Cultivating professional trade group partnerships

BY PETER SCHOR
Showroom specialist

The farmer’s creed: “If you plant corn, you get corn; if you plant tomatoes, you get tomatoes, and if you plant nothing you get weeds!” Using some of the tools I’ve outlined in this article to cultivate the professional trades who buy or strongly specify bath/plumbing products will help you get better results.

For the past 20 years, I’ve conducted over 500 showroom and custom-tailored wholesaler, retailer and manufacturer training programs. I have also given over 500 CEU (college equivalent units) and NCIDG Approved (highest level) seminars for the professional trade group associations and local chapters. I have also spoken at their national conventions, served on panel discussions addressing their issues, and have asked trade professionals what they expect of you in the working relationship.

“Everything You Wanted to Know About Bathrooms and Never Asked! A Guide to Making $$” is a 6-hour CEU course -- along with many intermediate and advanced programs -- that has been given to ASID, IIDEA, NKBA, NAHB, NAHB Remodelors Council, NARI and PHCC Chapters across the U.S. for many years.

Many of these full-day courses have been hosted successfully by plumbing wholesalers and DPH showrooms. The full-day course is followed by an Open House cocktail party for the trades at the showroom. By sponsoring education to bridge the product knowledge gap between the trades/consumer and you, it is a win-win for all. Having knowledgeable trade partners creates a conduit between you and the consumers. Remember, the trades make “house calls,” showrooms usually don’t!

Remember the Three Profound Commandments of Successful Showrooms I’ve outlined in previous columns:

• Qualifying clients 
• Who sent the client in? 
• Who is buying the products? 

Today, any of the above trades listed can be the buyer. All of the other trades can give positive affirmation to the buying decisions. We’ve also talked about the fourth successful key in showrooms -- “controlling the process” to save precious time and have a higher rate of closing sales.

In every single professional trade segment, there are good and bad members. Please throw away your judgments if you want to be successful in working relationships. Yes, there is a difference between a professional interior designer and an interior decorator, just like a good and bad plumber.

If you are aiming for high-end luxury bath buyers, many hire professional interior designers, whom today are design/build. In other words, they buy bath/plumbing products, and subcontract the plumbing contractors.

Many professional trades have licensed C-36 plumbing contractors on the payroll while others sub-contract the plumbing contractor for labor only. If there any doubters on this, please send me an e-mail and I will send a strong point of authentication.

Many other associations and groups are a part of an industry specialized segment. A good example is the NEWH (National Executive Women in Hospitality). This is a powerful group that gets involved in the selection of bath/plumbing products for hotels, resorts, timeshare, spas and more.

Realtors have become an important influence and conduit for showroom traffic and indirect or direct business. Realtors sell homes by painting pictures of potential dreams (baths and kitchens); they constantly remodel their own baths and kitchens, and some realtors build and remodel homes for sale.

The top leaders of every trade group have confirmed that what I am going to tell you is necessary to have successful partnerships and better sales results. The bottom line of what you need to know is: Do not expect to reach maximum success by just joining and participating in Design Homes. The results come from establishing individual personal relationships and participation in their monthly events.

Here are some good collective tips, secrets and rules of thumb regarding success with the professional trade groups -- collectively and individually:

• Joining the local association -- Join as an Industry Foundation Partner (manufacturer/distributor), go on their website and click on their chapter map and attend a meeting of your nearest chapter. Most local chapters have their own websites that list chapter board executives, events and much more.
• Attending and participating -- Again, do not expect to get business from the group collectively or individually unless you attend the monthly meetings and participate in their other events. It will take establishing personal relationships to have real success. It is just as easy to make good personal friends and clients at the monthly trade group meetings as in your own neighborhood.
• Design Homes, Parade of Homes, Street of Dreams, etc. -- Contributing plumbing and bath products, whether at a reduced cost or free, will not alone buy you into the group. It takes one-on-one personal relationships. I encourage you to ask questions before you invest in such a project, such as: “How many people will go through this/these design homes?” and “Where and how many times will our company/manufacturers be acknowledged?” Get creative on ways to participate besides the goods.
• Table tops & display areas, monthly meetings and other events --  Most of the trade groups have 8’ table tops and display areas for Industry Foundation Partners (product sellers). The cost can range from $50 to $250 depending on the size of the chapter and the monthly turn-outs. Showroom promotional pieces, manufacturer literature and some small knock-dead faucets will work well. There are several times during a trade group monthly evening event when members will visit your table top. This is a great way to find out which trades do bathrooms and kitchens, such as interior designers. Quick tip and secret: If there are CEU NCIDQ Approved Programs (most day programs are) on baths, kitchens and other related areas, they do not allow table tops and displays within the room. You can have the table top or display right outside the room in the hallway. They have many breaks and will tell attendees to support the Industry Foundation Partners exhibiting.

