The source: make your yard the go-to place for special orders. If you view them as an opportunity to serve contractors, chances are customer loyalty—and sales—will soar

Prosales, April, 2003 by Rich Binsacca

Behind the counter at Gilroy Concrete & Building Materials in Gilroy, Calif., is a book used to record contractor requests for special order or non-stocked items. Every time he meets with his sales team, outside sales representative Nick Prizant brings the book. "If we find two requests for the same thing from two different contractors, chances, are we'll start stocking it," he says.

While such an approach can quickly shrink shelf space and overload SKU counts, it's part of a fundamental principle at Gilroy, a single-location operation that has served pros along California's Central Coast for more than a century. "One of my pet peeves as a consumer is to be treated like a burden when I make a special request, or to be told `We don't do that' by a salesperson," says Prizant. "Our philosophy is always, `Yes, we will.'"

Relationship Management

Treating special orders as a sales and service opportunity--instead of a hassle--has earned Gilroy a reputation as the go-to supplier among contractors in the area. Prizant estimates that "well over 50 percent" of the company's sales come from special orders, which in turn boost the operation's overall standing with pros. "They look to us as the source for technical advice, as a one-stop shop to get information and products," says Prizant. "It's not only a sale, but an opportunity to grow relationships."

Prizant considers it almost a job perk to help a contractor fill a quirky demand or interpret a mystery spec from an architect. "We take pride in helping a contractor or homeowner achieve the look they want or meet their expectations," he says.

Gilroy's priority on relationships as a means to profitability also is based on strong ties to its vendors. "As important as our relationships are with our customers, they are equally so with our suppliers," says Prizant, who manages an extensive inventory of building materials and masonry products, while also sourcing items from nearby quarries and specialty shops.

Sourcing Special Orders

Close ties with suppliers help Gilroy stay true to its philosophy and help the dealer deliver special requests such as pizza ovens and a custom-pigmented epoxy, among other oddball items. "Contractors know that if we don't carry it, we know who does," says Prizant. "If not, we'll find out within an hour."

For an increasing number of dealers, that kind of turnaround is aided by the Internet. "Regardless of what it is or where they see it, we'll use the Web to pursue it and source it," says Warren Johnson, sales manager at Kerrisdale Lumber Co., a single-location, $6 million dealer in Vancouver, British Columbia.

All six Kerrisdale sales associates have online access, enabling them to search for products, from custom millwork and uncommon engineered beams to water filters and work boots. Johnson recalls an instance when a customer wanted a special fastener; a Kerrisdale sales rep found it online, ordered it direct, and had it delivered via FedEx the next day.

But dealers also rely on their tried-and-true vendors--both local and national--to come through with just the right product ... and at the right price and with timely delivery. Berlin G. Myers Lumber Corp., a single-location, $6.5 million operation in Summerville, S.C., relies on a stable of key distributors as well as local custom mills to serve its special order business.

By using both sources, Myers is able to accommodate each contractor's priority; while a distributor has more inventory and usually faster delivery, a local craftsman or mill shop is better equipped to create a truly custom window, entry door, or trim profile. "It allows us to order items on a case-by-case basis; says vice president Berlin Myers Jr., who adds that this is how his customers like to be treated, as well.

Cost vs. Value

For the average contractor, and most others who make special orders, the cost of the item becomes secondary to sourcing it. "If others don't have it, we'll get it for you," says Kerrisdale's Johnson. "There's a value to that."

And while Prizant makes service the special orders mantra at Gilroy, he does admit that profit is a consideration. "Profit is important [on an item], but it's the least of our concerns," he says. "Chances are, we'll make money [on a special order], but we'd source it even if it doesn't have a high margin."

To make sure he's getting the relationship value out of accommodating a contractor, Prizant won't haggle price or gouge for an unreasonable profit. "A special item will cost you [extra], but the markup will be fair," he says. "Contractors respect that and few will quibble about the price."

In keeping with his company's philosophy toward special orders, Prizant also views them as opportunities to tap new niches with other pros in the area. "If there's even one customer who regularly wants a special item, we've expanded the facility to inventory it," he says, owing to the theory that if it's on the shelf, other contractors will buy it, as well.

Gilroy has even invested in technology and equipment to either source special orders in-house or alter a specification to more quickly (and often cost-effectively) deliver a comparable order to the builder. An on-site, computerized masonry coloring system, for instance, can replicate up to 1,000 colors from a variety of manufacturers and also replaces an outdated pigmenting technology. Prizant recalls an architect's specification calling for the older process, which would have required a special order. "Instead, we matched what the architect wanted and saved the cost and time of a special order," he says.