Frequently Asked Questions

Local lumber and building material (LBM) dealers and their personnel have always been a trusted source of information about new building products.

The Certified Green Dealer (CGD) program is a Web-based, distance-learning educational certification effort created by LBM Journal magazine and its corporate partners in response to the exploding interest by both consumers and builders in learning about and using “green building” and green products.

Participating LBM dealers can achieve CGD certification after the program authenticates (through online audits) that 75% of the dealer’s personnel who have direct sales contact with builders or contractors have audited at least eight educational Web-based videos produced by the program. The video archive will initially have 12 videos for users to choose from, and will eventually grow to 24. Each video is “lunch” length—under 30 minutes—and provides a wide range of baseline information about green building and, more specifically, about product choices that contractors can make to go green.

Upon successful completion of the CGD program, participating dealers can brand themselves and their employees in their advertising and marketing as “certified” sources of green products and information.

Since green products generally tend to be premium products, the CGD videos can also serve as sales training for high-margin products, such as low-VOC paint, engineered lumber, formaldehyde-free sheetgoods, and zero-VOC adhesives.

LBM dealers of any size can participate in the training. Discounts are also available to multiple-location dealer yards.

CGD will also supply each participating dealer with:

A CGD Tool Box that contains:

1. Printed material to accompany the Web-based videos.
2. Branded information about underwriters’ green products.
3. 3. A Quick Start Guide with printed versions of the basic information contained in each Web video needed to get started with the Web-based video training.
4. A Quick Reference Green Facts pocket guide that lists leading green products by category and offers suggestions on greener choices to recommend to customers.
5. “Top 10 Ways To Go Green,” with product stocking recommendations that LBM dealers can implement in their businesses to immediately capture green business.
6. LBM dealers that receive CGD certification also receive a digital version of a “We’re a Certified Green Dealer™” logo that the LBM dealer can use in brochures, mailings, print ads, and other public collateral (e.g. banners ads at trade shows, sporting events, and fairs).

The cost is $899 per dealer location for training up to 25 salespeople on green building through the CGD Web-video archive for one year and the right to receive the CGD Tool Box (contents listed above) with educational provisions. (If you wish to train more than 25 salespeople at any one location, additional registrations are available for an additional fee.) The initial charge is the only fee an LBM dealer will pay to access the Program for one year, unless it chooses to pay a yearly maintenance fee of $599 per location to maintain its certification for subsequent years and ensure its access to the constantly updated Web-video archive, and a continued license to use the Program’s logo, which will be updated yearly.

If the LBM dealership complies with the Program requirements, it will receive a high-resolution CGD logo (via email) to use in any and all of its marketing, so it can announce its Certified status.

Click on the Join Now link (also found in in the left-hand menu on the Welcome page) to find the correct contact information. Contact us today and our operations managers will guide you through the sign-up process.

Videos for each course can be viewed in under 30 minutes.

Topics in the video archive include a wide range of subjects. The main segments of the program fall into these categories, all of which address both “green” building techniques and products, as well as best-practices building information.

CGD Program Introduction
What Green Means to LBM Dealers?
Mold
Roofing
Windows
Air Sealing
Flashing & Sealing
Cladding
Insulation

For instance, in the Windows segment, viewers are instructed in how to understand, explain, and upsell based on recommendations from both the National Fenestration Institute and the AAMA.

After watching each video, registered users will have access to the Quiz. Click on the Quiz link associated with each course. An online quiz of 10 questions will reinforce the main lessons from the video. An online quiz of 10 unique questions will reinforce the main lessons from the video. Users will answer the Quiz in a multiple-choice format. Each response will prompt a summary that will offer guidance for the question, and model appropriate responses to customers. At the conclusion of the eight courses, users will take a Final Exam to reinforce information from all the training segments and to complete their certification.

Email us at operations@lbmjournal.com

Email us at operations@lbmjournal.com

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You may email us for assistance at operations@lbmjournal.com

Email us at operations@lbmjournal.com