THE 2020 LBM REPORTHow to Prepare Your Business to Succeed

in a Millennial Driven Market

How to Prepare Your Business to Succeed in a Millennial Driven Market

How do I attract and retain

young talent?

How will social media help

my business make money?

How do I maintain and

grow a relationship based business?

Isaac Oswalt(LBM Millennial)

“This report will provide my unique perspective on the most predominant industry challenges. If you commit to the 21 goals outlined in this report, not only will they answer the questions outlined above, but empower you to dominate your marketplace.”

Huttig Building Products 2005-2010

(National Account Manager)

ITW Building Components Group 2010-2013

(Business Development)

21 Handshake 2013-current (Owner)

My Background

600,000 flight miles, 250,000 driven miles,

44 states, 1000s of sales calls to 100s building industry businesses, infinite handshakes

Grew up with industry exposure

(Father has 43 years of LBM experience)

The narrative of the industry is robbing your businesses of capturing

a younger workforce. You don’t have to be

Google to be a great place to work… but with the right

tweaks, you can have a hell of an offering.

The decades of experience and expertise the boomer generation possesses will not be properly instilled in the next generation

of business leaders. Please don’t retire along

with your 40 years of intel without passing it on!

The definition of the relationship-based business has not evolved

to where it should be today. I’m privy to numerous

companies not adapting to newer relationships,

thus putting themselves at unnecessary risk.

My Fears

1 2 3

Millennials (also known as Gen Y) are the demographic cohort between Generation X and Generation Z. There are no precise dates for when the generation starts and ends.

Demographers and researchers typically use the early 1980s as starting birth years and use the mid-1990s to the early 2000s as final birth years for the Millennial Generation.

- Wikipedia

The “Millennials”

WHO ARE THE MILLENNIALS??

The “Millennials”

DID YOU KNOW?

Millennials now make up 32% (and growing)

of all home buyers nationally, which

is the largest proportion of any generation.1

By 2025, millennials are forecasted

to form 24 million new households.2

The second biggest financial priority among

Millennials is to purchase a home, only behind

paying off debt.3

$

In this report, my focus is on the millennialgeneration, as a direct response to the issues

brought up by many of my friends in the industry. But keep in mind, the best businesses will be able to create relationships regardless of generation,

education, beliefs, gender, etc.

If you’re with me, let’s move on.

Taking action on these steps, what I’m about to show you might make you a bit

uncomfortable, and yes, you might screw up, and that is completely OK. Simply trying will put you miles ahead in the eyes of not only the younger

generation, but in the eyes of everyone.

Without further ado, I’ll show you 21 goalsto empower you and your business to be an

industry leader in a millennial driven environment. Better yet, a multi-generational selling machine.

(Haven’t trademarked that yet.)

The IdealLBM Businessin 2020 will:

1

Be the leading educator in the marketplace.

Capture the experience and intelligence of your staff through video or voice memos. What you carry around in your pocket

(smartphone) is more than capable.

2

Value EQ over IQ.

Emotional intelligence over straight up intellect. When assessing talent, value less of what someone knows and more of who gives a damn. Information can be learned

(through #3), while finding people who truly care is more difficult.

3

Possess an extensive content library.

If the younger buyer is going to make decisions with less human interaction, then your “value” needs to be articulated in the methods of communication and learning they choose.

Take your value (expertise) and introduce yourself via videos, text, audio on your website and social platforms. The more weapons

you have (content), the more you can kill (customers).

4

Commit to daily content capture and creation.

Building an extensive content library will require daily commitment.The most successful companies will create a new piece of content

for every outside sales call conducted. After all, any question answered face-to-face is being asked online 10x+.

5

Build systems to create pull through business via a customer network.

Invest in resources allowing your business to generate more leads. Could you use marketing co-op dollars for a targeted Facebook campaign promoting a preferred manufacturer, through a specific builder customer? Absolutely.

Pencils will always have their place, but the more creative strategies you provide building product manufacturers in your local market the better.

6

Partner with local colleges and universities to attract young talent.

Create a dynamic internship exposing a 19-year old to the ins and outs of the business and industry. Put them on the front lines, while at the same time

they are helping you understand new ways to communicate to the marketplace that are native to them. Where can you find this young talent? Attend college career fairs.

Run a Facebook ad. Email professors. Talk to the kids of your current employees.

7

Every action of communication needs to benefit them, not you. Be open to all modes of communication from fax machines

to Snapchat. Their time, their terms.

The “When”: Respect the time of any prospect/customer - this means 24/7/365 communication.

8

When trying to reach people, don’t be quick to discount social media. LinkedIn is a great start to reach out, and keep in mind, a whopping 71% of people in the US have a Facebook account.

That’s 226.4 million people.

The “Where”: Pay attention to attention - study where people are spending time.

9

Perception is reality and a stodgy website = stodgy business. Today, almost 50% of all web traffic is from a mobile device and

this number is only increasing. Make it simple, easy, and informative. I promise you this will help you in your pursuit of a younger workforce.

