Guitar legend Jimi Hendrix once said, "Knowledge speaks, but wisdom listens." No doubt he wasn't thinking about his local lumberyard, but he makes a point all of us in LBM should remember: When interacting with customers, take time to fully comprehend their challenges before offering solutions.

Understanding the advantages that specialty lumber and engineered wood products provide over commodity lumber can help a sales team recognize customer challenges, needs and goals. Such information provides a foundation for listening effectively for ways to add value to the builder. 

To this end, below are five tips regarding higher-performance framing material options to better meet customers' needs and land the sale. 

If you ask builders what new framing material types would benefit them, they may or may not have a clear answer. For example, all have experienced the frustration of culling through stacks of commodity lumber to remove defective boards, but may not have considered that affordable alternatives are available.

With advances in forestry, manufacturing, testing and grading, some manufacturers are now offering higher performance lumber. New features include boards that are much less likely to warp after installation, "crown up" labels that remove the need for visual inspection or guesswork on the jobsite, and application of mold inhibitors at the mill. Such features help products look great in the yard and perform well during construction, reducing time and money currently used to cull commodity lumber and helping reduce the risk of call-backs.

Another potentially unrecognized need is tall wall construction. For walls over 10-ft. high in entries, foyers, and great rooms, builders are accustomed to platform framing (i.e. stacking shorter walls since longer lumber lengths may not be available).  This creates a hinge point that is susceptible to drywall cracks and leaks, especially around windows.

Several engineered lumber products, including laminated strand lumber and parallel strand lumber, provide solutions that enable single-length studs in walls up to 30 ft. high, while meeting load-carrying requirements and providing clean wall lines.

Specialty lumber and engineered wood products may be unfamiliar to some builders and homeowners, so explaining the benefits in clear, concrete terms they recognize can be helpful. For instance, someone in our company was speaking with a friend who had a valuable art collection and wanted to showcase it in his new home. The friend had never heard of LSL or thought about structural framing, but after a brief conversation about how LSL studs could provide straighter walls on which to hang his collection, said he would ask his builder to use them. 

A visual representation can also underscore the benefits. Some dealers have built simple, side-by-side comparisons of higher-performing framing materials versus commodity lumber to show how framing material selection is critical to craftsmanship of the finished home.

While price is still often king, builders may be willing to purchase an upgraded framing package if there is a clear benefit, such as a higher-quality finished home, fewer call-backs, less labor or a product warranty. Specialty lumber and engineered wood products can support these goals for homes of all types.

For example, since custom builders stake their reputations on craftsmanship, higher-performance framing materials can help ensure quality construction throughout the home. The products' greater consistency and straightness can help ensure smooth and even walls, in curving staircases and in rooms with millwork and other high-end finishes.

Production builders may wish to incorporate engineered lumber throughout a home or to balance performance and cost by using different products in specific locations. This could include LSL in kitchens and baths, where straight and even walls are most important; specialty lumber in other visible interior walls such as living rooms, bedrooms and hallways; and commodity lumber in closets and other locations where finish is less important.  

When customers focus on the per-stick price, relating the incremental cost of higher quality materials to the overall framing package or total home cost can be helpful. This could include calling out facts specific to the project, such as "high-performance LSL wall framing throughout this home could add less than 1% to the total cost" or "for $500 more, you can get top-quality framing in this $30,000 kitchen."

Higher-performance framing also lends itself well to packaging with other products. For example, you may wish to offer LSL or specialty lumber studs with cabinets and reiterate to the builder how straight studs can help reduce labor costs.

 

Because builders are under increasing pressure to streamline the construction process, the market for selling pre-manufactured framing components is growing. Consider supplying precision end-trim and labeled kits of framing materials. These can help speed installation and improve quality, and provide a way to evolve your services into panelized framing components, if desired. The process does not need to be difficult, since your wood product manufacturer may be able to assist with consultations on equipment, software and operations.

Another way to show value to builders is to highlight how high-performance framing materials can fit into green building. Such materials may be SFI certified or carry other independent evaluations such as the NAHB's "Green Approved" products rating or ICC-ES SAVE program (Sustainable Attributes Verification and Evaluation). Manufacturers can provide details on their products' certifications, and what these programs mean for builders.

Product options are always increasing, and framing is no exception. The range of performance characteristics available provides dealers ample opportunities to develop packages that best meet customers' specific needs.

- Jeff Buckley is the southeast division general manager of wood products for iLevel by Weyerhaeuser, www.ilevel.com; (888) 453-8358.