Where in the World Is the CertainTeed Team?
Recapping 2019 Trade Shows & Business Building Workshops
The CertainTeed team has been busy so far this year, travelling around the U.S. exhibiting at – and hosting – some awesome events.
We love that trade shows and professional development events enable us to connect with many of our wonderful customers from across the U.S. and hear what you think about our products. Plus, we can gauge what you find compelling in our newest offerings. More importantly, we understand you need the latest sales and marketing tools to help grow your business. If you were able to attend, we’re sure you took away some actionable knowledge to better connect with your customers as well!
Here’s where we engaged with all of you this year:
International Builders' Show (IBS)
First, in February, the team went to the International Builders’ Show (IBS) in sunny Las Vegas. It was the biggest IBS show in a decade, according to NAHB. More than 100,000 contractors, manufacturers and product specialists gathered to see what’s new in construction and remodeling from over 2,000 exhibitors, spanning 600,000 net square feet of exhibit space!
CertainTeed’s booth boasted the latest interior and exterior products, textures and colors, including Cedar Impressions® Single 7” Straight-Edge Perfection shingles and Individual 5” Sawmill shingles both in Ageless Cedar™ blends, Northwoods® Single 7” Straight-Edge Perfection shingles and Restoration Millwork® exterior trim.
Outdoor living standouts included composite railing and the newest Bufftech® fence selections: Breezewood Select Cedar Texture in Weathered Blend, Brookline CertaGrain® Texture in Arctic Blend, Sherwood™ in Walnut Brown and Allegheny™ in Desert Granite.
You may have also seen us featured in both the NAHB High Performance Building Zone and the Hanley Wood Smart Home and Virtual Experience, which showed how each product functions in a real-world or, perhaps in the case of the Hanley Wood Smart Home, a future-world setting. Read more about the exhibit.
Editors from many top construction trade publications – including Fine Homebuilding, Qualified Remodeler, LBM Journal, ProSales and more – stopped by to check it out. Other visitors gave the booth high praise, noting the product displays looked great and the staff was “wonderful!”
FENCETECH
In March, the CertainTeed fence team made an appearance at FENCETECH in Indianapolis. With more than 7,000 attendees and 300 booths, it is always THE fence show of the year, and this one was the best yet! Attendees took advantage of certification opportunities, including the new Certified Fence Contractor (CFC) certification, business and management tools, sales tips and training, and live product demonstrations. Most importantly, they got to check out the latest in innovative fence offerings, including CertainTeed’s newest selection: A spindle accent for Chesterfield CertaGrain® texture vinyl privacy fence.
“We had an exciting show in Indy with great booth traffic,” said Doug Mucher, outdoor living product manager for CertainTeed. “Our textures and colors drew a lot of attention, and dealers told us they felt that the fence season for 2019 should be strong.”
Business Building Workshops
Also in March, CertainTeed hosted its third annual Business Building Workshops in Detroit, Michigan at the Marriott at the Renaissance Center and in Concord, North Carolina at The Embassy Suites. At each free, day-long workshop, participants learned exclusive tricks of the trade from CertainTeed experts and guest speakers, including sales and marketing tips, product knowledge, installation tips and more.
For example, participants had the opportunity to learn proven sales closing techniques from the Sandler Sales Training Global Accounts Team. They also got project estimating calculation and bookkeeping tips from Qualified Remodeler Magazine Columnist Shawn McCadden, who explained “Profit strategies for non-accountants with small businesses.” Felhaber Larson Law Firm Attorney Stephen E. Yoch provided legal advice regarding how to best respond to aggressive or threatening behavior from homeowners. The long list of seminars also included the best ways to market your business to consumers in today’s digital world, and which old-school methods are still most effective in transforming leads to customers.
Plus, architects were welcomed to the workshops this year to join the CEU track, from which attendees had the chance to receive up to five American Institute of Architects (AIA) and Health, Safety and Welfare (HSW) credits.
“Over 300 professionals attended the two workshops and enjoyed a day of learning and networking,” said Matt Gibson, corporate marketing vice president for CertainTeed. “Many told me it was a rare chance to mingle with other industry professionals in their local area, and refresh their toolbox of industry knowledge in a more intimate, question-and-answer-style, hands-on environment than the standard trade shows.”
If you attended any of these events, we’d love to hear what you thought! Contact us at https://www.certainteed.com/contact-us or 800-233-8990. We’ll also be sending a survey to attendees as well.
Stay tuned for more information about next year’s workshops. Also keep an eye out for a Build-It Tour near you, providing hands-on training events at distribution centers across the country.