In the previous issue we announced we would be relocatingALLPRO’s Corporate Headquarters in the fall, while at thesame time opening our 2nd Distribution/ Fulfillment Centerin Tampa, FL. The new center will allow us to servemembers from Florida to Texas who are not currentlyserved by our center in Massachusetts and who havevery few choices for products sourced through two-stepdistribution. There are no ALLPRO member distributors thatservice the Southeast and Southwest markets, which shouldbe the first choice and recommendation for our member’sdistribution needs – keeping the business all in the family!

The prior cover story was written in late April. Since thenthe landscape has changed dramatically with regard todistribution. ALLPRO’s negotiated supplier programs arenow more important and valuable than ever. However,we recognize the need to purchase through distributionis necessary and whereverand whenever possible, weencourage ALLPRO membersto purchase goods requiredfrom re-distribution through anALLPRO member distributor.The reasoning is quite simple –purchasing through anALLPRO member distributorultimately strengthens theALLPRO programs, influence,and market presence.Conversely, purchasingthrough another source that isoutside of our network strengthens their programs. Forthis reason, it just makes sense to support a fellow ALLPROmember company.

Again, members are highly encouraged to supportALLPRO’s regional distributors and ALLPRO DistributionCenters when in need of goods through re-distribution.Everyone in the group wins when you do. If you wantinformation for the ALLPRO member company that servesre-distribution of product in your area (Northeast, mid-

Atlantic, upper Midwest or West Coast markets) pleasecontact the ALLPRO office.

We also encourage our approved suppliers to work withour distributor and dealer members alike to create the bestpossible programs. ALLPRO members continue to be themost reliable and financially sound companies in the paint& decorating products industry, as evidenced by recentindustry reports.

As mentioned in the News and Views section on page 8 ofthis issue, the Paint & Decorating Retailer’s “Pulse Report”showed modest sales gains for independent retailers in thefirst quarter of this year (0.3 percent U.S. and 0.2 percent inCanada). We are pleased to report that ALLPRO membersare greatly outpacing this with purchases through the groupup 3.5% through the same first quarter, and with a strong

April and May, showing a 5.5%increase year-to-date. We arelooking for this growth pattern tocontinue into the summer months.

Whoever first said “Timing iseverything” may be one of thesmartest ever. The timing of abit of an uptick (or at least abottoming out) in today’s economy,coupled with ALLPRO’s membergrowth (272 companies, over1,500 storefronts, ten companiesthat re-distribute to thousands ofaccounts) and the opening of a

Southeast facility is all happening at the right time.

ALLPRO and our membership are well positioned andpoised for the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead.The timing for the Southeast facility is still on target, asthe lease has been signed and build-out should commencein July. After we “settle in” during the late fall we wouldwelcome a visit from all ALLPRO member and supplierpersonnel to see our new home.

An ALLPRO® Publication VOL. 21, ISSUE 4 JULY/AUGUST 2011

by: Joe Poliseo

ALL IN THE FAMILY – PART II

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On February 23rd of thisyear, Google released anewly updated algorithmcalled "Panda" on itssearch engine. Thealgorithm is the formulathat determines where awebsite will appear inGoogle's search resultspages based on thesearch terms enteredinto Google.

While the Googlealgorithm is a secret,

you can review the Search Engine expert’s opinions by doinga (you guessed it) Google Search on "New Google Algorithm"and you will see hundreds of very interesting articles and blogson this topic. After spending several days reviewing many ofthese articles and blogs I have summarized the impact of thenew Google Panda release below.

Unique and Valuable Content is Key for Search Results Google'sPanda release has targeted Content Farms and reduced thevalue of website content that contains low quality contentthat is produced simply to allow for improved search enginerankings. Content Farms are web-based companies thatemploy a large number of writers who create content that iscreated more for search engine optimization than for valuableor informative content. A more in depth definition can befound at Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Content_farm).

