years and the staff experiencing health issues, Bull said the decision was sad but necessary, particularly in light of business conditions for a small independent.

The firm was launched in 1963 by their father, J.C. Bull.

Penn Hardware Store Liquidated Lycippus Hardware & Supply, Mount Pleasant Township, Pa., along with its contents, will go up for auction August 12. After 44 years of ownership, Chuck Mozingo said health problems have severely limited his operation of the store.

A native of West Virginia, Mozingo was a crane operator for Latrobe Steel when he purchased the hardware store and inventory in 1973 from William Chicka, who had owned it since the early 1950s.

Because of the large number of items, a second auction is planned for Sept. 9.

Weyco Recalls Coated I-Joists Weyerhaeuser is recalling a batch of TJI Joists with Flak Jacket Protection, after linking an odor in certain newly constructed homes to a recent formula change in the coating that included formaldehyde-based resin. The issue is isolated to Flak Jacket product made after Dec. 1, 2016, and does not affect any of the company’s other products.

Flak Jacket Protection is a coating applied to I-joists to enhance fire resistance, and it is not widely in use. The product is present in the basements of about 2,200 houses in various stages of construction in limited markets. Most of the houses are not yet occupied.

Weyerhaeuser will cover the cost to either remediate or replace affected joists. It has halted production, sales and shipments of the product, and is collecting unused product from customers.

Weyerhaeuser has sold a total of approximately $9 million of the product since December 2016. It expects the before-tax costs associated with resolving this issue to be approximately $50-60 million.

GAF Adding TPO Roofing Plant Late this year, GAF will open a plant in New Columbia, Pa., to manufacture themoplastic polyolefin single-ply membrane for commercial roofing and Cobra brand injection molding components for residential roofing.

The 34-acre facility will also serve as a regional training facility for contractors and roofing industry professionals.

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Building Products Digest

INDUSTRY NEWS & MONEY-MAKING STRATEGIES FOR LUMBER & BUILDING MATERIAL DEALERS & DISTRIBUTORS

SALES & MARKETING SPECIAL ISSUE

Roadmap to Success Sales & Marketing Special Issue James Olsen ‰ Mastering Sales

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BRANDING

FAST CLOSE

Alex Goldfayn Revenue Growth

Dave Kahle ‰ Overcoming Price

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Sarah Fryer Branding

Kate Zabriskie ‰ Cold Calling

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MAX PROFIT

MORE TRAFFIC

INCREASED VISIBILITY AHEAD

Stu Schlackman Questions for Customers

Henry DeVries ‰ StorySelling

- - - - - - - - ·- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - By James Olsen Sales & Marketing Special Issue

by James Olsen

Attitudes and activities of the Master Seller When a Master Seller looks in the mirror, they see a salesperson. Sellers who underachieve see sales as something they do. When they look in the mirror they see a good parent, great golfer, or cook, which are all fine things to be, but this difference is as significant as the results they produce.

Many of us drive cars every day and are good (enough) at it, but we don’t consider ourselves professional racers and could not compete with them.

The same holds true in sales.

Work Ethic & False Friends I have worked with and trained thousands of salespeople. The number one reason for failure is lack of work ethic. Master Sellers work harder and with more intensity and focus than the underachievers. Are there highly compensated sellers that make it look easy? Are there some that make a great living working short hours and closing deals over cocktails and golf?

Yes, with three important caveats.

Number one, these sellers are exceptional. I tell sellers, “You want to be Bob Johnson. The problem is, you’re not Bob Johnson. You may be someday, but today you’re not, so you don’t get to do it like Bob.” Bob is an exception. We can not run our business on exceptions!

Number two is that many times these sellers only make it look easy.

But making something look easy is different from something being easy.

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Number three is that many sellers put in years of work to get to the level they have achieved, so we are seeing only the tip of their lifetime work ethic iceberg.

There are many “false friends” in sales. False friends are activities that August 2017

don’t lead to sales. Sellers who underperform are famous for being busy at the wrong activities. Delivering samples, poor drive-time planning, and over-servicing existing accounts are some of the biggest mistakes.

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- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Account Management Most sellers prospect for new accounts for the first two years of their careers and then fake it until they retire. These sellers do not develop new customers and thus are overreliant on existing accounts to make their number. When individual accounts are too important to us, they own us—and they know it, which makes it difficult to win price negotiations. High maintenance/low margin accounts are the hallmark of the low producer.

Master Sellers prospect for new business ALL THE TIME. They take great care of their existing accounts but they don’t over-service them.

They love all their accounts, but they don’t “fall in love” with any of them.

Master Sellers will not take poor treatment from accounts. They give respect and expect it in return. Master Sellers are partners, struggling sellers are servants.

Underperforming salespeople have stagnated account boxes. They are “working hard” on accounts that don’t buy from them or pick them off when they’ve got a stupid (cheap) number.

Master Sellers close business faster and move on from accounts that don’t buy from them sooner.

Daily & Weekly Organization Master Sellers plan their week in advance. They know exactly who they are going to call and what they are going to offer the next day the night before they go home.

Most sellers plop down at their desk after the morning coffee, paper and chatter with co-workers and say, “Okay, what now?”

Sales Call Organization The overwhelming difference between a Master Seller sales call and the rest is preparation. The Master Seller knows exactly how they want the call to go and what outcomes they want to achieve. The Master Seller is prepared to close on every call. This preparedness is felt and appreciated by customers. The Master Seller Building-Products.com

Master Seller Checklist aProspect all the time aPrune your client base aPlan the week in advance aPrepare to close on every call aPursue a response aPredict the customer’s needs

never leaves an account without setting the next meeting or action step.

I am shocked at the number of sellers who don’t have a plan and are not ready to close. This lack of preparation is also felt and resented by customers; poor sales calls are boring and waste time.

These poorly prepared sellers get kicked around and treated poorly and blame it on the client! They say, “Wow, it’s tough to get people on the phone these days. All my customers want me to do is email them the information.” These sellers are correct.

Customers won’t come to the phone for them because they are on the phone buying from someone who will not waste their time.

problems at this stage they can be difficult to resolve, costly and often end the relationship before it starts.

Friendship is the second stage. We have earned the customer’s trust. We get to know them on a more personal level. Problems are solved more easily. This is the stage where most sellers stop.

The Master Seller moves to the Leadership stage. They earn customers’ trust and then work so hard at understanding their business that eventually they know it (the part they do for them) better than their customers do. These sellers get the “just take care of it for me and let me know what we’ve got when you’re done” treatment from customers.

Most sellers are asking customers what they need. Master Sellers lead their customers. They anticipate their customer’s needs BEFORE the customer (and other competitors) knows they need it.

Discipline — The Final Frontier When I think of all the great salespeople I know and work with, the word that keeps coming back is discipline. Each has different styles and strengths. Some are smarter, more charming, harder working, or craftier, but they all have the discipline to do what it takes—see above—every day.

Fail Faster Master Sellers get more “no’s” in a week than most sellers get in a month! Most sellers are afraid of the no so they dance around it or avoid it altogether by not even asking for the order. Master Sellers are not afraid of the no. They PURSUE it. They know that the job doesn’t start UNTIL the customer says no. They ask for the business often and repeatedly. They train their customers to expect it.

James Olsen is the founder of Reality Sales Training, Portland, Or. After 20 years in sales with Nike, North Pacific Lumber, and Forest City Trading, in 2001 James started his own sales training business, devoted to helping companies and individuals achieve rapids sales growth.

Contact him at (503) 544-3572 or james@realitysalestraining.com.

Leadership Sales There are three stages we move through with our customers.

Serviceship is the first stage. They are testing us. All the details of every order must be correct. If there are August 2017

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- - - - - - - - ·- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - By Alex Goldfayn Sales & Marketing Special Issue

by Alex Goldfayn

What will YOU do to grow sales?

My business is revenue growth consulting. I work with owners to grow their companies. My clients grow by an average of 10 to 20% annually. As a part of nearly every project I do, I interview some of my clients’ key customerfacing staff. Usually, these are outside and inside salespeople, customer service people, and their management.

I like to ask them these simple questions: What is the low-hanging fruit for revenue growth? What can you do to grow sales the easiest, fastest and most?

I am listening for two things. First, the content of their answer. How do they think we can grow the business, if at all. Second, I’m interested in whether they are talking about what they can do, or what the company can do?

In psychological terms, this is called locus of control.

Do they believe that growth is within their personal control (and, of course it is), or do they believe that other people need to do things in order for them to sell more?

Some salespeople—the minority, unfortunately—talk about using the phone more, or visiting their customers more as the keys to growing sales. These are your highestpotential salespeople. More on those approaches shortly.

But many salespeople talk about what needs to be done by others for them to sell more. We need to lower our pricing. We need to invest in our product development. The customer service team takes too long. Any of this sounding familiar? I know it does.

The latter group feels that growth is not within their control. They will underperform the group who feels that their actions directly impact your results.

Here’s my take, made gentler for this piece than if we were having a drink together. Don’t tell me what your com-

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pany can do for you. Don’t talk to me about lower prices and more products. Right now, today, as you sit and read this, your products are more than good enough to dramatically increase your revenue. Your customers are happy with your products. I know this because they’ve been buying from you 10 or 20 years for a reason. You can probably double your revenue without adding a single product.

Tell me about what you can do! I want to know about which actions, tools and communications you can change or increase to sell more.

For example, can you use the telephone more? Most salespeople shy away from the phone. In fact the average salesperson spends four hours per week on the phone.

Think about this! We have 40 hours in a week, but only spend four on the phone! Two additional hours per week, just 25 minutes per day, would increase your phone time by 50%! This is a massive and powerful outcome.

