Epiphanies in the life of a salesman

from Merchant Magazine - December 2011

Old school dealer rrmallstt the competition

you will not sell less. You can quote everything with $5/MBF less for the next 20 years and you won't sell more. The only thing that affects our income is the quality of our salesmanship, not how low our price is or isn't. If we take the strongest seller from your office and make him sell at $5/MBF more than your weakest seller for a whole year, who will sell more? It's about salesmanship, not about being the lowest.

This idea also accelerates our sales days, years and careers. If we need to be the cheapest, we have to research price forever. If price is just another detail, we just need a price, not the cheapest price. The (best) price is something we work out with the customer, not something we deliver on our own. The customer has mutual responsibility to our partnership to arrive at the correct price.

If fHsN I rHlNr oF sELLERS who know/sell more than I V V do, I liken what they know to the view of someone who is at the right angle of a hallway. We can see them and they can see us, but we can't see what they see when they look down the other end of the hall. They can describe it, but we can't really experience it until we get to where they-the master sellers-are in the hallway.

Through my own evolution and working with salespeople, I have found the following idea and attitude changes are crucial for sellers who want to reach the next level.

Preparation works. Activity does not equal progress. A series of well-planned sales calls will yield a closing percentage. From here, we can do sales math and figure out how many calls we need to achieve our sales goals. Winging it is faster and much easier-in the short runthan planning our calls. In the long run, winging it leaves us running in place. Our careers do not advance because our skills do not advance. It's like riding as a passenger in a car for years; you really don't know how to get anywhere, because you haven't been doing the driving.

Price is just another detail. Salespeople bring up price first-ALWAYS-and then blame the customer for being a "price buyer" or "always countering me." Can you imagine going to a car lot and when the salesman asks, "What color do you want?," you respond, "Oh, I can't tell you that. Just come back with your best color."? Of course not. Color, like price, is just another detail we must know before we can put the order together. The customer will seldom buy without knowing the price, so in the end it must be covered, but it is just another detail.

Being low doesn't matter. Guarantee: You can quote everything with $5/MBF more for the next 20 years and

I can't sell everyone. I don't want to sell everyone. Master sellers spend much less time working with an account that doesn't buy than do sellers who struggle. Hanging on to accounts too long is also the major symptom of a plateaued seller at any level, but especially the midhigh level. Comfort is the enemy of the master seller.

My account base is never set. The desired myth of the struggling seller is for the "perfect" account base. Once the perfect account base is attained, we won't have to strive anymore. Our customers will trust us and buy from us with ease. We never arrive at this mirage.

Master sellers constantly, consistently reinvent themselves. They do not wait for cataclysmic changes in the weather (dinosaurs) or their account base (struggling sellers). Master sellers continually upgrade their account base. As Kipling said, "All men count with you, but none too much." The same can be said for our accounts. We love them all, but we don't fall in love with any of them.

Thinking matters. What I think about and how I think about it affects my results, my career. Any kind of negativity must be stricken from our vocabulary and our lives. We must work at it. Are there nesative things that happen? Yes. They are in the past. The present and the future are positive when we make them so.

James Olsen Reality Sales Training (503\ 5M-3572

ROBORO'S new software makes it easierfor customers to select and specify glulams.

Choosing Glulams Gets Easier

Rosboro has updated its technology platform with a new software system that allows customers to more easily select and specify glulam products. With isDesign, Rosboro clients can enter the span and load conditions for a project and automatically determine the best product for specific uses, as well as calculate multiple spans, point loads, cantilevers, and other applications.

"With isDesign, we're integrating what we find to be a flexible, user-friendly software solution," said Geoff Crandlemire, distribution and product development manager for Springfield, Or.-based Rosboro. "Our customers will now have a simpler interface with intuitive navigation that saves them time and helps them select the right glulam products for their intended application."

An analysis/engineering software that incorporates the most recent .NET technology, the new system's interface and features enable users to operate in a familiar and comfortable Windows environment.

Rosboro's custom glulam service is included. Curved lengths up to 100 ft., depths up to 53 inches, and a variety oftextures and appearances are available.

Private equity firm Gores Group, Los Angeles, Ca., has acquired the remaining 49o/o ot Stock Building Supply, Raleigh, N.C., from Wolseley Plc.

Dunn Lumbel has doubled the amount of inventory at its store in Kirkland, Wa. The chain earlier expanded its Evereft, Wa., branch and plans to do likewise in all of its other locations, store by store.

New products include a wider assortment of fasteners, tools, paints, caulks/adhesives, and cleaning, plumbing and electrical supplies.

Aldrich Lumber has sold its home of 74 years in downtown Billings, Mt., and is relocating to the edge of town, where it will downsize into a specialty dealer of pole barns and riding arenas.

Ordway Building Supply, ordway, Co., suffered $40,000 to $50,000 in damage Nov. 20 when a motorist plowed through its lumberyard.

Tomkins Hardware & Lumber, Creede, Co., has been sold by Robert Fredrick to Nick Lenzini and Delano Velasquez, who will serve as sales mgr.

84 Lumber Co.'s shuttered site in Santa Rosa, Ca., has been acquired oy Bedrosians Tile & Stone, as the new home for its local showroom/design center.

Menards continues negotiating with the city to try to acquire a24-acre site in Cheyenne, Wy., with hopes to begin construction on a new store in the spring.

An earlier deal was killed in September when the county contested ownership of part of the property.

Ace Hardware, Elk Grove, Ca., closed Nov. 23 due to big-box competition.

