I have now come across two potential clients that purchase stocked Home Depot cabinets as an actual business practice. They think they’re saving time and money; probably without considering the factors below:
1.) Packaging
You can imagine that MOST of these things were nicked up BEFORE they even hit the job site. They won’t get prettier the longer they sit there waiting to get installed.
2.) Low quality Laminate
Actually shows the details of this full overlay door quite well; almost as well as the dents and scratches… (sweet finger paint touch up though)
3.) No corner gussets or hanging rails + Terrible assembly =
Just Glue, staples, and hope to hold your cabinet together.
In whatever shape it takes:
OH WAIT I FOUND THE SCREWS!!!!!:
If nothing else, you can now add some value to your Home Depot contractor: TELL THEM TO BE CAREFUL WHEN THROWING THIS CRAP IN THE TRASH
As shown below, shortsighted thinking is the real obstacle to overcome. There are at least 31 people out there that need our help.
The shadows of the past often loom large. You don’t just represent the present… you are a culmination of the past, and hope for the future. Your time is now, only because of the toils of past generations.
Life changes.
How often we don’t realize where we are is because of who brought us here.
But sometimes we can, and that perspective can be magical.
Nick Leist you see is the 8th generation of dispatchers at our mother ship in Campbellsport.
Nick and his family.
It is solely the most important position within our organization. He is in control of the one thing we can control. The one thing that adds true value to what we do. Deliveries made in full and on time at our largest and founding location.
This is not to minimize any other position. Billing, estimating, ordering, receiving, purchasing, design, service, installing, selling, and so much more is very critical as well. And of course no location is more important than the other.
But the core of Drexel is our delivering and scheduling services…and it all started on Main Street in Campbellsport.
Everything we do that is right can be made horribly wrong by a delivery or install team arriving at the wrong time with the wrong product. It takes a team of experts to make a load perfect, estimating, the right mix of product quality and price, certainly good service and good billing practices… but one person can make a huge mess out of all it.
Ultimately, it is in the scheduler’s/dispatcher’s hands to make us look good.
That is why the 8th generation of dispatchers is so closely fostered, trained and coached. That person has to be just the right mix of saint and sinner, therapist and enforcer, mathematician and mechanic. With a little magician throw in.
Here are the 8 that have had the reins of Team Blue in the last 30 years, all continue to work here except Dick who left this world much too young:
Albert Fleischman
Dick Dornacker
Scott Rosenthal
Joel Fleischman
Jay Enright
Eric Beck
Jake Junk
Nick Leist
Albert believed that we will NEVER say no to a delivery until every person in the company was on one or every truck was gone. In 30 years we HAVE NEVER had a load that didn’t make it out because we ran out of time.
NO LOADS HAVE EVER BEEN LEFT BEHIND UNTIL THE NEXT DAY.
Which of course has led to many stories, including…
Kris Ballard (at that time Kris was the secretary and cabinet designer) taking out a load of 4’x’8′ styrofoam that peeled off the back of the truck like a deck of cards as she drove….
Starting to pull a delivery at 4:30pm on Friday July 3rd…and arriving home just in time for the fireworks in town…
Receiving material purchased from a freight train that ran off the railroad tracks…
Making deliveries by boat, helicopter, and by hand… to prisons, schools, churchs and countless more…
16 hour work days…
I’m sure most of us has a story like this, something we just HAD to do to please the customer.
We’ve delivered to Florida, Nebraska, and dozens of other states…we have done online sales to Alaska. Our first delivery to Canada is starting next month.
And we will continue to do the un-doable….safely…on time…and complete…
When do you need it by?….and we will get it done by then. The only thing stopping us is mother nature, and even then we win most of those battles. We can and we will continue to BE the difference.
It’s simple really. We are a logistics company. Taking product from one truck on to the next. Barb and the flooring team install it too. At the core, that’s really all we do… we do make this small task, moving materials from one place to its last, fantastically hard!
History has taken us from no communication in any trucks, to a system where you called “base camp”, to beepers and pagers, to cell phones, and now to Drexel logistics.
Pictured in front of Drexel logistics: Rosie, Carl, Benson, and Pigeon in front of Drexel logistics. Drexel Logistics captures a picture of all materials delivered and the time driver arrived at site.