Can you maybe ask for the sale more? Most people don’t ask for the business at all. Even though the customer has been talking to you, and expressing their interest, we don’t ask them to buy. Mostly because we’re afraid. We don’t want to upset or offend the customer.

Can you ask for more referrals perhaps? Even though customers love to give referrals, we tend to be afraid to ask for them. What if they get mad? Who do you know, like yourself, who would also get value from working with me?

How often do your customers see you? No matter what you sell, it’s easier with good relationships. I was doing a client workshop, and one of the attendees had recently started working at the company. Before this, he worked at a customer’s company. He said that only two providers ever came to visit him. Out of more than 20!

It’s not hard to stand out from the competition, because the competition isn’t very good. All we have to do is communicate. More. A lot more. But you have to do it. Not the company. So, what will you do?

Alex Goldfayn is the author of The Revenue Growth Habit, selected the sales book of the year by 800-CEOREAD. He is the CEO of The Revenue Growth Consultancy (www.evangelistmktg.com).

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- - - - - - - - ·- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - By Dave Kahle Sales & Marketing Special Issue

“How can I sell when I’m not the lowest price?”

“How can I sell when I’m not the lowest price?”I wish I had a dollar for every time I was asked that question in a sales training session. It’s certainly one of the most common questions I hear coming from professional salespeople—and their bosses.

There are a variety of answers—too many for just one article. But, we can identify one of the most powerful ways to deal with this problem.

First, let’s start with this premise: “Low price” is not the main reason people buy! In every survey of buying motivations I’ve ever read, low price is never the primary motivation. Yes, it’s important. And, when everything else is equal, it will be the deciding factor. But rarely is everything else equal. And very few people in this world buy only on the basis of low price. How many of you are driving used Yugos? Or wearing a suit you bought at a garage sale? Or watching an 8-inch black-and-white TV?

You’ve got the picture. You don’t always buy on the basis of low price, so why should you think that all your customers do?

The truth is, they don’t. And here’s a secret that almost nobody knows, including all those gurus telling you to sell value. They don’t always buy the best value. But, they can invariably be counted on to buy the lowest risk! The biggest issue in the minds of your customers and prospects is not price, and its not value—it is risk.

What’s risk? Risk is the potential cost to the individual customer if he/she makes a mistake. It’s not just the money, although that is part of it. It is also the social, psychological

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and emotional cost that your customer will pay if your choice isn’t the best one. The lower the risk of the decision, the more likely your customer will say “yes” to you— regardless of the price.

Let’s become comfortable with this concept of risk first, and then discuss how to use it in your sales efforts.

In order to really understand risk, you must first see this issue from your customers’ perspective. Try to put yourself in their shoes, and calculate the amount of risk that you expect your customers to take when you offer them an opportunity to say “yes” to you.

Here’s an illustration to help you understand this concept. Imagine that you are under orders by your spouse to pick up a package of disposable cups on the way home from work today because you’re having friends over for a casual evening of dessert and drinks tonight. You stop at the local grocery store, and make a selection between brand A and brand B. You pick brand A. After you bring the cups home, your spouse mixes up a pitcher of margaritas and pours one. The drink leaks out of the bottom of the cup and puddles on the counter. There is a hole in the bottom of the cup. You pour your drink into another cup and it leaks, too.

In fact, every one of the cups you bought is defective.

What happens to you in this instant in time? What is the consequence of your decision? I don’t know about you, but I would be the recipient of some negative emotion. My spouse would be upset with me. That may be the most painful cost of your decision. But there are other costs.

You’re going to have to fix the problem. If there’s time, you’ll have to run back to the store and replace the cups.

So, in addition to the emotional cost, you must also pay in terms of extra time and additional money. All because of your bad decision. Those costs—negative emotions, time wasted, extra money spent—all combine to form the risk you accepted when you made your decision.

Here’s a simple exercise to help you understand this concept. Draw a short vertical line. At the top of the line, write the number 25. At the bottom, write a zero. Now on a scale of 0 to 25, where would you put the risk of buying a package of disposable cups? You’d probably say it is close to zero. So, put an X on the line from 0 to 25 where you think the risk of buying those cups would be.

Let’s look at an illustration at the other end of the scale.

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- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - I once had an adoption agency as a client. When a young lady is in a crisis pregnancy, and she’s making a decision as to whether or not to release her unborn child for adoption, how big a risk is that for her? Put your X on the line that represents your assessment of that risk. Most people put their mark around 25. The risk in this situation is a lifetime of consequences for at least four people—the mother, child and adoptive parents. That’s a very high risk.

Compare the X’s for the two different decisions, and you’ll conclude that different decisions carry with them differing degrees of risk.

Now, let’s apply this concept to your customers. Remember that every time you ask your prospects to say yes to you, they are accepting some risk.

And each of those decisions you ask of them carries with it a different degree of risk. Imagine your typical customer. Then think of the typical offer or decision you ask of that person. For example, take one of your newer products. Imagine you are presenting it to your customer for the first time. Now, put yourself in his shoes, and see the situation through his eyes.

On the 0 to 25 scale, how much risk does your customer accept when he says yes to you?

For an easy way of calculating it, just ask yourself what happens to that individual if you, or your company, messes up. If your customer buys that product and it doesn’t do what you claim it will, what trouble will that make for your customer? What consequences will he/she pay? What is the risk? And don’t say that there is no risk because you’ll take care of any problem that might develop. You may think that, but your customer doesn’t know that. And remember, you’re trying to see this from your customer’s point of view, not yours. The amount of risk is what your customer perceives it to be.

I had a great example of the role of risk in sales several years ago. A young man approached me to help his company with their sales efforts. They were selling a product that was, at the time, a real state-of-the-art breakthrough. The company designed computerized controls that were retrofitted Building-Products.com

on production equipment. As a result of the use of these controls, the savings in energy consumption would pay for the cost of the equipment in less than a year. It looked like a great product. But he couldn’t sell them as rapidly as the company wanted.

“Tell me how you go about selling them,” I asked.

“We qualify our prospects to the point where we know we have someone who could use the equipment.

Then I call the production engineer or the plant manager on the phone, and gather some information about the type of equipment they use. Then I create a written proposal showing the economic payback, and mail it to him.

Next I call and try to close the sale.”

“Let me see if I understand correctly,” I said. “You are calling a plant manager on the phone. I would guess that most plant managers are men in their 50’s, probably with advanced degrees, and who have been in the plant for a number of years, is that right?”

“That’s right.”

“Okay,” I said. “So, you’re calling someone twice your age, asking him to spend $20,000 to $30,000 of unbudgeted money on equipment he’s never seen, from a company he’s never heard of, and from a salesperson half his age who he’s never met. Is that right?”

My client became a little defensive.

“If you put it that way, I suppose it’s right.”

“Well put it that way,” I replied, “because that’s the way he sees it.”

The problem was simple—risk. On that scale of 0 to 25, how much risk would you think the plant manager would be accepting if he said yes to the over-the-phone offer? Put yourself in his shoes. Suppose the equipment didn’t work the way it was supposed to? He could shut down production lines, spend weeks trying to make things right, cause all sorts of havoc in the plant, and potentially even lose his job. Now that’s risk. If you were that plant manager, how much more than the original $20,000 quote would you spend to reduce the risk? It wouldn’t be hard to justify a price double that.

That should give you a clue as to how to fight the “low price” issue.

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Worry less about low price, and more about lowering the risk. Here are four strategies to do so.

1. Build solid, deep relationships with the key decision-makers.

Relationships mitigate risk. The greater the relationship, the lower the perceived risk. That’s why the salesman with the longer relationship almost always has the benefit of the doubt in a competitive situation. It’s not the price—it is the risk.

2. Make ample use of third party recommendations, customer lists, case studies, and testimonials. All of these say to the customer that someone else (or lots of someone else’s) has used the product or service. That means it’s less risk for your customer to buy it.

3. Try to get your customer as physically involved with the product as possible. For example, if you’re selling a piece of equipment, try to get the customer to trial the equipment, or at least visit somewhere it’s being used. The more your customer can see and feel the actual thing, the less risk is it to them.

4. Finally, work with your company to create offers that reduce the risk. Trial periods, money-back guarantees, delayed billing, warranties, service desks—all of these reduce your customer’s perception of risk.

The winners in the competitive selling arena of the Information Age are those who are the low risk providers, not the low price people.

Dave Kahle is one of the world’s leading sales authorities, having written 12 books, presented in 47 states and 11 countries, and helped enrich tens of thousands of salespeople and transform hundreds of sales organizations. Sign up for his free weekly Ezine and check out his latest book, The Good Book on Business. For more information, visit www.davekahle.com.

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- - - - - - - - ·- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - By Sarah Fryer Sales & Marketing Special Issue

by Sarah Fryer

Branding should highlight your persona most importantly, why they should buy from you over a competitor.

These questions are examples of information that need to be answered before they are asked, then packaged into one cohesive, premediated brand message.

Let’s break this down into building terms—your brand identity is your foundation, and one of the most important elements of your business.

It is your voice and connection to your audience. It is your company’s look, feel and the assurance that you can be trusted to deliver. You should be asking yourself a few questions to be certain that you’re showcasing your strengths and sending the right messages to the right people in addition to successfully functioning across many platforms.

A brand is more than your logo and website. It is the way in which you present yourself in the marketplace. It is meant to connote the feeling a client associates with you when they come across your products and services. A brand is your company’s voice and true character. Recognizing this and appealing to individual emotions, is critical when marketing.

More consumers are becoming subconsciously influenced by the visual breadcrumbs that you set down for them to follow, so your brand objective needs to be clear. Many

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Identify Your Target Market consumers are gravitating toward online research and investing time into visiting a company website before making a purchase. By acknowledging the value of defining your brand presence you will be able to attract the right clients and make better use of your marketing dollars.