Duplicate content is also an issue with Content Farms as manyarticles will appear in several different websites. Google seemsto have decided that duplicate content and/or low value contentthat is based only on satisfying search engines should haveminimal value. Google is now, more than ever before, tryingto evaluate what constitutes a quality website, with informationthat is valuable to the consumer who is performing GoogleSearches.

How Does This Impact The Average ALLPROMember Website?Most websites in the Paint and Decorating space will have alot of information dedicated to vendor brands and productsavailable in their stores. Of course, featuring products generallyrequires using information from vendor websites and this canlead to duplicate information being found on many websitescarrying the same brand. The question really is, how muchcan you say differently about Product X – Eggshell thaneveryone else?

It is my belief that using vendor information on your website inthe product areas is acceptable as long as it is quality information,you include several links to the vendor site and that you alsoinclude unique content with regards to that product by bloggingabout it on your website blog, or by having an area where you

can feature unique content with regards to the product inproject of the month or website promotions.

The key to a successful website strategy is creating uniquecontent, having quality links to all of your most importantvendors, and REGULAR UPDATES AND CONTENTADDITIONS.

If you simply post a website and then look at it once a year tomake sure your store hours are still accurate, your Googlerankings will likely be very poor. The people who invest timein keeping their website up to date with fresh and dynamiccontent will always see search engine results that keep visitorscoming to their website.

How to Keep Your Website Dynamic? BLOG!A blog offers you the simplest and most effective way to addunique content to your website. An effective blog will postregular updates with information that is important to thevisitors to your website. A great example of an ALLPROmember blog is Sun Wallpaper & Paint's blog atwww.sunwallpaperandpaint.com.

Sun began their blog inJanuary of 2011 and use itto promote seasonalproducts such as woodcleaners, deck stain anddeck prep in the spring,and also to highlight otherservices and new productsavailable in their stores.

After one month the blogbecame and still remainsthe second most visitedpage on their website andthe site stats show that theblog is rarely, if ever the exit page for the website visitor. Thismeans the blog is bringing and keeping traffic on the website.Links from Google are up 50% for May 2011 vs May 2010.What has changed on the website over this period? Contentupdates and the creation of a blog. Dynamic, unique andengaging content is the key to Google search results and alsothe key to having a website that is useful for the people whovisit your website and ultimately visit your store(s).

ConclusionI don't believe that there are many, if any, Allpro members usingContent Farms to post information to their website or blogs.The lesson to be learned from the Google Algorithm revampis that content on your website is and always will be King.

Your website becomes a valuable resource for your businessonly if you invest time and energy ensuring that uniqueand new content is made available to people who visityour website.

The New Google Algorithm and Its Effect on Your WebsiteBy: Al Kinnear

3

It was the decade of the 70’s and brothers Bill and Ron Kingweren’t quite satisfied with their lives. It wasn’t so muchthat they were unhappy but there was a certain sense of alife unfulfilled that seemed to nag at them. Fortunately,the 70’s was a decade marked by a growing attitude ofself determination and individualism and Bill and Ron wereno different – they were determined to find their road topersonal fulfillment. However, their personal road didn’tinvolve any of the social or political movements of the 70’s.Rather, their solution to living a fulfilled life was simple –they bought a paint store.

The company they purchased was Thomsen’s Color Corner,a small paint store located in the town of Santa Cruz,California. The business had been around since 1945,when it was founded by a local paint contractor named H.L.Thomsen. While Mr. Thomsen had obviously managed tokeep the business operating, it had not yet realized its fullpotential. Part of that was likely due to the fact that hecontinued to operate as a paint contractor while running thepaint store - a condition that many contractors in the areafound less than ideal. Still, it was a viable business but onethat he was ready to part with after 30 years of ownership.

At the time Bill King worked for a lumber company in theeastern sierra mountains. He learned of the opportunityto purchase Thomsen’s Color Corner from the company’sAmeritone Paint rep, who also happened to call onThomsen’s. Bill paid Mr. Thomsen a visit and then presentedthe situation to his brother Ron. With the help of a familyfriend, who was an accountant, they were able to negotiatethe asking price down a bit and on December 10, 1976,Bill and Ron became the proud owners of what was nowKing’s Paint and Paper.