Our current dispatchers and schedulers are:
Andy Feld, Kiel & Sheboygan Falls
Andy Krause (in yellow), Berlin
Ryan Michalak, Brookfield
Barb Wolf, Scheduler flooring and window treatment installs, Brookfield
Brendan Biller, Wrightstown
Thank you dispatchers, both current and past, for being the glue that holds the puzzle together. And to all those that surround them… you are all part of what we do. It is the daily “doing” that makes what we do so incredibly awesome.
Being on time and in full takes an army of blue. Each of you make that delivery go perfectly, and currently we are doing it 92% of the time. We will continue to improve.
WE ARE ON A MISSION FROM GOD.
– Joel Fleischman. Joel is Head Coach of the solution providers for Drexel Building Supply. (drexelteam). You can follow him on twitter: @JoelmFleischman. Since 1985, our business success has come from building others UP.
We are focused on creating the best customer experience they have EVER received. We lean on core values to BE GREAT! BETTER > BIGGER.
Store leaders: You are the advocate for the customer. Watch for opportunities to surprise and delight them! Your role: coach, educate, support and encourage your team.
Coaches: Help make decisions that are best for the customer, your team, and the company. Help your team use the processes and procedures in place. Be confident making good decisions based on the core values. Escalate problems that you don’t feel comfortable making to the store leader. Not so they can make the decision for you, but to HELP you make the best decision for your team. Use core values to lead the way. Communicate, change, grow and learn best practices to your team and beyond working with your team and others to grow.
Account managers, cabinetry and floor salespeople: You drive the revenue and profits. You are our internal customers, our goal is to make your life easier so you can sell more and see more customers’ EYEBALLS. You hold the relationships and are the key ingredient to our customers. Don’t ever take that lightly. We need you to use the procedures and processes so you can get out and see customers and make everyone’s life easier. Work on taking care of problems and escalate to store leaders not so they can decide for you, but to help you make the best decision. Sell with price integrity. Sell with confidence. Be humble and grateful for every order you get, they decided to buy from us!
Everybody (including me): We make everything work. We might not get the glory. We are the guts. The offensive lineman. The grease. Without us there is no Drexel. It is up to us to BE GREAT or NOT. It’s our choice every day if we are inspiring ourselves, our teammates, and our customers. Be a beacon of positive energy, let others feed off your spirit. Work on making procedures and processes a habit; that will help reduce mistakes and allow us to help others as we grow! Make your internal customers (account managers, cabinet, and flooring people) happy. If there is conflict or problem take to your coaches, or escalate to your store leader, or me and we can help you make the best decision.
99% of any breakdown in focus is due to lack of communication. Communicate to be great! Ask if you need help or don’t know your focus.
This is YOUR company, not mine. We’ve all decided to be GREAT years ago; I can never thank you enough for that.
BE GREAT TEAM! GO DREXEL.
– Joel Fleischman. Joel is the president & Head Coach of the solution providers for Drexel Building Supply. (drexelteam.com). You can follow him on twitter: @JoelmFleischman. He has provided solutions for builders and their clients since 1996 and a whole bunch of other stuff that you probably don’t care about.
People buy from eyeballs. Or the more common phrase is “people buy from people.” I think quite often with the ease of communication (not the lack of, but the ease of) we forget this. Especially when we are busy.
When we lose a job around here quite often I hear it is price. Or more often I hear nothing… we just lost it. And sometimes it was a customer that we thought was “loyal.” And you know what? Quite often WE get upset at the customer! Shame on us, like they have to buy from us! How we forget the customer gets to choose the relationship NOT US.
When you dig deeper you almost always find out the customer hasn’t seen their salesperson in a long time… a real long time. They couldn’t SEE their EYEBALLS. They will never tell you, “hey you need to be my friend.” They will never say, “I need to see you.” YOU need to make that happen.
Voice mails, phone calls, texts, and e-mails are all super for speed and efficiency. And we think “hey, look at me, I am taking care of my guy whenever he calls.” But you know what? People buy from FRIENDS. Not e-mails.
Be careful texts, phone calls, and e-mails can be a trap. While the 1950’s three martini lunches are a thing of the past, building relationships might SOUND old school, but that is THE ONLY WAY to build and retain customers. Giving your customer PRESENTS and just be there friend. Maybe a 3 martini lunch is EXACTLY what your client needs! DOING THINGS WITH THEM THAT THEY LIKE TO DO IS A GREAT WAY TO GET BUSINESS. Actually, it’s the best way! Take time to be with them. And then look em in the eye ball.
