Contemporary Sales Training
For many years, the training of salespeople at the distribution level on the products offered by sawmills consisted of small brochures, a few hastily cut samples, and hoping the yard sales representative had a rudimentary understanding of the grades. Sawmill operators like Cascade courted the purchasing agent who controlled the flow of PO’s but did not focus on those out in the field selling for the distribution yard. For Cascade, times have changed. We now have a series of training videos covering the selling of Alder in a complete way, so the sales representative is armed with a more complete knowledge of Alder, its benefits, how it compares to other species, why it has special grades and what are its best uses. For anyone interested in Alder, these 3–5-minute training videos should put you on the road to comfortably selling Alder and representing the products of Cascade Hardwood.
Why Cascade?
Cascade Hardwood offers distributors and manufacturers a unique value proposition over both competitive Western Alder manufacturers and other temperate hardwood sawn around the world. Cascade Alder is regularly available in all the major thicknesses 4/4, 5/4, 6/4, and 8/4, in large volumes in grades matching most applications. As a result, buyers can count on Cascade to meet their growing volume needs as markets improve. The proximity to major markets in the Western USA, Western Canada, Mexico, and the Far East also helps buyers see “Why Cascade?” makes sense. Let us quickly go over “Why Cascade?”….
History of Alder
Alder has a unique history compared to the other hardwoods native to North America. Originally it was considered a nuisance tree, and efforts were made to eradicate it from the timberland to make more room to grow other native softwood species like Douglas Fir, Western Red Cedar, and Hemlock. Eventually, sawmillers saw the value in this native hardwood, with its consistently even color, ease of sawing and drying, its flexibility in manufacturing to accept a wide range of colors, and the value at which it could be offered in the marketplace. Understanding the history gives salespeople a better overall picture of where Alder fits in the temperate hardwood marketplace. Here is our take on the history of Alder…
Why Different Grades?
One of the first things a new lumber salesperson needs to understand is the grading of hardwoods. Alder is graded differently, in grades that are tailored to the properties of the species. The advanced Alder grades give salespeople an advantage in matching a grade more closely to the customer’s requirements. Here is our short explanation of Alder grades…
Unit Costs of Cabinets
One of the unique things about the Alder grades is they define grades in a more granular way than NHLA graded hardwoods. This lets manufacturers zone in on the best grade from unit cost standpoint. A great example of this is our Cabinet (CBT) grade, which is great for two face cuttings like the frame and insert panel in a cabinet door or a chair where both sides of the wood is visible, and our Custom Shop (CUS) where only one side is visible, for example in a cabinet face frame. Here you can see an easy-to-understand explanation of unit costs and how to help save your customers money using Alder….
Alder Resource
In today’s marketplace both homeowners and the craftspeople making the cabinets, doors and furniture going in them are demanding a knowledge of where their wood choices come from and their impact on the environment. Ten years ago, most of us had never heard the terms “carbon store”; “lifecycle”; “environmental impact” and yet these terms are now part of everyday conversations. In this video that is narrated by the Cascade Resource Manager and a member of his team, you can learn how using Alder brings about both environmental benefits and benefits to communities in which we operate….
Alder Color
Every year in the Pacific Northwest we go thru summers where we have long days, a few hot days, cool nights, and very little rain. This weather helps us build the significant log inventories needed ahead of the long-wet winters we have, but it does bring with it a risk of staining a small percentage of the logs we stock up on to run our mills thru winter. These logs are usually processed in the late summer and early fall and create a bubble of inventory that is best used in darker stained or paint-grade projects. IN this video you can learn about Alder Color, its seasonality, and how it might help you help save customers money on building their next Alder project….
