LaLonde Contractors

–The LaLonde name is familiar to southeastern Wisconsin residents because it is stamped in thousands of sidewalk and road sections throughout the region.

— The company was founded in 1984 by Jerome LaLonde, a construction veteran with experience with a major contracting firm and with the cities of West Allis and Milwaukee.
— Currently operated by 32-year-old identical twins Mike and Mark LaLonde. Mark, the older of the two twins by several minutes, handles bidding and administration operations. Mike manages projects in the field. The brothers first assumed an ownership interest in their father’s company in 1996, but took on majority ownership last year. Jerome has maintained a minority stake in the company.
— The company accrued $11 million in gross sales in 2002. It employs up to 100 on a seasonal basis.
— Major recent projects include reconstruction and streetscaping of Main Street in downtown Racine. This year, LaLonde Contractors’ 2003 project roster includes reconstruction of Howell Avenue from Oklahoma Avenue to Wilbur Avenue on Milwaukee’s south side. The job will entail constructing 20,000 square yards of concrete pavement. LaLonde Contractors works extensively in Milwaukee, Racine, Kenosha, Waukesha and Ozaukee counties.
— The company works on both asphalt and concrete roadways, but maintains staff and equipment for concrete-related projects, opting to subcontract out asphalt work.

May 2, 2003 Small Business Times, Milwaukee

Teweles complex going residential

By David Niles, of SBT

Redevelopment of the Teweles Seed Co. towers south of downtown Milwaukee into apartments is expected to begin this summer with the help of a Minnesota company that provides affordable housing.
CommonBond Communities, based in St. Paul, has been working with New Berlin-based developer Robert Schultz to convert the Teweles building, at 222 S. 3rd St., into apartments, with a mix of market-rate and subsidized rents, said Brian Dusek, a housing development manager at CommonBond Communities. Of the 115 apartment units to be developed, 73 would be for people who have household earnings of $54,000 or less.
CommonBond and Schultz, operating through his 3rd Coast Design Concepts, hold equal interests in the development, according to Dusek.
McCloud Construction, of New Berlin, will handle the work of converting the long-shuttered seed company into apartments, retaining much of the industrial look of the buildings, which date back to 1917. The buildings, which have nearly 155,000 square feet of space, have been vacant for more than 10 years.
The $16.1 million project will retrofit the Teweles facility, which consists of two towers, into the 115 apartment units, three floors of parking for 100 vehicles, and a host of additional amenities for residents, such as a fitness center, a private theater room, a roof-top clubroom and private roof-top terrace.
The 100 parking spaces would be reserved for tenants while 18 surface spaces would be unreserved.
Two levels will be added to the current 12-story tower which, according to city records, was built in 1918. The seven-story tower, which was built in 1928, will remain at that height, Dusek said.
The exterior masonry facade will be restored, and existing pre-cast parapets and poured concrete lintels will be repaired.
Window heights will be lowered to residential standards, Dusek said. He was impressed with the views from the building when he visited Milwaukee last week. "The views are incredible, even from the seven-story tower," he said, noting that the building offers panoramic views of the lakefront, downtown, the south side and the west side. When the two floors are added to the 12-story tower, the structure will be the second-highest building in the area, after nearby Rockwell International’s Allen-Bradley clock tower.
The structures are in excellent shape, Dusek added, noting they had been constructed for seed storage and see repackaging. "The structures are in great shape. They were built solid to bear incredible loads; it’s a fortress."
He also praised the original design of the buildings, saying "they have a sleek industrial look that was pretty ahead of its time for."
Addition of the two floors to the 12-story tower will make the project financially feasible, Dusek said. Along with conventional mortgage financing and other funding, the project will benefit from approximately $6.2 million in tax credits, he said.
The apartments will be a mix of studio and one-, two- and three-bedroom units. The three-bedroom units and the penthouse suites will have private outdoor decks.
The building will become a small community, Dusek said, serving a variety of sub-markets which CommonBond defines as:

MEDC loans include Culvers project

The owner of two Culver’s restaurants will receive financing from the Milwaukee Economic Development Corp. (MEDC) to open a Culver’s in the new Midtown Center shopping area in Milwaukee.