So this week, go through your accounts and rank the last time you saw that person and had a good talk with that person face to face. Then start working at the bottom of the ranking. I don’t care how big or small they are but make a point to go look at them in the eyes. Or I will bet you they will be looking at your competition’s eyes really soon and spending there money there. Don’t be surprised when it happens if you haven’t taken the time to look ’em in the eye.
***
Bonus tip: If you are an outside sales person: LEAVE THE OFFICE. Your inside sales team and delivery team (or whatever team depends on you) depends on you for sales. So leave. Go. Visit. Look em in the eye. You think you are “helping” your inside team by not delegating and doing the work yourself. WRONG. They are counting on you TO LAND JOBS. Or they themselves might be out of a job. They WANT you to leave and make revenue for the company.
Being on a bidders list is NOT THE GOAL. Sending over more quotes to people YOU WOULDN’T KNOW IF YOU SAW THEM IN CHURCH is WRONG.
Try this: At 3:30 or 4:30 or whenever you are wrapping up your day instead of saying, man I work hard, I am going home to mow the lawn or make dinner or work out or dang just chill, make ONE MORE PHONE CALL for the NEXT day. Schedule your NEXT DAY, TODAY. And make it for someone you haven’t seen in awhile, make it for a face to face meeting: breakfast works great! I am 100% confident your sales and quote to order ratios will improve significantly!
***
– Joel Fleischman. Joel is the president & Head Coach of the solution providers for Drexel Building Supply. (drexelteam.com). You can follow him on twitter: @JoelmFleischman. He has provided solutions for builders and their clients since 1996 and a whole bunch of other stuff that you probably don’t care about.
Our chemical composition: Who is Drexel Building Supply
Okay so we doubled our sales from 2003-2009 and doubled again from 2009-2013. However, as our customer, you aren’t looking for a bigger supplier; you’re looking for a better one… no you are looking for THE BEST ONE.
You are looking for one you can trust and treats you like a friend; makes you feel important and special, because you are. You are looking for one that will deliver value by delivering you the right information and products, to the right place, at the right price, at the right time. And one that works with you to increase your sales, reduce your cost and improve your productivity. One that saves you:
TIME, STRESS, AND MONEY.
Because without YOU their isn’t US, we can never stay stagnant we can never quit getting better. We work to improve you and your clients EXPERIENCE with us every time.
Our goal is to be the BEST supplier and subcontractor on your job. Not among our competition, but the BEST you have ever worked with regardless of industry.
That’s a lofty vision; but that is what every team member understands when they begin the journey with us. No problems, only solutions.
We were founded in 1985 by Albert Fleischman as a TEAM based on the work ethic, pride, and truthfulness of the Wisconsin immigrant German farmers. Those farmers that surround our small town of Campbellsport, WI and where Albert has deep roots. Another aspect of what we do is to HAVE FUN which follows the tradition of these hard working German immigrants as well. We serve builders and their clients, industrial customers, agricultural communities, interior designers, commercial contractors and weekend warriors.
Our servant leadership style currently serves 6 locations with over 220 team members. Drexel makes deliveries daily to all parts of Wisconsin at an ON TIME AND IF FULL RATIO OF 92.2% COMPLETE AS OF THIS WRITING– primarily South Eastern, Central, and East Central Wisconsin. It our customers request we can deliver ANYWHERE… and have delivered to over 25 states and growing.
We are here to help you achieve your goals, be it for one small deck to a 100 million dollar a year new construction company.
– Joel Fleischman. Joel is the president & Head Coach of the solution providers for Drexel Building Supply. (drexelteam.com). You can follow him on twitter: @JoelmFleischman. He has provided solutions for builders and their clients since 1996 and a whole bunch of other stuff that you probably don’t care about.
Working with builders and their clients I can confirm one truth: building new or remodeling your home is stressful. (It’s also worth it.)
It will take a tremendous amount of your time. This might seem obvious to some, but not everyone is ready for that. It’s an interruption of your life. The selection and change process is taxing. Multiple meetings on multiple categories. Kitchens are a project within a project and will require multiple meetings with your cabinet supplier alone. You might be asked to pick a granite slab on the actual dock. Most meetings with be during “work hours.” You will have to get baby sitters and take off of work often. Very cool… if you have the time!
