LBM Talks

In July of 2024, LBM sales columnist Bill Lee wrote an article for LBM Journal titled, "The LBM Salesperson's Role in Collections."In this episode, Bill joins Thea to discuss his column. Some topics they touch on include why salespeople feel incompetent to collect, if salespeople should receive commissions on uncollected accounts, training for salespeople, and more.Read Bill's column here: https://lbmjournal.com/the-lbm-salespersons-role-in-collections/

Instagram receives roughly 2 billion users every month and ranks as the third most popular social media platform in the world, right behind Facebook and YouTube.In this episode, we discuss Instagram's roots as a visual platform, strategy for video, and best practices for the app.Let us know what you think and thanks for tuning in!Articles mentioned in the episode:https://sproutsocial.com/insights/instagram-best-practices/https://sproutsocial.com/insights/instagram-stats/

Andy Ruwe is the Vice President of Inside Sales at Cameron Ashley Building Products and longtime friend of Thea Dudley.For 25 years, Thea and Andy worked together at Cameron Ashley and in this episode they discuss why their relationship worked. Andy shares the mindset sales leaders should have regarding their credit department and that taking a collaborative, problem solving approach to their credit manager will help them close more sales.For all podcast related questions, email thea@creditoverlord.com. Leave a comment with your thoughts below! Thanks for tuning in.

This week's episode is a candid conversation about social media management and strategy between two, passionate social media managers.Noah Shackelford is the Marketing Manager at Jonesville Lumber, a one location lumberyard located in Jonesville, MI. After seeing several engaging reels from them on my Facebook feed, I was so glad he agreed to join me for an episode.Noah not only understands brand management and marketing, but he believes in the impact of social media and is great at what he does. We hope you enjoy this episode. Don't forget to look up their work on Facebook!

Customers will handle their business financials the same way they handle their personal. Get to know them to better assess your risk.Today's guest is Chelse Hounshell, a self employed budget coach and friend of Thea Dudley. In this episode, Thea and Chelse discuss the overlap between personal and professional finance, stigma around money, knowing the financial habits of potential customers before doing business, and more money insights for Credit Managers.Learn more about Chelse and her business at joyfulmoneyspend.com, and learn more about our sponsor Nuvo at nuvo.com.

Andrew Beasley is the Marketing Coordinator for Grant Home Hardware Building Centres, three building center stores located in northern Ontario.About four months ago, Andrew and his team had an Instagram video go viral, which put them on our radar. After finding several other original, creative reels on their social media accounts, Sally reached out to see if they would join us  on the podcast.In this episode, Sally and Andrew discuss what strategies work on social media, the inspiration for their original content, the effects of a viral video, encouraging coworkers to participate in content, and more. Tune in for an insightful episode with a business that understands social media.Check out their work @granthomehardware on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok.Leave your thoughts in the comments below!

What started out as a conversation about unnecessary and confusing tech jargon quickly turned into a substantial discussion with Nuvo's CEO, Sid Malladi, and Head of Partnerships, David Fulham. Tune into this episode with three credit industry professionals to discuss the onboarding process, its effects on customer relationships, understanding DSO, and strategies to improve these processes.If you're looking for a faster and smarter way to onboard customers, check out Nuvo. Reach either David or Sid with questions by emailing david@nuvo.com or sid@nuvo.com. As always, send all podcast related inquiries to thea@creditoverlord.com and don't forget to leave us your thoughts!

In July, LBM Journal highlighted Woods Lumber on Facebook, and we were astounded at the response. Hundreds of people liked, shared, and commented on the posts, so naturally, we reached out for them to join us on the podcast.Katy Woods, Social Media Manager at Woods Lumber, joined us for this episode to discuss the strong community connections Woods Lumber has, why Facebook is their best performing platform, and what kind of content their audience enjoys most.Thank you for being here and don't forget to leave your thoughts in the comments!

This episode of LBM Talks Credit contains information regarding cyber security that every credit manager and business professional should hear...Thea's guest, Joe Bonanno, is the President and Co-Founder of Archetype SC, a full service digital development, big data, and IT security company.From horror stories to practical advice, this episode will leave you with a broader knowledge of potential threats and strategies to protect your company, and yourself, from digital scams.Don't forget to check out our sponsorer Nuvo, and leave a comment with your thoughts on the episode!Article mentioned: https://www.archetypesc.com/why-a-password-manager-beats-relying-on-memory/

Kayla Fearing is the Director of Marketing for Hilltop Lumber, a four location LBM dealer located in central Minnesota.Hilltop Lumber uses social media to connect with their customers, community, share news, and personalize their brand.In this episode, Kayla and Sally discuss Hilltop's best performing social media content, their success with Facebook, getting employees to participate in content, and the fast-paced nature of social media.Please send all podcast related inquiries to sally@lbmjournal.com and don't forget to leave your thoughts in the comments!

Jon Flora, CEO at NACM Seattle BCS, is back for another episode of LBM Talks Credit.It seems like credit managers everywhere are drowning. No time for work, no time for webinars, conferences, training, implementing new systems, etc. If this is you, tune into this episode for Thea and Jon's candid response about why this is the case and how to reclaim your time.A big thanks to Nuvo for being the official sponsor of LBM Talks Credit.

