Stop Competing On Price, Value Is The Real Differentiator: Gary Davidson, Metal Sales

Episode Transcript
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Stefanie Couch (00:00):
How do I tell them the answer to this why it's
more expensive here question?
And if it's a better productand you can sell the story of
why it is more expensive, butit's also going to be better
long term.

Gary Davidson (00:12):
If the end user sets our product side by side
with the regional local rolefarmer, you can't tell the
difference.
It looks like metal roughthing.
But behind that, the valueproposition is a lot of testing,
Texas wind storm impact ratingsthat we do behind the scenes
that we have to educate themember on so they can talk to

(00:35):
the end user about that todifferentiate them from the
other competitors.

Absolutely.
And when your sales team isreally educated to do that for
you at the counter, that's howyou we all win.
And the homeowner wins, or thecontractor that's selling them
also wins.
Welcome to the Grit BlueprintPodcast, the playbook for
building unmistakable brandsthat grow, lead, and last in the

(01:00):
built world.
I'm Stephanie Couch, thefounder of Grit Blueprint, and
I'm a lifelong building industryinsider.
I was raised here, built mycareer here, and now my team and
I help others win here.
The truth is, you can be thebest option in your space and
still lose to someone else whosimply shows up better and more

(01:24):
consistently.
Each week on the GritBlueprint, I'm going to show you
how to stand out, earn trust,and turn your brand into a
competitive advantage thatlasts.
If you're ready to be seen,known, chosen, and become
unmistakable, you're in theright place.
Let's get started.
Welcome to the Grit BlueprintPodcast.

(01:47):
I'm your host, Stephanie Couch.
And today I'm here.
We are on the Saturday of Do ItBest Market.
I'm here with Gary Davidsonfrom Metal Sales.
Welcome to the show, Gary.

Stephanie, thank you for having me.
I appreciate it.

And we're actually going to call this rock
and roll with Gary D because wewere just talking that actually
you should have your own radioshow, and it would be a rock and
roll channel.
And I I was mentioning I gotready this morning to ACDC
Thunderstruck.
So I feel like I'm ready forthis interview.
Are you ready?

I am all set.

Well, you are here as one of the amazing
vendors here, a gold sponsor ofthe LBM booth, and we are going
to talk about all the coolthings that Metal Sales does.
But I want to start with you.
Tell me a little bit about youand your career in this amazing
industry.
How long have you been withMetal Sales and what do you do
for them?

Well, I started with Metal Sales in uh 1984, a
long time ago.
So that's really gonna kind ofdate me.
Um, and I've held severaldifferent roles with the
company.
Uh started out as a territorysales manager, and then uh
actually had some responsibilityfor some salespeople for a
period of time, and then uh wentinto national accounts and

(03:00):
that's what I'm involved withtoday.

Okay, so for somebody who maybe doesn't know,
what is the role of a nationalaccounts manager?
What's your day-to-day like?

The national account manager is really the
liaison, if you will, between uhthe customer, do it best, true
value, and uh and metal sales.
We kind of connect the dots, weum develop programs for for the
co-op and really kind offacilitate the relationship
tree, if you will, the differentlevels of management and and

(03:32):
employees and connect thosethose two companies together so
we work effectively.

Partnerships and relationships are so important
in our business, and I thinkit's the hallmark of a great
person that's been in thisindustry a long time.
You probably have a lot ofrelationships.
Tell me a little bit about howMetal Sales works with Do It
Best, because they're a co-op,the largest co-op in the world.
And you guys have 21 locationsand facilities all over the U.S.
You've been in business over 60years.

(03:59):
You sell metal roofing.
Tell me all the things that youguys do and what you sell at
Metal Sales.

Well, the the name metal sales in itself is
somewhat of a misnomer becausewe'll have customers call us, do
it best members, and uh want toquote on rebar or remesh and
maybe drywall studs.
And quite honestly, we don'tsell any of those products.
We sell and manufacture metalroofing and siding for different

(04:27):
uh market segmentsagricultural, residential,
commercial, industrial,architectural.
So it's it's uh important thatthe members understand what we
do rather than what we don't do.

So I love it.
I have this big dream, Gary.
I want a big farm with a bunchof highland cows.
So when I get ready to buildthat big barn for all my cows
I'm gonna have one day, I'mgonna call you.
Do you make hot pink metal?

Uh not yet, but uh I I think we could color
match your outfit here.

So you're saying there's a chance, huh?

There's a chance.

I love it.
I'm gonna hold you to that,Gary.