You will have to trust your builder. There are unforseen costs. That are expensive. It happens. Discuss with your builder on how change orders will take place. Feel comfortable with her answer or don’t build with them. You BOTH will be happier.
There will be good days and bad days. Weeks will go by and it will seem like there is no activity. That is NORMAL.
If you and your builder can anticipate the ride it makes it a lot more enjoyable.
Have fun, it’s one of the largest purchases of your life and you will have to live with it. That last sentence is both exhilarating and exhausting. Yep, it’s a roller coaster. Just like a roller coaster if you are not ready for it, it’s really hard to enjoy it.
– Joel Fleischman. Joel is the president & Head Coach of the solution providers for Drexel Building Supply. (drexelteam.com). You can follow him on twitter: @JoelmFleischman. He has provided solutions for builders and their clients since 1996 and a whole bunch of other stuff that you probably don’t care about.
I was about 10 years old at my first auction. I was hooked from the first moment. The energy in the air, the pulse, the beat, the roar of the sale is the greatest at an auction. It’s the best sales game in the world!
I’ve been to some farm auctions, a few house auctions, and a couple that were antiques. I’ve been to my grandpas, the last earthly items of the Fleischman homestead farm. Mostly I’ve been to lumberyard auctions. Ones that have closed their doors forever.
There are a lot of things you learn at an auction. What the person hung on to. What the person did right, and mostly what they did wrong. It’s a learning lesson every time. This blog hopefully will help you in your business.
1. THROW “WE MIGHT NEED IT SOMEDAY” ITEMS AWAY
It will sell eventually. It’s worth $500. We have to keep it, look what we paid for it. I will use it someday. Or will you. Probably not. And once you start a pile, what’s a little more on top. And whoever questions why it is there. It’s a vicious cycle.
2. LOOK AT IT AS THE FIRST TIME YOU EVER STEPPED FOOT INSIDE.
You get used to dust. And clutter. And messes. So look at your store and your work area as someone has never saw it before. Do that often. What does it look like then?
3. DON’T STOCK SOMETHING BECAUSE YOU ALWAYS HAVE.
Be honest. Spot trends. Run reports. If it’s not selling, it’s not selling. The trend won’t come back… at least in your lifetime. If it’s not profitable, dump it. period. Unless it TRULY adds to another sale.
4. CLEAN THE CORNERS.
Dust and messes start in the corners. Make sure your corners are clean. If they are, your store will be too.
5. TEACH OTHERS HOW TO “SEE” PROBLEM AREAS.
This isn’t just the owners or store leaders job. This is everyone’s job.
6. DON’T BE EVERYTHING TO EVERYONE.
Have you ever went to a restaurant and thought man, I wish the menu was bigger? I mean never right? Same with your store. People want less, don’t let the options confuse you. Another restaurant story. Most restaurants that have EVERYTHING, usually do NOTHING awesome. Be great at something; become a true expert of one category, one brand and sell the crap out of that.
7. TAKE THE HIT.
Don’t play commission or accounting games. A loss is a loss. Get off the books when it happens. My dad told me a million times when he was growing up with 9 brothers and sisters, “The first bath is the cleanest.” Get it off your books and do not refuse ANY even remotely reasonable offers for your mistakes.
Ok, well that’s it for the overview. You want to dig, deep, deep, deep into the rabbit hole. Take an opportunity to learn from one of the legends in the lumber industry. Here’s my dad giving his advice as we go through the last auction we had from a lumberyard that was in business for almost 150 years… that didn’t make it any longer.
** special notes to the drexel team: don’t ever keep a door slab. They are worthless at an auction. Same for a door frame. Same for countertops. Also take like items of lumber and make a medium size pile. That sells the best.
– Joel Fleischman. Joel is the president & Head Coach of the solution providers for Drexel Building Supply. (drexelteam.com). You can follow him on twitter: @JoelmFleischman. He has provided solutions for builders and their clients since 1996 and a whole bunch of other stuff that you probably don’t care about.
If you are a sales person you simply have to find new customers.
How do you make that first connection?
That question has been asked for thousands of years.
With the invention of e-mails you can now contact them much quicker and easier than ever. But how do you get them to respond?
Recently I got the following cold e-mail sent to me. I get several of those a week, probably several a day. I don’t read many.
This one caught my attention and was simply the best one I have ever received. It was so good, it inspired me to blog about it.
