Ways To Sell More Redwood

In the past year, the California Redwood Association has added new and innovative literature and aids to help dealers sell redwood decking, siding and paneling.

Dream deck n ad: Upbeat and humorous, this 30 second ad leaves a four second space for local dealer identification. Available in broadcast quality 314" or 1" formats for $62. VHS format preview tape is available.

Newspaper ad art: Avariety of line drawings for dealers to use in newspaper ads and mailers, the four pages of images include redwood deck, fence and garden shelter designs with headlines and type. Available in ad slick format or electronic CAD disc format. Free.

Deck builder newspaper ads and doorhangers.' Dealers can offer these as an incentive to builder customers.

All materials are available from California Redwood Association, 405 Enfrente Dr., Suite 2OO, Novato, Ca. 94949, (415) 382-0662.Editor

Pre-designed print ads for newspaper or yellow pages with a drop-in space for name and phone number or doorknob hanger with die-cut slot for business card. Ads are $21 per 100; door hangers, $30 per 100.

Redwood banner: A 33"x96" red, black and yellow vinyl bannerfor showroom, store front or lumber yard. $42 each plus shipping.

Neon sign: Red and blue "Redwood Decks and Fences" sign establishes a business as a source for quality redwood decks and fences. The 19"x13" signs are $375 each.

Magazine advertisement reprints: Slickreprints of CRA magazine advertisements can be used as handouts or in mailings. $21 per 100 plus shipping.

Redwood design- a-deck kit' Customers can create a plan for their home and yard using working drawings, manual, materials lists and special punch-out shapes tohelp visualize the projectplus construction tips. 20 kits for $105 or 100 kits for $450 including shipping.

Redwood dealer's file: A comprehersive collection of productbrochures, technical spec sheets, construction tips and promotional tools in a ring binder. $180 each including shipping.

HELP your builder customers sell decks or advertise your redwood adwatzr.l.JlniformiL abr. Smooth.Aromotic. An{now steailyutsupptyfuavaiay oJusu: Boatp[anfiingmf.

Etnbas , Tanf. sucA, F[ume stocA, Patlo fufilnq , Fbormq , Stnfwn qrafus , Pmelhrq , Dlnrension, Cbars *rd Sfrp.

DELTA CEDAR PRODUCTS! LTD. Vancouver. B.C. [-\. Phone (604) 583-3s18 Fax (60a) 583-3813 {V

U.S. Mail Address: P.O. Box 565. Pt. Roberts, Wa. 9B281

(7071 894-2575

P.O. Box 547, Cloverdale, Ca. 95425

Joe Bowman

Bowman Lumber Sales Box

Ernst Puts Clinic On Air Live

Broadcasting live via satellite, Ernst Home and Nursery held a residential deck building clinic in the evening for customers at each of their 73 Pacific Northwest stores.

Jeff Probst, home and garden talk show host, and construction expert George Carranco covered design ideas and step by step construction tips. Following the demonstration, those attending were able to call the studio on a toll free number to ask questions of the panel which replied live on the air.

Exterior Wood Products, Wolmanized Pressure Treated Wood, Boise Cascade, Silver Metal Products, Ryobi Power Tools and Dutch Boy/Cuprinol Stains co-sponsored the May 21 event.

Retail Report Gard

All American Home Center, Downey, Ca., prints its "customer comment" form in both Spanish and English and tabulates the results each month.

Results are shared with sales associates and management so both know how the store rates with customers.

Final tabulations in 1991 showed 68% ofshoppers answered "great service and knowledgeable salespeople" to the question "What do you like most about All American Home Center?" Merchandise selection was the choice of 35%. "What do you like least?" "Nothing," 68% answered with 8% mentioning "high prices."

Other ratings: friendliness, 68% excellent,2 1 % good; product knowledge, 62% excellent,22% good; checkout service, 85 % excellent or good; prices, 67% excellent or good, 33% fair or poor; merchandise selection, 9O% excellent or good; store appearance,94% excellent or good.

Cabinet Sales Leap

Kitchen cabinet sales jumped 15% during February over the same period last year, the largest single monthly increase in nearly five years and the third consecutive month of growth.

"It's been 15 months since we've had tlree consecutive months of growth in cabinet sales, and the spike of 15 % is certainly a positive indicator that we're on the right track," said Kitchen Cabinet Manufacfurers Association executive vice president Dick Titus, analyzing " KCMA survey of stock and custom companies representing over half the cabinet market.

I Pll{E finger joint & solid moldings

I PINE shop lumber, commons, finger joint jambs & frames lOAK picture frame moldings, selected furniture details

I CUSTOM milling & molding: We can run pine & oak patterns to your specifications

FIBREBOARD products

Mountain States Lumber & Building Material Dealers Association's 1992 retail regional credit management practices survey includes information from 210 retail locations with sales in excess of $800 million.

Top findings of the survey: o The retail lumber industry is a major source of credit to the construction industry,. o Credit sales account for more than 77Vo of all retail sales, down slightly from 8l% in 1988. o Small and large home builders still receive the largest share of the credit dollars,28% and26% respectively, while consumer accounts represent an increasing portion of the credit dollar. o The average account size exceeds $3,450 per month. The average "major" account at the typical lumber yard is about $r4,000. o While monthly invoicing still domi-

::f:#L:f

weekrv invoicing has be- o The most common primary terms of payment is "Net 10 days" from billing, with no discounts. Many firms use several payment options with"2% l0th, net l lth" the second most common. r Mechanics liens average one per $4.8 million insales inArizona: one in $2.8 million, Colorado, one in $400,000, Utah. o Some 8O% of the credit granted is under the requirement of a personal guarantee. r Virtually everyone (56%) charges late payment fees, with 1.5% per month on the remaining balance the most common. Reports are available for $30 to nonparticipating member retailers and $60 for non-members through the association offices at l-800-365-0919.

The 1992 Building Materials Buying (Continued on next page)

,'ACHINE STAINING. PRE-STAINING OF

Aaid Trim

. Prime cooting of oll species o In oll Olympic colors

. One coot opplicotion on oll sizes of plywood o Use your moteriol or ours o Unif to T&T quontities o Fill-ins ovoiloble in redwood ond cedor trim ond siding to expedite your ordel o Forced oir drying system for prompt shipment o Quick lurn oround o Enclosed 10,000 sq. ft focility o Roil Spur relooding ovoiloble o Over o decode of successful quolity pre-sloining