The loan, for $233,200, was approved April 17 by MEDC Loan Committee. Legacy Bank is providing and additional $349,800 toward the restaurant development.
Culver’s franchise owner Gregory P. Howe will use the money to develop a restaurant at 5501 N. Fond du Lac Ave. in the Midtown Center. The center was developed on the site of the former Capitol Court mall.
Howe, who operates Culver’s in Pewaukee and Middleton, expects to hire 11 full-time and 20 part-time employees for the Milwaukee restaurant, which is incorporated at GH Midtown.
In other action April 17, the MEDC Loan Committee authorized a $750,000 loan for MWM LLC, which will use the proceeds for a new building being constructed for the V. Marchese produce distribution company.
Salvatore Marchese, Jack E. Marchese and Jack R. Wertz are the officers of MWM and of V. Marchese Inc. They are building a 37,200-square-foot distribution facility on a 5.9-acre site at 300 E. National Ave., in the Florida Yards Industrial Park in Milwaukee.
The facility will replace the rented space the company now occupies at 613 S. 2nd St., just west of the site of the new building.
V. Marchese employs 62 people full time and expects to hire an additional 20 full-time employees based on business development related to the new building. That will include the addition of prepared and packaged produce items.
Park Bank is also participating in financing of the $3.5 million project via a loan of $2,750,000.
The MEDC Loan Committee also approved a $240,000 loan for New Paradise Realty Corp. for the Paradise Memorial Funeral Home at 7625 W. Appleton Ave. in Milwaukee. The funds would be used to buy equipment and the real estate at the property, including the three-story, 14,560-square-foot building.
North Milwaukee State Bank is providing an additional $510,000 of financing for the project.
New Paradise Realty is co-owned by William R. Stark, Maddie Turner, Camelia L. Jones, Ava N. Carter and Harold D. Turner, while the funeral home is owned by Jones and Carter.

May 2, 2003 Small Business Times, Milwaukee

Delafield State Bank raises $4.7 million in private offering
Name change to Town Bank also on order
Town Bankshares Ltd., which operates Delafield State Bank, announced that its late 2002 private stock offering exceeded its original goal by more than 50% and raised more than $4.7 million in gross investment funds to finance future growth for the bank.
The offering was initiated in September and expired in December. The company’s original goal was to raise $3 million.
“We are pleasantly surprised by the strong demand for our stock,” said Jay Mack, president of Town Bankshares and Delafield State Bank. “We are very pleased that we exceeded our goal and can now focus our efforts on how to best use this capital for the bank’s continued growth.”
The private stock offering was open to current Town Bankshares stockholders and new investors qualified to participate. Each share was sold for $60, and more than 79,000 shares were sold to approximately 80 investors.
“Our stockholders, many of whom are local entrepreneurs, have demonstrated a strong vote of confidence in the management of the bank,” Mack said.
The bank, which is locally owned and managed, is not publicly traded.
“We have a diverse group of clients and investors, and we are looking to grow that base. These investment funds will allow us to increase our legal lending limit and look at other areas of expansion,” Mack said, adding that the bank has not finalized any of its expansion plans.

