Western do-ityourselfers

Can you meet the demand?

Outdoor@wood

Koppers Outdoorowood is becoming more and more popular with people who are concerned with the rising costs of construction... and who are unwilling to pay the high price of redwood and cedar for do-it-yourself projects. Outdoorwood is the ideal alternative. lt's great for patios, decks, fences, and many other outdoor uses. lt is an attractive, longlasting product that will provide resistance to weather, insects and decay. Too, it requires virtually no maintenance.

Remember: your customers and prospects are already familiar with the Koppers Outdoorbrand name. They see Outdoor and other Koppers wood products advertised in major architectural, buildi ng, and consumer magazines.

Koppers pressu re-treated wood products are produced, sold and serviced in the western U.S.A....yet they are backed by the research and development, quality control and international experience of Koppers Company, Inc.-a world leader in wood preservation, offeri ng:

. Outdooro wood o Wolmanized@ lumber and plywood o Poles, posts and timbers treated with creosote, penta and Wolman@ CCA preservatives

. NCXoand Non-Com@ fire retardant treated wood o Fire retardant treated shakes and shingles

Treating service for your wood lf you'd like, a Koppers representative will come into your yard and give you whatever assistance and advice you want to help you maintain your prof it level, while saving your customers money. Selling ideas?

Poi nt-of-pu rchase d isplays?

Educational seminars for your personnel? He'll help you in these areas also.

To be sure you have the wood products your customers want this year, contact the Western Wood Products Division, Koppers Company, Inc.

Los Angeles, CA, (213) 830-2860

San Francisco, CA, (415)692-3330

Denver, CO, (303) 534-6191

Sacramento, CA, (916) 372-6920

Honolulu, Hl, (808) 682-5704

Distributed in Southern California by: H&M Wholesale Lumber

(714) 989-1881

Capital Lumber Co. (714) 998-9500

O 1980 KoPPers CompanY, Inc.

April,1980

Energy Cost & New Homes

Flaving learned a hard lesson abor.rt high luel bills in their cLrrrent honrcs, Anrerican honreowncrs are demancling encrgy'-sar,i rrg leatures in new honres. a lrational slud)' conrnrissior.recl b1' Thc [)ou Chentical (lo. irrclicatcs.

Nincty-live pcrccl.lt of' honreowners intcrviewccl last lirll sarcl cncrgy-slving f'eatures arc a top prioritf in a ncw honte.

"This is not sr.rrprising consiclering what today's honreowners havc g()ne throLlgh with rising. crrcrgr bills." said Thonras D. McGivern. product sales nranager for Styrof oam brand products at Dow.

The study' shows that the typical American honreou'ner exnects his household budget to har e u ithstood a whopping 53'1, increase in home energy costs dr-rring the twoyear period ending in fall 1980. for an averagc annual heating and cooling bill of S1.225.

When asked to rate a varietv of features in honres. both cnirgr savcrs as well as other options such as lanclscaping and fireplaces. rcsportdcnts pluccd energ) -collscrvirrg f'eatures ilt the top of the list.

Wall and attic insulation werc consiclcrecl the lrost vital ot' thesc l'caturcs. rated very' inrportant to extremely inrporl.ant by nrore than 90(1, of' thc respondents. Basenrcrrt ittsulittton wlrs rittcd i.ts vcr) intprrl- tant to extrenrely inrportant by' 70't'. intlicrrting u growirrg il\\lrcncss of the neecl to insulate in this nrajor area of heat loss. saicl McGivern.

"The study conllrnrs that hclnrebuyers consider insulation to be the fbundation Ibr honre energ), sa\'ings," he said. "And they're willing to puy e\tra to gct lr conrprehensive insulation package. too."

Ninety-fi ve percent said the1, would be willing to pa),' extra for a comprehensive insulation package that would save approxinrately 25(1, on annual heating ancl cooling costs.

I lonrcou rrcrs nrlrkirrg urr cstinratc said they would be willing to spencl ln average of- $1,360 extra firr an insr.rlation puckage.

Actual savings nrily vary clcpcncl- ing upon local f'Lrcl costs, cquipnrcnt ef't'icienc1,. clinlrtc. house clesign, workrlanship rrrrd thcrrlrostilt sctting, as well as the nuntber of'pcoplc living in the housc lrttl thcir lir ing hrrbits.

Regarding other energy savcrs, 84(2, o1' honrcowners saicl weather stripping/caulking and stornr door and slornr windclws were very inr;lortant to ertrenrely inrportant.

"With the t1'pical honre nrortgage lasting onll' severr years, the snrart honre buyer has to consider how marketable his honre will be in the resale nrarket." he said. "The sLlrvc),' shows energy-savers like insulation have to bc enrphasized."

