Rising Star: Andres Sandoval
Location: Tinton Falls, NJPosition: Outside Sales Representative • Builders’ General Supply How did you begin your career in the LBM industry? My career in LBM began in 2009, where I worked as an inside sales associate at 84 Lumber. Then, in 2011, I was given the opportunity to join the Builders’ General Supply team as […]
Safety Matters: Distracted Driving Prevention Tips
If your job requires you to operate a company vehicle—whether it’s a car, passenger van, large truck or bus—it’s crucial to stay focused behind the wheel and prioritize safe driving practices, namely by avoiding distracted driving. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention defines distracted driving as engaging in any activity that takes your attention […]
SQUEAKY WHEELS: Being a Manager Is Forever Having to Say You’re Sorry
I had an hour’s commute to my office, so most days I’d be on the road by 6:30 a.m. The salespeople, other managers, and fellow employees knew they could call me anytime. Unfortunately, so did our customers. Almost immediately, I received a call from a salesperson. Before he got into why he was calling, he […]
JUST DO IT: When it Comes to Cold Calls, Thorough Preparation is Key
Nearly all salespeople hate cold calls. I don’t like the term “cold call.” Why? There should be nothing cold about them. Any good salesperson does as much research as possible before ever making a first contact. If it were up to me, I’d call them “thoroughly-researched-but-first-time-face-to-face” calls. I don’t expect the term to catch on. […]
Rising Star: Max Fatello
Location: Hampton, NHPosition: Sales Consultant for NH & VT • Marketing & Sales Associates How did you begin your career in the LBM industry? I first started working for Marketing & Sales Associates (MSA) doing videographyat trade shows and events. Shortly after, I transitioned into inside sales and support,and then later into an outside rep. […]
Thermally Modified Wood Is What’s Next
“I want this project to look just like wood,” the client tells his architect. “But I don’t want to maintain it.” Conversations like this have been vexing specifiers and installers for a generation. Wood is beautiful, warm, and alluring, but the unwillingness to perform periodic maintenance has made it a nonstarter for a growing class […]
Why Customer Feedback Is Valuable—and 5 Tools for Collecting It
You’ve heard it before: Customer feedback is a gift. It’s given to you from your most valuable business asset—your customers. As inbound marketing, sales, and service software platform HubSpot advises, if you never ask for customer feedback, you’ll never understand what drives customer satisfaction. And, if you don’t know what drives satisfied customers, you can’t […]
Evaluating Your Current Marketing State for Action
I often hear people confusing the terms “marketing” and “advertising.” Some consider advertising to be any activity that promotes their business. Others think marketing is interchangeable with sales, probably because the terms are often lumped together, as in “sales and marketing.” And often, the terms marketing and advertising are used interchangeably, even though they are […]
Winning the Tug of War in Sales
Often, when speaking with a salesperson, evaluating a client’s business, or training a sales team, I refer to the schoolyard game of tug-of-war. Now, to set the stage for this analogy, this isn’t a win-lose situation where the “sales team” is on one side of the rope and they are battling the “customer team” on […]
FIRING LINE: “Planet Warbucks”
What do you give a builder who has everything? An extra 30 days. I probably shouldn’t have waited to bring this up, but I know how to solve some countries’ financial problems: Put a builder on the International Monetary Fund (IMF) negotiating team. Warbucks Construction was a multimillionaire developer and a good customer, at least […]