Last month, I conducted a trade seminar at a two-day Florida ASID event with a mini trade show. There were over 2000+ in attendance and there were 75 10’ x 10’ booths. If I had not called and prodded one of my plumbing wholesaler clients to participate, there would have been no bath/plumbing or DPH showroom present. The 74 wholesalers and manufacturers were all in the “romancing the home” product field.

• Open Houses at your showroom -- Most of the events I have experienced at plumbing wholesaler showrooms have missed the mark. Professional trades will not give up their time for food and beverage only, or for a weak event that you honestly would not attend yourself if you did not work for your company. Sponsor an approved bath seminar/course or an event of true value followed by an Open House showroom theme where they can see, touch and feel the products in your showroom after the seminar. On the promotional piece and invitation for the event, note that there will be an Open House at your showroom with a 6:30 p.m. brief presentation on “How to Make Money with ABC Supply’s Showroom in 2008!” If the trade cannot attend the bath course, they will surely attend a presentation on how to make money with your showroom. You’d be amazed how many professional trades in your market do not know how to participate or work with your showroom. Many of these trades have taken the role of design/build/buy, and sub-contract the plumbing contractor.
• The plumbing contractor participation -- When I am conducting bath seminars for the trades, I am often asked “How does the plumbing contractor participate?” I have always advocated that “The plumbing contractor first.” For the balance, I have always advocated that the plumber share 10% of the profit, either through the plumbing wholesaler showroom, or through the professional trade buyer. This is prefaced by explaining that most middle to upscale luxury homes or remodeling projects today have the plumbing finished goods bid separated from the labor in advance. If this is done, the plumber is entitled to make a 10% profit for overseeing the proper installation. Once explained, most of the trades are in agreement. If the project was already bid with labor and the finished goods in a lump bid, the plumber has either been taught by me or other plumbing contractor educators to back out the profit they are losing on the allowance for the clients to buy their fixtures from others. In this scenario, the plumber should not be compensated, although who would refuse to make profit both ways. I am sure you wondered why the consumer fixture allowance is very low.
• Local trade group monthly chapter meetings -- Since professional trade groups are not money-making, many are strapped for cash to hire professional speakers for monthly programs. The exception is one or two major programs or events a year where I or others have been hired to conduct day and evening seminars and keynotes. I highly recommend for showrooms to partner with their manufacturers and manufacturers’ reps and come up with an exciting program on bath and kitchen trends; what’s new and hot in bath and kitchen products, and much more. It must be thoroughly entertaining with lots of value. The trade group will not accept a “commercial” type program. It must be something like “Bathroom Trends and Cutting Edge Products, given by John Doe of ABC Supply.” I developed a 45-minute scripted power point program called “Today’s Luxury Bathrooms and Trends” for a well-known bath manufacturer. This program was turn-keyed to their reps and many of their showrooms. Programs should be altered for each trade segment and from their point of view.
• Trade group conferences and expos -- Many trade groups have a once- or twice-a-year event with one to three days of educational programs and an Exhibitor Expo. These are great vehicles to show your wares. It is also a great place to network with other local home suppliers who serve the trades. Example: Lighting, appliances, windows, doors, tile, surface materials and much more.

I am sure that some of this information has some great value for you. Sit down, read the article again and write out an action plan. Chunk it down so it is not overwhelming and take daily/weekly steps toward better results.

If there are important issues you’d like me to address in this monthly column, please feel free to e-mail or fax me.

Peter Schor, president of Dynamic Results Inc., is an educator, motivational speaker, consultant, coach and writer in our industry and many diverse others. For the past 17 years, he has conducted 100 educational programs yearly, including 34 industry conventions. Schor has great expertise in the field of showrooms and has won many industry awards. He also works with manufacturers in the field of sales, marketing and public relations. Schor can be reached at 1491 Ivy Arbor, Lincoln, CA 95648, phone 916/408-5346, fax 916/408-5899, e-mail pschor@dynamicresultsinc.com or www.dynamicresultsonline.com.