News From NAFCA's Annual Meeting

Congratulations to all those who have been elected to serve as NAFCA Executive Board members for the next year! Dennis Pekoff of Natural Beauty Fence will be taking over as Secretary/Treasurer, Scott Ruete of Frederick Fence will take his place as Vice President and, with Norm Legare stepping down as incoming president for health reasons, Mark Knudson of Modern Fence Technologies has been elected to serve as President for 2013.

For NAFCA, 2012 has been a year of growth and overcoming the inevitable growing pains that occur when an organization experiences rapid expansion. 2013 is on track to be a year of even more explosive growth, as opportunities for contractors to sharpen their skills with professional training seminars continue. Check out NAFCA's website to see how you can be a part of the NAFCA Field Training School in Sebring FL this February.

The First Biennial NAFCA Expo International Trade Show

By all accounts the NAFCA Expo at the Classic Center in Athens Georgia was an unqualified success. NAFCA's first international trade show was bigger than expected, and well attended. The seminars on Friday were informative, on point, and well attended by contractors and vendors. They included Sales Training with Bill Schenke of Ameristar, LiftMaster's Bill McCoy teaching installation of gate operators, and business building seminars on job costing and business management, as well as tool and technique talks and demonstrations. The Southern-style barbeque that followed was excellent, with ample opportunities to talk with friends and colleagues in the fence industry. After dinner, attendees walked across the way into the parking structure to watch Ray Statz of Qual-Line Fence in Waunakee, WI win the World Fence News NAFCAR championship on his high wheel tricycle built entirely of fence materials.

 It was tremendous fun as the crowd of screaming fans watched him take three out of three heats to defeat close rivals Chris Chapman, of Chapman Fence and Marge Knudson, of Modern Fence Technologies.

The show on Saturday allowed vendors and contractors from all over the United States and Canada to meet and discuss needs and build the relationships essential to success in today’s competitive market, and ended with a booth auction, with much of the proceeds going to NAFCA's Goodwill Project. If you missed this chance to be a part of a NAFCA event, don't miss the upcoming Fence Installation Training School in Sebring FL this February. Over 250 years of installation experience will be represented by the lineup of instructors, as they teach tools and techniques, along with standards and “tricks of the trade” in an affordable and exciting atmosphere.

NAFCA is dedicated to education and helping contractors grow strong through sound and ethical business practices. Go to 4NAFCA.com to see what NAFCA can do for your business. And start planning now to attend the second Biennial NAFCA Expo in 2014.

   If you haven't signed up for the NAFCA Expo in Athens, GA yet, you need to! This is a prime opportunity for fence contractors to get the kind of training and support from vendors that can make the difference to a business trying to break through. With tremendous sales training and sessions designed to help design your business around making profits, to detailed seminars on tips and techniques for installers, this international trade exposition has something for everyone.

   There are fun activities planned for the times not spent in class or on the Expo floor as well. NAFCAR racing, (you gotta see it to believe it!), a golf outing, even a southern style barbecue dinner, and plenty of time to network with other contractors, manufacturers, and thought leaders in the industry. And you won't find a better bargain. You can even get in free , just call your NAFCA member vendor to find out how, or call NAFCA at 770-757-9094. Check it out here, at NAFCA's website.

Sales Training Opportunity of a Lifetime

  If you are in sales, in any industry, you need to be a part of this.  Bill Schenke, Vice President Of Sales at Ameristar Fence Products Will be teaching at the North American Fence Contractors Association Fence Expo in Athens, Georgia, on Friday, November 9th.  This is just one of several seminar tracks that will improve your sales techniques  your business organization, and, for the fence professionals, tools, tips and techniques.  You really can't afford to miss this opportunity.  You can register here, and call your NAFCA member vendor for a coupon code to cover your registration fees!

Are we Crazy?

  Isn't it time to stop doing things the same way, expecting different results? Businesses all over the world are tripping over one another to shave value off of products in order to lower prices. It used to be that a manufacturer might shave value to make a few more cents per unit. Now, manufacturers are shaving both value and utility off their products in order to come in a few cents lower than the competition.

  By constantly harping on “Lowest Prices Anywhere”, sales and marketing drones everywhere have conditioned customers to the idea that price is all that matters. This becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy, as lower prices drive quality so low that consumers always demand a lower price on the current iteration of a product than they paid for the last one, because the last one did not satisfy their expectations.

  Rather than follow this “race to the bottom”, Modern Fence Technologies has decided to remain the producer of the highest quality, American made hardware, tools and accessories available to the professional fence industry, while offering support to our customers by teaching them the benefit of selling quality rather than price. We are here to help prepare you as a distributor or contractor, to meet your customer's price objections with sound reasons to buy quality.

  Sure, it's a little more work to produce and sell quality, but in the long run, everyone who is party to the deal is better off, and more satisfied.