etitive ligence Riding the wave

By Carla Waldemar

VOU all know the three things those realtors say it takes I to sell ,3 house. Well, Seacoast Mills' location, location, locatioh in Brentwood, N.H., was perfect-right off the highway that funneled folks to Manchester, Portland, Portsmouth and Boston. Only one little flaw: You couldn't see it from the road.

So one of the very first things Mark Smith accomplished when he took on the post of general manager a year ago was eye-catching signage. Next came a double-barreled marketing campaign to improve awareness. It was sorely needed-at least something, anythingl-when he stepped in, facing a mandate to increase sluggish sales and grow the business.

The building supply company had come into being l0 years ago, as partner to a nearby mill launched in the early '70s, with which there was a reciprocal arrangement: You mill it, we'll buy it. (Although under the same ownership, the two operate as separate business entities.)

"But the lumberyard wasn't going anywhere," says Smith. "It wasn't being managed properly. It had some decent years, but"-pause-"not profitable years. They were selling wood but making deals, not making money." His job was to "get it back in line, turn it around."

What is this guy, some kind of masochist, looking for punishment? After all, he already had a life. The man from Connecticut had managed the oldest hardware store in the country there, then put in time running another Connecticut yard. He'd also served as marketing manager for hardware distributor Emery-Waterhouse. So, what gives?

"I saw the opportunity to take my two talents-nine years in distribution sales and 20 years in retail, both sides of the fence-and put them together to run the business: to learn stuff I never did before, like HR, One of the first things I did was to select a health and dental plan, which the company had never had. (Plus, I was married, and we wanted to live in the north," he adds.)

"Friends told me, 'You're nuts!' but I like the challenge. It's fun," he declares with vigor. Smith has been given virtual carte blanche, another carrot. "I saw a lot of opportunities to grow the business-new ways to give customers what they want."

First step was a thorough housecleaning, involving both the facility and its personnel. Regarding staff, "My greeting wasn't too bad; some left, and some I asked to leave. Others were very receptive."

Smith beefed up their skills (and, need we add, their buy-in) by investing heavily in training. "I'm a firm believer in it," he says. "We sign up for anything we can get ahold of, from customer service and contractor-sales service to blueprint readings and collections." (This writer met Smith at a recent NRLA seminar and immediately recognized a live wire.)

Next came a spruce-up and reset of the store, in line with his conviction that Seacoast Mills, which relied almost entirely on its contractor clientele, needed to adjust that mix to attract the homeowner trade, with its readier cash flow, that would get it through the lean times for pros ahead.

First came new signage ("an uphill battle to let folks know we're here"), backed by a yearlong ad campaign on cable TV and the radio station that carries the Red Sox games. To further target homeowners, he took out print ads in the area's high-end shelter magazines.

"People's perception was that we dealt directly, as a supplier; they weren't aware that we were a retailer, so there were multiple hurdles," he recounts.To surmount a few more and gain exposure with the public, he signed on for booths at a local home show in December (where folks allowed, "We'd never heard of you") and in March at a major Boston building show, where his plan was to highlight eastern white pine from the mill. "It's our specialty, so it's the niche I'm going after. We offer up to 20" pine, which is hard to find," he notes.

Seacoast also markets hard-to-find short runs and custom milling, along with the wide-plank flooring and stair treads in demand for those popular barn and colonial restoration projects in his part of the country. To put teeth into its full-service claim. its website (www.seacoast- mills.com) lists products ranging from rough and planed lumber to pine, cedar, shiplap and vinyl siding; moulding, trim and flooring, and on to shingles, insulation, electrical supplies, and power tools. Talk about one-stop shopping.

That mill, by the way, has furnished L.L. Bean's Freeport, Me., store with its signature "lodge" look. It's also been used in the Mt. Washington Weather Observatory, at the Grand Old Opry, and by the Rockefellers at their New York estate, "so I tap right into that [specialty pine], almost like a broker. We're like a conduit," he says.

Just as important as white pine is the sprucing-up he's accomplished at the yard. "We landscaped the front approach, which was quite grungy," Smith says. "And we reset the store. It had been using Orgill-my competition at Emery-Waterhouse-but I didn't want to just blow things up, so I decided to see how they were. I gave them a chance." But no dice. "So I went back to EmeryWaterhouse and said, 'C'mon down!' We got rid of a lot of old merchandise that wasn't moving and brought in a lot of new products,like paint, tools and 3M products that homeowners live by.

"I added a scan gun at the register"-another Seacoast first-"and put in a showroom, featuring windows and doors, millwork, and a basic kitchen with our pine cabinets, plus high-end architectural hardware, like Baldwin, which had been my fort6 at Emery-Waterhouse. I knew there was a market for it, and a good foundation from which to turn things around."

Smith also went after the female consumer, a.k.a. the decision-maker. "The biggest thing was becoming clean and neat and orderly," he shares. "Also, we trained the staff to be welcoming, so women wouldn't feel intimidated, like you often are in an automotive store. We don't talk down to people. I also put the showroom right in front, so it would be more inviting to them."

These days, he's drawing from the competition. And he has to: "There are three other independents within a 20mile radius, plus a Lowe's and Home Depot hemming us in. The way we try to be better is to treat people with kid gloves."

For contractors, that amounts to same-day delivery ("they love it"), a boom truck, and special contract events ("which keep growing each time we try them") backed by vendors on the spot with info. "It comes right down to relationships, and the staff knows that," Smith reports. "But, contractors are possessive about sources like us, like not telling anyone where's the best fishing hole. Our radio ads say, 'We're the best-kept secret in town,' but it's time to

let that secret out."

It's time to reach out to those weekend warriors, too. "So we've taken on a new outlook. The staff has become more adaptable in dealing with homeowners, which is a whole different ball of wax," Smith concedes. "It takes hand-holding, patience and interviewing to guide them.

"What I've seen with the boxes coming in is that people miss that personal touch, that building of relationships; they're sick and tired of how they're treated there. With [pro] building down a bit, it's these homeowners who can help us with the cash flow. Plus, they're more profitable. It's all about relationships," he reaffirms. "That's what sets you apart."

It's working. His staff tells him, "There are a lot of people coming in that we've never seen before." No magic bullet involved. "In my opinion," Smith allows, "it's a lot of little things."

Ironically, Smith signed on exactly a year ago, "right when the faucet was shutting off. Horrible!" he laughs. "But the owner is aware of the lagging economy and doesn't fault me. We just keep pushing forward with what we should be doing. If independents can ride on this wave, now is the time to be here, to hang on."

Anyone watching that wave will spot Seacoast riding high.