Thus, driving both with well thought, specified intention and consistency.

It’s no secret that millions of people are online each day looking over their options before making a purchase. Consumers want to know who you are, what you’re offering, and, August 2017

This enables you to tailor your messaging with intent and to get your brand working for you! Get specific here and do your research. Who are you trying to reach? Who currently purchases your products? Narrow your market—is it homeowners, distributors or builders? You have to craft messages that resonate with these specific audiences. Anyone who falls outside these groups will examine your messages; however, your defined target will move closer to you and your products after feeling an authentic fit.

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- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

By promoting your business and its services in ways that reverberate with the groups you have identified, wellestablished associations are made by the brand, creating trust.

Who Are You? Get some help from your staff and current client base.

Ask questions and create a list of keywords that will help you build and define your existing identity. Do you have a mission statement or a listing of core values? What makes you different from your competitors?

You should be developing your brand around how you want it to be recognized within the industry, while determining the competitive advantage it has over others. Are your orders on time? Do you stand behind your products?

Do you make yourself available to customers who have questions or concerns?

Traits such as quality, trustworthiness and dependability should be reflected through your actions and, thus, embodied by your brand.

Have a Plan Your brand and its strategy need to be fluid in order to keep up with the ever-changing multi media landscape.

This means refreshing your logo, maintaining your website, and making small changes to your own work as you come across other ideas and campaigns in your field.

What is working and what is not? Having a strategy that is able to incorporate new ideas while simultaneously remaining true to the origin of your brand will ensure effective results that best suit your marketing directives. In addition to your plan, track your successes and quantify its activity for any necessary adjustments.

These are only a few of the many areas that should be considered when developing and maintaining your brand identity. Creating messages that reflect the quality and core values of your organization through market influence are emphasised in today’s culture.

By connecting the fundamentals of your brand with the needs of your consumer, your client not only purchases a tangible product but a brand that operates under a unified vision with an established following, governed by loyalty.

Sarah Fryer has an accomplished skill set in business development, operations management, and strategic planning with strong social media & digital marketing skills. She is experienced in B2B sales, advertising, marketing and branding with a demonstrated history of success in the LBM industry. Reach her at northstarcanada@icloud.com.

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- - - - - - - - ·- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - By Kate Zabriskie Sales & Marketing Special Issue

by Kate Zabriskie

Make cold calls click “Hi, this is Ahmad calling from Acme Lumber. How are you today?”

“Well, Ahmad, I was a lot happier before you called and interrupted me. I’m behind with my project, and I’m too busy to leave my desk. Don’t call me again.”

The truth hurts, but it’s honest. Ahmad blew it. He had an opportunity to win the ear of the person on the other end of the line, but he squandered it by asking a silly question.

Clueless Ahmad probably won’t get another chance to engage that target. Anyone in business-to-business sales will tell you, stepping off on the right foot can mean the difference between clicking and a terminal “click.”

Is there hope for Ahmad and the legions of desperate dialers just like him? Of course there is. By paying careful attention to three basic things—preparation, practice, and patience—almost anyone can improve their business-tobusiness calls.

Preparation Are you cold-calling people and hoping for the best, or do you invest an adequate amount of time and effort in homework?

First, do you know what you offer, and can you use under 20 words of conversational English to explain that product or service? If not, don’t make the call.

Second, have you researched the people you plan to call? This doesn’t mean full-throttle cyber stalking, but at a minimum you need to look for them in the usual places: LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and Google. Search for people

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by name and company, by name only, and by email address. Together, those three inquiries will yield more complete results than any single query. Searching that way can also reveal personal information you otherwise might have missed that could be useful later.

For example, maybe the email address search leads to a PDF of a Little League baseball team roster. Now you know something about your prospect you might be able to weave into a conversation at some point in the future. A quick word of caution: if you discover information beyond what you see on LinkedIn, whatever you do, don’t admit to the depth of your research unless you want to sound creepy.

“I saw on Facebook you and your family had a great time at the Outer Banks last summer.” This comes off as extremely invasive.

In addition to research about the people you are calling, you should also know something about the company they work for. At least look at the organization’s website, its LinkedIn profile, and its stock price if the company is public. You should also run a quick search for news mentions.

If you fail to tend to those basics, don’t be surprised if you get caught and have your lack of knowledge held against you. Given the ubiquity of information in the age of the internet, there is no excuse for not knowing the fundamentals about the organizations you call and the people who work there. Period.

The third step in the preparation process is choosing a reason to call. The more specific it is, the more likely you are to get a thoughtful response.

Imagine for a minute that you sell office supplies, something every business uses. Your ideal customer is a business with 500-1,000 employees. In a perfect world, your customer does not use a purchasing department to procure these products. You prefer to work with office managers.

You’ve searched for businesses that meet those criteria, and you’ve done the basic research on the organizations and the relevant staff. Now you’re considering a few openings.

“Good morning. This is Jane Jones with Office Pro Supplies. I’m calling because I’m verifying a mailing list for a promotion we’re running next month. Could you tell me if you’re the most appropriate person to receive information about our copier paper special and if you prefer email notification or hard copy?”

“Good morning. This is Jane Jones with Office Pro Supplies. I’m calling because we sell office supplies to businesses. A lot of them have 1,000 or fewer employees. I Building-Products.com

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - came across your information on LinkedIn while I was working on something else, and you looked like you might be a good fit for what we do. I wanted to call to see if we could serve as a resource to you. Could you tell me how you are currently purchasing your workplace supplies?”

Either of those is sure better than “Good morning. This is Jane Jones with Office Pro Supplies. How are you today?”

Practice Just as a skilled skater makes jumping, twirling and other acrobatics look as effortless as breathing, smooth phone selling requires athlete-level discipline. What you say should roll off your tongue and sound natural. A perfect conversation starter will often sound stilted if it’s not practiced.

Work hard to sound unrehearsed.

Where do you find the time? How about the shower, during your commute (assuming you don’t take public transportation), or as part of scheduled

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role play? Role playing can be painful and unpleasant, but as the saying goes, no pain, no gain. As uncomfortable as they may be, these exercises are one of the fastest ways to learn.

Patience You follow the preparation and practice instructions to the letter, and your first two calls are a bust. What happened? Maybe you’ve just been unlucky. Not everyone is going to want to talk to you, and that’s their loss. If you have a good reason to call and you offer a product or service that might solve a prospect’s business problem, hold your head up and press on.

Keep dialing, improving, and learning from what works and what does not, and do it with a smile and a good attitude.

Lack of patience will get you no place you want to be. Regularly practice and critique your performance and you will get better. If improvement is not happening fast enough for you,

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enlist someone you trust to listen in on your calls. His or her comments may sting. Too bad. In the long run, you’ll be glad you got the help.

There’s no secret sauce in the recipe for better business-to-business calls, just elbow grease. With better preparation, practice, and patience everyone can improve their results one call at a time.

Kate Zabriskie is the president of Business Training Works, Inc., a Maryland-based talent development firm. She and her team help businesses establish customer service strategies and train their people to live up to what’s promised. For more information, visit www.businesstrainingworks.com.

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- - - - - - - - ·- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - By Stu Schlackman Sales & Marketing Special Issue

by Stu Schlackman

3 questions that capture customers’ attention Y

ou may be asking yourself, “Why didn’t I get the follow-up meeting with that recent prospect?” You asked all the right questions and got the answers you needed to qualify them. You had their budget, knew their goals and needs, and their timeframe to make the decision. You knew who the decision maker was, were keenly aware of your competitors that were in play, and felt that you had the perfect solution to meet their needs.

So why didn’t it work out?

Unfortunately this happens to many sales professionals, yet only one will earn the customer’s business. While you may be asking good questions, you may not be asking the right questions. You want to ask the type of questions that make the customer take notice of who you are and what you have to offer. What makes them pay attention to you?

What are the questions that get the customer to say, “Tell me more”?

Customers get bored when you ask the basic surface questions. These are the questions that you need to have answered to better understand the customer’s situation and so that your solution can be positioned to meet the customer’s needs. Customers already know their situation.

They want to know what makes you different from the pack, and how you can help them in a way that provides value that no one else can deliver. And remember, the last thing your prospects want on a first appointment is a presentation! This meeting is not about you and what you offer. It should be all about your customer and how you can help them meet and exceed their needs and achieve their goals and objectives. Customers want the conversation to be all about them. In other words, let them talk— you should be listening!

So what are the questions you should ask? Think about it this way: customers engage best when they are asked specific and targeted questions that pique their interest and highlight the consequences of unsolved issues. There are three critical types of questions you need to ask to build momentum and ensure that you get the next meeting.

What are the issues? To build the critical trusting relationship, you need to understand what’s really going on.

Ask them, “What issues are you facing that most need to

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be resolved?” Do not start by asking what type of solution they are looking for or how much they will spend; instead, aim to learn where they are experiencing pain? How bad is the pain and how long has it been going on? The best sales people dig deep when it comes to understanding customer issues. You can further understand the pain by asking “why” questions. When you ask “why,” you’re bringing the customer into the past which allows them to elaborate on what happened in the first place.

What is the cause? Ask them, “How long have you been having this issue? Is it getting better or worse? Do

you have any thoughts on why?” These probing questions will demonstrate that you are truly interested in understanding their situation to the fullest extent. It means that you are building credibility with the customer and showing them that you care. This approach takes the conversation to a better level of understanding and often they will even discover something they hadn’t seen before. Helping your customers understand the cause of their issue helps you understand which solutions to offer—when appropriate— and helps them to think through the situation.