It was a risky venture to say the least. While Bill hadprevious experience in the paint business he had beenworking for the lumber company for the past several yearsand Ron worked as a retail manager at a clothing storebefore becoming a sales executive for a citrus productscompany. Neither Bill nor Ron was an expert in coatings, tosay the least, and there was a considerable learning curveahead of them. However, they made up in customer servicefor what they lacked in expertise, leaned heavily on theirpaint reps for that expertise, and were quick to take

advantage of supplier-sponsored training events. They alsoleveraged the benefits of industry groups like the NorthernCalifornia Decorating Products Associations, which offereddealer networking and training opportunities. Bill and Ronwere both quick studies and it didn’t take long before theywere able to hold their own and provide the kind of first-hand technical expertise independents are known for. Evenstill, Bill likes to point out, “We’ve always maintained that wedon’t know everything and if we don’t have an answer we’lltell you we don’t but we know where to get the answer andwe do. People have always appreciated that honesty.”

Apart from product knowledge there were other areas of thebusiness that presented a learning curve – namelyaccounting. Neither brother had ever dealt with accountsreceivables or how to collect Money. According to Bill, “Wewere the new guys in town, so every undesirable aroundshowed up on our doorstep. Fortunately for us we had onecustomer that worked for the local credit bureau, who wasable to show us how to check accounts. It was still difficultto learn how to tell people ‘no’. After all, the last thing youwant to do as a new business owner is turn business away,but if you don’t you can really open yourself up to a lotof headaches.”

As with any small business, the first few years were thetoughest but Bill and Ron ran the store by themselves andwere able to begin to grow the business beyond what it hadbeen under the old ownership. However, it was after thosefirst few years that a series of events occurred, whichenabled them to truly position the business for growth.

The property King’s Paint occupied was actually a lease andas it happened, one day their landlord informed them theproperty was up for sale. Rather than go through the hassleof relocating the business they had just purchased Bill andRon scrambled to pull the necessary funds together and in1979 were able to purchase the property outright. Thenabout four years later a local hospital made a bid topurchase the entire block, which included the King’s Paintproperty. This was an opportunity they couldn’t pass on, soBill and Ron sold the property and used the capital from thesale to purchase their current location on 41st Avenue inneighboring Soquel, California.

By: Scott Morath

King’s Paint and Paper Soquel, CA location

4

According to Bill the location for the new store was ideal.As he puts it, “41st Avenue is the central business district forthe entire county.” Selling the old property and moving to abetter location was a shot in the arm for King’s Paint. Just afew short years later the company was able to expand andopen a second location, this one about 10 miles away inScotts Valley.

However, growth at the Scotts Valley location proved to bea bit more challenging for the company. Bill comments,“For the most part, we used the same format but made afew minor adjustments here and there to cater to the localmarket. Most of the challenge for that location came as aresult of the Scott’s Valley area being tied very closely toSilicon Valley, which has seen a lot of economic fluctuationover the years.” The area has seen sporadic albeit continualgrowth and King’s Paint has had to relocate the Scotts Valleystore to larger buildings twice inorder to keep up with the growth inthe area. Bill and Ron have lookedat expanding to areas beyondSoquel and Scotts Valley butultimately they opted to focus ongrowing the existing business.

From the beginning King’s Paint &Paper has been very involved inprofessional trade associations.Initially they were part of theNCDPA where Bill served on theassociation’s board and later aschapter president. Initially thegroup was large in California withover 200 members but through the80’s the independents increasinglygrew smaller in number due inlarge part to the rise of big boxretailers. Continued attrition ofmembers made it necessary for thenorthern and southern chapters toconsolidate but even that wasn’tenough. When the associationeventually dissolved Bill and Ronbegan looking for other alternatives.

