Controlling the showroom selling process: Increase sales, profits and save time

BY PETER SCHOR
Showroom specialist

To refresh your memory, the profound three keys to wholesaler showroom success are:

1. Qualifying clients
2. Determining who sent the client to your showroom
3. Determining who is buying the product.

“The Greeting” is the two-minute bonding process. Then come qualifying/questioning, building rapport and listening. Remember that the qualifying/questioning process is for people who are doing a full bath or more and not for someone picking out a towel bar. Building rapport in the early stage of the process is the key to success when you are giving up valuable hours of your time to spend with the client. It is much harder to walk away from someone in a relationship.
This month’s column is about “controlling the process,” which is the fourth key to success in today’s showrooms. This is based on some the most financially successful and acclaimed bath, plumbing and decorative hardware showrooms in the U.S. and Canada. I grant you, though, that not every single potential client fits into the process.

The process of speeding up the selection

The client walks in with a set of architectural plans for a remodel. You allow them to walk around to get acclimated to your showroom’s product and, when the time is right, you go through the greeting (bonding) and the first three steps of the process.

The client then proceeds to tell you that they are here today to pick out all of the bath/plumbing finished products for their new home. Regardless of how slow the showroom is at this time, you should proceed to tell the client that you do this by appointment only because it takes time to put everything together the right way.

Most very successful showrooms will have a three- to four-day time lapse between the original meeting and the planned appointment. This allows you to do the following things that will ultimately save time and produce greater results:

• Call the person who referred the client and cover the unanswered questions, such as budgets, the stage of construction and who is buying the product.

• Ask for a set of plans before you meet. Make a complete take-off of all the products drawn in the baths, kitchens and other areas that you supply on what successful showrooms call a “pre-printed take-off product — long form.”

Example: Master bath. Plans for lavatories — quantity, description and style — should be left open for the meeting. Plan the bath accessories, such as towel bars, just as you would if using the bath yourself. Make notes on any products you sell that are not in the plans, such as air massage/whirlpool tubs, steam shower, towel warmers, shower doors, towel bars, etc. For detailed information on using a “long form” to sell more product and bigger packages, log on to www.thewholesaler.com. Go to Archives and click on 2007. Go to the May 2007 showroom column and print out a PDF of the article. The information is all there.

Some very successful showrooms explain to consumers of large remodels that they would be glad to work with them by quoting the retail price only and having the builder’s wholesale price on file. Consumers are told that when a builder calls for bidding their home, you will give them the retail price and the wholesale package price. The builder will be told about any unusual plumbing specialties that were selected, such as a steam unit or an air massage tub, as well as about products that may be in the non-plumbing budget, such as towel bars or shower doors. The key is that the written quote does not leave the showroom with the consumer or that the builder bidding does not get a breakdown copy. Tell the consumer about this “win-win” situation before your begin.

When a builder gets the job and calls for the wholesale quote, ask which plumbers will be bidding the job.
Remember, you did not charge a fee for your services, the consumer got value, and you are entitled to get the order. In complete openness, there are many, many other tools and tips and secrets in the above paragraph that would go into several articles on this subject. A good example is a Win-Win Philosophy, which is, “I will give you what you want if you give me what I want.”

Here are some time-saving showrooms tips and secrets to speed up the selection process:

• 10-80-10 Showroom Rule. You know the 80/20 rule: 20% of your clients make 80% of your volume, or 20% of your inventory moves 80% of the time. The 10-80-10 showroom rule says, “Concentrate on your 80% target market client.” 10% on either side of the 80% are clients that may be
D-I-Yers and should be sent to a home center; others want retail services and wholesale prices; some clients are never satisfied and can be trouble.

• Qualifying clients. Good qualifying skills are the key. Unless you are closing 75% of the sales you must take a good look at how deep you are using the qualifying process. Numerous showroom people have told me about the one that was a “sure order” but turned sour after the clients got hours of service and expertise. Remember: The American Dream for most people is “retail services and wholesale prices.” Even in these tough times, this works.

• Chart traffic hours. Take two weeks of showroom hours and keep track of the exact time people come to your showroom. Then, for each time, add up the number of quality customers and divide that number by two weeks of working days. You will be able to determine what time to do quotes and when to expect heavy traffic. (Yes, I know there is always the exception to the rule, when 10 people walk in at 4:00 p.m.)

• Schedule appointments. Schedule product selection meetings with your client at your slowest traffic times. Remember, you must stay in control of your time.

• Produce a showroom flyer. How does your showroom work? Every showroom should have a marketing sheet available to explain the details; i.e., days, hours, years in business, guidelines for planning appointments, etc. This sheet should be available at the entrance. I was visiting a high-end client’s luxury showroom where we put in a greeting/waiting room with a couch and fireplace. The area had much information (awards, certifications, trainings) on the company to raise the client’s expectations before the selection meeting. The receptionist greeted the couple, offered them a soft drink and turned on a four-minute professional video explaining the showroom’s professional services.

• Educate professional trades on how your showroom works and on your selection process.

• Establish a consumer-friendly website: This is a must.

• Have silent sales aids available. Shorten the selection process by having a small library of books and magazines that will help clients identify what they want without taking your valuable time. Several successful showrooms have pre-made literature packages for bath/kitchen remodeling and for complete homes. These packages are exceptionally helpful for clients who are overwhelmed by the choices or who may not have their partner present. Many of these packages have a $25 cost, which is put on the client’s credit card but not charged until the literature is returned. This assures you that the client will return the literature and must talk to you again. The credit card charge is put through if the package is not returned in 30 days.

• Have a planning table. I see too many showrooms without a place for four people to sit down with a set of architectural plans after they have walked the showroom to make preliminary selections. A good planning table should be located in the center of the hub of the showroom

• Display at least one complete matching faucet and accessories series. We are talking about a widespread, centerset, single hole faucet; a roman tub set; a wall mount tub set; a shower set; towel bars and all the other accessories, including cabinet and door hardware. When a client picks out a lavatory set and finish for a specific bath, you could offer to provide all of the components required by the plans, including accessories such as those in the matching series on display.

Remember: The keys to increasing your sales dramatically are to sell bigger packages, to take control of the process of selling the package and to identify the products consumers really want before they are told differently.

Send me an e-mail about your biggest challenges and the obstacles in your showroom, and I will address them in my monthly column. I will also send you a free copy of my book Pillars of Success.

 

Peter Schor, president of Dynamic Results Inc, is a bath/plumbing industry speaker, educator, author, columnist and consultant in the many segments of our industry. For the past 20 years, he conducted seminars and speaks at numerous conventions. Schor has great expertise in the field of showrooms and hotel bathrooms and has won many industry awards. He also consults manufacturers in taking their products to market in the areas of sales, marketing and public relations. Schor can be reached at 1302 Longhorn Lane, Lincoln, CA. 95648, phone 916/408-5346, fax: 916/408-5899. e-mail pschor@dynamicresultsinc.com or visit his web site: www.dynamicresultsonline.com.