NHIC Publishes "Green Book"

The latest definitive profile of the home improvement industry reveals that today's "average" remodeling contractor has been in business I 5 years, operates one sales location, and employs six fulltinre employees and six part-tinrers.

The new study is the National Honre Inrprovement Council's I 980-81 Green Book a/' Home Improvement Contractorsa comprehensive "who's who" of 14,000 contractors in 44 U.S. nrarkets.

According to NHIC, contractors in nlost nrarkets reported that reroofing, residing, reinsulation. replacement windows, and stornr windows and doors conrprised 7l{X, of their business (3.7 nrillion jobs) during 1978. On the other hand, big ticket jobs such as room additions represented 1.5 nrillion jobs.

On a market-by-nrarket basis. nlost areas covered in the Green Book confornr to the upward spiral in national honre inrprovenrent expenditures, as reported in the U.S. Bureau of the Census' C-50 reports.

The four-volume 1980-81 Green Book rs divided into 44 separate reports, providing extensive analysis of each individual market. Each report includes a contractor directory for its area, listing conlpany nanres. addresses and telephone nunrbers. key personnel; number of enrployees: type of business opera- tion: nunrber and types of jobs conrpleted in the past year. products purchasedl and other pertinent data.

According to John Hanrnron. NHIC exec. v.p., "The Green Book provides nruch needed nrarketing clata not previously available to this industry. We believe it will serve as a nlost valuable marketing and information tool for any li rnr actually involved in this rapidly growing market."

Hot Tubs Explained

Portland Hoo-Hoo Club learned about wood pipes, tanks, hot tubs, and spas from a representative of National Pipe and Tank at a recent meeting.

The Oregon club is conducting a membership drive with incentives ranging from two free drink tickets to $100 offered for bringing in new members or reinstating former members.

New names on the roster are Dennis Lambie. Leonard Malstrom, Casey Mickelson, Selmer

Shanafelt, Robert Reid, John Siefken, Lauren Smith, Don Warley, David Zablondil.

Basic Leader Type

When designating the leader of your sales team check out basic leadership styles and select the best one for your purpose.

o Take charge person: Demands obedience. Makes all plans and implements them. Solves problems. Tells sales people what to do, how to do it, and when to do it. This type is especially valuable with insecure and beginning salespeople.

o Self-starting type: Develops initiative from sales people. Lets them plan and carry out sales and merchandising programs. Assists only when asked. Good choice for work with a loner or highly individualistic sales person, but can create resentment with others.

o Let's all cooperate man: Builds cooperation and working together. Suggests, rather than tells. involves the staff in decisions. Periodically checks out performances. Usually motivates hard workers and satisfies those who like to work together in a friendly group. Particularly good with exathletes.

More Commercial Lending Seen

Commercial real estate lending is expected to be significantly increased by savings and loans upon completion of a major regulation change now in progress.

Targeted towards companies interested in urban renewal type projects, the lending limits will be raised to 90Vo and 30 years.

Among programs to be included are Small Business Administration development company loans and regular guaranteed business loans as well as business loans for poor areas backed by the Economic Development Administration and industrial plant loans guaranteed by the Farmers Home Administration.

Sales Success Story

Steven L. Page of Valley Best-Way Building Supply, Inc., Spokane, Wa., was recently featured in Measures of Succ'ess, Successful Ideas Thaf Worked, sponsored by the Western Building Materials Assn.

His suggestion recapped his experience in using the feature-benefit technique to sell a garden shed which was a new product for his firm. He used a list compiled of the features and the benefits a buyer would receive from it to sell a garden shed in less than five minutes.

He reported learning the sales technique at a training seminar staged by Bob Mullen of the Armstrong Cork Co. Reward-for sliaring his experience was $10.

Tested Sales Basics

The salesman who turns prospects into customers has usually mastered these basics:

Create dialogue rather than a non-stop presentation. Seek questions, reactions, information from the prospect. Ask pertinent questions and pave the way for a closine.

Hui.t out undisclosed needs and hidden objections. Note details on specs, performance and product needs, and delivery dates. Find out what the competition has offered. Meet the needs and competition.

Involve all those with buying influence in the company. Ask the purchasing agent who else you could pitch.

Stay alert to buy signals and invitations to close. Watch for encouraging comments or body language. Stop talking and start closing.

Don't try to close when the prospect has just made a negative comment or questioned the proposal.

Employ good closing techniques such as "How much of this do you think you would use in a month?" or "How soon do you need delivery?" or "Which kind would you prefer? Such questions commit the customer and give you an opening to close.

Check Buying Motives

Understanding the buying motives of your sales prospect can help you to close a sale.

Some common motivations for a purchase are wanting prestige, to make or save money, to make a job easier, to keep up with the competition, to improve a product or management, to insure the safety or security of the business.

Determine the motivation of your customer and tailor your approach to his needs.