Fortunately, fellow NCDPA members Marv Pursel of PurselQuality Paints and Verne Manson of Spectra Paint werealso members of ALLPRO and recommended the groupto Bill and Ron. In 2000 they attended a presentation onALLPRO and immediately afterward applied for membership.According to Bill, “ALLPRO quickly filled the need previouslymet by the association and then some. From a businessstandpoint we now had access to the spring show and everyday program advantages and resources that NCDPA didn’toffer. We found that suppliers who previously wouldn’t talkto us because of our size were now interested in having aconversation. It also allowed us to reconnect with some ofour former NCDPA associates like Reno Paint and others thatwe had lost contact with. Even better, we now had friendsfrom all over the country and not just California.

In addition to using the ALLPRO programs to stay competitiveBill and Ron are avid price comparison shoppers and shopthe competition on a regular basis. They look for specificprice-sensitive items and shop those items only. The goalhowever, is not to beat those prices or even match them.As Bill puts it, “Our goal is really to make sure we’re asclose as we can be on those items. We know we’re notgoing to beat the chains on price but that doesn’t meanwe can’t still be in the same ballpark. We want to minimizethe difference and let our service be the deciding factor forthe customer. It works. There have been times in theprocess of making a sale that I’ve told contractors they canget a certain item cheaper across the street but they replythat it would take longer and they’d probably get thewrong product.”

King’s Paint and Paper also stays actively engaged withits customers through theirwebsite, social media, and acompany newsletter. Billmanages the company’swebsite via a contentmanagement system, whichenables him to keep it up todate with promotions and otherinformation. Their monthlynewsletter contains priceincreases, decreases and saleitems as well but he also uses itto communicate special eventsand miscellaneous items. Bill hasa “Gossip, Rumors, and Lies”column and anything that will fitinto that from social to businessis typically covered.

When it comes to promotingthe business King’s Paint takesa very creative approach. Formany years now King’s has hada contest of sorts wherecustomers could win $100 byhaving their photograph taken

wearing a King’s Paint and Paper T-shirt. Initially, whoeverhad their picture taken farthest away from the store wonthe prize. Pictures came in from all across the U.S., whichled to the slogan “Conveniently located between Alaska andMexico” being printed on the back of the shirts. Today thecontest includes not only who can take their photo thefarthest away but also the most interesting photo and theprize money is donated to the winner’s charity of choice.To date, the farthest, most interesting photo was taken bya customer who traveled to Antarctica on a researchexpedition. The customer was researching ice flows andwent so far as to put the King’s t-shirt over her wetsuit andtake a photo while underneath the ice sheet. Bill has postedthe location photos on the company’s Facebook page. Theshirts have proven to be a great tool for engaging withcustomers and creating buzz for the business.

King’s Paint and Paper T-Shirts have been all overthe world, even under the Antarctic Icesheet

(Continued on page 7)

5

ALLPRO®

Member ProfilesBy Angel Nemath

RELIANCE PAINTS AND COATINGS

ALLPRO has had the good fortune to add thehighest quality companies in the industry to thegroup. We continue to grow and are pleasedto profile some of our newest members.

• Founded: 2000• Location: Pompano Beach, FL• Telephone: (954) 781-1100• Web site address: www.reliancepaint.com• Founders: John Daly, Jack Findlan and Mike Withrow• Current President: John Daly• ALLPRO Contacts: Mike Withrow and Bibi Baccus• 1 Store• # Full-Time Employees: 7• Wholesale/Comm./Contractor: 80%, Retail/DIY: 20%• Reliance Paints and Coatings is a great paint store. Wehave over 100 years of combined experience. We can getour customers the right information and/or product thefirst time.