Foley & Lardner ponders move to new office tower

By Steve Jagler, of SBT

The Foley & Lardner law firm is considering moving its headquarters across downtown Milwaukee to a new office tower that is being proposed at the current site of the Marcus Center for the Performing Arts parking garage.
Real estate sources said Foley & Lardner has agreed in principle to relocate to the proposed new building, which is being planned for the northwest corner at the intersection of Water and State streets.
However, Nancy Sennett, managing partner of Foley & Lardner’s Milwaukee office, denied that an agreement had been reached. Sennett said the law firm likely will not make a decision until this summer on whether it will remain in the US Bank Center or move to another location.
Sennett confirmed that Foley & Lardner had requested a proposal from the developers of the proposed new office tower. She estimated that Foley & Lardner had made seven requests for proposals, all of which were for sites in downtown Milwaukee.
"We are in the process of exploring all of our options," Sennett said. "The renewal of our lease is being considered. We need to renew or relocate, probably downtown, and one of the alternatives is that building (at the Marcus Center)"
Jackie Walsh, a principal at Irgens Development Partners, which is recruiting tenants for the proposed building, said, "We did respond to a request for proposal from Foley," Walsh said. "We are of the understanding that they are considering it as an alternative. We’ve got an offer on the table.
"But we have responded to many (RFPs). We don’t get too excited until that lease is signed, and we don’t have anything in writing," Walsh said.
Walsh said Irgens and the Marcus Center continue to "test the market" to determine the feasibility of the new tower.
The proposed new building has been tentatively named the Ovation Center, Walsh said.
Small Business Times first reported in January that the new tower was being proposed for the site. At that time, Walsh said a commitment from a significant anchor tenant would be needed to launch the project.
Foley & Lardner would be such a tenant. The law firm’s lease for 232,000 square feet at the US Bank Center, 777 E. Wisconsin Ave., will expire in February 2005, Sennett said.
With its new lease, the law firm will be seeking a comparable amount of space, she said.
Keeping Foley & Lardner’s headquarters in Milwaukee would be a coup for the downtown, as top officials of the law firm previously said the company could consider relocating to Chicago, sources said.
Foley & Lardner does not plan to move its headquarters out of downtown Milwaukee, Sennett said. The company maintains significant offices in 16 US cities, including Chicago, she said.
As proposed, the $100 million Ovation Center would span 22 stories and would be connected to the Marcus Center at 929 N. Water St. by a skywalk over State Street.
The Ovation Center would include a mixed use of offices, retail, housing and parking, Walsh said.
The Marcus Center’s board of directors believes the current parking structure is not the best use of the property, which is located in the Water Street entertainment district, Walsh said.
Irgens has had discussions with several smaller firms interested in relocating to the Ovation Center, but those commitments will not be sought until an anchor tenant is signed, Walsh said.

May 2, 2003 Small Business Times, Milwaukee

Health-care industry confronting its ‘second curve’

By Thomasn Mosgaller, for SBT

There’s a quiet revolution going on in health care – an upheaval promising benefits to consumers and purchasers of health-care services. It’s a development of great interest to small businesses, which, for a change, won’t have to feel as if they’re left on the sidelines.
All too often, health care "reform" has amounted to exercises in cost-shifting to see which 800-pound gorilla would end up paying less than everyone else; tinkering at the margins trying to fine-tune a system when what’s really needed is major systematic overhaul; and endless finger-pointing as costs continue to skyrocket while quality fails to improve.
For many small businesses, that has meant reducing health-care coverage for their employees or eliminating it altogether.
What’s coming is a new era of patient-centered health care based on the importation of quality management methods and heretofore-unprecedented levels of collaboration among provider organizations, physicians and employers.
The new approaches start from the premise that increasing quality and patient safety will lead to reduced cost. It’s a win-win situation for everyone, including those who have traditionally lacked clout within the health-care system.
The Milwaukee-based American Society for Quality has been bringing together some of the influential thought leaders of this revolution and showcasing some of the more promising Wisconsin-based initiatives.
The most recent effort was a series of meetings in Milwaukee that featured health policy expert Dr. Martin Merry and offered an initial look at the work of the newly formed Wisconsin Collaborative for Healthcare Quality.
Dr. Merry believes that health care has reached the end of the line of what he calls its first curve and must now make a major leap onto the second curve. This new phase incorporates the best of the healing/caring arts and medical technologies with the disciplines of the management and quality sciences.
The current system is not only collapsing under the weight of its size and complexity, but it also tends to be designed around the needs and demands of the system rather than the genuine needs of patients.
In the parlance of current thinking on quality, the system is capable of performing at a 3-sigma or perhaps 4-sigma quality level, not at the 6-sigma level sought by the world’s smartest businesses. That’s why we see reports form the Institute of Medicine describing thousands of deaths annually caused by errors in the health-care system.
"Trying won’t work," says Merry. "We can’t ‘try’ our way to 6-sigma quality levels. We need the wholesale importation of the ideas of [quality gurus] Deming and Juran, human factors, 6 sigma, ISO 9000 and Baldrige."
The seeds of the second-curve revolution in health care have already begun to take root. "It’s the kind of things we’re doing in our communities, not by a bunch of smart people in Washington making policy," according to Merry.
That’s where the Wisconsin Collaborative for Healthcare Quality comes in. The Collaborative is a voluntary statewide consortium of some of the state’s premier quality-focused health-care organizations. In addition to its nine provider members – Bellin Health (Green Bay), Dean Health System (Madison), Froedtert Hospital (Wauwatosa), Gundersen Lutheran (La Crosse), Marshfield Clinic (Marshfield), Medical College of Wisconsin (Wauwatosa), St. Mary’s Hospital Medical Center (Madison), St. Joseph’s Hospital (Marshfield) and ThedaCare (Appleton) – the Collaborative is endorsed by participating members representing employers, employees and labor unions and businesses.
These groups are working together to develop measures of health-care quality that are verifiable by independent third parties. They intend to share and refine best practices among themselves and to publicly report the performance of collaborative members using these measures. That’s a sizable task, given that the current health-care system contains tremendous built-in disincentives against sharing information among providers and with the public.
The aim is the freer flow of information about the quality of health care in order to make health-care consumers more informed and more powerful in their choice of providers that are both low cost and high quality. In turn, providers will have powerful incentives to improve quality and patient safety.
And that’s good news not only for patients but for the employers who pay for their care – regardless of their size.
To learn more about the Wisconsin Collaborative for Healthcare Quality or the Wisconsin health care summit, visit the ASQ Web site, www.asq.org/news/interest/040403hcmeeting.html.