Well done Mr. Kollat. (Michael.Kollat@sprint.com). Maybe this little blog will help him get more sales that he needs.
Subject: Sprint Introduction
Joel – You don’t know me, but my name is Mike Kollat —let me tell you why I’m writing. I’m using this form because I hate making cold calls probably as much as you hate getting them. So I thought I’d spare us both the agony and just drop you a note. Kidding aside, I have been with the Sprint for almost six years and am dedicated to our business based customers in Northeast Wisconsin. Our business is helping our clients enhance communication and increase efficiency within their organizations. When someone described your business to me last week, I thought it might make some sense to meet. A brief conversation is always the first step for us. It’s simply 15-20 minutes of dialogue to see if there is any reason to talk further. Please let me know either:
1-You’re open to a brief “get to know your business” conversation. Please include some suggested dates/times.
OR
2-You really don’t have any interest in investing any time in this at this point.
Either answer is OK. I look forward to your response.
IF YOU WANT TO DIG FURTHER INTO THE RABBIT HOLE ON THIS SUBJECT:
this one, with the receiver’s personal analysis is AWESOME!
***************************************************************************
– Joel Fleischman. Joel is the president & Head Coach of the solution providers for Drexel Building Supply. (drexelteam.com). You can follow him on twitter: @JoelmFleischman. He has provided solutions for builders and their clients since 1996 and a whole bunch of other stuff that you probably don’t care about.
Our company and particularly our store leaders are drivers. By that I mean they are driven. Working until Midnight. Starting at 5am. Whatever it takes 24/7. We’ve been so busy we haven’t even met, even a conference call, for well over 6 months. Until we went to Hot Springs, NC. Where CC’s tavern in Wayne WI, meets Door County, WI. That’s the best way to describe it, even though probably only a few thousand people in the world know what I mean by that. Country living meets Southern Hospitality. And throw in the wandering souls doing the Appalachian Trail and that’s… Hot Springs. (They got cell service 4 years ago.)
Anyways, our leaders at Drexel talk and stay in touch but never did we break bread or anything like that as it got in the way of the day to day needs of our customers and our team.
Never again. We WILL take a once a year sabbatical, retreat, re-group, re-focus meeting of the minds off site and somewhat off the grid every year as long as I work here. Simply must.
Why? It’s kind of like not getting a good night’s sleep. Sometimes you need to recharge the batteries and connect again. And remember why you love your co-workers, your career, and well just life in general so much.
In fact a long term company goal is to own a re-treat center so more team members and customers can do this with us.
Why was it so good? I will limit it to 10 reasons (I could go on forever but will pick the top 10.) This might help anyone entertaining this idea for their company.
1. The guy.Ken Wilbanks was perfect for our group. An industry insider as well as a mentor and guide. He led us perfectly where we needed to go. He knew where we were coming from and led us into the unknown future. Vee, a wonderful leader in her own right, complimented him extremely well in the process. She is an industry OUTSIDER so the different perspectives on how to grow were perfect.
2. We worked. (Remember we are driven men!) 8 hour shifts. 3 days. Of training. We would of craved even more. For our group a QUICK and FOCUSED TRIP is perfect. Some groups I am sure are more laid back. Be sure to set the right pace for your group. That’s important.
3. We played. A little morning fishing. Some quality time in the hot Springs. Surrounded by nature. The fishing was fly fishing. It was outside our comfort zone. I think an important element to grow with your team. Good to do as a group. Nature is good. It’s good to RELAX AND CELEBRATE. It’s needed in life. And sadly we do forget to do it when we are so “driven” with goals and ideas. A pause is good. And moonshine and singing and all sorts of laughs. I even did the Appalachian Trail.
4. We took away small action plans. Don’t take too many ideas away. People run with too many ideas and choke on em. Grab a few that you can do. Makes you feel like you are accomplishing something to go to the next one. Grab too many and do none and you fail. And feel like you’ve failed.
5. We took away big vision plans (3-5 years.) Everyone needs to be on the same page. Especially leaders. These sort of moderating trips do just that. Every time I have done them.
6. Make others empowered too. We gave the leaders “left behind” a small reward and they embraced their role.
7. The right people. No one in attendance was “on the chopping block” or “didn’t fit in”. If you have people like that 1) fire them before you go. 2) don’t take them and fire them before you go. Yeah, I’m not joking. If they just don’t fit in, fire them. Life is short. Hang out with people you like to hang out with. Don’t expect them to change on a 3 day voyage.