• Company Slogan: Where Your Business is Appreciated

PROFESSIONAL PAINT CENTER

• Founded: 1976• Location: Walnut Creek, CA• Telephone: (925) 933-3315• Web site address: www.professionalpaintcenter.com• Current President: Jack Handling• ALLPRO Contacts: Jack Handling, Jim Vetterli and Mike Bush• 1 Store• # Full-Time Employees: 10• Wholesale/Comm./Contractor: 65%, Retail/DIY: 35%• Professional Paint Center is a full service paint and sprayequipment store. We have 5 auto tint machines, 10 1galshakers and 3 5gal shakers. We carry the Mohawk Lacquerline. Professional Paint has color consultants scheduled daily.We can do custom colors in 24 hours or less. Fast andaccurate service is our priority.

• Professional Paint Center is a Benjamin Moore dealer fromthe beginning. Originally a TCO (Temporary Co-Owner)long term business success due to our spray equipmentbackground. We still have a full service spray repair shopand we stock and sell spray equipment and parts.

• Company Slogan: We Service What We Sell

W.E. AUBUCHON CO. INC.

• Founded: 1908• Location: Westminster, MA• Telephone: (978) 874-6557• Web site address: www.hardwarestore.com• Founder: William E. Aubuchon Sr.• Current President: Marcus Moran Jr.• ALLPRO Contacts: Joseph Houssan and Bernard Aubuchon• 123 Stores• # Full-Time Employees: 1,100• Wholesale/Comm./Contractor: 15%, Retail/DIY: 85 %• This is a family owned and operated chain of independenthardware stores. We run a 400,000 sq. ft. Distribution Centerand use a fleet of trucks to make weekly deliveries to thestores. Aubuchon Hardware stores are located in Vermont,Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Maine andNew York.

• As a 23 year old French Canadian immigrant, WilliamAubuchon purchased a hardware store in Fitchburg, MAin 1908. The company was incorporated in 1934 and by1948 there were 32 stores. The Distribution Center andHeadquarters were built in the early 1970’s in Westminster,MA. By this time there were 95 stores. In the 1990’s thethird generation of family management became thecompany leaders.

• Company Slogan: We’ll Fix You Right Up

GRAUER’S PAINT & WALLPAPER

• Founded: 1934• Location: Lancaster, PA• Telephone: (717) 394-0558• Web site address: www.grauerspaint.com• Current President: Paul Newcomer• ALLPRO Contacts: Jim Tobler• 2 Stores• # Full-Time Employees: 6• Wholesale/Comm./Contractor: 60%, Retail/DIY: 40%• Grauer’s is a full service ptg & decorating store. We carrythe whole Ben Moore product line, Sikkens stains, Insl-xand any and all sundry items. We are also a Hunter Douglasshowcase dealer and have a decorator in store at all times.We have a large library of wallpaper books of all types forhome & commercial use. Grauer’s continues to provideLancaster residents with the finest products, service andadvice available in the paint market today.

• Grauer’s was established in Lancaster in 1934 by WM KGrauer a resident of Philadelphia. It was the purchased in1950 by Jesse Dowd who owned it until his death at whichtime his son David took over. The store was moved to E.King Street in 1972 and remained there until 2002. At thattime the current owners Paul Newcomer & Reuben Kingbought the business and moved it to its current location.In 2007 a second Gauer’s was opened in Lititz, PA.

• Company Slogan: Lancaster’s Most Trusted Paint Store

6

ALLPRO 2011 Fall Stockholder’s MeetingSt. Regis Resort Monarch Beach

Dana Point, CA, Oct 27 – Oct 30, 2011

ALLPRO 2012 Spring Show & Sales MeetingRosen Shingle Creek

Orlando, FL, Mar 14 – 18, 2012

ALLPRO 2012 Fall Stockholder’s MeetingWestin Kierland Resort & Spa

Scottsdale, AZ, Oct 25 – Oct 28, 2012

ALLPRO 2013 Spring Show & Sales MeetingJW Marriott Starr Pass Resort & Spa

Tucson, AZ, Mar 20 – 24, 2013

ALLPRO 2013 Fall Stockholder’s MeetingWestin Hilton Head Island Resort & SpaHilton Head Island, SC, Oct 24 – 27, 2013

