Rod Van Buskirk's blog

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"For every complex problem, there is an answer that is clear, simple, and wrong."
- H. L. Mencken

The old phrase, "complex problems require complex solutions," is true now more than ever before. Whether you're discussing solutions to the federal budget deficit, international relations, treating mental illness or improving public safety, there are no easy, quick fixes.

There may be one thing we in the American fenestration industry can do after the terrible event in Newtown, Conn., and the many irrational, violent shootings and bombings we've all witnessed over the past decades in this country. As building product and construction professionals, we can offer greater safety by educating design professionals, building owners and public officials about threat-resistant products and design techniques. It's obviously not the only step we need to take to improve public safety, but it is one step.

Maybe that laminated door glass or bullet-resistant door will buy a little more time for the response teams to come to the scene. Maybe glass-clad polycarbonate panels or blast windows will keep someone from becoming a victim. Replacing that broken school window with laminated glass instead of annealed might possibly slow down that emotionally disturbed person just long enough to save a life.

We all want to look directly out the first-floor window, but we might have to give that up. We may have to recommend to designers that they use more skylights, translucent panels and clerestories to give occupants daylighting in first-floor and low-rise buildings. Perhaps replacing the cracked first-floor window with textured glass or obscure panels at eye level will keep a madman from thinking of students and teachers as targets.

You can't stop crazy. You can't stop an insane, emotionally violent person from obtaining destructive means of harming people, whether they use a fist, knife, gun or bomb. However, perhaps we can educate those charged with designing and constructing buildings about ways to protect us a little longer and slow down those who would harm others.

"Growing up, I was taught that a man has to defend his family. When the wolf is trying to get in, you gotta stand in the doorway." - B. B. King

Rod Van Buskirk is the third-generation owner of Bacon & Van Buskirk Glass Co., with locations in Champaign and Springfield, Ill. A past NGA Chairman, Rod looks quarterly at the industry from the middle of nowhere, steals ideas from anyone he can and pretends to know what he’s talking about. Rod invites your comments as you are certainly smarter than he is.

The opinions expressed here are those of the individual author and do not necessarily reflect those of the National Glass Association, Glass Magazine editors, or other glassblog contributors.

"You must consider the bottom line, but make it integrity before profits." --Denis Waitley

Being a naïve Midwesterner, I’m sure almost all of America’s contract glaziers are honest, moral, ethical, decent folks who bid, supply and install specified and drawn products and services as the architect intended 100 percent of the time.

But there are a few contract glaziers in each market who don’t always follow the rules to get work, cut costs, and make a buck any way they can. Let’s tick off the list of the contract glazing industry’s ‘worst practices’ so you can recognize them when you see them:

Furnishes unspecified materials (“bait & switch”)
Delays issuing submittals and ordering materials, holds up the job and attempts to pressure product changes by using delay tactics
Omits traditional work
Omits specified engineering
Ignores the specified construction process and schedule
Installs improper, poor-performing and unsafe product
Fails to furnish complete and accurate O&M manuals, and manufacturer and workmanship warranties
Fails to complete the job or do warranty work
Doesn’t pay prevailing wage rates when required (In this instance, workers don’t know about it or collaborate with the glazing contractor.)
Doesn’t pay union expenses when required (Here, workers are threatened or collaborate with the glazing contractor to dodge those costs.)

And I’m sure there are other worst practices out there. What’s the worst you’ve seen? Do enter a comment below!

Sadly, the recent recession has made contract glaziers feel as though they must break the rules in order to compete and survive. There are contract glaziers taking advantage of a weakened architectural community that no longer feels empowered and might not have the support staff, experience and technical understanding to maintain construction quality.

The poor practices of some hurt all of us. Take time to call out those who don’t play by the rules. Maybe over time we can weed out the unscrupulous among us.

"The higher the building the lower the morals." --Noel Coward

The opinions expressed here are those of the individual author and do not necessarily reflect those of the National Glass Association, Glass Magazine editors, or other glassblog contributors.

"I predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them." -Thomas Jefferson

I promise this is last political blog I’ll ever write.

These days, pundits and pollsters are in the prediction business. This is mine: The Senate will continue to be split almost 50-50 but remain under Democratic leadership, and the House will remain under Republican control.

