SAVE THE DATE!

June 11 - NLBMDA Washington Update Webinar
June 13 - KS Sunflower Shoot-Out
Oct. 28-30 - ProDealer Industry Summit - San Diego, Calif.

Nov. 6-7 - MLA Fall Fling

Visit www.TheMLA.com for more information!

OUR SPONSORS

Associate Members

All Season Bldg. Supply
Allied Building Stores
American Wholesale Corp.
Basys Processing
Blish-Mize Company
Bluelinx Corporation
BlueTarp Financial
Boise Cascade
Builders Material Company
Cargotec USA - St. Louis
CCM Countertop & Cabinet Mfg
Cedar Creek Wholesale
Central States Insulation Wholesale, Inc.
Central States Mfg., Inc.
Central Woodwork, Inc.
Continental Divide Fence
Delden Mfg.Co., Inc.
Denver Southwest
DMSi
Do it Best Corporation
East Side Lumberyard Supply
Federated Insurance
Forest Products Supply Co.
Frontier Forest Products, Inc.
Great Southern Wood Preserving
Hardman Wholesale Co.
Hixson Lumber Sales
Huttig Building Products
iLevel
Jack Morgan Construction

Klauer Manufacturing Co. - NEW

Lee Wayne
Lumberyard Supply
McCray Lumber Millwork
Mid-Am Building Supply
Midwest Low-E Insulation
Modern Equip. Co., Inc. (MECO)
Monarch Cement Co.
Moulding & Millwork, Inc. - Midwest
Neff Packaging Systems
Pennsylvania Lumbermens Mutual
PrimeSource Building Products
PWD, Inc.
Roberts & Dybdahl, Inc.
Rollex Corp.
Schutte Lumber Company
Service Partners dba Denver SW
Shelter Distribution
Simpson Strong-Tie
Tamko Building Products
Tax Favored Benefits
Tennison Brothers, Inc.
Thomas Nielsen Wholesale
Timber Products, Inc.
Treeline Forest Products
USP Structural Connectors
Valspar
Warrior Building Products
Westfall GMC Truck Center
Weyerhaeuser Co.

About Us

Mid-America Lumbermens Association (MLA) serves independent lumber and building material retailers in Missouri, Kansas, Arkansas and Oklahoma. We offer a variety of services and products to our members, as well as events throughout the year to provide educational and networking opportunities.

We're proud to be affiliated with the National Lumber & Building Material Dealers Association (NLBMDA), which gives us a connection tot he industry at large and provides representation in Washington, D.C. on federal legislation and regulatory issues. Visit our website at www.TheMLA.com.

Vol. 13, No. 10, May 19, 2014

Welcome to the MLA mobile newsletter!

You're receiving this online newsletter because you've subscribed through the MLA website (www.TheMLA.com) or you're an Association member. We'll send a new issue every two weeks to let you know what's happening in the industry, at your MLA, and in the world that affects your business. We welcome your opinions and ideas. If you have information you'd like to share with other members, we'd be happy to include it in our next issue. We welcome both personal and industry-related news - members would love to hear your news and views - so don't hesitate to email us with information.

Save the Date!

Circle and save Thursday-Friday, November 6-7, 2014 - this year's MLA Fall Fling. We'll be back in Branson for another fun event wrapped around timely education and great dealer interaction. For those who attend regularly, the value is well known. If you haven't been yet, make this the year you gain even more from your membership via the valuable contacts and timely skills learned. More information will be coming this summer, but mark your calendar now and plan to attend!

NLBMDA's Washington Update Webinar

June 11, 2014- 2:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. EDT

Join the NLBMDA government relations staff for an update on legislative and regulatory issues that could impact your business. The webinar is a benefit of membership and is FREE for NLBMDA members only. [If you're a member of MLA, you're a member of NLBMDA.] From tax reform and energy efficiency to proposed regulatory changes, learn about the issues that could impose new operational challenges.

Director of Legislative Affairs and Grassroots Activities Ben Gann will discuss NLBMDA's progress on the Innocent Seller's Fairness Act, the EPA Lead Rule, Online Sales Tax Fairness, and Energy Efficiency Legislation.

Regulatory Counsel Frank Moore will review the status of OSHA's regulatory agenda, including its inquiry into the crane rule for operator certification, as well as the most recent statistics on OSHA's most frequently-cited standards for the LBM sector.

Executive Vice President Jonathan Paine will talk about the value of having members of Congress visit your lumberyard over the August recess. Jonathan will include tips on how to best run a tour and how a yard visit can benefit your business and the industry.

Join us for this free, members-only webinar on June 11, from 2-3pm EDT. Sign up now!

Help Salespeople Understand Price Objections

Sixth in Series by Bill Sharp

One key task of managers... particularly those who supervise outside salespeople is to help them understand that studies show most customers think salespeople over-react to price objections. In fact, on one major survey of contractors, 93 percent said salespeople essentially verbally vomited on them (with all the reason their quote was good) after they heard, "Your price is too high." That's awful but not quite as bad as the fact that the builders said 96 percent of salespeople never clearly asked them for the order. Read more.

Bill is the author of an extended series of articles that will appear in our newsletter. He has been an independent consultant, speaker and friend of our association since 1981 and the only trainer ever to have been simultaneously endorsed by NBMDA, NLBMDA and 12 state and regional LBM dealer associations in the U.S. and Canada.

Other Articles of Interest

Twice as Many Consumers Prefer New Homes to Existing... While twice as many American consumers prefer a newly built home compared to an existing dwelling, many are reluctant to pay extra for new, according to the results of a new survey from Trulia. Read more.

Source: Builder Online, May 5, 2014

Cedar Creek to Purchase Roberts & Dybdahl... The Roberts family, owners of Roberts & Dybdahl (R&D), decided to sell the business to wholesale building products distributor Cedar Creek. Both companies today announced the signing of a letter of intent for Cedar Creek to acquire a majority of R&D's assets. Read more. Source: ProSales Magazine, April 30, 2014

More Than Half of U.S. Suffering Drought Conditions... It's not just California's problem. Nearly half of the contiguous U.S. is experiencing abnormally dry or drought conditions right now. The worst spots shown in the map above, colored in a deep red that represents "exceptional drought," are in California, Nevada, Texas and Oklahoma. But the entire west and southwest are suffering. Read more. Source: Wired., May 15, 2014

Is Housing Coming Back? We'll Get a Hint This Week... Concerns about the housing market have clouded many investors' optimism about the economic recovery. But after a strong housing starts number on Friday, two key releases in this week could put real estate in a brighter light. Read more.

Source: CNBC, May 16, 2014

EPA Races to Finish Obama Rules... Officials at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) are racing to churn out new regulations before the clock runs out on President Obama's term.... The EPA's formal rulemaking agenda contains 134 proposed actions. Read more.

Source: The Hill, May 17, 2014

Procrastination: A Common Estate Planning Mistake

Estate planning is one of those things we don't really want to think about, and it's easy to put off. However, if you don't take the time to create an estate plan, the state will do it for you. If you die "intestate" (without a will), you are, by default, choosing to have your assets divided according to state law. Read more.

This article provided courtesy of Federated Mutual Insurance Company, your association's recommended insurer.

the last word

"A word to the wise ain't necessary - It's the stupid ones that need the advice."

-Bill Cosby