Feature, V10I6

Winter Planning Secures Spring Shed Success

(Photo courtesy of Montana Shed Center)

The winter months are generally a slow time for the shed industry, but it can be an opportune time for shed builders and dealers to stay productive and prepare for the spring rush.

Yes, in many northern states, temperatures can reach well below sub- zero temps with bitterly cold winds. Yes, shed haulers are often at a standstill, snow can be too high to move, and shed sales are stagnant or non-existent.

But those working in the shed industry can still keep their employees gainfully employed during the big chill and turn this negative period into a positive, productive period.

Can you use this downtime to prep for spring shed sales?

“We use the winter to bolster our stock for our dealers, we take on housing remodeling jobs, construction jobs—anything that can keep the team together,” says Anthony Skinner, sales manager, Montana Shed Center in Great Falls, Montana. “We are about R&D. What’s the next best thing? How do we bolster our customer service? Stay vigilant, wait for the snow to melt and hit the next season hard.”

Megan Gute, owner/office manager at Great Northern Sheds LLC, North Pole, Alaska, says, “We don’t let the winter blues keep us down. Each winter we take note of what we can do to stay busy and generate revenue. We will continue working in the cold for

build-on-site projects up to freezing temperatures, sometimes colder depending on the build they are working on with portable heaters to keep them warm.

“Winter is when we get a lot of cleaning and re-organizing done so we are better equipped for the next building season. Just because there’s snow on the ground or it’s -20 degrees, we keep building year-round in our shop to build up our inventory while completing any build and delivers for the spring.”

What follows is feedback from Skinner, Gute, and John Motely with Old Hickory Sheds, Boise, Idaho, describing how they work in winter and how they prepare for a profitable spring.

How do you use winter for research and innovation?

GUTE: Winter is a great time of year for multiple reasons as business is slow, which allows for the imagination to run wild and be creative. We want our customers to love the buildings as much as we pour our time, energy, and passion into them.

We pull inspiration from Shed Business Journal and gather ideas from other places. During the winter is when we bring some of those ideas to life: new shed styles, improvements on existing styles, and even new product lines.

MOTELY: The main research goal is to identify and understand how other dealers from all over the country operate their lots, websites and their marketing, and understand the pros and cons of other manufacturers that are in the market. There is always so much to learn from them.

Innovation has always been one of our strengths. We were the first with a website and first with online sales (not e-commerce). We are one of the few that truly understand that a shed sales lot is a retail marketplace.

SKINNER: With exhibits like the Shed Builder Expo and our friends on the East Coast, we strive to look for what the next “thing” is.

The East Coast is typically ahead of us out here in the West, so if we see a design that we think may be popular, then we invest the time and energy to design, engineer, and practice building.

Our R&D consists of snow and wind loads in our area if it is consistent with the design we are trying to tackle.

What kind of equipment maintenance and upgrades do you handle in the winter?

SKINNER: Every year, sometimes two, we try and replace at least one Mule. During the shop downtime (we take one to two weeks off around Christmas and New Year), we bring in a select crew and perform maintenance on equipment, tools, the air-handling system, scrape the floor from paint build-up, etc.

GUTE: I keep a list of all our equipment (trucks, trailers, forklifts, etc.) I check off each month which ones have been done, what needs replacement parts, ordering replacement parts, when repairs have been made, and what is coming up.

It is a lot to track; however, I keep a spreadsheet that I review as we go along so I can manage it to keep everyone on track.

Inventory management must play a major role during this time of the year.

MOTELY: This is a big one in the winter months. We’re in North Idaho and it snows. To stay productive in the winter months, our marketplace has to be open to shed shoppers.

That means snow plowing, snow blowing, salting, and shoveling a whole lot of snow.

SKINNER: This has always been a continuous issue with us. Although the winter months are when prices for materials are typically at their lowest, we yearn to keep our purchasing at a minimal and “buy just in time” status.

We have been researching a software package that allows for real- time data, allows for purchase orders to be written, and interfaces with our financial system. It must have a bar code system allowing for ease of material check-in once it arrives.

What does hiring/staff support look like for you in the winter?

