The Right Tools in the Toolbox

Sometimes it’s hard to start a conversation. You know what you want to say, you think you know how the person you’re talking to will react, and yet finding the words to get the ball rolling and respond to the questions you know you’ll get is tough.

For instance, I’ve been in the business of selling trusses for a long time. I’ve talked to a lot of builders about the benefits of trusses. There are so many benefits, and so many questions, it’s hard to know where to start with someone who insists on stick-framing. It’s even more difficult for my sales team, many of whom don’t have four decades of experience to pull from when talking to a potential customer.

That’s why I’m eager to use the new SBCA Component Marketing Toolbox (CM Toolbox). My subscription gives me access to the materials I need to start a simple, straightforward conversation with a customer. The CM Toolbox is also a great training resource for my sales team, helping them better understand the advantages components provide builders, particularly as a solution to their labor shortage.

All of the CM Toolbox materials are based on the data we collected during the 1995 and 2015 Framing the American Dream projects, where we built two identical houses side by side and compared stick framing to component framing. The data is consistent and clear: components take less time and skill to install, use less material, generate a lot less jobsite waste and ultimately perform better because of the engineering expertise our industry provides.

In my experience, builders are cost driven. They are always looking for ways to increase their margins, while at the same time increasing the quality of their product. The library of videos, brochures and presentations as well as the online calculator included in the CM Toolbox make it easy for me to show builders how components will help them achieve their goals.

The best part of the CM Toolbox is the flexibility it provides subscribers. In my market, I’m focused heavily on convincing builders to move from rafters to roof trusses. There are a bunch of materials I can choose from specific to that topic. If you’re a CM who operates in a strong roof truss market, you might instead use the wall panel or floor truss materials. All of the brochures can be customized with your company logo and contact information, and the slide templates are a great starting point for any customer presentation your staff might want to give.

The online calculator allows you to enter information specific to a particular job and estimate the amount of material and labor it would take a builder to stick frame a project, which you can compare to the cost of your component package and the labor it would take to install it.

All of the materials in the CM Toolbox can be downloaded and used on your company’s website the way you see fit. If you don’t have the time or resources to do it yourself, SBCA staff can help you create a custom microsite for your company that features the materials and messaging you want to put into the market. It is a powerful tool I plan on putting in the hands of my sales staff.

I think every component manufacturer should take a closer look at the CM Toolbox. Visit the SBCA website for more details, then contact SBCA staff to start your subscription. It will help you grow your market share, and it will help the entire industry get the word out about the benefits of components.