# TLC Declining Account Recovery Playbook
## A Field Guide for Neal, Denise & Joe's Outside Sales Team
*Prepared by Rob Lobster 🦞 | April 2, 2026*

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## The Problem

TLC's customer concentration analysis (Mar 26) identified accounts that have declined in purchasing volume. In the lumber/hardware business, a declining account isn't just lost revenue — it's a relationship walking out the door. Contractors don't leave because of one bad experience; they leave because someone else made it easier.

**The math is simple:** Recovering a $50K/year contractor account costs 10x less than finding a new one. Every account Neal and Denise win back is pure margin because the relationship infrastructure already exists.

## The 5-Step Win-Back System

### Step 1: Identify & Classify (Week 1)

Run these Epicor Eagle reports:
- **Customer Sales History by Period** — Compare YTD 2026 vs. same period 2025 and 2024
- **Inactive Customer Report** — Accounts with no purchases in 60+ days
- **Declining Spend Report** — Accounts spending 25%+ less than prior year average

**Classify each declining account:**

| Tier | Annual Spend | Priority | Action |
|------|-------------|----------|--------|
| A | $100K+ | CRITICAL — Joe calls personally | Within 48 hours |
| B | $50K-$100K | HIGH — Neal/Denise visit in person | Within 1 week |
| C | $25K-$50K | MEDIUM — Phone call + follow-up | Within 2 weeks |
| D | Under $25K | STANDARD — Email + offer | Within 30 days |

### Step 2: The Discovery Call Framework (Before You Sell, Listen)

**The Golden Rule:** The first call is NOT a sales call. It's a listening call.

**Opening script (adapt to your style):**
> "Hey [Name], it's [Neal/Denise] from TLC. I noticed we haven't seen you as much lately and wanted to check in — not to sell you anything, just to see how your season's shaping up and if there's anything we dropped the ball on."

**Discovery Questions (in order):**
1. "How's your project pipeline looking for spring/summer?" *(gauge their business health)*
2. "Are you getting everything you need from us, or have there been any frustrations?" *(open the door to honest feedback)*
3. "I know pricing's been all over the place with lumber — are you seeing better numbers somewhere else?" *(directly address the elephant)*
4. "What would make it easier for you to keep buying through us?" *(let them tell you the answer)*
5. "Anything coming up in the next 30 days where we can quote you?" *(bridge to action)*

**What you're listening for:**
- Price complaints → competitor undercutting (need specific data)
- Delivery frustrations → operations problem to fix
- Account service gaps → someone's not returning calls
- Business downturn → they're just building less (be supportive, stay close)
- Relationship loss → key contact left or changed

### Step 3: The Win-Back Offer Menu

Based on what you learn in discovery, deploy the right offer:

#### For Price-Sensitive Accounts
- **Job-quote pricing** on their next 3 projects — match or beat competitor quotes with a 3% TLC loyalty advantage
- **Volume commitment deal:** Lock in preferred pricing for $X/month guaranteed spend
- **Bundle pricing:** Lumber + Benjamin Moore paint + fasteners packaged vs. à la carte

#### For Service-Frustrated Accounts
- **Priority delivery slot** — dedicated AM delivery window for their job sites
- **Named account manager** — one person they call, period. No more "who do I talk to?"
- **Boom truck scheduling priority** — guaranteed same-day/next-day for Tier A/B accounts

#### For Relationship-Lost Accounts
- **Face-to-face job site visit** — bring donuts, see what they're building, reconnect
- **Invite to TLC events** — contractor appreciation BBQ, new product demos, seasonal kickoffs
- **Personal note from Joe** — handwritten card thanking them for their years of business. This one is nuclear-grade relationship repair.

#### For "Gone to Big Box" Accounts
- **Total cost analysis** — show them what Home Depot/Lowe's ACTUALLY costs when you factor in: no delivery, no cut-to-order, no boom truck, no account billing, no trade expertise
- **The "TLC Guarantee"** — if we don't beat their total project cost (including their time at the big box), we'll match it

### Step 4: The 30-60-90 Follow-Up Cadence

**After the discovery call, DO NOT go silent.** This is where most win-backs fail.

**Day 1-3:** Send a follow-up email/text summarizing what you discussed and what TLC is doing to fix it
**Day 7:** Call to check — "Did that delivery work out? Everything good?"
**Day 14:** Drop off a small gift at the job site (TLC branded hat, koozie, tape measure — something useful)
**Day 30:** "How's the month been? Ready to quote your next project?"
**Day 60:** Check Epicor — is their spend trending back up? If yes, thank them. If no, another call.
**Day 90:** Full account review. If they're back, celebrate it. If not, escalate to Joe.

### Step 5: Track & Report

**Weekly Win-Back Tracker (for Neal & Denise to report every Monday):**
- Accounts contacted this week: ___
- Accounts with positive response: ___
- Quotes sent: ___
- Orders placed from win-back accounts: ___
- Key competitor intelligence gathered: ___

**Monthly Recovery Metrics (for Joe's review):**
- Total declining accounts at start of month: ___
- Accounts contacted: ___
- Accounts showing recovery (spend trending up): ___
- Accounts confirmed lost (and reason): ___
- New revenue captured from recovered accounts: $___

## Competitor Intelligence Framework

Every discovery call is also an intel-gathering opportunity. Track:

| Data Point | Why It Matters |
|-----------|---------------|
| Who they're buying from instead | Identifies primary competitors |
| What pricing they're getting | Calibrates TLC's market position |
| Delivery terms offered | Reveals service gaps |
| Credit terms offered | Shows financial pressure points |
| Product quality issues at competitor | TLC's quality advantage is real |

**Build a competitive price matrix over 30 days.** After 10-15 conversations, TLC will have better competitive intelligence than any market report could provide.

### Known Competitors to Monitor
- **Home Depot Pro / Lowe's for Pros** — big box "pro desks" trying to pull contractors
- **Local competitors** — identify any new entrants or aggressive players in Ocean County
- **Direct-from-manufacturer** — some larger contractors buy direct, bypassing yards entirely

## The Spring Timing Advantage

**Right now — April 2026 — is the BEST time to execute this playbook.**

Why:
1. **Season is starting.** Contractors are placing their first big orders. Win them NOW before they commit elsewhere for the summer.
2. **March-August is TLC's residential margin window.** Seasonal homeowner projects are starting. If a contractor is doing renos for summer people, they need material NOW.
3. **LBI construction pipeline is strong.** Ocean County permits up 47% (our Mar 30 building permit analysis). There's more work, which means more material demand.
4. **Competitors are staffing up.** Big box pro desks are often understaffed in early spring. TLC's personal service advantage is widest right now.

## Specific Targets from Customer Concentration Analysis

*(Joe should review the full customer concentration analysis from Mar 26 and flag the top 10 declining accounts for immediate outreach. Names from the Epicor data should go here.)*

**Action for Joe:** Pull the top 10 declining accounts from Epicor, rank them by prior-year spend, and hand the list to Neal and Denise with this playbook by **Friday, April 3.**

## Rob's Note to Neal & Denise

The contractors you're calling aren't strangers. They're guys who've bought from TLC for years. Most of them didn't leave because they're angry — they left because it was just slightly easier somewhere else. Your job isn't to sell them lumber. It's to remind them why TLC is different: you answer the phone, you know their name, you deliver on time, and Bob will boom anything to any rooftop on the island.

That's worth more than saving $50 on a pallet of 2x4s.

Make good decisions. 🦞

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*Filed: projects/tlc-declining-account-recovery-playbook.md*
*Related: Customer Concentration Risk Analysis (Mar 26)*