Increased crowds attend annual management seminar

TOP INDUSTRY speakers and an active r and dynamic membership combined to make the recent Lumber Merchants Association third annual Top Nlanagement Seminar a record breaker in every respect. ooour program was extremely varied this year and it's our belief each and every person took home some new money-making ideas for his firm," LMA president Art Masters commented.

Eighty dealers and suppliers participated in the two-day seminar held during late October at Beautiful Asilomar lodge on the Monterey Peninsula. The attendance was a 40 percent increase over last year.

' Marketing expert Paul Hollenbeck, executive vice president of the West Coast Lumber Inspection Bureau, was lead-off man and in no uncertain terms told the group that pricing was one of the biggest

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Good information on management, its whats and hows draws record crowd. Speakers included real business pros. Program was varied to reacn greatest interest area3.

ills facing the industry today. "You must charge your customers for every service you perform," Hollenbeck stressed. He also told the northern California dealer group that some retail building material dealers in the U. S. are making nearly 35 percent, but that most dealers are making a disappointing six. o'There is plenty of room for a satisfactory profit in this business and you should have a minimum goal of 20 percent."

Weyerhaeuser's Carroll O'Rourke and an impressive team of advertising experts conducted the afternoon session on advertising and merchandising. Assisting O'Rourke were Bob Steinkamp of Weyerhaeuser, Houston Levers of Cole & Weber Advertising, and direct mail specialist Cliff Mayne. Perhaps the biggest jolt that came out of this session was when agency rnan Levers played some tape recordings as examples of how badly some dealer telephones are answered.

The company image is on the line when (Continued, on Page 62)