SKINNER: We have spent a great deal of time “right-sizing” our company. We have the best in skilled labor for this field. We do not lay off if it can be helped due to the fact we will not be getting this great team back together.

We pride ourselves on doing more with less. Our team works on a piece rate system. When times are good, they know to save for the slower months.

GUTE: During this time of year, we don’t focus on hiring anyone new. Any applicants we get, we save for spring when we are busy again.

We do, however, focus on building up the skills of our employees during this time. It’s a great way to review their skills and knowledge so improvements for each employee’s skill sets can be made so they come out stronger in the following spring.

Just like physical well-being, I’m very driven on ensuring that the mental health of our employees, and we as owners, are kept up. With the prolonged darkness, people tend to become depressed in Alaska, so I take the time to check in with everyone to ensure they are cared for while working.

How do you work on overall business improvement during the colder months?

MOTELY: Learning, learning, and learning. There is always so much to learn. A daily goal should be to learn something new every day.

These days in order to improve one’s business, help is often required, and good help is hard to find and usually not free but extremely necessary.

SKINNER: It seems as though there is a shed manufacturer around every corner.

We strive to have the best in quality, a brand that transcends the competition. We are going above sheds and focusing our strengths on other markets that are in our wheelhouse to help with slow shed sales.

We buy the best tools and CNC equipment available to make our workers’ lives better, thus allowing them to move faster.

GUTE: This is a constant for us, year-round. We are always checking on how to improve our building styles structurally to keep a high-quality product for our customers.

We have more time during winter to plan for those improvements, but much of our plans must wait for summer to see them through.

For example, last winter we began looking into cantilevers: pricing, how many, where to put them.

Then over the summer, we were able to invest in this improvement/upgrade to get all our lumber off the ground, so we no longer need to dig out bunks of lumber to continue working through the winter.

How do you handle customer relationship management during the winter months?

GUTE: We would be nothing without our customers as with any business. What we tend to do differently is be direct, honest, and upfront. We answer any questions our customers have as it’s their hard-earned money being spent so we don’t sugar-coat anything.

Most customers want time frames that aren’t always realistic with where we are located. Winter never starts and ends at the same time every year, so when booking a build for spring it’s a simple reply when the break-up happens, we will come deliver. For build-on-sites, the answer is when the ground thaws.

We try our hardest to keep an open line of communication with our customers as we gear up for their projects. We also have no shame or fear of starting over on a build.

For example, one summer a roof wasn’t built correctly, and we didn’t catch it right away. So, once we caught it and knew it was wrong, we tore the roof off, which obviously confused the customer.

We then explained it wasn’t done right, so we were going to take it apart and do it again to make it right. It blew the customer away with our honesty and they were beyond satisfied with their shed when we finished.

SKINNER: Customer relationships are our number one goal.

We have a quality team to ensure that our work is top-notch. We have a warranty crew that will fix it if it’s not right. We have a sales team that calls customers to thank them for their purchase and checks in with them after delivery.

Our production team sends regular updates to the customer during the building of the sheds. They make short little videos introducing themselves and letting the customer know that their purchase is in good hands.

MOTELY: With past shed customers, relationship management may not be so important. Sheds are not a consumable retail product. Unlike fast food, they are not consumed. The great majority of sales are a once-in-a- lifetime event.

Of course, there are exceptions but not enough to make large investments of time and money with the exception of good referrals of their friends and family.

Maintaining a constant flow into the funnel is a vital part of future/ new customer relationships. But deciding on which vehicle and how much to invest is a challenge and avoiding spamming the potential customer.

Do you ever use the time for employee training, upskilling, and certification?

SKINNER: We use the winter months to forklift certify new employees, and we attend equipment and tool shows looking for the latest tools and safety gear.

We send our employees to seminars and training if available.

GUTE: We view and take note of our employee’s skills and knowledge. With their strong points, we like to nourish and push with various certifications to make them better, while also taking time to work on what they are weak at so they can improve as a well- rounded employee.

We spend more time during winter with refresher safety training for all and restocking various safety supplies to keep everyone safe year-round.We welcome questions, suggestions, and input from our employees, so they understand their job and we understand their needs. It makes for a great working environment.

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