ALLPRO 2014 Spring Show & Sales MeetingJW Marriott Desert Ridge

Phoenix, AZ, Mar 19 – 24, 2014

ALLPRO 2014 Fall Stockholder’s MeetingWestin Diplomat Resort & SpaMiami, FL, Oct 16 – 19, 2014

ALLPRO 2015 Spring Show & Sales MeetingRosen Shingle Creek

Orlando, FL, Mar 18 – 22, 2015

Member HappeningsCongratulations to Miller Paint Co., Inc. who recently acquired the business operations of four of the five Kelly-Moore PaintsStores located in Portland and Vancouver. Miller plans to transition the Kelly-Moore business over to five Miller Paint storesoperating within close proximity to the closing Kelly-Moore stores. Miller Paint currently operates 38 stores locatedthroughout Oregon and Washington.

Congratulations to Adam Jones, son of Kerry Jones from Huffman Paint &Wallcovering. Adam was awarded a $5,000 college scholarship sponsoredby the National Hardware Show. PDRA members were allowed to nominatean individual for the award that was chosen based on an essay submitted bythe nominee. Adam was presented his award by members of the PDRAand National Hardware Show. Way to go Adam!

Rossi Decorating was recently profiled in the Dealer Feature of P&DRMagazine. The article chronicles Rossi’s beginnings when Bernard’sgrandfather opened the store prior to WWII, to its present ownership by 3rdgeneration Bernard. In the article Bernard discusses many of the changesthat have occurred in the industry over the years and stresses the importance of embracing marketplace changes as theyoccur. As he puts it, “Moving forward everyone is going to navigate through life with mobile devices. They’re also doingsocial media and it’s important for retailers to participate.”

In the MediaBinks/ITW recently announced that the IW Finishing Equipment group – including the BGK,Binks, DeVilbiss, Gema and Ransburg businesses would be acquired by Graco, Inc. Theacquisition, expected to be completed in June at the earliest, will not impact how Graco orITW Finishing Equipment currently conduct business. Customer service, tech support andsales will not change for either and pricing, discounts, and programs will remain intact.

Corona Brushes, Inc. is a longtime supporter of Tampa’s “Paint Your Heart Out Project”wherein volunteers paint the homes of low-income, elderly homeowners. The charity alsoestablished a special award in memory of Corona’s founder, the late Gregory Waksman, torecognize an individual who goes above and beyond their volunteer duties each year. Thisyear’s Gregory Waksman award recipient was Frank Roder. Pictured is Tampa Mayor BobBuckhorn honoring Corona Brushes for their support of the local charity.

Social MediaAs many of our readers already know ALLPRO has had a presence on Facebook for over a year now. The page continuesto grow and at present we currently have over 660 monthly active users on the page. We also have 84 links to othermember, supplier, and industry Facebook pages, as well as links to the ALLPRO YouTube Channel and the recent additionof the ALLPRO Twitter feed. Our intent with each of these social media platforms is to provide members with valuable,relevant content that not only informs but models how social media can be used effectively. To that end we will continueto exploit these valuable business resources and expand on them as we are able to. We encourage you to look us up atwww.facebook.com/allprocorp and www.twitter.com/allprocorp to like and/or follow us and join in the conversation.

IMPORTANT DATES TO REMEMBER …

7

It’s been 30 plus years since Bill and Ron set out to live thekind of lives they envisioned for themselves and since thenthere have been no regrets. Today Kings Paint and Paper isstill a two-store family run business and their focus is tocontinue to cultivate those stores. Bill and Ron both havesons who work at Kings Paint. Ron’s son Tom managesthe Soquel store and Bill’s son Matt also works at Soquelpart time. While there are the occasional whispers ofretirement and Matt and Tom have expressed an interest inthe business, neither Bill nor Ron is ready to retire just yet.For now both are content doing what they set out to dothose many years ago - to live the kind of lives they wanted,where you get up and do what you love every day.