What is the impact? Impact questions help to create a sense of urgency about the issue. Now that you more fully Building-Products.com

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - understand the problem and how it was caused, it’s time to talk about the possible impact on the business. Ask them, “How do you think this issue is having an impact on productivity, customer service, revenues or operating expenses?” When you can help them understand the impact, they are one step closer to taking action in your direction. When the customer sees the impact of their issues in multiple areas, we can start to craft a viable solution. You can start to help them see the future in a positive light by asking “what” questions. “What” questions focus on the possibilities.

Now you can work with customer as a partner since you have a solid understanding of their issues, how they came about and how their impacting the business.

Good selling is all about going below the surface by asking thoughtful, probing questions that help to uncover the key issues, the root causes, and finally the impact that their most painful issues can have on their business. As the saying goes, “If you ask better questions, you’ll get better answers.” The best sales professionals have great skill in asking the more significant thought-provoking questions that make a difference in the customer dialogue.

Prepare to ask questions that your customers will pay attention to and you will be much closer to building the kind of relationships that will lead to more closed sales.

Stu Schlackman is a sales expert, speaker and author of Four People You Should Know and Don’t Just Stand There, Sell Something.

With over 25 years of success in sales, Stu provides clients and audiences with the wisdom, techniques and practical advice to compete and win in business and in life. For more information, visit www.stuschlackman.com.

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- - - - - - - - ·- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - By Henry DeVries Sales & Marketing Special Issue

by Henry DeVries

Conquer sales with the simple 6-step heroic storytelling formula

A

tough challenge for many in business is convincing enough prospects to hire them. To become more persuasive, it pays to know how humans are hardwired for stories.

If you want the prospect to think it over, give them lots of facts and figures. If you want them to decide to hire you, tell them the right story.

Storytelling helps persuade on an emotional level.

Maybe that is why so many Fortune 500 companies are putting an emphasis on teaching their sales and business development professionals storytelling techniques that will move units and convince prospects to come aboard.

Now any business leader or sales professional can easily use proven techniques of telling a great story employed by Hollywood, Madison Avenue, and Wall Street by employing “The Simple Six-Step Heroic Storytelling Formula” to gain the chance to make a proposal or close the sale.

These stories must be true case studies, but told in a certain way. Here is a quick overview of the formula: One: Start with a main character. Every story starts with the name of a character who wants something. This is your client. Make your main characters likable so the lis-

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teners will root for them. To make them likable, describe some of their good qualities or attributes. Generally, three attributes work best: “Marie was smart, tough and fair” or “Johan was hardworking, caring and passionate.” For privacy reasons you don’t need to use their real names (“this is a true story, but the names have been changed to protect confidentiality”).

Two: Have a nemesis character. Stories need conflict to be interesting. What person, institution or condition stands in the character’s way? The villain in the story might be a challenge in the business environment, such as the recession of 2008 or higher tax rates (the government is always a classic nemesis character).

Three: Bring in a mentor character. Heroes need help on their journey. They need to work with a wise person.

This is where you come in. Be the voice of wisdom and experience. The hero does not succeed alone; they succeed because of the help you provided.

Four: Know what story you are telling. Human brains are programmed to relate to one of eight great meta-stories.

These are: monster, underdog, comedy, tragedy, mystery, quest, rebirth and escape. If the story is about overcoming a huge problem, that’s a monster problem story. If the company was like a David that overcame an industry Goliath, that’s an underdog story.

Five: Have the hero succeed. Typically the main character needs to succeed—with one exception: tragedy. The tragic story is told as a cautionary tale. Great for teaching lessons, but not great for attracting clients. Have the hero go from mess to success (it was a struggle, and they couldn’t have done it without you).

Six: Give the listeners the moral of the story. Take a cue from Aesop, the man who gave us fables like The Tortoise and the Hare (the moral: slow and steady wins the race). Don’t count on the listeners to get the message. The storyteller’s final job is to tell them what the story means.

6 Ways to Put Stories into Action After you build an inventory of stories that demonstrate how you take clients from mess to success, you are then Building-Products.com

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ready to deploy the stories. In storytelling, context is everything. Never randomly tell stories; instead use stories at the right strategic times.

Here are six perfect opportunities to persuade with a story: During an initial call to get a meeting. Never lead with the story.

First have a conversation with the prospect. Ask about their goals, what they are doing right, and what they see as the roadblocks they hope you can help them get past. At this point ask, “May I tell you a true story about how we helped a client get from where you are now to where you want to go?�

To close a client during a meeting. For many companies, business development is not a one-step close.

During an initial get together you gather information and in the subsequent meeting you propose a course of action. This is the time to add a case history story of a client that was in a similar situation.

On a website and in collateral material. Get rid of those dry case studies on the website. Instead, convert them to the more persuasive story format of the formula. This also applies to your marketing collateral.

Don’t just tell when stories will sell.

In your brochures and information kits replace drab case histories with persuasive heroic success stories (remember your role is as a wise mentor).

During a new business presentation. Oftentimes, you may be asked to make a presentation to a group.

Because humans are hardwired for stories, this is a perfect opportunity to

make your pitch memorable.

During a speech or media interview. Occasionally you may receive an invitation to make a speech or give an interview to the media. Illustrate your message with a pithy story.

To train employees on core values. Stories can also be the gift to your business that keeps giving.

Reinforce core values with employees and new hires through sharing the

inventory of stories.

Bottom line: Nothing is as persuasive as storytelling with a purpose.

The right stories can work wonders whether you are using them in a oneto-one meeting, in a presentation that is one-to-several, or in a speech or publicity that is one-to-many. Start today to build an inventory of persuasive stories.

Henry DeVries, CEO of Indie Books International, helps clients market with a book and speech.

As a professional speaker, he teaches sales and business development professionals how to build an inventory of persuasive stories. He is the author of Marketing with a Book and Persuade with a Story!

For more information, visit www.indiebooksintl.com.

Building-Products.com

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- - - - - - - -¡- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Sales & Marketing Special Issue

Best ads of the year B

PD’s first-ever ad competition is designed to showcase 2. Easily Understood. Does the reader in a quick glance the best in LBM marketing over the last 12 months. know what is being promoted?

Ads evaluated ran for the first time in BPD or The 3. Enticing. Does it promote the company/product in an Merchant Magazine between July 2016 and June 2017. appealing way that would make its targeted audience want Entries were divided into five categories (fractional size, to seek more information? in-house design, series, specialty piece, and best overall). A 4. Clean. Is the layout attractive and easy to navigate, so panel judged the ads on four criteria: elements don’t compete with each other and key informa1. Attention Getting. Does it make the reader stop to take tion—particularly contact info—is easy to find? a closer look?

And the winners are‌

BEST FRACTIONAL PAGE AD Woodway Products “America’s #1 Lattice�

America’s #1 Lattice

“A clean, to-the-point advertisement that doesn’t try to do too much in the space� “Effective illustration of how a vertical orientation makes the ad feel larger than its true size “Headline and brand immediately tell reader what’s important and what differentiates it from competitors� “Optimal use of space�

Robbins Lumber “Call-outs brilliantly showcase the wide range of products offered� “Easy-to-follow message and layout�

Every now and again, you’ll get a job that calls for something unique in the way of lattice. Our Estate Lattice is just the

“Engages readers’ attention with challenging question�

solution. Elegant, classical and enduring

distinction to any project, indoors or out.

| www.polycovers.com m | 541-385-9444 | sales@polycovers.com |

W AP WR

Visit us at

woodwayproducts.com or call

FlexPak “Maximum message with minimal text� “Image creates sense of action and impact�

800-459-8718 Lumber Wrap ~ Lumber Covers ~ Railcar Covers

“I would be interested to know more�

• Best Fractional Page Ads Honorable Mention – Atlantis Rail, DassoXTR, Hankins Building-Products.com

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- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - BEST IN-HOUSE DESIGN Simpson Strong-Tie “Outdoor Accents”

“Extremey effective B2B marketing. The finished product immediately draws the reader in.”

“Product blow-ups differentiate it from other options, and the images of POP displays help to alleviate objections about finding the room to bring in new products”

“Striking depiction of new product line profiling both the individual SKU’s as well as installed” “Shows the product well in three different settings”

Madison Wood “Agency quality values” “Bold, unmistakable message”

Everwood Treatment “Love the big bold logo, product up-close, and differing application shots”

“Clean layout”

“Concise bullet points give needed info on new product in inviting manner” “Great visual balance”

* Best In-House Design Honorable Mention – Nu Forest Products

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Building-Products.com

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - BEST SPECIALTY PIECE Northeastern Lumber Manufacturers Association “Knotty Scented Insert”

Kno n y notty INTRO T ODUCING

The New Fragrance-by r NELMA

Visit WW WW.NELMA.ORG/ROP P to subsccribe to this new, no chaarge service.

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THE SC CENT of SUCCE ESS

“Pine-scented card beckons the eye— and the nose” “Witty play on scratch-andsniff perfume ads”

“A multiple play on words and imagery tied back to the marketplace and demographic is surprising and brilliant, forcing the reader to study the entire contents as they are led from the tag teaser to the main body of the insert card. This piece would win awards at any level or market! And, it’s scratch and sniff, too!?!”

h Water Guidelines for Fres

“Unique piece that boldly sets apart the species.

