On Thursday, Dec. 7, LBM Expo attendees gathered for breakfast with Bradley Hartmann to hear an engaging, interactive presentation about how making three small practical changes to your sales leadership can drive new sales regardless of market conditions.

Hartmann started by providing a historical perspective, highlighting the first football game, which took place in 1869 and was followed by decades of low-scoring, frequently dangerous matches. He went on to talk about Woody Hayes, the head coach of the Ohio State Buckeyes (1951–1978), who pointed out the obvious drawbacks of passing in football, stating that only one out of three outcomes are positive. Hayes argued that a fear of passing hampers practice and proficiency, creating a self-fulfilling prophecy that every time a pass is made it is more likely to fail than succeed.

The turning point in football came when former American football coach Hal Mumme expressed that he liked passing and that passing was fun, and then asked why they weren’t doing more of that. This was when the introduction of the Air Raid Offense came into play. Hartmann drew attention to Mumme’s philosophy of focusing on offense, never playing defense, shifting to the adoption of a high-scoring and exciting approach to the game. Mumme challenged the conventional belief that passing was risky, advocating for a change in mindset. Mumme had stated, “If we play different, or we play smarter, we can win.”

Hartmann then connected this football history and philosophy to the business world, specifically in the lumber and building materials industry. He highlighted the challenges faced by businesses, including consolidation, high interest rates, commodity volatility, and the labor shortage. Drawing inspiration from the Air Raid Offense, Hartmann suggested applying its principles to sales strategy in the industry.

There are three phases to implementing the Air Raid Sales Offense. Each phase has two or three tools/frameworks that support it. Here is a brief overview:

Phase 1: Simplifying Your Playbook
Examine and Evaluate, Strategize, and Build Confidence.

  • 360 Sales Assessment: Examines and evaluates the elements that drive predicable sales. In this step, you identify six primary elements of sales (Culture, Strategy, Squad, Sales Process, Sales Skills, and Sales Tools) and performance by answering a series of questions.
  • Sales Strategy Statement: This statement is designed to ensure every member of your sales team knows what your strategy for selling is because if they don’t, they’re not going to be able to move quickly. In this step, you are asked to describe how you are trying to achieve your goal by defining three elements: Scope, Objective, and Advantage. Then, you put together your statement, which is easy to understand, learn, and memorize and 45 words or less.
  • The Sales Stack: A cohesive layering of four distinct sales elements: a defined sales process, specific sales activities, sales skills, and sales tools to help develop confidence in every sales rep.

Phase 2: Technique Over Scheme
Craft Your Pitch and Tackle Objections.

  • Feel-Know-Do Next Framework: This tool helps you create your own 30-second “movie trailer pitch,” a story shared to pique curiosity while priming your listener for what is to come next—how you can help solve their problems.
  • Tackling Objections: Here you list your customers’ common objections that slows or halts the buying process. Hartmann states that if you improve your listening skills, you can not only anticipate and overcome objections, but also build them into your sales process.

Phase 3: Knowing Your Numbers
Increase Revenue, Develop Your Pipeline, and Accountability.

  • Jerry Maguire Paradox: Here, Hartmann shows you how fewer clients can lead to more revenue, not less by helping sales reps rank their top 20 most important relationships.
  • The Simple Sales Pipeline: This tool clearly constructs a one-page sales pipeline that values the entire potential playbook of business. It can organize, value, and communicate any pipeline.
  • The RPA Meeting: This meeting makes accountability simpler with monthly-held, face-to-face meetings that are short and led by the sales reps.

Hartmann challenged the audience to consider implementing the Air Raid Sales Offense principles in their businesses. He suggested that embracing change and adopting a more offensive mindset can lead to increased confidence, better predictions of future sales, and ultimately, success in a competitive market.

For an interactive finish to his presentation, Hartmann hosted the “2023 QB Challenge,” an engaging passing game that put attendees’ skills to the test. The high scorers, who competed on Day 1 of LBM Expo, earned their right to compete in a passing tournament-style competition to win special prizes and peer recognition.

Hartmann also invited guests to leave their business cards with him so he could email them his Sales Training Workbook on the Air Raid Sales Offense, which they could use to immediately deploy these methods in their yards.

Bradley Hartmann is one of the most sought-after thought leaders in the construction industry today. He has written 12 books and hosts The Construction Leadership Podcast. Learn more about him at www.bradleyhartmannandco.com.