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While LBM dealers' sales are seasonal, some variable costs, and all fixed costs, are not. Smart dealers are using their time effectively managing resources as sales usually decline during the winter season.
Employ some Cajun country wisdom to help your business grow.
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Have you ever tried to raise your margins and realize that the resistance doesn't come from your customers, but rather your employees? If you are going to improve profits and you can't continue to cut expenses, you need to focus on your margins.
Social media can broadcast your company's logo in lots of embarrassing ways. You can't stop them from happening, but you can defuse their potential damage.
Here's a key concept that could make the difference as you struggle to survive now, grow later.
A former LBM exec sees opportunities for you in his new career.
It's June and your hopes of a homebuilding revival are wilting.
While visiting one of our locations last month, the market manager, an outside sales rep, and I went out for lunch.
Sometimes, it can take something as simple as a seatmate on a long plane flight to help you discover you're a lot smarter than you thought.
Now is the time to revive your management training and mentoring programs.
Managing profit margins is a key component to selling smart. That, in turn, requires you to understand the financial structure of your business. Some margins you might offer are too low to sustain business, while other margins are so high you'll never make a sale. Like Goldilocks and the Three...
In traveling around the country and observing not only Stock Building Supply but other LBM operations, I can't help but offer a "welcome back" to the true sales professional.
Here's the scene: Lunch with two co-workers, a key customer, and his son.
Sixteen months ago, I wrote for this magazine about issues surrounding employee misclassification, particularly the IRS and its regulations surrounding employees vs. subcontractors.
I recently came across an interesting article on corporate strategic planning just as I was going through that process for our installed sales initiative at Stock.
Just before I joined Stock Building Supply, I attended a meeting with a contractor, an installed sales manager and the outside sales rep who services the contractor.
I recently had a conversation here at the house with "Bill," a remodeling contractor.
I've just returned from facilitating a session that brought together 12 lumberyard executives.
Even the best salesperson misses some. In fact, I would submit that the very best among you loses more sales than you make – if you're really trying.
Salespeople are a funny lot. Regardless of whether you are an outside salesperson, work at the retail counter, or sell installed services, the goal is the same: Close the sale. No doubt you're decent at selling because, in these rough times, you'd be shown the door if you weren't. But in spite of...