Resilience is the ability to keep operating when the ground shifts. The COVID-19 pandemic forced construction businesses into remote work, digital sales, and virtual communication almost overnight, and the lessons from that period still apply to any disruption: supply chain shocks, material price spikes, labor shortages, or regional downturns. Resilient owners stay connected to their industry, which is why events such as pavement industry leadership conferences keep showing up in recovery plans. Two shed industry specialists, Arlan Riehl of Liberty Sheds and Casey Wiggins of United Portable Buildings, shared the tactics that carried their companies through the crisis.
Reevaluate Your Strategy First
It is unlikely the strategies planned before a crisis are still the most relevant approaches when conditions change. Owners should identify new key areas of focus, evaluate which existing tools could help, and understand where to adapt. The same logic shows up across the industry; EPA green infrastructure programs helped five state capitals build more resilient communities by reworking stormwater systems instead of adding capacity the old way. A strategy review does the same for a business: it reallocates effort instead of assuming the old plan still fits.
Shift Timelines, Not Just Tactics
Riehl says that when Liberty Sheds re-evaluated its plans at the start of the pandemic, social media had already been identified as a growth area for the year. Knowing the importance of digital communication during social distancing, the company shifted its timeline to place a higher priority on increasing its social media presence so it could keep talking with current and prospective customers. The change was not a new strategy; it was an acceleration of one that already existed.
Budget for the Downturn
Wiggins advises owners to increase marketing budgets during unprecedented times if they can. United Portable Buildings quadrupled its marketing budget during COVID-19, specifically on social media, and the results were an increase in Facebook engagement of roughly 400 percent and sales five times higher year over year. The logic is contrarian: competitors cut advertising, so the owners who keep spending capture the attention that is left.
- List the assumptions the current plan depends on.
- Identify which of them changed in the last quarter.
- Rank the tools the business already owns by usefulness now.
- Move budget toward the channels customers actually use.
- Set a 90-day timeline for each revised priority.
Read the Economic Signals
Resilient owners build plans on the best available forecasts. Construction economists track the forces that drive shed and building sales: interest rates, housing starts, material prices, and public infrastructure spending. In early 2023 the chief economist of the Portland Cement Association predicted a more resilient U.S. economy than expected in the near term while noting that infrastructure projects funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law would ramp up slowly. That kind of outlook changes how a dealer plans inventory: build cautiously in a flat quarter, stock up when a construction pickup is forecast.
Reading these signals matters because marketing and hiring decisions lag the economy by months. If cement shipments and architectural billings are rising, home builders will soon need storage buildings and site structures. If they are falling, owners protect cash and lean on low-cost digital marketing instead of new hires. Material prices deserve the same attention; steel, lumber, and concrete moves of 10 percent or more within a quarter directly change the price of a delivered building.
- Follow two or three industry forecasts each quarter.
- Watch housing starts and building permit data in your region.
- Track material prices that affect your build costs.
- Compare your own inquiry volume to the national trend.
- Adjust hiring and inventory on a 90-day rolling basis.
Leverage Social Media for Leads
Riehl and Wiggins say social media was vital in driving business leads and website traffic during the pandemic, and both recommend dealers invest in a quality presence even after normal operations resume. Wiggins uses Facebook Business Manager to create contact forms that gather information from users interacting with posts. Product-focused content works because buyers respond to real examples; dealers can borrow from what professional builders selected for their own homes when planning which models and finishes to feature.
Build a Lead Form That Converts
Keep forms brief, around three questions, to prevent losing customer interest. Focus on key information only, such as purchasing intent and timeframe, so the sales team can prioritize leads accurately. A short form with the right questions generates more usable leads than a long form that buyers abandon halfway through.
Follow Up Like a Sales Team
After the form is submitted, the sales team follows up via texts, emails, and calls to offer a personalized shopping experience. Speed matters: leads contacted within the first hour convert at a much higher rate than leads contacted a day later. Route every form submission to a specific person, not a shared inbox, so nothing slips.
- Post build photos and completed projects weekly.
- Use contact forms with three questions or fewer.
- Ask for purchasing intent and timeframe in every form.
- Respond to comments within a few hours.
- Track engagement and lead volume monthly.
Move Sales Online With Visualizers
Traditionally, shed dealers request the exact physical shed to show on their lot and treat it as the key element of the sales process, Wiggins says. Remote sales changed that assumption. Online visualizers, 3D configurators, and video walkthroughs let customers customize a building from home, and dealers who invested in those tools kept selling when showrooms were closed. The same skill building applies to people; industry leaders share insights on building careers that emphasize training people for roles that did not exist a few years ago, and the digital sales floor is one of those roles.
Give Customers a Way to Build Online
A configurator that lets buyers choose size, roof style, siding color, and porch options does the work of a lot visit. Pair it with clear pricing so buyers can narrow choices before they call. Dealers who added these tools found that remote customers arrived at the sales conversation already decided on the basics, which shortened the average call and raised closing rates.
Train for the Digital Sales Floor
Remote selling changes the skills a salesperson needs: product knowledge stays important, but so does the ability to explain a floor plan over a video call and guide a customer through an online configurator. Add these competencies to job descriptions and training plans rather than assuming existing staff will pick them up.
Visualizers also reduce the number of showroom visits needed to close a sale. A customer who has already picked the size, roof, and color arrives ready to talk delivery dates and financing rather than starting the conversation from scratch. That shift compresses the sales cycle, which matters when teams are smaller and travel is restricted.
Keep Improving After the Crisis
The practices adopted under pressure do not have to end when conditions improve. Both specialists recommend keeping a quality social media presence and the digital sales tools that remote customers now expect. Long-range planning benefits from the same expert input; the industry regularly asks experts to weigh in on the future of asphalt production and other core processes, and owners who track those conversations spot opportunities before competitors do.
Wiggins notes that the gains from the crisis period were not automatic; they came from committing budget, retraining staff, and measuring results. The same effort applied after the crisis compounds: engagement metrics stay high, the lead pipeline stays full, and the business enters the next disruption with habits already in place.
Resilience as an Ongoing Habit
Resilience is not a one-time project. Owners who review strategy quarterly, keep marketing budgets stable, and maintain digital sales channels are better positioned when the next shock arrives. Industry experts on construction industry trends point to the same fundamentals: workforce development, technology adoption, and a realistic market outlook.
| Action | When it helps | Example result |
|---|---|---|
| Raise marketing budget | Downturns and demand slumps | Roughly 400 percent more engagement |
| Short lead forms | Any digital campaign | Higher completion rates |
| Online visualizers | Showroom closures, remote buyers | Sales continue without lot visits |
| Quarterly strategy review | Changing market conditions | Budget moves to working channels |
| Track industry forecasts | Inventory and hiring decisions | Stock matches upcoming demand |
Building resilience into the routine costs less than rebuilding after a crisis. Keep the lead channels tested, keep the team trained, and keep the plan under review. The businesses that treated the pandemic as a rehearsal rather than a one-off emergency are the ones positioned to absorb the next disruption and keep selling through it.