Consider what the next Congress faces after being sworn in January 2013:

We face the largest national deficit in history.
Most states face huge deficits. Key states like Illinois and California might never be able to recover from their debt obligations.
We face a slow, ongoing economic recovery with continuing high unemployment rates and a slowly recovering housing industry.
The U.S. might be dragged into a war between Israel and Iran. The world economy could be decimated and fuel prices could go sky high. Even if that never happens, uncertainty in the Middle East will continue for some time to come and affect the world.
No changes might be made to Obamacare. Approaching 2014, we might all face complexity and cost no government, business or individual can contemplate.
Public and private sector unfunded pension liability is the huge, ignored 'Sword of Damocles' hanging over all of our heads for the next decade or more.

Regardless of whoever wins the White House, our future will only improve when those in government at the federal, state and local levels find political courage, wisdom and the willingness to compromise.

May God help us all, because that seems unlikely.

"The future ain't what it used to be." -Yogi Berra

The opinions expressed here are those of the individual author and do not necessarily reflect those of the National Glass Association, Glass Magazine editors, or other glassblog contributors.

"I like to think of sales as the ability to gracefully persuade, not manipulate, a person or persons into a win-win situation." - Bo Bennett

While listening to a local radio sports program the other day, I was struck by the attention to detail and strategy that Division 1 college coaches put into building an effective recruiting program. As I thought about how difficult it is for coaches to persuade talented recruits to come to their schools, it occurred to me that strong recruiting programs are essentially based on effective sales programs. And we, as sales organizations, can learn from them.

For example, the head coach of a major college sports program must have a highly detailed, multi-year recruiting plan with specific geographic areas and prospect classification that each assistant is responsible for. Knowing their short- and long-term needs, the staff adjusts as necessary to build and maintain a strong lineup. The recruiters know their school's strengths and weaknesses; they know their competitors; and they tailor their presentations and prioritize targets accordingly.

The coaching staff assesses prospective athletes and determines which athletes to pursue. Once they have scouted and prioritized those athletes, staff use mail, telephone, in-home visits and campus visits to stay in touch with the athlete, his family, his high school coach and others who influence him. Often, the head coach will ‘close the deal.’ After signing the athlete, the staff stays in touch, pushes the athlete to get good grades and test scores, urges him to keep his personal life together, and eventually helps him adjust to college life. While on campus, the coaching staff works to get the most out of the athlete, push him academically and help him plan for the future.

Of course, the staff loses out on some recruits and picks up others it didn’t anticipate. Sometimes, the highly touted recruits don’t pan out, while less attractive athletes blossom.

The long-term key to recruiting success is a staff that builds strong relationships with everyone it comes in contact with. Meticulous planning, constant contact, and regular follow-up and progress reports are the hallmarks of a successful recruiting program.

Strong sales programs share these characteristics.

Everyone sells in a strong sales program, including the owner. The company has a highly detailed, multi-year plan with specific geographic areas and product specialties that each associate is responsible for. The business refocuses and reprioritizes its product/service line-up as sales grow or decline over time, or as the economy or sales conditions change. A knowledgeable sales staff knows its strengths and weaknesses and those of its competitors, and tailors its pitch and calls accordingly.

Sales associates assess relationships with targets they choose to pursue. Once they research and prioritize potential customers, the staff uses mail, email, telephone, in-office or in-home visits, etc., to build strong relationships and influence their target’s decisions about the company’s product/service offerings. Maybe, the sales manager or owner ‘closes the deal’ when pursuing a project or cementing a relationship. After the sale is made, staff members continue to work with the client to make sure everything goes well, thereby strengthening the relationship.

Of course, they don't always get the sale. And sometimes, luck brings unexpected business their way.

Like the great recruiting programs, successful sales programs rely on building strong relationships with everyone the staff comes in contact with. Sales success might come, or it might take awhile; but meticulous planning, constant positive contact with clients, and regular follow-up before, during and after the sale are hallmarks of the successful sales program.

"Sales are contingent upon the attitude of the salesman - not the attitude of the prospect."
-W. Clement Stone

The opinions expressed here are those of the individual author and do not necessarily reflect those of the National Glass Association, Glass Magazine editors, or other glassblog contributors.

"The best way to predict the future is to create it." -Peter Drucker

Most economic forecasters are predicting the construction industry in the United States will likely grow at a very slow rate over the next few years. Our fenestration industry sales are expected to limp along as well. However, I believe sales could improve dramatically with some active technological and production developments, coupled with appropriate pricing.

Fenestration and glass already offer many static features at reasonable price points. Combining multiple, active technologies with existing, static products could conceivably take fenestration and glass beyond the architectural envelope and transform them into multi-functioning devices that completely change the way they are viewed. Consumer awareness and demand is there. People are ready to buy now if mass production exists, the products work well and the prices are right.

