September, 2005

Business on the Bus with Ellsworth Building Supply

To Norman Schultz there is nothing like five hours on a bus for forging close relationships with builders.

By Scott Larson

Earlier this year, Schultz, who is manager of special projects at Ellsworth Building Supply (EBS) in Ellsworth, Maine, organized an all-expenses-paid trip for 35 of the 10-unit dealer’s best builder customers to Builders Trade ’05, Northeastern Construction Expo, an annual construction expo hosted by the Homebuilders’ Association of Western Massachusetts.

"This business is a commodity business,” says Schultz, echoing the established industry refrain that lumber is lumber so understanding your customers and their needs are the keys to winning loyalty. "To set yourselves apart it comes down to the relationship between the builder and your sales people. That relationship is critical.”

The two-day Expo was held at the DCU Center in Worcester, Mass.—250 miles and five hours from EBS’s headquarters. That meant lots of alone time for the builders and the 15 EBS account managers and executives who accompanied them on the trip.

"We tried to pair our sales people with a couple of their best customers,” Schultz says. "That gives them time to do a little bonding, and there is some two-way learning that goes on. Our people get to see what interests their customers and we can learn from that.”

The bus left on a Thursday morning from the dealer’s Ellsworth, Maine, headquarters, half full with builders and EBS employees. It made one stop, at EBS’ Belfast, Maine, location, to pick up the rest of the passengers and bag lunches from a local delicatessen before heading southwest on the five-hour trek. A little after 2 p.m. it pulled into the DCU Center in time for a half day of seminars, product demonstrations and booth visits. At 5:30 p.m., the group checked into its hotel two blocks from the convention center, then met for a social hour followed by a buffet dinner. That night, they were on their own if they wanted to go out on the town—"And a lot of them did,” Schultz notes. Day two dawned with a buffet breakfast at the hotel, then the group was back at the show when the doors opened at 9 a.m. At noon, it was time to load up the bus for the return trip—complete with another bag lunch—home.

In putting together the trip, EBS partnered with three vendors—Andersen Windows, Andover, Mass.-based millwork distributor Brockway-Smith and a third that wished to remain anonymous. Those vendors, Schultz noted, picked up virtually all of the costs of the excursion from the bus trip itself to show entry, hotel rooms, the two on-bus box lunches and breakfast and dinner at the hotel.

"There was virtually no expense to EBS other than the time,” says Schultz. The only time EBS’s guests or employees had to pull out their own wallets was to pay for drinks from the cash bar during dinner and for the optional night on the town. Liability issues, Schultz explains, kept the dealer from supplying alcohol on the trip.

In exchange for their sponsorship, representatives from Andersen and Brockway-Smith attended the dinner and lunch where they could mingle with the builders and EBS staff. They were also given the opportunity to address the group – "Not a hard sell,” Schultz says. "They just had a chance to introduce themselves and talk briefly about their products.”

This wasn’t the first time EBS has undertaken such a trip. In 2004, the dealer organized a similar journey to the Northeast Retail Lumber Association’s annual show. In 2006, Schultz says, he’s planning a visit to the Journal of Light Construction show in Rhode Island.

"We’ve already got vendors lining up to sponsor the trip to the Journal of Light Construction show,” Schultz adds. Such trips are all part of a concerted effort by EBS to connect with its customers at industry events.

"It’s our customers and contractors who recognize a lot of the new ideas,” says Schultz, noting that EBS even puts on its own local trade show. "It’s our way of showing them our appreciation and exposing them to new things.”

Some of those along for the trip to Worcester received an added bonus as well. Show attendees were given gold medallions they could redeem at various kiosks around the convention floor. In the process their names were entered into hourly drawings for actual one-ounce gold coins worth in the neighborhood of $400. Seven of the builders on the EBS bus ended up winners.

"That left quite an impression on those seven,” Schultz adds.

Scott Larson is a freelance writer based in New York City.