8. Make it off site but in sight. Get off the grid but leave just a little time so everyone can check in. No reason to have anxiety about being away from the world. Make sure they have wifi! Make it in sight. Let your entire team know what you are up to. Don’t hide it. And make sure they know WHY you are doing it. Explain.
9. Take great notes. You will forget 99% of what you learned. Don’t let that fire you lit go out the second you get back into the office.
10. Dont’ be a tourist. Be a traveler. Good general advice. But try to do what the locals do. You will learn a little local culture and your trip will be more memorable. And you can see how your team treats others. There is learning to be done there too.
View of the early morning from the “Smoky Mountains”. All who wander are not lost…
– – Joel Fleischman. Joel is the president & Head Coach of the solution providers for Drexel Building Supply. (drexelteam.com). You can follow him on twitter: @JoelmFleischman. He has provided solutions for builders and their clients since 1996 and a whole bunch of other stuff that you probably don’t care about.
Sept 26- 2013
(On a train bound to nowhere… um back from Chicago to Milwaukee)
For the last two days I spent my time at a convention in Chicago put on by Hanley Wood for the marketing leaders for manufacturers of building supplies. Here is what I learned and my thoughts there.
It was called Future Forward, Hanley Wood 2013 foundations. #hwfoundations for you twitter freaks, more on that later!
If you are still reading this…you must be in the trades. And welcome!
First, thank you for Pro Sales and Hanley Wood asking me to be on a panel discussion group. They paid for my stay at the Ritz-Carlton as well as a round trip train ticket. Man, I love the train. Get a ton of work done, relax. The ONLY way to travel Mke to Chi in my opinion!
Ok, on to the goods.
The first two speakers were economists and strategists and they focus on the numbers and data of the United States building economy.
Here’s the stats you need to know:
Building index up 11 of 12 months
Increased activity for 6 consecutive quarters
Phoenix is hot.
Good lots are hard to find. The “surplus” of lots is misleading. Good lots are going, going, GONE, in most markets.
Mortgage rates will stay historically low, and even if they go up they will not effect the market until it hits over 12%! That’s splendid news.
Housing recovery is still in its infancy a lot of growth is COMING!
Here’s a good quote/joke and funny: THE MARKET IS SO BAD I CANT SLEEP AT NIGHT, I SLEEP LIKE A BABY I WAKE UP EVERY 2 HOURS AND CRY!
2014 best year since 2007, total spending perspective (residential spending)
2011, spending on construction, falling more than 1/2
Remodeling bigger than new construction
2014 forecasting stronger than this … a year to two year… to surpass…
maintenance sector is growing, and new con finding gas
New home prices up 22%.
Investors helped get rid of homes… % of investor buying slowing so remodeling coming back up.
12%of those surveyed believe we need to be worried about mortgage rates according to hanley wood!
life drives housing NOT the fed
51% change in household size
39% favorable interest rates, gone up prior to this ?
31% simply tired of current home, best indicator of pent up demand 22% said increase in income
NOT your median person
Gen y, rental market strong. gen yers expecting rent to go up 4.2% , they don’t care, they love it and will continue to rent are they planiing to rent or buy? looking to staying rent. they don’t expect to change
24% of the future new home demand is baby boomers, 24%!
baby boomers…
plunking down a lot of cash! active adult community. 75% cash up to all ca$h.
bougie– new catch phrase (what?)
anything upscale, latte instead of coffee it’s so bougie much more upscale buyer
#bougie
quality is #1 issue when building ! QUALITY, materials significant!
get lucky
share of the largest builders in the country is growing
responsible for over 1/2 of the homes builders
200 largest builders to the 60%! woah.
more for land, means most expensive homes. since land is more, house has to be more.
cost material labor has not kept pace, builders are more profitable.
dealer economic look out. 68% market would be up. 2013 would 81% up up 24%, 83% up over 10%.
location matters… above average madison HOT our market orange (2nd best)
red hot in our areas!
1 mil can’t hold us!
1.16 mil starts 23%
538 new home sales 22%
remodels 7%
600bil 31%
Thank you!
data insights
brad hunter, jonathan spoke
what inning are we in…
better metaphor, a indy race.