Well, what's interesting along with that
note, for example, camouflage.
That's camel is big these days,and uh metal sales, along with
other manufacturers, offer acamel color.
So anything can be done.

I love it.
Well, I'm gonna hold you tothat.
So don't worry, I'll call youin a few years when I'm ready.
Well, I want to hear a littlebit more about how you're
working with members.
So we're here at the Do BestMarket.
There is action happeningeverywhere.
There's people and kids and allpeople walking around buying
things, learning about the newproducts and the things that you
do.
So, how do you work with theco-op?
And for a dealer or member thatmaybe wants to collaborate with

(05:39):
metal sales, what is that like?
What's the process?

Well, I I think I don't think I know what has
made us successful, thepartnership between metal sales
and do it best true value, hasreally been the engagement.
And by that, what I mean bythat is that we have territory
sales managers out in the fieldthroughout the country.
They work out of these 21different facilities.

(06:05):
Yeah.
And every day, Stephanie, whatthey're doing is that they're
out there calling on themembers.
That is really the key.
And then in some cases, we mayknow the member even better than
Do It Best and True Value.

Absolutely.

So the engagement, understanding the
purpose of what that member isdoing or what they want to do is
really the key to the success.

Yeah, and you guys actually were a 2021 top
vendor or do it best, and you'vebeen a longtime partner of
them.
Uh with the true valueacquisition and all the things
that have changed, have you seena lot of the true value members
excited about this partnershipthat they have now with you guys
through them?

The relationship that we have with with uh do it
best really started many yearsago back with HWI and our own
hardware.
So it's been a longrelationship, a long history.
As far as the uh true value uhmerger acquisition, if you will,
we're kind of in the fetalstages of that.

(07:09):
There's a lot of things goingon.
Um, I don't think that we'vehad the full impact of what that
means yet.
Sure.
Now, in true value, theemphasis has really been more on
the hard line side rather thanthe LBM side.

Yeah.

So we're really trying to sort through who the
LBM members are versus the hardlines.

Yeah, I think there's a lot of lumberyards out
there though that are truevalues, and I I think they're
really excited about what Do ItBest group can offer in this
category.
So I'm I'm pumped about that.
You have a lot of areas, I'msure, of the US that are more
metal roofing or metal sidingand all of those things.
Are there certain ways that youwork with farm and ranch versus

(07:51):
other types of you knowpackages?
I know you mentioned thatyou're doing commercial, you're
doing residential, all thosethings.
Tell me a little bit about theproduct lines.

Well, one of the um advantages for the members,
uh do it best in true value, isthe wide array of products,
channel profiles that we offer,which is like over 75 different
ones.
So and again, they serve thosevarious markets that we just
talked about.
So that's really one of ourstrengths.

(08:19):
And the members have access toall those products.
We don't um restrict them frombuying different different types
of products.
So the fact that they haveaccess to all those products
gives them opportunities toservice the different markets.

Yeah, that's great.
And I think a lot of timespeople don't know, uh, they
don't know if they have aresource that's also an expert.
And I think with your team andthe do it best team, you have
experts that even if the personat the counter at these lo
locations maybe isn't superfamiliar with metal roofing or
siding, they can call and usethose resources.
So it's always great.
You know, I remember when Iactually worked in my dad's

(08:56):
lumber yard, we sold a lot ofmetal roofing because I was in
North Georgia.
So uh we we have a lot ofcabins there, a lot of chicken
houses, a lot of farmland.
And, you know, it can be reallyintimidating if you're not sure
exactly what to sell people andyou don't want to order the
wrong links or any of thosethings.
So I think having a resourcethat can help you make sure you
get it right is always apowerful asset.

I know that training uh product knowledge is
really the key.
Um, when the customer comes in,the product that we sell is
very price sensitive.
So you have to be competitive.
And if you're not, you have tohave these resources at your
fingertips to convince thatcustomer why they should buy

(09:39):
from you.

Absolutely.

So training and having access to the different
resources, um, having access toour territory salespeople, our
inside salespeople, ourestimators.
We do estimates free of chargeevery day for the members.

Yeah.

So that's a key thing, too, to help them sell
the product.

Wow.
Yeah, and I know that trainingas we get more younger people,
the older generation has been init so long, they know these
products, but as we get moreyounger people that are selling
and doing this at the counter,it is even more important that
we have amazing resources.
This episode of the GritBlueprint Podcast was sponsored
by Do It Best Group.
Do It Best Group is the largestco-op in the world, and they

(10:21):
help independent hardware andlumber yards all over North
America win.
Do It Best offers services,products, and people that can
help you win long term.
They are the champion ofindependence.
Gary, one of the things I'mseeing a lot, and I know you
probably are too, I'd love toget your opinion on is how

(10:44):
people go to market, especiallywith metal roofing and siding,
has changed.
It's pretty affordablecomparatively to set up a local
metal roofing manufacturingfacility.
And I've seen a lot of them outthere, a lot of local people
that set this up and start.
How do you at Metal Sales setmembers up to compete with that?