The social media algorithms are constantly changing, giving them the mystique of being unknowable. But the fact is, they are understandable, and despite their changing nature, their purpose generally remains the same. Tune into this solo episode for information on what algorithms are, how they operate on different platforms, and how you can harness them.Leave a comment with your thoughts or contact me at sally@lbmjournal.com.

This week's guest on LBM Talks Credit is Kelly Franklin. Kelly is a former Credit Manager and the current President of Building Material Suppliers Association (BMSA).This episode explores Kelly's journey as a Credit Manager, the challenges and lessons she learned in that role, her opportunity to pivot with BMSA, and how her skills as a Credit Manager apply to her new role.Wherever you're at in your career, this episode will highlight the fact that you can evolve any way you want as long as you keep your eyes out for new opportunities.Check out our sponserer, Nuvo! Nuvo replaces manual forms with AI-powered application flows, real-time business and principal identity verification, and embedded credit insights—enabling confident decisions that protect and grow your business.Please send all podcast inquiries to thea@creditoverlord.com.

Dave Ables is the Owner and President of Tri-County Lumber Company, located in Clearwater, MN. Dave has nearly 30 years of experience in the trucking industry, 10 in hardware stores, and he is a consistent user of LinkedIn.Dave believes LinkedIn is a tool that can expand and improve his business through his network of connections. In this episode, Dave shares how he got his start on LinkedIn; it's use for recruiting; building relationships with vendors; reaching new customers; and more.We hope this episode will inspire you to leverage the power of this professional, social media platform. Enjoy.Connect with Dave: https://www.linkedin.com/in/daveables/Send all podcast inquires to sally@lbmjournal.com.And if you have't already, check out our awesome sponsorer PWT.

This episode of LBM Talks Credit is all about Credit Insurance. Thea is joined by Joe Ketzner, Regional Vice President, and Bobby Williams, Vice President of Business Information Sales, from Coface, a global credit insurance company.This episode includes information about what credit insurance is, how it works, and implementation mistakes to avoid.Reach out to Joe at joseph.ketzner@coface.com/610-203-4188or Bobby at bobby.williams@coface.com/902-494-9728A big thank you to PWT for sponsoring this episode. PWT is a manufacturer of premium engineered wood products (EWP) in North America.

In this episode, Sally is joined by Zach O'Brien, a fellow content marketer and social media manager. Zach is the Founder of Active NorCal, Northern California's Outdoor Magazine, providing news and features on outdoor lifestyles. In addition to growing Active NorCal's social media following to 200,000+ since its founding, Zach is the Head of Content for Niche Media; coordinates social media content for AIN Media Group; and is now the Founder and Head of Content Strategy for Stonethrow Media, a social media and content management agency.Zach and Sally touch on a plethora of topics including how Zach organically grew ActiveNorCal's Facebook and Instagram accounts, how social media marketing is tied to his business strategy, what "good" content on social media should include, the algorithm on each social media platform, and more.If you're interested in social media and content marketing, this episode is for you. Sally and Zach, both passionate content creators, have an in-depth conversation about this new marketing landscape and their experiences.Connect with Zach: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zachobrien/Please send all podcast related inquiries to sally@lbmjournal.com.Don't be shy... leave us a comment!

This episode of LBM Talks Credit features Amy Wallace and Alex Petrin from Wallace Building Center. After outsourcing their Credit Management for several years, Alex and Amy took this department in-house two years ago.In this episode, they share why they made the change; how they did it; and how it's going two years later. Tune in to hear their story.Reach out to Amy atamy@wallacebuildingcenter.com678-386-3608Reach out to Alex atalex@wallacebuildingcenter.com770-598-6894Send all podcast inquiries to thea@creditoverlord.com.

In this episode of LBM Talks Social Media, Amy Smiley, VP of Marketing & PR at 84 Lumber, shared the mentality and tactics that took them from their small social media presence in 2016 to roughly 700,000 followers on all their platforms combined in 2025.Key points Amy shared include the Super Bowl ad that skyrocketed their brand awareness, how innovation and remaining digitally current contributed to their growth, and the kind of themes their content is built around.This is a story of investing in the digital landscape and reaping its rewards.Thank you PWT for sponsoring this episode of LBM Talks Social Media.

In this episode of LBM Talks Credit, Thea shares multiples ways to act when a customer ghosts you. There's persistence, mechanics liens, Little Miller Act, small claims court, and more.If you've ever gotten ghosted by a customer right when you need them the most, you're not alone. Learn some new strategies in this episode then leave us a comment about a time you got ghosted.Contact Thea with any podcast related questions and comments at thea@creditoverlord.com.

Beth PopNikolov is the CEO of Venveo, a digital marketing agency that serves the LBM industry. In this episode, Beth discusses the importance of social media in our digital age, which content formats perform best on different platforms, content ideas for LBM dealers, and why individuals in your company should be utilizing LinkedIn.Tune in to this episode if you want to a better understanding of how social media affects your business, ways to use it, and creative ideas for content.