Roofing Contractor Blog

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The construction market stinks. The stock market brings constant pain. The financial bailouts grow more insane by the day. Manufacturers are struggling. Nonprofits are laying off staff. Retailers are filing for bankruptcy.

I will now admit that I did not vote for the man who will be our 44th president in a few weeks. My main reason for not voting for him was his lack of experience, and he leans just a little far in one direction for my tastes (I am just not a fundamentalist kind of guy – and that goes for both sides of the political spectrum).

Sales the lifeblood of any business, and selling becomes even more important in a tough economy. I recently spoke with Rick Davis, the president of Building Leaders Inc., a Chicago-based sales training company, who shared with me some tips for selling in a down market.

Now that Thanksgiving is over, we have a few weeks before the Christmas spirit peaks and we have to be nice to people. Now is the perfect time to take advantage of people and make some easy money for your company.

A lot of folks in the building material supply chain are holding their breath these days. The skyrocketing prices of finished petroleum products including asphalt roofing over the past year have reached a peak and appear to be headed for what could be a rapid downward spiral.

A few months after his inauguration as our first president, George Washington issued "Presidential Proclamation Number One,” declaring November 26, 1789 as a national day of “thanksgiving and prayer.”

A lot of the economic news isn’t great right now, but many experts assert that environmentally friendly products and systems are a potential growth area.

Earlier this week the U.S. Commerce Department released October stats indicating that new home and apartment construction have dropped to an annual rate of 791,000 units, a 4.5% decrease from September.

Cliff Chen of the Union of Concerned Scientists issued a statement this week lauding California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s signing of an executive order to facilitate renewable energy project development in the state.

I hope you had the opportunity to attend the Midwest Roofing Contractor’s Association (MRCA) National Conference Nov. 12-14 at the Gaylord Texan Resort & Convention Center near Dallas. Not only was the venue the most beautiful resort you will ever be in; the hospitality offered by the MRCA staff was near flawless.