Sales vision: 101

Colorado Springs, Colorado -- Rick Davis has scoured the Web for corporate vision promises -- the kind of statements that often explain that Company A provides quality products and excellent service.

In his opinion, these pseudo vision statements are "seemingly identical, boring and dull." Too many LBM companies use uninspired language to explain their visions to customers. Too many web site messages sound the same. And everyone says they provide good service, so that's not going to make you stand out in a crowded field.

Notable exceptions, he said, include what he found on the website of BMC. The mission statement reads: "Deliver what our customers need, when they need it & how they want it." He also credited Zeeland Lumber & Supply in Zeeland, Michigan, for clearly stating its delivery excellence. ("Build. Trust." is Zeeland's slogan.)

A good vision promise puts the customer first. "Give your website the we-we test," Davis said. "Ask yourself how many times you say 'we,' instead of explaining what the customer gets."

A good vision promise provides a specific customer benefit. "But it's not about the website," he said. "It's about the company culture."

Davis, owner of the construction products industry consulting firm Building Leaders, addressed the topics of vision, engagement and execution here at the ProDealer Industry Summit.

Success in this business -- or any competitive pursuit -- doesn't come without a game plan, and that starts with a vision.

Vision sets the stage for engagement from the corner office to the regions and districts and branches to customers, he said. Smaller businesses don't have it easy to share their vision, but they do have it easier, he said.

Other comments from Davis' wide ranging sales leadership presentation:

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  "It's not who you know anymore. It's who knows you."


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  "Your top performers do not out-close your mediocre performers. They out-prospect them."


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  "There's an old saying that you eat an elephant one bite at a time."


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  "Great leadership means creating a vision that's simple."

Davis also plugged the LBM industry in general. "I'm tired of people saying that this is not the sexy industry," Davis said. "We need to recruit more people into this industry and not just our family members."

Davis described opportunities for new recruits, for instance -- a job on the yard will never be outsourced overseas. Also, he said you could become a millionaire in this business "without spending $400,000 for a college education."

The 2015 ProDealer Industry Summit runs through Oct. 30 here at The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs, Colorado.