September, 2008

The Green Reality

“Reality isn’t the way you wish things to be, or the way they appear to be, but the way they actually are. —Robert Ringer

By Rick Schumacher

Most building trends evolve over time— long periods of time, typically. This gives each player in the distribution channel plenty of time to adjust and adapt to new methods or materials. Think engineered wood, vinyl siding, composite decking, metal roofing… all represented new concepts and all enjoy varying degrees of success. Yet none caused as much commotion as the latest trend: green building. While green building has been an element of residential construction for decades, its ascent from the shadows into the spotlight has been nothing short of explosive. The result: confusion.

Everybody wants green, but nobody really knows what that is. Ask 10 industry pros what green building means, and you’ll get at least 10 different answers. The best part: it’s likely that everyone’s right. Clashing standards, conflicting definitions and contrasting codes, amplified by proliferating marketing messages, have created disorder and instability in a rock-solid industry.

For decades, everything else being equal, builders bought where they had relationships. Today, the confusion surrounding green building has disrupted that status quo. Some builders will buy from the same dealer they’ve always bought from, because relationships trump knowledge and training. But the smart builders will make sure they’re doing business with a supplier who can help them navigate the green building opportunity. If that means building a new relationship with a new dealer who can better meet their needs, then so be it.

The fact is, until the dust settles around green building, your customers—builders, remodelers, homeowners and architects— will rely on you and your company more than ever before for product guidance. If you can’t help them, odds are good that a competing dealer will welcome their questions, and their business. I learned yesterday that shortly after putting out a press release about becoming a Certified Green Dealer™, a lumberyard got a call from a builder who saw the news. Based on the dealer’s commitment to train its sales staff on green building, the builder came on board— initially with an order for framing packages for 60 homes. This dealer said they didn’t believe they’d have gotten this builder’s business, were it not for the Certified Green Dealer Program.

When we launched LBM Journal in 2003, I knew that the magazine would succeed only to the extent that we helped our readers succeed. Fast forward to 2006: Believing that green building was reaching the tipping point, and knowing from internal research how much LBM dealers had to learn, I saw an uncomfortably large gap. There was no fix in place, and something had to be done. So we did it.

Since going live at the start of this year, the Certified Green Dealer™ Program has trained thousands of salespeople at hundreds of LBM dealer locations. Thanks to overwhelmingly positive feedback, I know that the Program—and our groundbreaking editorial on green building—is making a productive, bottom-line difference for readers.

Some (most notably, competing magazines) may say that it's not a magazine's place to create a training/certification program. My response: If we have to color outside the lines to create the tools you need to succeed, then bring on the crayons!