Thomas Mosgaller is the organizational development director and human resources officer at Marshall Erdman & Associates in Madison.

May 2, 2003 Small Business Times, Milwaukee

Facilities projects

Beyer Construction, New Berlin, completed construction of a 20,600-square-foot addition for Divine Savior Lutheran Church at 3200 Hwy. K South in Hartford. Construction of the addition includes a finished basement. The upper level now includes a new 480-seat sanctuary with balcony, a new gathering space, kitchenette, bathrooms, elevator and storage areas.

The lower level of the project includes 10 new classrooms, a youth room and gathering space, children’s education office, kitchenette, bathrooms, storage and mechanical rooms. Renovation of selected existing areas, site work and development of new parking areas was included in the scope of services.

KVG Building of Pewaukee has completed work on a Cousin’s Subs shop at 206 S. Pine St., Burlington. The company also has been awarded the contract for a Cousin’s at 437 W. Paradise Dr. in West Bend.

Jens Construction, Pewaukee, has completed construction of the First Weber Group offices in Glendale. The 9,000-square-foot offices are located at 4650 N. Port Washington Rd. in the Barnabas Business Center.
The company also has completed the removal and replacement of 25,000 square feet of concrete floor slab within an operating food processing plant for CHR Hansen Inc., New Berlin. Jens simultaneously constructed an ammonia cooling system in the same building.

Briohn Building, Pewaukee, has been contracted to construct retail and office spaces in Waukesha and Milwaukee counties.
The company will design and build a 30,000-square-foot retail store for Always 99 Cents at 3600 S. Moorland Rd., New Berlin. Briohn will also design and build a 2,400-square-foot office expansion for Union Transport at 5120 International Dr., Cudahy.

Selzer-Onrst Co., Wauwatosa, has announced its selection for several projects It will act as project manager for the Harambee Early Learning Center on Auer Avenue, Milwaukee. The 17,214-square-foot brick building will feature two octagonal towers and several dormers. It was designed by BHS Architects, Milwaukee.
Selzer-Ornst has also been selected as construction manager for the Summit Office Place I project on the site of the former Allis-Chalmers complex in West Allis. Selzer-Ornst will manage construction of the 44,000-square-foot office building along with tenant improvements. The project was designed by Renner Architects, Milwaukee, and is scheduled for completion in the fall.
The company also has been retained to expand and renovate the Boelter Company Food Service Showroom, including expansion of the food preparation/demonstration area and renovation of existing storage spaces into showroom space.
Selzer Ornst will complete the design/build renovation of an autobody shop – Marshall Services of Waukesha, and construction of a loading dock for Action Metals, Milwaukee.

