Your Website Isn’t A Brochure. It’s Your Hardest-Working Salesperson
For many building supply dealers, the website is still treated like a digital brochure. It lists products, shares location details, and checks a box. But today’s buyers do not engage that way. They are not looking for brochures. They are looking for answers. Your website should function as your most consistent and scalable salesperson, working […]
When Answers Can’t Wait: Building the Support System for Today’s Lumber Channel Needs
The lumber counter has never been a 9-to-5 operation. Yet the questions today continue to escalate, frequently requiring mission-critical response. A contractor texts after hours about a delivery sequence. A Spanish-speaking crew lead opens a chat window from the field because picking up the phone is not an option at the time. These are no longer exceptions—they are […]
Beyond the Samples: Rewriting the Retail Playbook for Modern Dealers
In an era where convenience often replaces brand loyalty, independent lumber dealers are facing a new kind of competition. It isn’t just the big-box store down the street anymore; it’s the infinite, frictionless world of e-commerce. To stay relevant, dealers must offer something a website cannot: a high-touch, immersive experience that builds immediate trust. However, […]
Changing Your Business for the Future…
When a business is started, it is in growth mode. It needs to increase its revenue, requiring sales initiatives, and capturing new customers becomes paramount. As the revenue reaches a certain point, it is easy for an organization to get caught up in the day-to-day, reactionary process of doing business, such as filling orders, addressing […]
FIRING LINE: Purchasing Is Profit
In the lumber and building materials industry, profitability is often discussed through the lens of sales growth, gross margin, pricing strategy, customer retention, and operational efficiency. All of those areas matter. But one of the most overlooked drivers of financial performance remains purchasing. Too often, purchasing is treated as an administrative function responsible for placing orders, monitoring stock levels, and sourcing the lowest available […]
FIRING LINE: Jobsite Delays: Excuse…or Reality?
Of all the reasons builders come up with for not paying their bills, there’s one I’ve heard a thousand times. You know the one. “The job got held up…the bank hasn’t released the progress payment yet.” Which, more often than not, translates into: “You’re going to have to wait a little longer to get your money.” If you’ve been in this business long enough, you develop a pretty good internal […]
Rising Star: Joshua Jalbert
Location: Hyannis, MassachusettsPosition: Sales Manager • Shepley Wood Products How did you begin your career in the LBM Industry? My father is a custom residential homebuilder, so you could say I was born into this industry. I began as most do on a framing crew, sweeping the floors for jobsite cleanup and always getting the […]
Why a Systems Approach Is Critical for the Building Envelope
The building envelope is both one of the most important and most complicated areas of a home’s construction, with many interacting parts, from products to design elements to the weather itself. This is why it’s crucial for you and your customers to look at the walls and roofs collectively, not just by individual product, to […]
After the Thaw: A Dealer’s Guide to Spring Repairs & Long-Term Home Performance
Essential post-winter repairs for durable, energy-efficient homes. Winter puts the homes built, maintained, and inspected by industry pros through one of the toughest challenges of the year. Snow, ice, and shifting temperatures can quickly reveal weaknesses in a structure’s envelope, threatening comfort, efficiency and durability. As spring approaches, the winter season leaves behind valuable insights […]
Transition Planning: The Third Certainty for Closely Held Business Owners
When is it time to start thinking about the transition of your closely held business? I once worked with a building materials dealer who always said he’d “get to transition planning someday.” Someday came fast. A health issue forced decisions that should have been made over years, not months. The business made it through—but the […]