2012-13 straightaway
hairpin turn
a skill driver knows to brake during the turn how you manage in the turn will be how you come out
15-20% in a year for home prices cost… fast!
Going to slow next year, competition from more affordable existing homes
Affordabilty WILL suffer
Real up turn in mortgage rate
Entry level, banks loosening up, but down payments coming low (school debt big factor) new kind of g.i. financing…generous in laws
Buying a bigger house now than last time around. Despite all what is happening hasn’t effected volume or home prices…
the haves or our society.
entry level is MISSING yet… kb homes sales are down…because they sell to entry level buyer and home prices up 22%. whew.
how do they deal with mortage rates that are invetible. will they pay less for home? sure…but really what they will rely on …drive til you qualify….
lack of development loans, lot shortages will resolve as funds become available
private builders going public or being acquired. more public builders
the fed has spoken!
the punchbowl is being topped off again, they will not be reducing purchase of bonds. the feds going to taper… no taper. seems like they decided they are too addicted to the financing of America.
Inventories are very very tight in many parts of the country
don’t want to go to 2005 levels. sensible level. 1.5 or 1.6 starts maybe 3 years away
Supply vacant new homes industry spiking. supply was too high.
leading indicator…. was supply
lot supply…. coming down and in fact, lot shortages. 100 months of supply to 45 months supply.
running out of lots…having to buy lots back to peak prices… in some parts of the country
a and b sub markets, lot shortage… most of the supply is spoken for in some markets
lots are being developed. 161k lots to be built, down from a peak of 1mil in 2006. future lot count is 700k
where is it occuring …texas booming phoenix booming.. reno is dead, worst
where is the market headed in 2014?
#hwfoundations2013
2/3 of clients think up only 14% look at slow down
builders
luxury homes going up up up
kitchen big opportunity, than bath
architects really got their butt kicked
decidedly they are more optimistic, building index on arch is up 11 consecutive months
more optimistic is office stuff, bread and butter. 28-34% up ward trends
31% of people want to buy a house, tired of house in, means they delayed gratification, means they will REMODEL
sense that homeowners delayed doing something happier place for their family ready to move ahead
2014. residential remodeling, see the big JUMP in custom housing.
small dealers still go to local banks. those banks were regulatory backed away. beginning to rebound, architects are aware of that.
bldg product manufacturer= dealer. contractors architects and builders and contractors every day. optimistic. busy again. busy getting busier. dealers beginning to create inventory again,
200 top builders in the us, 60% of the activity of the usa. 60% closing this year was of the 200 builders.
Big opportunity, double anything else, WINDOWS!
best housing markets, fl, salt lake city, phx, sc, al, dc, nc, co, tx, az (hot!)
HOUSING RECESSION IS OVER AND IT’S GONNA GET BETTER OVER THE NEXT SEVERAL YEARS
pain is a stressor. numbers may go 22% up in starts in 2014. D E F E N S E.
ADD LABOR! PAIN, DISORDER AND UNCERTAINTY, pain points into opportunities into solutions.
*** social media ***
Day 2. Worked out, had some coffee, you know the usual hotel routine. Didn’t find a wing man the night before, in bed by 10.
@cryswashington gave a really high energy, informative, presentation on how to use social media.
b2c
emotional ties
b2b
expert insight
How can my brand connect with key decision makers in this space each network has a culture linked in business facebook, community, emotional Triggers, most social of social facebook is to build relationships with people twitter culture is real time information and adding value. Youtube feeds the other social networks, connect with things that are visual VIDEO IS KING FOR CONTENT
1. gather intellegince
* sales research
* listening
2. get found
* keywords
* profiles
3. compliment trade show/magazine ads/purchased media
“filetype search…. xls” home builder association filetype:.xls
go to linked in and ask for introduction via email.
32-49 year olds lives on email.
linkedin message, gen y. social media platforms.
baby boomers gonna have to call em.
use technology to be more efficient, not less
facebook graph or email on google, find their phone number
if you know there first and last name
“joel fleischman” “*@drexelteam.com ”
LISTENING
active listening campaigns on social media
actively listen to thank people!!! – USE YOUR PERSONAL NAME WHEN USING YOUR BUSINESS FACEBOOK PAGE, ADD THAT TOUCH! (thanks for the message about your windows. – Joel)
GATHER INTELLIGENCE
social media GET FOUND, low hanging fruit. SHOW UP
concept of key words, linked in runs of key words as well
wonderful to build BACK TO WEBSITE, that’s the hub.