If effective marking begins with grabbing attention and creating discussion, then this piece is a case study!”

dards to Treated Wood Stan Important Change

Docks

Ground Contact

DECKING

Ground Contact

JOISTS

Koppers Performance Chemicals “Polybagged Poster”

Ground Contact

BEAMS Ground Contact

CROSS BRACING Fresh Water Stationa

Ground Contact

ry Dock

POSTS

TREATED WOOD END USE GUIDE

Ground Contact

DECKING

Ground Contact

“Poster format for helpful treated wood use info invites readers to retain and display” “Subtle branding encourages hanging the piece because it looks more like a tool than an ad” “Two sides = more options, more reasons to hand out, and keep around workspace”

JOISTS

n Association Wood Protectio d new The American 2016, establishe (AWPA) in July nd Contact require that Grou in guidelines that ed wood be used treat A) (UC4 General Use use applications: wing follo the

Ground Contact treated wood can be used in Above Ground applications.

Ground Contact

POSTS Dock Fresh Water Floating

(including floating in fresh water docks t. This would treated wood used Contac The majority of all treated to Ground walkways shall be other applications docks), piers and cross bracing and t or recurring basis. joists and beams, include decking, wetted on a frequen wood would be where the treated

dards New AWPA Stan d for Treated Woo

d was the AWPA U1 Standar Effective July 2016, new guidelines for wood hing revised establis General Use. Ground Contact treated to UC4A shall be used in as: UC4A treated wood conditions such Ground Contact ground contact situations that simulate ys Decks and Walkwaabove the ground.

Ground Level

water less than 6” air circulation or when installed that does not permit • Treated wood an application wood is used in other debris • When treated n, leaf litter, or th the structure. where vegetatio drainage undernea an application wood product. wood is used in with the treated • When treated remain in contact will build up and wood Water Docks n where the treated and that Decks and Freshis used in an above ground applicatio replace or repair wood change difficult to maintain, the structure. This standard • When treated be considered of component would to the performance and safety water docks, including decks and fresh component is criticalbeams used in above ground and wave will affect joists such as wind and and recurring basis floating docks. swimming pools on a frequent or wood is wetted or watering systems, • When treated and walkways) fresh water docks action (such as hot tubs.

Export

r Use Products - Exterio

• When treated

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tropical climates. for

the U1 standards rd n (AWPA) has changed The AWPA Book AWPA U1 Standa al applications.

Protection Associatio as architects • The American Woodin residential, agricultural and commerci for specifiers, such the

the primary standard cials. This Standard contains treated wood used “Standard U1 is code offi of Standards states, users and building product that best suits their needs.” a but also for end treated to order to select and engineers, beams shall be by specifiers in to states, “Joists and and are critical information needed AWPA U1 Standard repair or replace revisions to the are difficult to maintain, .”

• One of the new UC4A when they nstruction requirements for entire system/co and safety of the the performance treated wood products. rd Change Standa the of Above Ground Reason for address the misuse change will help The new Standard

18

ground. than 6” above the when installed less • Treated wood does not an application that wood is used in 19 21 • When treated ge underneath the tion or water draina permit air circula 3 20 structure. an application where wood is used in 4 build up and remain 13 • When treated will debris or other 1 vegetation, leaf litter, ct.

5 treated wood produ 8 9 10 in contact with the 5 tropical climates. wood is used in 2 • When treated ing frequent or recurr is wetted on a14 wood 11 10 d water 9 treate 2 • When 6 (such as fresh 8 and wave action ing pools9 basis such as wind systems, swimm ays) or watering 6 docks and walkw 15 and hot tubs. ation above ground applic 7 wood is used in an ered 16 • When treated would be consid 12 17nent is d wood component where the treate e and that compo ain, repair or replac structure. This difficult to maint the of safety mance and used in above critical to the perfor beams and joists ect The AmericanflWood Protection Association (AWPA) in July 2016, established new guidelines that will . will aff ing oating docks standard change docks, includ that Ground Contact General Use (UC4A) treated wood be used in the following use applications: fresh waterrequire ground decks and • Treated wood when installed less than 6” above the ground.

• When treated wood is used in an application that does not permit air circulation or water drainage underneath the structure. rspc.com koppewood visittreated • When is used in an application where vegetation, leaf ation For more inform litter, or other debris will build up and remain in contact with the treated wood product.

PM 3/16/17 3:33

• When treated wood is used in tropical climates.

• When treated wood is wetted on a frequent or recurring basis such as wind and wave action (such as fresh water docks and walkways) or watering systems, swimming pools and hot tubs.

• When treated wood is used in an above ground application where the treated wood component would be considered difficult to maintain, repair or replace and that component is critical to the performance and safety of the structure. This standard change will affect joists and beams used in above ground decks and fresh water docks, including floating docks.

1

High Level Deck Boards

2

Railings & Accessories

3

Fence Boards and Rails

4

Trellis

5

Lattice

6

Ground Level Deck

7

Stair Stringers

8

Ledger Boards*

Ground Contact treated wood can be used in Above Ground applications.

9

Post Supports

10

Joists*

11

Beams*

12

Planter Boxes

13

Fence Posts

14

Retaining Walls

15

Playset Structures

16

Ground Level Walkway

17

Raised Garden Bed

18

Fresh Water Bulk Head

19

Fresh Water Dock

20

Fresh Water Dock Posts

21

Floating Dock (Decking, Joists, Beams)

* When treated wood is used in an above ground application where the treated wood component would be considered difficult to maintain, repair or replace and that component is critical to the performance and safety of the structure.

www.kopperspc.com

© Koppers 3/2017

Fiberon “Gatefold” “Swinging gatefold design allows advertiser to basically create a full brochure within the magazine” “High-impact display of new product line”

* Best Specialty Piece Honorable Mention – Viance “Gatefold” Building-Products.com

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- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - BEST AD SERIES TruWood “House Faces” “Strong tag lines are both thought-provoking and humorous” “Proves that, sometimes, less is more”

“Muted lighting on backdrop creates drama, texture to make product feel rich and premium”

“First and foremost shows off the product”

“Message and background may change, but quality of elements remains strong from ad to ad”

“Clever headlines play on benefits of products”

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800.417.3674 | The TruWood Collection, manufactured by Collins Products

LLC | Ask us about our FSC® products | FSC-C007425 TruWood’s material content is backed by third-party certifier SCS Global Services. SCS-MC-01178 | SCSGlobalServices.com

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UFP Edge “Clean and refreshing” “Rich color combinations” “Great combination of big background and inset application shots”

International Beams HUFFING AND PUFFING WILL NEVER BLOW OUR HOUSE DOWN

“Mesmerizing graphics”

ENGINEERED WOOD PRODUCTS

“Striking use of just two colors” FRAMED BY QUALITY — BUILT WITH SUCCESS

1.844.IB.BEAMS | sales@internationalbeams.com | www.ibewp.com

MAXIMIZE YOUR POTENTIAL – VISIT US AT THE INTERNATIONAL BUILDERS SHOW – BOOTH S1149

“Dramatic—prevents me from turning the page”

* Best Ad Series Honorable Mention – Do it Best, Fiberon, Orgill

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Building-Products.com

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - BEST OVERALL AD MoistureShield “CoolDeck”

“Great example of a welldesigned ad—clean layout, the baby grabs attention, the tagline is a fun play on words that ties back to the product, and a brief but effective brand description”

“Cute baby in sunglasses stops me in my tracks”

“Easy to tell what the product is and does”

“Doesn’t just tell the new feature—it shows it”

“Design elements tie perfectly together with color, text and image”

“Enticing as one would like to know more” “Best attention grabber and demonstration of a new product message”

Deckorators Great Southern Wood Preserving

“Perfect color choices” “Conveys warmth on multiple levels” “Great display of warranty”

HAVE IT ALL IN ONE HAUL.

“Effortlessly showcases numerous logos so they coordinate not conflict” “White text on black POPS!”

One shipment from Great Southern Wood gets you so much more than

YellaWood® brand pressure treated pine. Contact your YellaWood® representative to see which brands are available in your area.*

“Great use of empty space”

YellaWood® brand pressure treated products are treated with preservatives (the “Preservatives”) and preservative methods, systems, and technologies of unrelated third parties. For details regarding the Preservatives, methods, systems, and technologies used by Great Southern Wood Preserving, Incorporated, see www.yellawood.com/preservative or write us at P.O. Box 610, Abbeville, AL 36310. Ask dealer for warranty details. For warranty or for important handling and other information concerning our products including the appropriate Safety Data Sheet (SDS), please visit us at www.yellawood.com/warranties or write us at P.O. Box 610, Abbeville, AL 36310. YellaWood® and the yellow tag are federally registered trademarks of Great Southern Wood Preserving, Incorporated. All other marks are trademarks of their respective owners and are used with their permission.

YellaWood.com/ForDealers

*Availability varies by region. YellaWood® available in all markets.

Cox Wood Preserving “Perfectly conveys warranty’s benefit: peace of mind” “Very appealing. Everything about this ad ties together” “Nails all criteria”

• Best Overall Ad Honorable Mention – AGS Stainless, AZEK, Idaho Forest Group, Lonza Building-Products.com

August 2017

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MOVERS & Shakers Mike Wardlow, ex-LP Building Products, has joined Cedar Creek, Oklahoma City, Ok., as director of EWP. George Preble is new to sales in Milwaukee, Wi. Jennifer Cramer, ex-BlueLinx, is a new outside territory sales rep for Cedar Creek, Kansas City, Mo. Janie Salazar, ex-Home Depot, is new to industrial sales at Dixie Plywood & Lumber Co., Garland, Tx. Dustin Burke, ex-MiTek USA, has joined Great Southern Wood Preserving, Glenwood, Ar., as district sales mgr.