(11:07):
What's the value propositionthat you're giving them to go
out and compete with that localperson who set up a manu
manufacturing facility in theirhometown?
How do you compete with thatand help them win?

Stephanie, again, I think one of the biggest
challenges that us and do itbest and true value face is a
proliferation of regional andlocal role formers that your
members have to compete against.
So we sell our product throughtraditional avenues of
distribution.
It goes to the lumber yards,lumber yards sell to the

(11:38):
contractor, and then it goes tothe end user.
Well, with these um local andregional roll farmers it costs
very little to get into makingmetal roofing.
So if the end user sets ourproduct side by side with the
regional local roll farmer, youcan't tell the difference.
It looks like metal roofing.

(12:00):
But behind that, the valueproposition is a lot of testing,
Texas windstorm, impactratings, um, UL testing that we
do behind the scenes that wehave to educate the member on so
they can uh talk to the enduser about that to differentiate

(12:20):
them from the uh the the othercompetitors.

Absolutely.
What about paint coatings andand warranties and things like
that?

Fantastic question.
Um there are different uhlevels of paint systems,
polyester, siliconizedpolyester, kinar.
The coating is probably alongthe the paint film, if you will,
along with the coatingunderneath the paint, is very
important to understand that andall the the durability and

(12:49):
lasting of the product.

Yeah.
And I think also when you areat a counter selling something
and someone comes in with aprice, you want to be able to
figure out, like you said, howdo I tell them the answer to
this, why it's more expensivehere question.
And if it's a better productand you can sell the story of
why it is more expensive, butit's also going to be better

(13:11):
long term.
You think about a roof, I thinkabout this a lot.
There are certain projects thatare not easily undone and you
do not want to have to purchasethem more than one time.
You know, I don't wake up inthe morning and say, oh, I hope
I get to spend X amount onreplacing my roof every few
years, right?
You don't want to do that.
A metal roof or an asphalt roofis a pretty large investment

(13:33):
and you want it to last for along time.
So if you spend an extrahundred, five hundred thousand
dollars, but get a much betterproduct, like with standing
seam, the warranty on that, andyou don't have to change out
screws because the washers havegone bad and corrupted over
time.
Um, my dad, we grew up in a loghome.
So he had hunter green metalroofing, but it was just 5V.

(13:55):
So it was overlap with screws.
And I remember when we had tochange out those screws, ooh,
Gary, there was a lot of my daddoesn't cuss, but there's a lot
of harsh words said.
He was not happy.
He he got someone to do it, butit would leak, it would have
all those problems.
So if you can afford standingseam or you can afford these
things and you're investing for30 years, 50 years, it's worth,

(14:16):
I think it's worth considering.
And when your sales team isreally educated to do that for
you at the counter, that'sthat's how you we all win.
And the homeowner wins, or thecontractor that's selling that
also wins.
So you guys at Metal Sales havethose programs and you're
helping do it best to give it totheir members to show them how
to sell, what to train on, andwhy your product's actually

(14:39):
better.

Yeah, the a roof is your most important
investment.
And to your point, the upfrontcost of a metal roof versus
other building materials isgoing to be more.
Yeah.
So you really want to talkabout the lifecycle cost with
that.
You may have to replace thisother roof twice uh for the time
period that you'll have themetal roof.
So it's important to understandthat and make sure the

(15:03):
customer's aware of that.

Yeah, and I do see a lot more metal roofs
coming into the market.
So I think I think, like yousaid, that trajectory is going
to continue.
You know, there may be somerules with HOAs and things like
that where you can't have them.
Right.
But there's a lot of peoplethat have a piece of land and
they want to build a home andthey should know that metal
roofing is a great option.
I agree wholeheartedly.

Yeah, one of the biggest things going right now
in the in the trend is what wecall barn dominiums or shouses.

Yeah.

Shous is a combination of a shop and a
house.

Yeah.

And these structures are just beautiful.

They are.

It's one structure that people live in,
and um, it serves multiplefunctions.