Imagine combining these technologies with residential and commercial fenestration:

Interactive touch screens
Video
Signage
Variable privacy film
Variable tinting film
Changing decoration
Solar energy collection
Sensor-activated functions
Power controls
Lighting and lighting control

I’m no scientist or industrial engineer, just a consumer. I’m impatient for the future shown in Corning’s ‘A Day Made of Glass’ video. Curtain wall as active signage like that in the classic film Blade Runner has always been an intriguing vision. It’s exciting to imagine what the world will be like when those products are out there and in common use. I’m also impatient to become a dealer for new and exciting products.

While some of these new product features currently exist, they’re either not being combined into multi-function consumer products, they’re not effectively mass-produced and/or their price point isn’t right. Manufacturers that can reliably and economically produce more of the new, active technologies in combination with existing, static glass and fenestration products will tend to profit and grow faster over time than those who don’t.

"We are called to be architects of the future, not its victims." - R. Buckminster Fuller

“Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is, I don't know which half.”
--John Wanamaker

The earth continues to shift constantly beneath our feet with the force and chaotic motion of a 9.5 earthquake. In this case, I’m talking about changes occurring in advertising and marketing.

Only a few years ago, the local glass dealer with the largest yellow page in his market won the marketing battle. Maybe the building products dealer who had the best advertising mix of newspaper, radio and TV ads won in his geographic market. These days, it’s hard to determine what media methods help manufacturers appeal to architects or what marketing motivates consumers to buy shower doors and replacement windows. The question, “What advertising really works for my company?”, is still relevant, but the 60-year-old answers that executives learned in Marketing 101 are constantly, and relentlessly, changing.

Print media is barely hanging on as the ADHD generation doesn’t know how to hold magazines, books or newspapers in their smart phone-filled hands. The way we sell and communicate with one another has progressed from snail mail and phone to fax, to email, to texting, to social media. Fenestration’s largest manufacturers don’t bother to display and sell to us at our own industry’s trade show anymore … they go straight to the architects since they don’t trust dealers to sell and don’t want to hire architectural reps. Static signage and billboards are being replaced with active LED Blade Runner-like digital billboards to appeal to those of us with shorter and shorter attention spans. The good old reliable direct mail tactics that replacement window companies have used are still only marginally effective, and phone canvassing is all but gone. TV ads are less effective with the rise of cable and satellite station proliferation, and radio markets continue to fracture. Online advertising’s effectiveness is questionable, as we tune out banner ads and annoying pop-up ads. "Going viral" doesn’t mean you’ll sell anything.

Being at the top of a Google search appears to be your ticket to marketing success for now. Why?

While all advertising methods might continue on, traditional marketing appears to be declining in response to the consumer seeking real information online about products and services they’re considering. In other words, the smoke and mirrors of advertising targeting an unsuspecting public are being pushed aside. Now, we’re educated, qualified buyers who just want the facts so we can buy and be done with it.

Why do some linger at the top of Google’s organic search even when other companies invest money in Google Adwords or other tactics designed to push them to the top? Because the top company’s brand awareness with clients continues on, often because of that company’s diligent customer service. People receive real value and continue to ‘click through’ to those companies that really deliver.

I would appreciate comments from those of you who are effectively using social media. Please share how you’re doing it and why you think it’s working for you. I still can’t get how Facebook and Twitter will help me sell glass and windows.

“If advertisers spent the same amount of money on improving their products as they do on advertising, then they wouldn't have to advertise them.” -Will Rogers

Rod Van Buskirk is the third-generation owner of Bacon & Van Buskirk Glass Co., with locations in Champaign and Springfield, Ill. A past NGA Chairman, Rod looks at the industry from the middle of nowhere, steals ideas from anyone he can and pretends to know what he’s talking about. Rod invites your comments as you are certainly smarter than he is.

The opinions expressed here are those of the individual author and do not necessarily reflect those of the National Glass Association, Glass Magazine editors, or other glassblog contributors.

“If you're not a risk taker, you should get the [heck] out of business.”
- Ray Kroc

Whether you’re a union or non-union contract glazing company--regardless of your size or the type of projects you do--the downturn has caused the loss of a lot of jobs, the loss of a lot of cash and a lot of business failures.

If you are an owner of a small-to-medium-sized contract glazing company in the U.S., chances are it’s been an especially rough financial ride for you since 2008. Don’t feel like you’re alone. And if you have been struggling financially and you’re having trouble getting bonds for your projects, don’t be surprised.