Owners Mary and Robert Lawrence bought the 3O+-yearold store-then a True Value franchiselfive years ago. They continue to operate Aces in Galt and Sheldon, Ca.

Ace Hardware Hawaii, Honolulu, Hi,, has acquired Pahoa Hardware, Pahoa (Big lsland), Hi., and converted it from True Value to Ace.

Fourteen of the chain's 25 stores are in Hawaii.

General Hardware, Mill Valley, Ca., shut down at the end of November after nearly 40 years.

Kelly Kramer, owner for the past 21 years, was unable to reach a deal with his landlord on a new lease.

Habitat For Humanity opened a new ReStore discount LBM outlet Nov. 17 in Sunnyside, 0r.

Anniversaries:Sine Hardware, Glendale, Az., 100th ... HPM Building Supply, Keaau, Hi.,90th ... Pete's Ace Hardware, cistro Vir6y, ca., sstn Ace Hardware Hawaii, Honolulu, Hi., 60th ... Paul's Ace Hardware, Scottsdale, Az., 55th ... Superior Lumber Yard, Superior, Az.,45th ... ADB Building Supply, Mesa, Az., 30th ...

Bluelinx has shuttered its DCs in Seattle, Wa., and Sacramento, Ca., consolidating operations at its facilities in Beaverton, Or., and Fremont, Ca.

The move was announced at the end of a third quarter in which the dishibutor lost $6.2 million. "We'll continue to look at all markets and businesses within BlueLinx, and we'll make the necessary changes in investments to improve our results," said c.e.o. George Judd.

Kingston Cedar, Spokane, Wa., has purchased Malby.l-umber, Kingston,' ld.

Steve Gendron, sales mgr., Porcupine Wood Products, Salmo, B.C., will handle sales.

Eco Building Products, vista, Ca., signed a five-year lease to open a 30,000-sq. ft. coating facility with rail spur in Salem, Or.

Jeld-Wen, Klamath Falls, 0r., is closing its window plant in Cheyenne, Wy., by the end of the year, eliminating 1 12 jobs. The manufacturer also received the 2011 Theodore Roosevelt Workers' Compensation & Disability Management Award for its safety improvement practices.

Weyerhaeuser Distribution is now supplying Tlttxo's EverGrain composite decking and railing and TamRail railing systems to Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, Oregon and Washington.

Weyerhaeuser also has added a new fastening template and proprietary edge sealto its Edge Gold flooring panels.

Vandermeer Forest Products, Lynnwood, wa., is now distributing a full line of Azef products in Washington, Oregon, ldaho, Montana, Alaska and Hawaii.

EcoVantage LLC, St. Joe, In., earned the USDA Certified Bio-based product label for its EcoPrem thermally modified lumber.

Canfor Gorp., Vancouver, B.C., agreed to pay $60 million for Tembec's two eastern B.C. sawmills.

The deal is set to close in late first ouarter 2012. Canfor then plans on investing over $50 over the next few years to improve productivity at the mills in Elko and Canal Flats.

Haida's Taan Forest division, Vancouver, 8.C., has earned Forest Stewardship Council certification for all of its forestry and harvesting operations on Haida Gwaii, BC.

Simpson Manufacturing Co., Pleasanton,^caaqreed io ourchase all the shaies of Swiss firms S&P G-lever Reinforcement Co. AG and S&P Reinforcement International AP.

Trex inked a licensing dealwith Backyard America to develop and market Trex Pergola kits.

Arch Chemicals, Nonvalk, Ct., was recognized as a Vendor of the Year by Ace Hardware Gorp., along with DeWalt Power Tools, Towson, Md.;WJ Dennis, egin, ll.;Ace Paint, Oa! Brook, ll.;Wayne Water Systems, Hanison, 0h., and Kaytee, Chilton, Wi.

G-P Shuffles EWP Division

Georgia-Pacific Wood Products is overhauling its engineered lumber business to create more direct involvement with its customer base and expansion of services.

G-P will provide its engineered lumber customers with inside and outside account management personnel, business development support, engineering and technical services, and software development and support. G-P will continue to offer a complete portfolio, including LVL, solid sawn and LVL flanged I-joists, glulams, and rim board.

"This new strategy will help expand market opportunities for GP, our customers, distributors, and supply pafiners," said Mark Luetters, president of Georgia-Pacific Wood Products. "We feel this will help us better meet customer needs through a strong network of independent distributors with a primary focus on engineered lumber products."

The strategy coincides with the Feb. 12,2012 expiration of G-P's distribution agreement with Bluelinx, which will allow G-P to begin to phase out its Broadspan line of engineered wood products late in the first quarter of 2012.

"We're excited about being able to offer strong brands such as Wood I Beam joists, GP Lam LVL, GP Lam 3000 glulam, and Fiberstrong rim board to a broader set of customers," said Paul Watterson, general manager for G-P Wood Products. "We're looking forward to working more closely with our customers, and will remain committed to offering high-quality wood products and innovative solutions to the industry."

Boise Cascade BuyingStimson Mill

Boise Cascade, Boise, Id., agreed to purchase the assets of Stimson Lumber's sawmill in Arden, Wa.

The mill processes pine and cedar into lumber and decking products. When the deal closes, around Dec. 31, the facility will become part of Boise Cascade's Inland Region.

"It is Boise Cascade's intent to operate both the Kettle Falls Lumber operation and the Stimson Lumber mill, although the operating configuration has yet to be finalized," said Inland Region manager Tom Insko. "The combination of the two mills will increase efficiencies and enhance the product mix capabilities of the Inland Region lumber operations."

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