Bill Watson was named general mgr. of Kuhn’s Lumber, Lewisburg, Pa. Josh Severson, ex-Arrow Building Center, is new to sales and operations support with Wisconsin Building Supply, Plover, Wi. John Nelsen, ex-Spring Lake Park Lumber, is a new engineered wood specialist with Lampert Lumber, Rockford, Mn. Joe Ochoa, ex-Owens Corning, has been named president of AZEK Building Products, Skokie, Il. Van Hoffman, ex-BlueLinx, is now a senior account mgr. with Boise Cascade, selling for DC’s in Lancaster, Pa.; Delanco, N.J.; and Baltimore, Md. Todd Farden is a new account mgr. for Boise in Rochelle, Il. Mike Shea was promoted to president of Belletetes Inc., Jaffrey, N.H. Monica DeBoer, ex-US Lumber, has moved to Synergy Wood Products, Sanford, Fl., as regional sales mgr. for states west of the Mississippi.

Brian Stimman, ex-Guaranteed Supply, is now sales coordinator at Builders FirstSource, Spartanburg, S.C. New to outside sales for BFS are Mark Cocciardi Jr., exMarjam Supply, in Asbury Park, N.J.; and Bruce Hartman in Sioux Falls, S.D. Brad Borstelmann, ex-Sherwood Lumber, is a new trader with Atlantic Forest Products, covering the New York City area.

Roy Hudson is new to Tri-State Lumber Co., Fulton, Ms., as sales mgr.

Gary McDougal, ex-Guardian Building Products, has been appointed VP of sales & marketing for Elementia’s Allura/Plycem fiber cement division.

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Mike Gower has rejoined the sales team at Vida Wood U.S., Pine Level, N.C. David Boyce, ex-Builders FirstSource, is now commercial/multifamily market sales mgr. at Carter Lumber, Charlotte, N.C. Rick Alana, ex-Modern Builders Supply, is new to sales for Carter in Lansing, Mi. Trent Wright, ex-Carolina Millwork & Building Supply, is now in outside sales to Charlotte, N.C., for BMD, Galt, Ca. Steve Alfaro has joined Fairway Architectural Railing Solutions, Mount Joy, Pa., leading its Design Build and Pro Channel business development in the South. Mitchell “Mitch” Magiera now heads up Fairway’s Pro Channel business development efforts on the West Coast. New territory sales mgrs. are Dan O’Boyle for south central Pennsylvania and Bill Goldsmith in Maryland and northern Virginia.

Mia Montgomery, formerly with DW Distribution, has moved to Novo Building Products, Zeeland, Mi., as Dallas area-based director of strategic pricing.

Joshua James, ex-Weatherization Partners, has been appointed sales mgr. of Parker’s Building Supply, Houston, Tx. Jim Barbes has been promoted to vice president of national sales for 84 Lumber, Eighty Four, Pa. David Cochran is now VP of store operations, and Jason Hinsken, VP of installed sales. Nate Buttgen is now in sales with 84 in RaleighDurham, N.C. Ted Willoughby, ex-BlueTarp, is new to aluminum railing manufacturer UltraLox, Eagan, Mn., as western U.S. division VP of sales.

Shea Waits, ex-PrimeSource, is new to territory sales at Heritage Contractor Supply, Oklahoma City, Ok. Jared Douthit has joined Professional Builders Supply, North Charleston, S.C., as a field supervisor in the installed sales division.

Douglas Gillikin, ex-TusonTrading/ Marlin Lumber, has joined Huttig Building Products, St. Louis, Mo., as national accounts director– HuttigGrip from Lafayette, La. Shane Holley is now Huttig’s national accounts director in Windermere, Fl. August 2017

Arnie Hogue is now selling for Jones Lumber Co., Columbia, Ms. Rachel Linton has joined the outside sales force with Horizon Forest Products, Dallas, Tx. Steven Keeler is a new inside sales rep at BlueLinx, North Kansas City, Mo. Chris Reaves has hired on as an account mgr. with Professional Builders Supply, Wilmington, N.C. Clark Shacklett is new to market development for Louisiana-Pacific Corp., Nashville, Tn. Kenneth Dalton, ex-Lowe’s, has joined the outside sales team at Hiwassee Builders Supply, Nashville, Tn. Chuck Nevison is now a southern Minnesota territory sales mgr. for Alside Supply.

Jeff Steffen, ex-Hood Distribution, has been named operations mgr. for Durham Building Materials, Jacksonville, Fl. Joseph Izzo is a new account mgr. at ABC Supply, Stratford, Ct. Also new to sales for ABC are Ashley Beltz, Smyrna, Ga.; Clyde Miller, West Monroe, La.; and Whitney Winters, Toledo, Oh. Brent Strickler is a new lumber trader assistant with Richmond International Forest Products, Richmond, Va. Bob Redmond has rejoined IDI Distributors, Syracuse, N.Y., as a sprayfoam sales specialist.

Jonathan Webster, ex-Husqvarna Construction Products, is now Baton Rouge, La., regional sales mgr. for PPG Industries.

Christopher Grass is now an Orlando, Fl.-based corporate window specialist with Kaycan.

John Wade has been named national product sales & new business development mgr. for Do it Best Corp., Fort Wayne, In. Karine Galla has joined Sto Corp., Atlanta, Ga., as product mgr. for StoGuard and StoPowerwall stucco and stucco finishes.

Lisa Reese, ex-LP, is now in inside sales with Firestone Building Products, Nashville, Tn. Greg M. Woolley, ex-Bluegrass Materials, is a new technical services specialist at The Gypsum Association, Hyattsville, Md. Corey O’Graff is planning the next moves for Mungus-Fungus Forest Products, Climax, Nv., according to co-owners Hugh Mungus and Freddy Fungus.

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It’s also designed with an all-magnesium construction, which reduces weight, dissipates motor heat, and alleviates user fatigue. The saw is 7-1/4 inches long and is combined with a dual-field motor, extended 56˚ bevel, and an ergonomic soft–grip handle.

n SKILSAW.COM (877) 754-5999

New and Improved Barriers DuPont Protection Solutions is offering its new Fluid-Applied WB System, a new generation of fluid applied air/water barriers, to offer improved sprayability, longer open times, and superior coverage rates.

The company has taken the performance of its traditional fluid-applied products and developed a WB+ system, combining superior air and water barrier with vapor permeability into a reformulated fluidapplied membrane for ease of use on most commercial substrates.

n DUPONT.COM (800) 628-6208

No-Nonsense Nailers

Safety Netting in New Colors

Ideal for securing products such as roofing underlayments and housewrap, The Stinger pneumatic cap nailing tool by National Nail is the combination of a 1” ring shank, electro-galvanized nail.

A 1” plastic cap that not only greatly reduces the chance of moisture penetration through the fastener area by sealing tight against the surface, it also provides security against wind uplift, tearing under foot on steep slope roofs. Its speed reduces the amount of time and labor needed to get the building envelope secured.

Strong Man Safety Products is offering new sizes and colors for its SBN-22 and SBN-324 Safety Debris Netting. The SBN-22 is available in green fire retardant in 4'x150' sizing and both orange fire retardant and blue fire retardant in 12'x150' sizing. It allows for floor-to-ceiling protection without any gaps, keeping construction crews safer than ever.

Two new colors of the SBN-324 netting are available in various sizes including blue fire retardant in 4’x150’, 8’6”x150’ and 10’x150’, and saddle tan-colored fire retardant in 10’x150’ sizing.

n STINGERWORLD.COM

n STRONGMAN.COM

(800) 968-6245

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Stainless Screws

Tenacious PVC Pergola Kits AZEK Pergola Kits from Walpole Outdoors are the perfect solution for homeowners and contractors looking to add a classic design element to their property in a quick and easy way.

In addition to coming pre-manufactured, the kits are crafted from superior PVC materials, meaning the structures are protected from

peeling, cracking, warping and rotting, and are also mold, mildew and moisture resistant.

Guaranteed to be structurally sound, the kits come in six sizes and can be built anywhere, from attached decks and freestanding gardens to walkways and rooftops.

n AZEK.COM/PERGOLAS (877) 275-2935

Simpson Strong-Tie is offering new load-rated sizes of its Deck-Drive DWP Wood screw in stainless steel.

Engineered to provide fast, easy installations, the DWP SS screw is an ideal solution for almost any exterior wood-towood fastening application and, now with larger load-rated sizes, it’s also recommended for structural connections.

The fastener is designed for use in decks, docks, boardwalks and high-exposure environments that require exceptional corrosion resistance and higher loads.

n STRONGTIE.COM (800) 999-5099

Code-Compliant Insulation Knauf Insulation is offering a custom solution to meet California’s Title 24 Option B HighPerformance Ventilated Attic (HPA) code requirements with the introduction of EcoBatt Integrated Roof Deck insulation.

Designed specifically to be a cost-effective and labor-efficient

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way for builders to insulate unconditioned attic spaces, it cuts cleanly and easily, recovers quickly, and is soft to the touch due to ECOSE Technology—Knauf’s original plant-based, sustainable binder.

n KNAUF.COM

(585) 250-4074

August 2017

See the Light Milwaukee Tool’s Radius Site Light/Charger with One Key can run off one battery pack or two, to deliver 9,000 lumens of high output light for full 360° workspace coverage.

n MILWAUKEETOOL.COM (800) 729-3878

Building-Products.com

A Solid Grip Senco’s WhisperGrip subfloor nails are made to eliminate squeaky, uneven flooring and feature a patented step ring design to better grip subfloor and sheathing material, maximize holding power, and eliminate costly callbacks.

The lower rings are designed to fully engage and grip the joist or studs, while the upper rings ensure that nails remain countersunk even if the joist or stud is missed.

n SENCO.COM

(800) 543-4596

Charred Wood Cladding ReSawn Timber Co. is partnering with Kebony to offer five different building products made from thermally modified wood.

ReSawn offers two charred Kebony products that are burned using a process inspired by the ancient Japanese tradition of shou sugi ban. Additionally, they’ve created three textured designs that showcase Kebony’s natural beauty and grain structure. The cladding products are ideal for exterior applications because of their weathered, silver-gray look.

