Seaboard International Forest Products

Wholesale lumber sales is not an easy business. We’re quite particular about the proper sales training and approach needed for success in this industry. Historically we’ve trained all of our people “in-house” and have had great results.

Over the years we’ve used supplemental approaches to this training and have tried the Dale Carnegie-type courses, the Tony Roberts tapes, local sales guru training sessions, etc. Those of us in the trade are well aware that selling lumber is different than selling cars and copiers and there was never enough of a direct connection with these generic sales courses to have any true measurable benefit.

After 15 years of searching for a sales training supplement that had a direct tie into our industry, I came across James Olsen’s book Selling Lumber: Sales Secrets of a Lumber Broker. The combination of personal wholesale lumber experience, direct sales approach, and individual accountability was exactly what I thought could help my floor.

I followed up the read with a phone call to James. Soon after, I attended one of his seminars to evaluate first hand whether this guy had what I was looking for or whether he was just another sales trainer. My initial skepticism was quickly erased. James is anything but another sales trainer.

Shortly after the seminar, I hired James to work with a dozen of my traders over a one-year period. Their experience ranged from 2 months to 10 years and James made a positive impact on every single one of them. He returned real ROI in the most difficult of markets. The sales volume for this group actually increased year over year! James’ straightforward approach allows for no excuses and a few of my traders may not be in the business today if it were not for their involvement with Reality Sales Training over the last twelve months.

We are now in the midst of the second year of partnership with James Olsen and Reality Sales Training. More veterans, some with 20+ years of experience, have made the decision to take advantage of his expert training in an effort to increase their sales. Imagine your sales force actually seeking out ways to improve rather than just hiding in their bunkers waiting for the storm to pass! That’s a monumental shift I wouldn’t have envisioned a few years ago.

In addition to his personalized training with each trader, James has been a tremendous value to me as a manager. He’ll open your eyes as to what steps you can take to get the most out of your traders. We’re in uncertain economic times, you’re trying to survive, and you can’t afford outside sales training? What you need to realize is that you can’t afford NOT to use every tool and take every step to increase sales. Reality Sales Training can help you get there while producing real, measurable results.

Jim Dermody

Seaboard International Forest Products