KPH Construction, Milwaukee, is working with St. Michael Hospital in Milwaukee to upgrade its fire damper system. The project is in the first of a five-phase process scheduled for completion in 2005.

May 2, 2003 Small Business Times, Milwaukee

Concrete plans
LaLonde Contractors moves into Pelton Casteel plant

By Charles Rathmann, of SBT

The rehabilitation and renewal of Milwaukee’s south side will continue when the vacant Pelton Casteel building soon becomes the new headquarters for LaLonde Contractors.
LaLonde Contractors, a Milwaukee road construction firm, took occupancy of the foundry site at 2929 S. Chase Ave. April 1.
The company will finance a total of $1.5 million for the purchase of the property and the cost of rehabilitating the site, which includes the 180,000-square-foot foundry building.
The firm will occupy about 30,000 square feet of space in the former foundry as its headquarters and will lease a significant amount of the remaining indoor and outdoor space to construction-related tenants.
LaLonde Contractors purchased the eight-acre site in June 2002 from Mallory Properties, the real estate entity owned by Milwaukee crane magnates Frank and Dominic Giuffre.
The Giuffres had purchased the property in July 2001.
Mike and Mark LaLonde, twin brothers and co-owner vice presidents of the road building firm, said they had been shopping for much smaller properties.
"We looked at sites in St. Francis, Oak Creek and West Allis," Mark said.
"We actually looked at the Pelton building and discounted it," Mike said.
In the end, the sheer potential of the property – and encouragement from the twins’ father, company president Jerome LaLonde – led them to the decision to buy the foundry.
Jerome, in semi-retirement in Florida, will serve as president of the firm until his death, according to the twins.
"He was behind buying Pelton after he thought it all out," Mark said of his father, who started the company 19 years ago at age 55. "Mike and I owe him a great deal of gratitude. We are not doing anything different than what he would have done."
"We wanted desperately to stay in the city of Milwaukee," Mike said. "The size and location were too good to pass up."
The rehabilitation of the Pelton Casteel site is among several projects gaining momentum on the city’s south side. Golden Marina Causeway LLC, a partnership that includes developer Thomas Short, recently purchased the long-abandoned Milwaukee Solvay Coke & Gas Co. site at 311 E. Greenfield Ave. and is making plans for an ambitious project that could ultimately include office towers, a marina and a hotel.
In addition, plans are being made for the redevelopment of the former Teweles Seed Co. site and the former National Warehouse Corp. site on the south side. Also, a planned high-speed ferry is expected to fuel further redevelopment when it begins operating in 2004.
Finding a location within the city limits was a priority for LaLonde Contractors, which, according to Mark, has historically done about 70% of the City of Milwaukee’s street construction work. About half of LaLonde Contractors’ employees are also city residents, according to the twins.
Access to the freeway – with an onramp just a few blocks south at Holt Avenue – also was a factor in the decision.
LaLonde Contractors, which had gross sales of about $11 million in 2002, has grown its revenues by about 30% since the twins took a majority interest in the company early last year, according to Mark.
"That growth is attributable to a lot of the personnel we had here," Mike said. "We promote from within and empower people. Of course, further growth completely depends on the market."
With aggressive growth, LaLonde Contractors would have quickly outgrown its 10,000 square feet of leased space at 1701 W. Mount Vernon Ave. in the Menomonee River Valley.
The changing nature of the Menomonee Valley, with increased emphasis on property appearances, also caused the twins to be concerned – given the amount of equipment the company stores outdoors.
The LaLondes will base the company’s 50 employees and store about 100 pieces of construction equipment at the site.
In addition to indoor space, about four acres of outdoor space will be available to lease.
Mark, who is handling leasing arrangements himself, said lease deals are pending with a general contractor, a contracting supply outfit and a minority-owned ready-mixed concrete producer.
Some indoor space might also be devoted to an aggregate crushing operation, Mark said.
"My goal is for us to ultimately have more than 100 people working in this building every day for various construction-related companies," Mark said, stressing that wages associated with Wisconsin Department of Transportation road-building projects are mandated by law.
Jobs with LaLonde Contractors pay $20 to $30 per hour, plus benefits, according to Mark.
However, for more than two years, the Pelton Casteel plant generated no jobs. It sat empty and unguarded since the foundry company closed its doors in early 2001, idling the remnants of what had at one time been a workforce of about 250.