All Kebony wood products are permanently modified with a bio-based liquid that, after it is cured, provides a combination of outstanding durability and dimensional stability. The patented process results in wood cell walls that are significantly thicker and provide a hardness that rivals the best tropical hardwoods. ReSawn’s charred and textured wood decking and cladding products provide the same strength and stability, and therefore also carry Kebony’s standard 30-year warranty.

n RESAWNTIMBERCO.COM (800) 985-5355

Deck Planner Software Simpson Strong-Tie has launched Deck Planner Software to help contractors, builders, homeowners, and do-it-yourselfers design safe, strong and stylish decks with just a few mouse clicks.

Compatible with all web browsers, the free, cloudbased software improves the overall deck-building experience by highlighting critical deck connections, and enabling users to select Simpson Strong-Tie connectors and fasteners, along with products from leading deck board manufacturers, including Trex and Fiberon.

An easy-to-follow, step-by-step menu helps users to design the size, shape and other features of a custom deck. As the design plan is developed, the program offers hardware choices including model numbers, sizes and finish options based on the custom design. Once completed, the software generates a comprehensive report including a materials list, permit submittal pages, additional educational literature, and various 3D plan views.

n STRONGTIE.COM/DECKPLANNER 58

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Bits that Make a Difference The goal of Bosch’s Daredevil multipurpose bits is to get the job done in a range of materials, such as masonry, brick, block, tile, metal, wood and plastic.

Thanks to a carbide multigrind head, the bits are ready for any drilling task in almost any material. The bits feature sharp edges that are tough enough for metal and masonry applications.

Their robust tungsten carbide heads ensure no skating, clean holes, and long life in impact applications.

n BOSCHTOOLS.COM (877) 267-2499

Building-Products.com

ASSOCIATION Update Florida Building Materials Association is reminding members to save the date for its annual convention and trade show Oct. 4-6 at Rosen Shingle Creek, Orlando, Fl. In the interim, FBMA will host a blueprint reading material take-off class Sept. 12 in Mt. Dora, Fl. Construction Suppliers Association will meet in Savannah, Ga., Sept. 13-15 for its annual conference & expo at Westin Savannah Harbor Golf Resort & Spa. The association is offering two pre-conference workshops Sept. 12-13—an advanced estimating course developed from the input of contractor sales and estimating personnel, and a DOT, safety & alcohol training class.

Midwest Building Suppliers Association is hosting its White Pine Classic golf tournament Aug. 15 at Hawk Hollow Championship Golf Course, Bath, Mi., to benefit the Blair F. Collings scholarship program. Social hour, dinner, an awards presentation, and special events will follow.

Mid-America Lumbermens Association is teaming up with Mountain States Building Material Dealers Association to host a joint annual fall conference Sept. 4-6 in Kansas City, Mo. Along with a dynamic line-up of speakers, the focus of the conference will be leadership and will include various educational sessions.

Northwestern Lumber Association’s 1st annual fishing outing will take place Aug. 23 at Mcquid’s Inn-Mille Lacs Lake, Isle, Mn. This is a great opportunity to network with suppliers and dealers in the area.

The chartered launch will set sail from McQuiod’s Inn and will include four hours of fishing. Guests can bring their own gear or use the resort’s. Members should note that all attendees are required to have a valid 2017 Minnesota Fishing License to board the boat.

This year NLA mill tour on Oct. 1-6 will be in Maine and although the tour is fully booked, a wait list has been started should there be any cancellations.

Building Material Suppliers Association will stage a CFO roundtable Sept. 25-27 in Albany, N.Y., followed by its next leaders development roundtable Sept. 27-29 in Charleston, N.C. Northeastern Retail Lumber Association is asking members to save the date for its annual meeting Oct. 20-21 at Renaissance Westchester, West Harrison, N.Y. Until then, various affiliate associations of NRLA will be hosting a variety of board meetings and outings: Northeastern Young Lumber Execs is looking forward to its annual summer outing Aug. 16 at Saratoga Race Course, Saratoga Springs, N.Y. New York Long Island Lumber Association is having a tailgate party and baseball outing Aug. 16 at Citi Field, New York City, N.Y. Western New York Lumber Dealers Association’s board meeting will be at North Shore Grill, Lakeville, N.Y., Aug. 23.

Lumber Dealers Association of Connecticut’s board of directors meeting is set for Sept. 6 at Acadia Insurance, Rocky Hill, Ct. Building-Products.com

Lumbermen’s Association of Texas & Louisiana’s next board & committee meeting will take place Sept. 6 at Foxworth-Galbraith Lumber Co., Plano, Tx. Kentucky Building Materials Association is offering workforce scholarships for training in construction trades.

The program will provide financial aid for qualifying Kentucky residents enrolling in high-demand, higher education programs.

KBMA is also hosting its annual Congleton Cup Golf Outing Sept. 21 at Gay Brewer Picadome Golf Course, Lexington, Ky.

Fire Tests Completed on Mass Timber Building Five full-scale mass timber fire tests in a multi-story apartment building have been completed with promising results, according to the American Wood Council.

The International Code Council Ad-hoc Committee on Tall Wood Buildings provided the five fire scenarios that were tested in each of the two one-bedroom apartments constructed using mass timber. The test scenarios included various arrangements of exposed and unexposed cross-laminated timber (CLT) with open doors between living and sleeping areas. Additionally, automatic sprinkler systems effectiveness was evaluated.

Test 1: A mass timber structure fully protected with gypsum wallboard was subjected to a large furnishings and contents fire. The test ended after three hours without significant charring on the structure’s protected wood surfaces.

Test 2: Approximately 30% of the CLT ceiling area in the living room and bedroom were left exposed. The test was terminated after four hours, providing additional time to determine if there would be any significant fire contribution from the exposed CLT. Notably, once the furnishings and contents had been consumed by the fire, the exposed CLT essentially self-extinguished due to the formation of char that protected the underlying wood.

Test 3: Parallel CLT walls were left exposed, one in the living room and one in the bedroom. Similar to Test 2, once the apartment furnishings and contents had been consumed by the fire, during which a protective surface of char formed on the CLT, the mass timber surfaces essentially self-extinguished.

Test 4 and 5: Examined the effects of sprinkler protection. For both tests, all mass timber surfaces in the living room and bedroom were left exposed. Test 4 demonstrated that under normal operating conditions, a single sprinkler easily contained the fire. For Test 5, the fire was allowed to grow in the compartment for 23 minutes before water was supplied to the sprinklers which quickly controlled the fire.

“The results of these fire tests will continue to be studied and will help inform code change recommendations from the Ad-hoc Committee later this year,” said committee chair Stephen DiGiovanni. “These tests are an important part of the extensive research data the Committee has reviewed to validate the performance of tall wood buildings.”

The tests were funded in partnership with the U.S. Forest Service’s Forest Products Laboratory and American Wood Council, and were conducted at the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives Fire Research Laboratory. A General Technical Report FPL-GTR-247 on the fire tests will be available from the Forest Products Laboratory in the near future.

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CLASSIFIED Marketplace

PRODUCTS FOR SALE

Rates: $1.20 per word (25 word minimum). Phone number counts as 1 word, address as 6.

Centered copy/headline, $9 per line. Border, $9. Private box, $15. Column inch rate: $55 if art furnished “camera-ready” (advertiser sets type), $65 if we set type.

Send ad to Fax 714-486-2745 or david@building-products.com. Checks payable to 526 Media Group. Deadline: 18th of previous month. Questions? Call (714) 486-2735.

WANTED TO BUY

WANTED TO BUY

NORTH CAROLINA RELOAD

Shaver Reload, Statesville, NC

• Norfolk Southern Mainline Served • Easy Access to I-85, I-77 & I-40 • Company Owned Truck Fleet • Outdoor and Indoor Storage • 12 Acres Fenced with Security Lighting • 25+ years Reload Experience (704) 872-3148 • Fax (704) 872-3146 Email Tom Lakeman shavers.reload@gmail.com

IN Memoriam Jesse William “J.W.” Blanton, 94, former treasurer and sales manager for Balfour Lumber Co., Thomasville, Ga., died June 5.

After serving as a highly decorated Marine during World War II, he began his 56-year industry career, including 40 years with Balfour, 10 years at Louisiana-Pacific, and six years as a private consultant.

During his time with Balfour, he served on several boards, as well as on the trade promotion committees of the old Southern Pine Association, Southern Forest Products Association, and Southeastern Lumber Manufacturers Association.

Philip L. “Phil” Schreier, 89, third generation owner of Schreier’s Lumber Co., Verdigre, Ne., passed away May 1.

He started his career in the lumber business in 1949 with a J.W. Metz lumberyard in the Denver, Co., area. In 1950, he became manager of the Krotter lumberyard and grain elevator in Stratton, Ne. In 1958, he moved back to the family lumberyard in Verdigre, eventually becoming owner of the firm and working there until a stroke sidelined him in November of 2016.

George McLaney Jr., 96, venerable North Carolina lumberman, passed away June 27.

A graduate of Georgia Tech, he worked for Westinghouse before entering World War II, serving with the First Calvary Division in the South Pacific from 1944 to 1946. He invaded Leyte and Luzon in the Philippine Islands and did occupational duty in Japan.

In 1946, he moved to Elizabethtown, N.C., where he operated and was president of Southern Pine Mills. In 1959, he left to become lumber sales manager for Lee Lumber & Plywood, until 1961. He then sold lumber for Sledge Lumber Corp., John C. Shepherd Lumber Co., and McLaney Lumber Co. He finished his career as secretary/ treasurer of Cape Craftsman, Inc. and retired in 1983.