Blue Collar Advice for PaintersSales 101: Create the Job Your CustomerWants to Buy

In the currenteconomy andfinancialinsecurity, itis even morecrucial to focuson the most

important fact of business. You are not a painter; you are apainter after you get the job. First and foremost, you are aperson or company that happens to market for leads andsell painting services.

You are a marketer and salesperson before any paintinghappens. If you can’t attract enough leads to meet withenough people to write enough proposals, you won’t bein business much longer.

In this economy, in which more people are becomingpainters at less than living wages and with no insurance, it isincreasingly important to get back to the basics. Competitionis fierce. Sharpen your skill or the low budget painters willtake your job.

Most customers are ignorant about painting and contractingservices, just as most of us have no knowledge of the costsand dangers of running a dry cleaning business. The onlycommon denominator is price for most of us. The customerstates he wants a “good” job. Company A bids $1,000 andCompany B bids $700. Unless the customer is educated orknows the difference, Company B wins. Price is thecommon denominator in most customers’ knowledge level.

I have met a painter who has a sales system which keepsthe work constantly flowing into his business during goodand bad times alike. His sales system is very simple. SeanO’leary, of O’leary Shea Mcpherson & Shamus Painting,gathers information from the customer on past experiencesand their wishes for the future. He then created a proposal to

solve the customer’s problems at the price they can afford.Simple enough.

The problem he states is, “Most salespeople talk aboutthemselves and what they have done in the area and whypeople love them…” “It’s a big self love fest,” he smiles ashe continues in the same theme.

“Imaging going on a date and talking about all the girls thatyou have helped and who love you. When the date is over,the only one who had fun… was you.”

Sean goes on to say that customers don’t care about howwonderful you are and how much you know, customerswant to know how much you care… and how much youcan help them.

Sean’s general theory is the average paint job lasts as awhole for 6-10 years, however the project starts to showsigns of wear (peeling and cracking) in trouble spots after 1-3years. The project slowly breaks down little by little until it isobvious the property owner wants to do it all over again.

Sean reviews this slow decay of the project idea and thecustomer usually agrees with him. The customer knows thatthe project doesn’t look good for 9 years and 11 months andthen magically decays in 1 month like clockwork.

“My job goal is to then design a project at an affordable pricethat will last 2 time longer. That can be done with the correctprep, primers, caulk and finish coat(s). Once the better jobat a reasonable price is discussed, I normally get the job,”Sean says.

The customer has given me their history of the project. Theirhistory is their reality. I try to stress this simple truth to myprospect. “If you do what you did before, you’ll get the sameresults. The only way you’ll get the results you asked for, isto go with the changes I’ve laid out in my proposal.”

Simple stuff really. Sean doesn’t focus on how great he orhis company is, he focuses on the customer’s past history,then their needs, wants, desires, and budget. “The way Ilead the customer, I makes it easy for he or she to decidequickly to schedule the project. There really is not roomfor the, I want to think about it response,” he states withconfidence. “If they don’t change the buying behavior theywill get the problem results they don’t like AGAIN. That is thewhole point of why they called me…solve the problem.”

The customer will decide one way or another, Sean justwants to make it easy to choose his company.

Good luck and don’t participate in the recession.

(Continued from page 4)

Steve Ryan has 20 years of experience as acontractor. He now produces Mad Dog PaintProducts. He can be reached atsteve@maddogprimer.com

by: Steve Ryan

ALLPRO Paint Trends Survey Highlights for 1QIn the recent 1st Quarter Paint Trends Survey exclusive to ALLPRO members,respondents indicated that sales in 1st Quarter 2011 had improved over 4th Quarter2010. This appeared to be driven by higher paint prices in January and February andbetter paint volume in March. March was the best month of the Quarter. Generallyspeaking, 1st Quarter sales were in line with respondents forecasts. Additionally,bid/quote activity improved relative to the last survey – 58% of respondents reportedseeing better bid/quote activity. Additionally, 28% are seeing backlogs grow, comparedto 10% seeing backlogs 90 days ago but this is likely due to seasonality. Overall, 2011volumes are now up 2% vs. less than 1% previously reported. The ALLPRO PaintTrends Survey is administered quarterly and the complete survey results can be foundon the ALLPRO site under the Resources and Documents tab.