I lived in Texas for two years, so I know all
about barn dominions, but I havenever heard the word shouses
until you just said it.
So I now I will know from nowon, Gary.
So you taught me somethingtoday.
Uh, how big is this?
What's the difference between abarn dominum and a shouse?
Is there a size difference orjust whatever you decide to call
it?

No, it's just a different terminology.
Yeah.

Well, a shouse sounds like something that I
might get sent to if I talk backa little too much, you know, or
if I need a quiet moment in thebackyard.
There you go.
Yeah, barn dominionums are supercool.
Um, I think they're one of theneatest things because you think
about a barn dominiontraditionally, it's, you know,
it's like, oh, it's a barn.
But a lot of times now you walkin these things and they're,
like you said, immaculate.

(16:24):
They're beautiful, two stories.
Um, you know, you can get onethat looks more modern.
You can get one that looks morelike a farm or a country house.
So there's a lot of options.
And I've even seen actually,you know, as you're scrolling on
Instagram, you see all thesecool things.
But I was, I was watching abarnominium builder and I
believe he was in Texas, andhe's actually using metal

(16:45):
roofing on his inside of hisporches because wasp and birds
and all these things weremessing up the wood or the
underlayment.
So he's just using that asunderlayment in his instead of a
wood, he's using metal.
And I had never seen that.
It looks super cool.
So it was like metal on metalon metal.
It was a metal salesman'sdream, Gary.
Uh that they're doing it.

(17:06):
So I think people should lookinto this as affordable housing
becomes less affordable.
Barnuminiums are are still alot more in the it.
They're, I think they're alittle less expensive to build,
and they're really great homes,especially if you're in a place
like Texas where it's prettyflat and you can pour a slab and
just pop up some metal.

Absolutely.
I love it.

What do you think when you look at where we
are today and where our industryis heading, you've been in this
a long time.
You've been doing this.
I'm sure you've seen so manychanges.
And thinking about where thingsare going, what excites you the
most about the future of ourindustry?

One of the biggest potential markets is
residential.
You know, our products have,and you mentioned a minute ago,
um, have been used in theagricultural market segment.
That's not really a growthopportunity that's that's kind
of shrinking.
So one of the exciting parts isthe opportunities with
residential.
The metal roofing uh alliance,MRA, tracks the progress of the

(18:07):
percentage of metal roofing toasphalt every year.
Sure.
And it's about 18% right now,and it continues to grow every
year.

Yeah, especially in zones with hurricanes or any
type of uh weather, you know,you've got a lot more protection
there, especially withsomething like a standing seam
metal.
You know, you've got a lot moreoptions to really have a better
protection on your home.

We see a lot of wind in different parts of the
country where our and not toknock asphalt, they're king,
they're not going away.
Sure.
But um customers get tired ofthem blowing off and they they
want an option, a differentproduct, and metal meets that
need.
And not only that, you we seeall these fires across the
country.

(18:53):
Yeah, that's a big thing too.
A class A fire rating.
Metal will withstand those uhchallenges much better than
that.

Yeah, one ember on a piece of asphalt roof is
scary business for sure.
I love a metal roof.
I've always uh thought that ametal roof with a white
farmhouse with a galvaloom.
I like galvaloom.
I'm old school.
Um, if I can't have hot pink,Gary, which we've already
negotiated, I will remind youagain.
But Galvaloom metal roofing,standing seam with a white

(19:21):
farmhouse, it's pretty awesome.
Americana.
It's hard to beat.

It's a great look.

It is for sure.
All right.
Well, I really appreciate youjoining me on the podcast.
If someone wants to work withyou and your team and they are
going to be looking for metalroofing, they want that
training, they want thoseresources, they should reach out
to you or their do it best uhtrader that is dealing with
them, and they can come and seeyou at the market if they're

(19:47):
here, or they can reach out toyou and the do it best team.
So thank you for joining metoday, Gary.

It's my pleasure, Stephanie.
Thank you for having me.

Hope you have a great show.
Maybe you can go play some rockand roll at your booth.
You would probably bring allthe people.
To the booth if you broughtsome ACDC out or I look forward
to it.
Yeah, absolutely.
See you there.
Thank you for joining us on theGrit Blueprint Podcast, and
we'll see you on the nextepisode.
Thank you for listening to theGrit Blueprint Podcast.
If this episode helped youthink a little differently about

(20:16):
how to show up, share it withsomeone in your building world
who needs it.
If you're ready to turnvisibility into growth, then
head to gritblueprint.com tolearn more and book a call to
talk to us about your growthstrategy.
Until next time, stayunmistakable.

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Stop Competing On Price, Value Is The Real Differentiator: Gary Davidson, Metal Sales

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