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Joseph “Joe” Meier, 78, longtime yard supervisor for Fish Building Supply/United Building Center, Middleton, Wi., died July 15 after a short battle with pancreatic cancer.

He spent 50 years with the yard before retiring in 2004.

Louis “Lou” Riecke Jr., 90, former president of Tulane Hardwood Lumber Co., New Orelans, La., passed away May 31.

He served in the Navy Medical Corps from 1943 until 1946, then graduated from Louisiana State University in 1949. While leading his father’s company, he also became a world-class weightlifter, winning an NCAA weightlifting championship, three national YMCA titles, and setting a world record in 1964 by lifting 325 lbs. in the snatch as a light heavyweight. Later that year, he won the Olympic trials in New York and represented the U.S. in the Summer Olympics in Tokyo. From 1970 to 1980, he worked as strength and conditioning coach for the Pittsburgh Steelers, then set records in track in the Senior Olympics.

Adolph F. “Buddy” Poehls, 88, founder of Poehls Lumber Co., Elm Mott, Tx., died June 9.

He left school after 10th grade to assist his father in construction, trimming houses and building cabinets. He became a draftsman and construction foreman, eventually adding a lumberyard behind his house so he could buy wholesale. It expanded through the 1950s to a larger location, but in the 1960s was consolidated into his variety store so he could concentrate on construction.

Thomas Milton Hancock, 66, formerly with Hancock Lumber, Casco, Me., died July 13.

He worked for the family lumber company from 1967 to 1990, then became a teacher, earning his master’s in education from New Hampshire College and Ph.D. in education from Nova Southeastern.

Maureen Eva Moeke, 93, former co-owner with her late husband of Moeke Lumber Co., Mancelona, Mi., passed away June 21.

Building-Products.com

DATE Book Listings are often submitted months in advance. Always verify dates and locations with sponsor before making plans to attend.

ADVERTISERS Index Boral [www.boraltruexterior.com]

7

Cox Industries [www.coxwood.com]

46

Crumpler Plastic Pipe [www.cpp-pipe.com]

19

Midwest Building Suppliers Association – Aug. 15, 2nd annual White Pine Classic, Hawk Hollow Championship Golf Course, Bath, Mi.; thembsa.org.

DassoXTR [www.dassoxtr.com]

20

Eco Chemical [www.ecochemical.com]

11

Lumbermens Merchandising Corp. – Aug. 16, LMC Hardware Express, Boston, Ma.; www.lmc.net.

Everwood [www.everwoodtreatment.com]

35

Construction Suppliers Association – Aug. 16-17, safety academy, Tyrone, Ga.; www.gocsa.com.

Fasco America [www.fascoamerica.com]

39

Ace Hardware Corp. – Aug. 17-19, fall market, Sevierville, Tn.; (630) 990-7662; www.acehardware.com.

Huttig Building Products [www.huttig.com]

Florida Building Material Association – Aug. 3, aspiring leaders session, Mt. Dora, Fl.; www.fbma.org.

Midwest Building Suppliers Association – Aug. 3, 23rd annual Sycamore Scramble, Dye’s Walk Country Club, Greenwood, In.; thembsa.org.

Southern Pressure Treaters Assn. – Aug. 17-19, summer meeting, DoubleTree by Hilton Downtown, Nashville, Tn.; www.spta.org.

32-33

Kop-Coat [www.kop-coat.com]

Cover III

Madison Wood Preservers [www.madwood.com]

53

World Conference of Timber & Engineering – Aug. 22-25, University of Vienna, Wien, Austria; wcte2016@tuwien.ac.at.

Masisa [www.masisa.com]

41

Northwestern Lumber Association – Aug. 23, 1st annual fishing outing, Isle, Mn.; www.nlassn.org.

Maze Nails [www.mazenails.com]

28

Orgill – Aug. 24-26, fall dealer market, Indianapolis, In.; (877) 6633186; www.orgill.com.

Norbord [www.norbord.com]

9

BC Wood – Sept. 7-9, Whistler, B.C.; www.bcwood.org.

North American Wholesale Lumber Association [nawla.org]

57

The Hardware Conference – Sept. 8-10, Marco Island, Fl.; (305) 8530049; www.thehardwareconnection.org.

Novik [www.novik.com]

New Hampshire Retail Lumber Association – Sept. 8-10, annual meeting in conjunction with Retail Lumber Dealers Association of Maine, The Samoset Resort, Rockport, Me.; www.nrla.org.

Palram Americas [www.palramamericas.com]

27

REA Jet [www.rea-jet.com]

13

International Order of Hoo-Hoo – Sept. 9-13, annual international convention, Bellevue Hilton, Bellevue, Wa.; (870) 353-4997; www.hoo-hoo.org.

Redwood Empire [www.redwoodemp.com]

Forest Economic Advisors – Sept. 12, 7th annual forest products forum, World Forestry Center, Portland, Or.; www.getfea.com.

Construction Suppliers Association – Sept. 12-13, advanced estimating workshop; Sept. 12-13, safety academy; Sept. 13-15, annual conference & expo, Westin Savannah Harbor Golf Resort & Spa, Savannah, Ga.; www.gocsa.com.

Cover II

Cover I

Roseburg Forest Products [www.roseburg.com]

23

Siskiyou Forest Products [www.siskiyouforestproducts.com]

43

Swanson Group Sales Co. [www.swansongroupinc.com]

55

Tando Building Products [www.tandobp.com]

Cover II

Massachusetts Retail Lumber Association– Sept. 13, annual meeting, location TBD, Ma.; www.nrla.org.

TLC Mouldings [www.tlcmouldings.com]

Kentucky Wood Expo– Sept. 15-16, annual meeting and golf, Masterson Station Park, Lexington, Ky.; www.nrla.org.

TrusJoist [www.weyerhaeuser.com/woodproducts]

3

Kentucky Forest Industries Assn. – Sept. 15-16, annual meeting, Masterson Station Park, Louisville, Ky.; www.kfia.org.

United Wood Treating [www.unitedwood.com]

45

Versatex [www.versatex.com]

21

American Wood Protection Association – Sept. 17-21, technical meeting, Westin Resort and Marina, Key West, Fl.; (205) 7334077; www.awpa.com.

DMSi Software – Sept. 18-21, PartnerConnect17! customer conference, Omaha, Ne.; www.dmsi.com.

Southern Pine Inspection Bureau – Sept. 19-20, dry kiln operator course, Hilton, Pensacola Beach, Fl.; www.spib.org.

Northeastern Lumber Manufacturers Assn. – Sept. 20-22, annual convention, Newport Marriott, Newport, R.I.; www.nelma.org.

National Retail Federation – Sept. 25-27, annual digital summit, Los Angeles, Ca.; (800) 673-4692; www.nrf.com.

True Value Co. – Sept. 26-27, fall reunion, Chicago, Il.; (773) 6955000; www.truevaluecompany.com.

Sustainable Forestry Initiative – Sept. 27-29, conference, Ottawa, Canada; (202) 596-3450; www.sfiprogram.com.

Building-Products.com

Cover IV

Weyerhaeuser [www.weyerhaeuser.com]

3, 5

COMING NEXT MONTH in the September issue of BPD

Eastern White Pine NeLMA Special Issue

OSB, Plywood & Panels Cedar & Redwood Nails & Fasteners August 2017

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FLASHBack 90 Years Ago This Month

One would think that after 90 years you would see a lot of changes within an industry. Changes for the better, changes that reflect what our country is been through and what we can expect, and the lumber industry is no different. But one thing that hasn’t changed much in the industry—even after almost 100 years—is the camaraderie and the idea that your fellow lumbermen is not just a colleague or competitor, but he’s a neighbor, a friend.

In the August 1927 issue of BPD’s sister publication, The California Lumber Merchant, publisher Jack Dionne emphasized this by writing: “A lumberman friend of mine wrote me the other day that he appreciated this journal for many reasons, prominent among which was the fact that we have been devoting our efforts to making good neighbors of lumber folks. When you have made good men better neighbors you have done much for them, for the industry they represent, for the business they are in, and for the territory they serve,” and when it comes to friendship in the industry, not much has changed since.

A few other things that were going on 90 years ago this month: • Short lengths and end-matched lumber played an important part in the Army’s program of economy in the purchase of supplies, according to Hanford A. MacNider, Assistant PORTLAND, OR.-based Eagle Lumber Co. used its August ad to showcase its updated log dump at its Westimber, Or., mill.

Secretary of War, who was closely following the developments of the National Committee on Wood Utilization of the Department of Commerce in its efforts to eliminate waste in the lumber industry.

Axel H. Oxholm, director of the committee, addressed Mr. MacNider: “The National Committee on Wood Utilization, organized by Secretary Hoover, has already, on several occasions, been of considerable assistance to the War Department in pointing out economies in the purchase of forest products, which have been found practicable in industry.”

SOME ADVERTISERS used their ads to tie into the growing defense movement. Weaver Roofing touted in its August 1927 ad: “Tomorrow’s defense depends upon today’s preparedness—in business as well as war. Just as eternal vigilance is the price of peace, so is lasting satisfaction the price of future business. When a customer buys roofing from you, he buys it for longtime protection.”

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• The American Forest Week Committee announced its nationwide campaign for forest protection and the encouragement of forestry during American Forest Week in April 1927. The committee expressed gratitude to hundreds of thousands of individuals and societies that cooperated with it in thousands of public meetings, national broadcasting, the planting of millions of trees, the distribution of more than 2 million pieces of literature, and the publication of forestry articles in practically the entire press of the country.

Building-Products.com

BPD Building Products Digest 151 Kalmus Dr. Ste. D200 Costa Mesa, CA 92626-5959

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