While most dealers fret over past increases and the possibility of future hikes in health insurance premiums, there's no consensus over what to do about the problem, ProSales' latest LBM survey indicates. Nearly two-thirds of the roughly 185 dealers responding to the online poll cited cost, affordability or the rising price of premiums when asked to name their biggest concern regarding the state of health care coverage in America today. More
Montana LBM dealer Nancy Lien Griffin had an opportunity most lumberyard owners never get a chance to do: speak with the president of the United States. More
Eyes Forward: You can add 10% to your bottom line, but you have to want it to get it. More
In "Press for Success," my column in June's Installed Sales Guide (visit www.prosaleonline.com and look under the Installed Sales tab for "past issues"), I discussed assembling the pieces of your program to insure a smooth startup or sound growth. This month, I want to expand on a topic that always generates discussion at meetings: insurance and due diligence issues with installers. More
There is some good news for these hard times: insurance rates continue to be... More
Big C Lumber goes beyond the usual checklist when the Granger, Ind.-based company... More
Early last year, Wheeler's, a Rome, Ga.?based pro dealer, reorganized its installation department, whose activities generate 20% of the company's annual revenue, "so that we'd be set up more like a builder," says Rick Ariail, Wheeler's director of installed sales. It established a deeper field hierarchy that now has 22 project managers, four territory managers, and one operations manager, all supported by teams of designers, estimators, and cost analysts who, says Ariail, can pinpoint "to the dime" a job's expense. More
The central principle of medicine is first do no harm. Over the past several years... More
Following-up last month's column, Mike Butts continues to address survival in a... More
