Pick One Target And Play The Long Game: Todd Tomalak at the WDMA Executive Management Conference

About This Episode.

A soft market can fool you into thinking nothing’s moving. Under the surface, single-family starts are edging up, mortgage pressure is easing, and homeowners are about to unlock record equity, shifting windows and doors from isolated upgrades into bigger, General Contractor led projects. I sit down with Todd Tomalak to decode what’s next and how brands can earn the only verdict that matters: the contractor’s yes at the kitchen table.

We break down why fenestration often loses to visible bundles like kitchens, and what it takes to win anyway: reduce friction, ship on time, and make installation boring, in the best way. Todd connects today’s volatility to a 1974 “lumber recession” playbook, where tail events shattered loyalties and market share moved fast. Expect more pro veto moments, where installers override plans based on what actually works on site. That’s where margins live, and where the few who master complexity will lead when demand rebounds.

Search has changed too. Pros and homeowners now ask long, specific questions to YouTube, Instagram, and AI assistants. We share practical ways to audit how GPT frames your brand, craft niche content that ranks for real prompts, and position yourself as the credible alternative when the first choice falls short. The strategy is simple and hard: pick one target, go deep, and become unmistakable to the buyers who matter most.

Topics we covered

• • Macro softness and rising single-family starts outlook
• • Windows and doors losing to visible upgrade bundles
• • Contractor labor tightness and the power of pro veto
• • Brand loyalty shaken by tail events and reliability gaps
• • Parallels to 1974 and the coming market share swaps
• • Home equity extraction fueling larger, GC-led remodels
• • Search shifting to YouTube, Instagram and AI assistants
• • How GPT frames brands and why that matters for recommendations
• • Niche strategy for remodel complexity and margin
• • Practical steps to be named first at the kitchen table