PDRA Reports Modest Sales Growth for Independents in 1QThe Paint & Decorating Retailer Association recently reported modest improvements forU.S. and Canadian independent retailers for the first Quarter of 2011. According to thePulse Report, sales performance grew by .3 percent in the U.S. and .2 percent in Canada.The increases were seen in the window coverings and paint categories only. Paintsundries and wallcovering categories were still lagging behind first quarter from lastyear. Where were the gains strongest? The report indicated sales gains were strongestin the South, followed by the Midwest and Canada. The West and Northeast continuedto “be in the red” for the first quarter. The Pulse Report is a product of the PDRAResearch Department. If you would like to view a complete copy of the report visitwww.pdra.com/blog.

New OSHA Residential Construction Regs in 2011OSHA recently announced new fall protection requirements for residential constructioneffective June 16, 2011. The new directive, 29 CFR 1926.501(b)(13), requires residentialbuilders engaged in construction over six feet above the ground level be protectedby conventional fall protection. Recently OSHA followed up by announcing a 3 monthphase-in period. Contractors are still required to be in compliance with the originalinterim guidelines but have until September 1, 2011 to comply with the guidelines for29 CFR. OSHA has developed training and compliance assistance materials for smallemployers and will host webinars for parties interested in learning more aboutcompliance. Those interested in obtaining more information should go towww.osha.gov/doc/residential_fall_protection.html. As a reminder, ALLPRO’sapproved supplier for fall protection is Sperian Protection Products.

Are You Keeping Up?A recent survey by Merchant Circle targeted small business owners to determine the most popular methods for marketing themselves.The results indicated that 40.9% of small business owners leveraged social networks compared to more traditional methods, such as printnewspapers 21.7%, print yellow pages 20%, local radio 7.5% and e-mail marketing 37.1%. Among the social networks Facebook, at 66%,was by far the most popular site for businesses and exceeded Google and Twitter usage by more than double. Beyond creating a company(fan) page 22% of companies used Facebook ads and 65% of those would use it again. About the businesses surveyed by Merchant Circle,78% had between 1 – 4 employees, so most of these businesses are truly small businesses.

In a separate survey conducted by the Social Media Examiner, 77% of marketers plan on increasing their use of YouTube video marketing,which makes it the top area marketers will invest in for 2011. Aside from YouTube, the advantages cited by marketers for expanding use ofsocial media were generating more business exposure 88%, increased website traffic 72%, and improved search rankings 62%. [Editor’snote: Members who would like to learn more about social media can access pertinent materials under the Resources and Documents tabon the ALLPRO website. Just look for the Social Media header. You can also visit the ALLPRO Facebook page, which is linked to multiplemember pages, as well as the ALLPRO Twitter and YouTube pages.]

NEWS AND VIEWS

Editor/ProductionScott Morath

ProofersAnn Spire,

Julia Thomas,Angel Nemath,Chris Gingell,Pat Brulfer

Contributing WritersScott Morath,

Angel Nemath, Joe Poliseo - ALLPRO,Al Kinnear - Big Eye Productions

Steve Ryan - Mad Dog Paint Products, Inc.

ALLPRO® PresidentTravis Detter

Exec. Vice PresidentJoe Poliseo

SUGGESTIONS WELCOMEYour suggestions, ideas, articles and

comments are encouraged.

The Scouting Report is an importantcommunications media for ALLPRO®.

Mail all correspondence to:The Scouting Reportc /o ALLPRO® Corporation

1215 Millennium ParkwayBrandon, FL 33511 • (813) 628-4800

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