To get the big picture on where contract glaziers and other sub-trades currently stand within the U.S. construction industry, construction bonding surety companies can tell the best tale. The members of the bonding surety industry are the ones who back general contractors and subcontractors with Payment & Performance bonds. Here are a few quotes from the November 2011 edition of that industry’s main trade publication, Construction Executive magazine. Click here to read the "9th Annual Contractors' Guide to Surety Bonding" in its entirety.

“Loss frequency is expected to continue to increase in 2012 and 2013. With more losses from smaller specialty trade contractors, sureties likely will see more severe losses from larger general building contractors and engineering contractors. Two years of obtaining low-margin work with tough contract terms will begin to affect many contractors in 2012.”

“This economy has hit this (small contractors) market segment hardest, which has led to an increase in defaults and losses. …Underwriting has tightened up to ensure we are bonding qualified contractors."

“Surety underwriters will disengage pretty quickly from an account when company losses or debt leverage become issues”.

“Sureties also will require subcontractors to bond back to prime and general contractors more frequently.”

The demise of Trainor Glass (No. 4 on Glass Magazine's 2011 Top 50 Glaziers list) and ASI, Ltd. (No. 6 on that list) obviously doesn’t help how contract glaziers look to the surety industry these days.

FYI: The top 10 U.S. surety companies write 65 percent of the industry premiums (bonds), and the top five sureties--Travelers, Liberty, Zurich, CAN, and Chubb--write 54 percent of all the surety industry’s premiums. The good news, reportedly, is that "many smaller sureties are now trying to move up to service mid-market customers."

Are you seeing this too?
General contractors always seem to come up with new contract clauses every day, and lately, I see even more unique provisions that push risk and responsibility down to the subcontractor as a result of the shrinking bonding industry.

Owners aren’t going to stop wanting to minimize risk. Because so many general contractors and subcontractors have suffered financially over recent years, subcontracts issued post-bid by the generals now often require subs to furnish Performance & Payment bonds, even when the general hasn’t posted a P&P bond itself.

In other words, the GC (who may have even bigger financial troubles than you and may not have enough bonding capacity itself) has managed to get the owner to overlook the GC responsibility, and the GC then tries to force the subs post-bid to take the risk and eat up their bonding capacity!!

I’m told by friends around the country this isn’t new. But check your contract language closely, even on small jobs. I had a GC try to get me to bond a $9,000 remodel at our local Sam’s Club. Just say no to general contractors wanting post-bid P&P bonds. Ask to see the P&P bond they gave to the owner first.

“When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro.” - Hunter S. Thompson

This week, glassblog introduces “Fenestration hallucination,” a quarterly blog addressing industry, management and sales issues, written by Rod Van Buskirk, president of Bacon & Van Buskirk Glass Co.

“The successful man will profit from his mistakes and try again in a different way.”
--Dale Carnegie

Fear and ignorance have ruled the fenestration industry for decades. Most companies in our industry don’t do what good salespeople should: follow up with customers to find out what is really happening in the marketplace, in order to maximize profit. Instead, we’d rather drop price quickly to build sales, and ignore our margins.

Mirror is the same price per square foot now as it was when I came into the business 35 years ago. Major glass fabricators’ production volume has returned to 2008 levels, but their margins are cut in half. Glaziers have a long history of marginal profitability. As far back as 2001, an annual surety survey comparing the profitability of all construction segments indicated every segment that year saw a 3 percent to 5 percent increase in profitability, except two trades: excavators and glazing subcontractors.

No doubt you’ve reduced your overhead as far as you can. It may seem counter-intuitive in this tough marketplace, but do your market research and raise your profit margins now. If you do your homework, you might find the market can bear more than you realize.

You lose when you chart a “break-even” strategy. Most of our industry is facing reduced long-term sales volume and ever-increasing employee overhead. The bankruptcies and consolidations in our industry point to the failed strategy of seeking gross-profit volume over per-employee net profitability.

Changing values, changing habits
One key reason why you’re able to raise profit margins is that the downturn has changed the way Americans value their purchases.

We all have less money now, so every dollar matters more to us when we do spend it. Within three short years, saving and spending patterns in this country have radically changed. Retailing nationally will never be the same.

Thus, our buying habits have changed. While overall consumer spending is down, when considering a sizeable purchase, Americans are now actually willing to spend more if they perceive that product or service will be better, higher quality, last longer, etc. When we do spend that precious dollar, we must get more from it.

So sell ‘up’! Meet the new demand for higher quality. Sell quality products and personal service, and your customers will likely pay that extra amount. You can make more on what you do … but you must deliver higher value to keep that repeat customer.

“Profits, like sausages... are esteemed most by those who know least about what goes into them.”
--Alvin Toffler

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