May 2, 2003 Small Business Times, Milwaukee

ASID design winners noted

Several Milwaukee-area architectural and design firms were recognized for their work at the American Society of Interior Designers Design Competition 2002 awards ceremony.
The celebration was held Feb. 6 at the Broadway Theater Center in Milwaukee. Award-winning projects in the commercial category include the Sharon Lynde Wilson Center for the Arts in Brookfield, Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin NICU, Motion Fitness & Racquet Club, and Design North Inc. in Racine
The Wisconsin ASID chapter entered 53 residential and commercial projects in the 2002 competition – its largest number of entries in several years, said Nancy Miller, spokeswoman for the chapter.
"Firms are doing good projects, and they want to be recognized," she said.
The Sharon Lynde Wilson Center for the Arts won a Gold award – the competition’s highest honor. A team of designers and artists working under the direction of Engberg Anderson Design Partnership Inc. created a facility that reflected the outdoor park environment in which the building is located, said Joanne Johnson, Engberg’s head of design.
The building is located at Mitchell Park in Brookfield and also serves as an educational facility for the Elmbrook School System.
"The center is designed to bridge the downtown Milwaukee art scene including the art museum, ballet and conservatory of music with the suburbs," Johnson said.
The center’s look took the form of a lodge in a park, and designers incorporated natural materials such as stone and wood into the center’s interior design. Warm, natural colors were used to complement the wood used, including the high-peaked wood ceiling in the lobby.
The auditorium features wood ceilings and cherry paneling, and slate flooring was placed throughout. The carper and seating fabric feature warm green tones and patterns that are reminiscent of leaves.
Since the center was built for the arts, Engberg’s design team worked with Wisconsin artists to decorate the center with local art. Susan Falkman created the 40-foot limestone fireplace in the center’s lobby. It depicts dancers in abstract form. Steven Feren designed blown glass birds that hang like a chandelier from the ceiling of the auditorium. The sculpture is lit by fiber optics, producing the illusion that the birds are flying, Johnson said. Michael Gross created the theater-themed ceramic tiles in the corridors and restrooms.
Johnson credits the interaction between interior designers and artists with the creating a unique structure worthy of ASID’s highest honor.
"The integration of art, architecture and interior design was the most unique aspect of the project," she said. "Our ideas played off each other and generated new ideas."
ASID is the nation’s oldest and largest professional organization for interior designers. Its 32,000 members include interior designers, students and industry partners who practice commercial, residential, medical and restaurant design. The Wisconsin chapter provides learning sessions, tours, awards and community service opportunities to its members.

May 2, 2003 Small Business Times, Milwaukee

Bukackek Construction enters high-end hardware market

By Charles Rathmann, of SBT

Income stream diversification. Hitting ’em where they ain’t. A new venture from design-builder and construction manager Bukacek Construction, Racine, is an example of both business strategies.

