January 2007 Table of Contents

Success in this depressed residential construction market will take strategies born from both guts and wits. The first step is to return to the core principles of running a business--principles unknown to many new dealers who never had to learn them during the years of plenty. Have you already mastered those principles? Then this is the time for fresh thinking about managing your business. Here's a collection of core and second-level ideas for doing better business in bad times, all drawn from ProSales editors and contributors. Not every strategy presented here is appropriate for every pro dealer, however; choose the ones that work best for you and get to work. Read more

Ever since their days in college basketball, people have looked up to the Mahaffey family. In the succeeding 40 years, they've fostered a culture at Ply Mart that values innovation and growth. The success of that company and that culture have earned the Norcross, Ga., company the 2006 ProSales Dealer of the Year award. Read more

On the hunt for new products? Then head to the 2007 International Builders' Show in Orlando, Fla., Feb. 7-10, where you'll see the latest building products under the subtropical sun. Prowl around the million-and-a-half square feet of exhibit space and get your paws on cool products offered by 1,800-plus exhibitors. Until then, feast your eyes on the selection of new products we've tracked down. Read more

The U.S.-Canada Softwood Lumber Agreement (SLA), which went into effect Nov. 1, is unlikely to shake up pro dealers' businesses or a market currently oversupplied with low-priced wood. Dealers say the stability and predictability in prices and supply that advocates promised this pact would usher in will be delayed until the severity and depth of the recent housing downturn reveal themselves more clearly. Read more