like sending a limo to going to website for a shack.
form partnerships as well.
post testimonials… from contractors MOST EFFECTIVE
installers! installers! installers! ultra lightweight all purpose
joint compound for examples
don’t get caught up in the numbers
b2b numbers smaller, that is ok…
testimonial booth at the expo… ???….!!!!
build and reinforce brand
attach your name. as you post. a really good connection, listen, thanks and use your first name.
measure results
how to do it. SEND MONTHLY SNAP SHOT comments, shares…wonderful and a guage, not sales click throughs, coming from facebook and twitter, etc!
mirror pages, promo or something
promotion redemption
email list growth, track it. own the data.
SALES
leads that turn into sales, track it, track it, track it. in house sales, pretty simple, to do spreadsheet on metrics!
****
taylor made golf guy…. the CEO Mark KING OF GREEN BAY! was next on
sales enablement
good company in future, new bright smart talent and keep it.
when you are trying to move your organization, what gets in way of success, difference speed of which it is changing. managing a business, uncertainty makes it more difficult, lots of pressure.
what is driving successful companies today: CREATIVITY he says the world will never look like it did before.
13 years incredible journey
revenue went up, what did they do to break thru???
fall of 199, he is given the job, parent company adidas i need a 3 year strategic business plan they told him.
300 mil losing money by 2002 we will be in the black. not good enough1
if the leaders of the company say it’s ok to be mediocre, who are we to be.
he said why don’t we become the best performance golf brand in the world.
an environment wants to work in our company… that’s a lot sexier plan
double size of company and be profitable
story 2 reasons:
a lot of it happened. we wouldn’t of done it. gosh, we are going to be great. people starting to be excited about thinking about doing things if you want to drive creativity into your organization. create a gap between aspiration and resource.
CREATE A GAP BETWEEN ASPIRATION AND RESOURCE.
from that gap comes all of that new thinking, trying to push the envelope.
any company should not be afraid to aspire to do great things. mark king
“not gonna work” …. “my bat. my ball. my game.”
change the rules of the game
i really think that every industry is waiting to be reinvented. how do i do better, faster, and less expensive.
if you don’t do it differently you are not going to succeed.
stuck at 700mil… so then what, how did they stay on top…
most leaders face this all the time. that’s why you see them rise and fall…
he said the reason the speed of change in market place. legacy systems, if it’s not always in transformative state, going to lose its space.
vision strategy from the top, then execute. great way to control, NOT COOL.
flexibility and speed and new thinking!
DISTRIBUTE LEADERSHIP
where every team member takes control of creating the future. it’s my job to make the company better.
really a difference of command and control. tip it upside down.
THINK! THINK! THINK!
EVERY FRIDAY MORNING, category managers come in.
instead of painting metal with black why don’t we paint them white.
i said, because bill has really stupid ideas.
market share went from 35 to 52% with one decision.
without his ability to raise hand it never would of happened…
BETTER CHEAPER FASTER AND MORE FUN
2014 GOAL- DREXEL BUILDING SUPPLY
Innovation can come anywhere…it doesn’t have to be technology!
Don’t accept follow the gender trend. break thru.
Find your white paint. (Taylor Made’s white drivers.) You find it by asking more people to think about it!
think about things … think!
if you want to grow your business,,, there are only 2 ways, steal market share or come up with something different or follow trend.
great companies ARE GREAT because the people that work there are inspired to do great things. #GOOSEBUMPS
unleash the potential!
cant’ be done… do it!
i truly believe… EXTRORDINARY THINGS HAPPEN because leaders have the courage to do it. willing to create a new lense.
distribute leadership, their ideas not your ideas. and takes courage.
He was told by her oldest daughter an over achiever:
Our greatest fear is that we are powerful to beyond measure.
success of the month. an online show and bring people in every month.
huge online social network, start an idea and join in…
more touring professionals play our equip than the other 5 combined.
john daly, i love her a little bit more than i hate her.
take risks, push the envelope. we don’t penalize failure.
That’s the random notes. Thanks for sticking with me.
– – Joel Fleischman. Joel is the president & solution provider for Drexel Building Supply. (drexelteam.com). You can follow him on twitter: @JoelmFleischman. He has provided solutions for builders and their clients since 1996 and a whole bunch of other stuff that you probably don’t care about.
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