The contractor has formed a new division – BCI Group, which will broker high-end commercial and residential hardware. Acting as a manufacturer’s representative of sorts, BCI will sell about 15 different domestic and imported hardware and fixture lines through architects and contractors involved with luxury homes and resort properties nationwide.
According to company president Nick Bukacek, the market for those products is fragmented geographically, and a nationwide supplier should be able to get the price advantage.
"I got the idea when I was building a spec home in Colorado," Bukacek said. "As I was pricing the products for the house, everything was so much more expensive out there. We found a local supplier here and just the geographic difference from the Midwest to the Rocky Mountains was 20%. Our local guy said he still had a 40% margin. It seemed to me that nobody is taking this model nationwide."
BCI rolled out its product line in April at the Kitchen & Bath Show in Orlando, Fla.
While architects and contractors in the residential market are still busy, Bukacek said that BCI will help his construction company, which spends most of its time on commercial, industrial and other non-residential projects, strike a balance across different markets.
"It’s been a slow March," Bukacek said. "And that’s one reason we are doing this. This is a way to diversify our revenue stream."
BCI will market its product lines – including spa tubs from Bouvier Hydro and bronze door hardware from Rocky Mountain Hardware – will be sold on-line and through phone and in-person selling.

May 2, 2003 Small Business Times, Milwaukee

Sales files should be periodically culled; here’s what to keep and what to trash

By Marcia Gauger, for SBT

Question: I’m doing some spring cleaning and realize that I have accumulated quite a bit of paper in my customer files. Regarding customer files and records, what’s important to keep?

Answer: Spring cleaning is important. If you haven’t cleaned your files in a while, I think you’ll find it refreshing. You mentioned that you have accumulated quite a bit of paper, which leads me to believe that you are organizing customer information in a paper-based format.
The short answer is, keep only what you don’t have in an electronic format, such as customer brochures or handwritten notes.
Most important, ask yourself how you will use the information in the future. If you don’t have an answer to that question, pitch it.
If you haven’t worked with a particular account in more than two years, you may consider tossing the entire folder.
Whether in electronic or paper-based format, collecting customer information can be extremely useful if the information is purposeful.
One salesperson recently shared her frustration of transferring to a territory where the previous salesperson had not kept customer records. She spent the first three months interviewing customers to determine what had taken place to date, which was embarrassing and costly.
Storing files electronically has its advantages, mainly in terms of sorting and sharing. Most electronic files are easily merged with handheld devices, like the Palm Pilot, making customer information easily accessible. Beyond the obvious address, phone, etc., here are some categories that you may consider collecting:
History – Think of your customer records much like doctors’ records. After a brief glance, your doctor has a snapshot of what has taken place to date and what kind of condition you’re in. Individual customer interactions may seem insignificant.
Yet, married with other interactions, they reveal a total picture of your account’s personality. Jot a quick note immediately after each customer meeting including your objective and subsequent outcomes.
You may think you’ll remember the details without writing them down, but you’ll be surprised how much is forgotten within the first 24 hours after a meeting.
Contacts and influencers – It’s important to record information about your key contact. It is also important to keep information about influencers who may affect your sales outcomes.
When considering influencers, think of those who can release funds (usually referred to as economic influencers), those who use or supervise the use of your product or services (usually referred to as user buying influences), those who make recommendations and judgments (like gatekeepers) and coaches who can best guide you in the sale.
Behavioral style – Behavioral style refers to the logic that buyers use in making decisions. We typically refer to four main categories of behavior, including direct, outgoing, steady or easy-going and analytical.
Tracking information about customer behavioral styles can shed light on how to prepare for future meetings. Is the customer blunt and to the point, or analytical and detail-oriented?
Communication style – Communication style refers to the vehicle that customers prefer when sending and receiving information. Like behavioral styles, tracking this information will help you prepare for meetings and can even help you prioritize your sales calls.
Visual people need to see you more often than auditory or kinesthetic customers do. If you aren’t sure of your customer’s communication style, simply ask, "How do you prefer that I communicate the information to you? Would you prefer written communication, a phone call, or do you want me to stop by and walk you through it?"
Common objections – The old saying, "hindsight is 20-20" applies to customer likes and dislikes in particular. If history repeats itself, tracking this information can help salespeople avoid past mistakes.
Personal and business interests – Understanding each of your customers personally will increase your ability to build rapport and relationships.
Track information that customers reveal regarding hobbies, interests, family and anything else that they want you to know. Use this information to sincerely take interest in your customers.
Let customers know you think of them other than for the sale by inquiring about personal interests or jotting a note periodically.
Proposals and quotations – It’s important to keep accurate records or what was promised and what was acted upon. This is especially true in businesses where pricing is flexible and proposals are custom-designed.
The bottom line about customer information is that it’s only valuable to keep if you will use it in the future to either build sales or relationships.
If you decide that information is worthwhile keeping, the next question to ask yourself is, "where will I look for the information when I need it?" If you can answer that question, you’re in good shape!

