In a taekwondo dojang, every student performs the same moves as the master. The difference is precision and power, which is why the instructors say the art is simple but not easy. Selling building materials works the same way: the fundamentals look obvious, and the results come from doing them consistently on every call. The same logic explains why simple ways to restore towel absorbency beat complicated treatments: the fix is not exotic, it just has to be repeated.
Five habits, practiced daily, increase the volume a lumberyard or building material dealer sells without adding a single new account. Each one takes seconds to execute and compounds across every sales call. The habits work for counter sales, phone orders, and outside sales alike, because they change how the conversation goes rather than how many conversations happen.
Always Offer More Than One
A veteran lumber salesman held one large account for fifteen years. For the first five years he sold small lots, for the next five slightly larger ones, and for the final five he regularly sold blocks of twenty. The account never changed, the customer always bought a lot of lumber, and what changed was the offer. He did not push the block on every call, but he promoted it on almost every call, and a block of twenty closed once every four to six weeks. The same habit works at the counter: a customer buying material for a project like building a simple fence can also need posts, concrete, and hardware on the same ticket.
The Block-of-20 Pattern
The technique is to present a larger order size alongside the smaller one the customer asked for. Instead of selling two units, offer twenty. Instead of one bundle, offer a pallet. Most customers still buy what they planned, but a percentage takes the bigger option, and those larger orders compound into real volume over a year.
The pattern works because it respects the customer’s plan. The salesperson is not arguing that the customer needs more; they are simply reminding them that the larger quantity exists, carries a better price, and will be needed eventually anyway. For a contractor, a block of twenty studs ordered today means twenty studs that do not have to be reordered mid-job, which is a convenience, not a pressure tactic.
Order Sizing Math
The arithmetic is straightforward. If a salesperson makes twenty calls a week and one in ten customers accepts a block offer, that is two larger orders per week, roughly one hundred per year. At even a modest price premium per order, the annual gain is substantial, and it comes from the same call volume, not extra prospecting.
Track the numbers to see the effect. Note the average order size before starting the habit, then review it monthly. The salesperson who offered blocks of twenty for five years did not need a spreadsheet to know the account had grown; the order history told the story. The same measurement keeps the habit honest for any dealer.
Ask Anything Else Before You Hang Up
The old advice was to hang up the phone as soon as the order was taken, before the customer changed their mind or the salesperson talked their way out of the sale. That is an adversarial approach, and it leaves revenue on the table. Before ending any call, ask a simple question: is there anything else we should be working on? The answer is often yes, and even a no sets up the next conversation. Property sellers use the same logic when they apply proven ways to increase the possibility of selling a property: the extra question surfaces needs the customer had not mentioned.
Why the Adversarial Close Fails
Customers who feel rushed to get off the phone remember the experience. Customers who are asked what else they need feel served, and they bring more of their purchases to the store that listens. The extra order found by one question costs nothing to generate.
The question also gathers intelligence. A customer who mentions an upcoming job, a change in suppliers, or a new crew member has just handed the salesperson the opening for the next call. Every answer to anything else is a piece of the customer’s plan, and a salesperson who collects those pieces can anticipate needs before the customer calls.
Can You Do Me a Favor
When a customer sends an inquiry or a request for quote, the salesperson can ask for a small favor: talk to me before you buy this. Customers naturally say yes, and the request turns a price comparison into a partnership. The approach breaks a big decision into approachable pieces, the same way division without fractions lets a carpenter space pickets evenly without wrestling with fractions.
Last Look Beats a Counter
Asking for last look rights invites a counteroffer, because it frames the conversation as a negotiation. Asking to talk before the purchase frames it as a discussion between partners, and partners share information that competitors never see, like timing, budget, and the real decision maker.
Setting the Appointment
The favor only works if it becomes a firm appointment. Set a specific time to discuss the order, put it on the calendar, and show up prepared with quantities, delivery dates, and options. A scheduled conversation converts an inquiry into a committed sale.
The language matters as much as the appointment. Say could you do me a favor on this one, could you talk to me before you buy this, and most customers will agree without hesitation. The request is small, flattering, and easy to grant, and it changes who the customer talks to before signing a purchase order.
Strike Right After the Order
The easiest and best time to ask for an order is right after the customer gives one. The customer’s mind, heart, and pocketbook are already open, and all the work it took to win the first order is done. The timing matters as much as the ask, the way the tape measure method for perfect layouts gets marks right the first time instead of redoing them.
Capitalize on the Open Moment
After the order is confirmed, the salesperson can say: thanks for this order, this is a great deal, and you only buy great deals, so why not put another one on for a couple weeks after the last shipment? Customers who hear this regularly start joking about it, which is the signal the habit is working. When a customer says, here is my order on this one, and it is just one, the pattern has become part of the relationship.
The psychology is simple. A customer who just committed to a purchase is in a buying frame of mind, not a defensive one. The follow-up order rides on that momentum, and it saves the salesperson from making a separate cold call next week. Even when the customer declines, the ask has planted the idea for the next conversation.
Double Down With Customers Who Love You
Every dealer has a couple of customers who love the store, and even those customers spread their business around. The highest-return work in sales is figuring out how to serve them better, because the trust is already built. Just as tiny homes and simple shelters concentrate maximum function into a small footprint, a handful of loyal accounts can carry a territory when they are fully served.
Rapport Is Queen
Rapport is the currency of the lumber business. Salespeople who have worked years to build it should not hesitate to spend it, by asking probing questions about upcoming projects, other suppliers, and what it would take to earn a larger share. Customers who feel understood increase their orders without being pushed.
The math favors deepening existing accounts over chasing new ones. A loyal customer already knows the store, trusts the pricing, and requires almost no selling effort to reorder. Winning ten percent more of their spend is often easier than winning a new account outright, and it is far cheaper in time and travel.
Probing Questions That Grow Accounts
- What projects do you have coming up in the next 90 days?
- Who else are you buying from, and what do they do well?
- What would make this store your first call for that category?
- Can I put together a standing order so you do not have to reorder every time?
Build the Habit Into Every Call
A sales routine is built the way a wall is paneled: the simple approach to paneled wainscot works because every panel follows the same sequence. The five habits belong in that sequence on every call, and tracking them makes the discipline visible.
The Five-Habit Routine
- Offer more than one: present a larger order size on every call
- Ask anything else: one open question before hanging up
- Ask for the favor: secure a conversation before the customer buys elsewhere
- Strike right after the order: ask for the next order while the moment is open
- Double down: invest extra time in the customers who already trust the store
| Habit | Key Phrase | When to Use |
|---|---|---|
| Offer more than one | How about a block of twenty? | Every call |
| Ask anything else | Anything else we should be working on? | Before hanging up |
| Ask for the favor | Talk to me before you buy this | On every inquiry |
| Strike right after the order | Why not put another one on? | Right after the order |
| Double down | What else are you buying? | With loyal accounts |
The habits are simple, and that is exactly why they work. None of them requires a script library, a CRM overhaul, or a marketing budget. They require repetition, the same way a taekwondo student builds power by performing the same forms thousands of times. The dealer who runs the routine on every call will see the volume follow.