Have a relevant and up-to-datewebsite... it’s today’s first impression.

10

As much as you communicate offline, the next generation buyers will require you to communicate online. I understand most of your staff will reject this idea and that’s okay

(for now). Hire a few 20-somethings and let them go create as many relationships as they possibly can using social media. Start with a focus on builders remodelers who have social media accounts (business and personal) and simply reach out and say hi. Better yet, provide them with a piece of content that will make their jobs easier or lives better. An initial handshake can happen online, too.

Have an interactive web presence with unique experiences for all influencers and key-decision makers in your industry.

11

The millennial generation (generally speaking) seeks happiness and meaning over dollars. It is absolutely, positively, 110% your responsibility to put the right people in the right positions. Buy every employee

the book StrengthFinder 2.0 and have them take the test. You’ll be surprised how many employees enjoy the articulation of their strengths. Next, slot them into the right position to succeed with their natural

strengths. Of course this takes work and potential change, but then again, your people are your business. Success in your job is a great way to be happy in life. Happy employees = happy bottom lines.

Strength over weakness: Invest in each employee’s strengths to make them a better advocate for your business.

12

You can’t physically shake hands with everyone who contributes to your success or demise. With the Internet, go on the offense and build relationships (no different than you would

face-to-face) with all the people that matter. If the person is 80 years old, print off a quality article and place it at the local breakfast diner. If the person is 30, figure out what social media they’re active on (use Google) and reach out to them. Have zero bias towards platforms,

simply go to where the person is paying attention… offline or online.

Communicate and build a relationship with every person in your marketplace who affects your success, not just the end decision maker.

13

Every single person in your organization can and should be a salesperson. A 17-second raw video articulating a code change, captured on a salesperson’s

iPhone, sent to the content library (DropBox, Google Drive - both free), viewed by your truck driver, shared with the customer by the truck

driver on the next delivery is one more touchpoint of value. That’s how your truck driver is also now a ‘salesperson’.

Everyone sells.

I’m talking about Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Houzz, Snapchat or the next new thing. You tell me your 68 year

old clients don’t use Facebook? Where do you think they see pictures of their grandkids?

Commit to daily content capture and creation.

14

Dominate in storytelling: take what is boring and make it captivating.

Whatever emotional “connective tissue” your business has in the marketplace and community needs to be articulated. Family business? Awesome. Charity work? Great. Makes lives easier? Tell us. People don’t always buy what you do, they connect with why you do it. Separate yourself

by telling a better story that connects you with your marketplace.

15

Humanize: make all communication personalized, fun and authentic.

Authenticity wins because it’s easier to trust. Fun wins because people like to have fun. The companies who have great young talent create

environments that they “can’t live without”. Have a commitment to a clean, current work environment that is both safe and fun.

Remember: happy employees = happy customers.

16

Utilize the power of thank you.1-1 interaction will always work.

Whatever you’re doing to say “thank you” in a special way, double down on it. Be creative and don’t be afraid to spend

a few bucks, the positive ROI is almost guaranteed.

17

Work with specific intent using transparency and teamwork to achieve common goals.

Research shows that younger personnel will enjoy teamwork. Create an environment where people need to pull

together to achieve goals, not silo away.

18

Be driven by purpose, connected to community and charity, and filled with meaning.

Giving your organization meaning makes people want to stand for it. While rubber meets the road with your financial statements, people drive the organization. Figure out whatever drives each and everyone of them,

on a deeper level, and dive in with them. An emotionally charged workforce can be the fuel to drive your business to greater stability and profitability.

19

Will not use the saying “Because that’s how we’ve always done it.”

There will be disruption at some point. Focus not on your historical methods but study any and all areas where you can provide value to those writing you then check. No different than a poker game,

you need to be all in no matter what hand they show.

20

Let’s stop with the negative narrative that we are an “old fashioned” industry.

Can we please stop saying that? I get that this might be the case here and there, but it’s not helping anyone. We must change the narrative and it starts with your individual business. Storytell. Don’t discount

yourselves here, what you do is very important and it needs to be communicated to the emotional fabric of the market.

21

Improvement in these areas will require change. Find the people who will ‘buy in’ and start

the journey together. One person at a time. Change may be difficult, but you must

do so if you and your business want to succeed in a millennial driven environment.

If you’d like a deeper articulation of any one of these points, I’d be happy to elaborate.

You can “shake hands” with me in any of the following ways:

(phone or text): 517.899.0123 isaac@21handshake.com

/Isaac.Oswalt /IsaacOswalt @IsaacOswalt @IsaacOswalt@IsaacOswalt

shop Happy hour

Golf course:preferably Augusta National

(if you can get us on)

And yes... efax: 517.913.6049

Your Breakfast, lunch, dinner

Sporting event

I’ll travel to meet you. After all, this is a relationship business isn’t it?!

To your success,

Isaac Oswalt

Founder & Owner

References:1http://blogs.mckissock.com/real-estate/2016/03/15/millennial-home-buyers2http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/channels/pipelinepress/03132015-millennials.aspx3Housing projections calculated by: Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University