Marcia Gauger is the president of Impact Sales, a performance improvement and training company with offices in Wisconsin, Florida and Arkansas. You can contact her at 262-642-9610 or marciag@makinganimpact.com. Her column appears in every other issue of SBT.

May 2, 2003 Small Business Times, Milwaukee

Optimistic investors inject $1.3 million into concrete-pumping business

Even as private and public project owners scale back on building plans and contractors here report a soft market, a group of out-of-state investors and a Wisconsin-based concrete pumping professional are betting on increased demand for pumped concrete.
Great Lakes Concrete Pumping Wisconsin was incorporated as a limited liability corporation last December and opened its doors in February. The West Allis company, which has invested $1.3 million in capital equipment, is owned by Richard Farrell and a group of investors based near Denver.
Farrell’s partners, Jeff Moll, Bob Rosendale and Pete DeGrood, own Southwest Concrete Pumping, which operates in Denver, Atlanta and Minneapolis.
The strength of the combined companies – coupled with favorable market projections from the Portland Cement Association, cause Farrell to be optimistic, despite a slow start.
"We had a pretty lousy February through March," Farrell said. "It was rainy and cold, compared with January and February."
Concrete pumping is a specialized way of delivering concrete into a form on a construction site. Concrete pumps push specialized concrete mixes through a lubricated pipe.
Great Lakes Concrete Pumping owns three pumps, but Farrell said that for larger jobs, additional equipment could be brought in from the Southwest Concrete Pumping fleet as needed. The company has already handled some significant jobs, including the 1,000-yard Elmbrook Hospital project for general contractor C.G. Schmidt.
The slow start – weather not withstanding – is not surprising, given figures cited by Portland Cement Association chief economist Ed Sullivan. Sullivan gathers a variety of data and predicts macro, construction-specific and concrete-specific trends for the US and specific markets.
According to Sullivan, Portland cement consumption will decline this year in Wisconsin.
"We have it declining in 2003, in part because of Wisconsin’s exposure to manufacturing," Sullivan said. "It is not expected to pick up until the second half of the year. Then we have it increasing 1.2 and 1.9 percent as you move further out in the horizon."
Farrell also cites anecdotal evidence of ongoing demand for pumped concrete, specifically in the residential market.
"A number of years ago, 90% of the homes built were concrete block," Rosendale said. "Now, 90% have poured walls versus blocks."
Bob Stelter, chief financial officer of Bentley Construction Co., Milwaukee, agrees with Farrell about the increasing popularity of concrete pumping versus block for residential construction, in part because it is harder to find brick masons to lay block walls for a basement.
However, Stelter, who also serves as president of Associated General Contractors (AGC) of Greater Milwaukee, cautions against placing too much emphasis on any specific construction market indicator as a basis of predicting the future.
For his own edification, Stelter looks to data collected by AGC chief economist Ken Simonson. Simonson provides regional reports, dividing the country up by Federal Reserve office. Southeastern Wisconsin technically falls into the Chicago Fed territory, which presents challenges.
"I try to blend between the Chicago and Minneapolis forecasts," Stelter said.
Because of its reliance on manufacturing, the economic wind might blow differently in Wisconsin than in neighboring markets, according to Sullivan. The economy here may even react differently to economic forces than other manufacturing-heavy states.
"If I recall, compared with the national average, the Wisconsin manufacturing base has more exposure to the export markets than say Michigan, which is basically servicing the domestic auto market," Sullivan said, pointing to the large number of job shops and smaller manufacturers in Wisconsin. "It is possible that the manufacturing base in Wisconsin may lag the manufacturing recovery that you might see nationally."