The Kitchen Sales Coach Issue #22 - Vendor Support is a Key Asset
By Robert Foltz, CKD
Do your product vendors, their representatives, and their support team provide added value to your business? When overall business is down, are they running around town setting up new dealers or are they coming in and talking to you about expanding your market share? In this time of "The Mighty Middle Sales Decline," support from your vendors can be a key asset to your business' success and growth. Yes, I said growth! Most good companies will grow in 'contraction' periods. A slowdown in the economy frees up time for you to test new systems and expand your market share while your competitors are sitting back and griping.
It should not matter the volume that you're doing with any vendor. A customer is a customer-period. I used to train my sales staff that every customer service experience that's outstanding leads to referrals no matter what the size of the job. Business is business and small profit dollars add up to big profit dollars-as long as the percentage is right for your business; smaller jobs should have a 5 to 10 percent higher gross margin.
Does your vendor make it easy for you to buy from them? Vendors with websites that make online purchasing easy simplify your job and help you to manage your time. For example, www.richelieu.com is one of the best websites for all of those add-ons to make your job easier and more profitable. Hardware, lighting, sinks, and faucets are easy to find, price, and buy. The site not only gives you the ability to shop, print spec sheets, and check pricing, but it also tracks your delivery.
I'm offering one-on-one training on how to use this website for my Florida dealers. Do your representatives do the same? Demand more service and they should respond quickly. You should give your hard-earned dollars to companies that provide the most efficient means for you to complete your jobs!
Cabinet vendor websites should be easy for a potential client to go and look at all the door styles, finishes and become familiar with the construction and philosophy of the cabinets you're recommending. Right now, some of you are saying, There's no way I'm allowing my prospects to view the cabinet website, because then they can find the other dealers and it will confuse the issue." Think about this: if haven't built trust with your customer and haven't done a proper job of "taking them off the market" with your design or problem-solving approach to their concerns, then you're just a product supplier!
If you have a new salesperson or order writing technical support person, your vendor's representative should be walking that person through their first order, checking the acknowledgement, and even meeting the truck to make sure everything is just right. This value added service will cut down on your mistakes and overhead expenses.
The bottom line here, is that you, your vendor, and your vendor's representative are a team. Your vendor should be as supportive of your business as you are of his. This is a team effort, and a partnership. When you change your thinking about a vendor simply being a product supplier, and start expecting a 'team' attitude, quickly you'll see who's on your team to provide you the support you need to put together your customers dream project.
The NKBA as a Valued Resource
As we discuss resources and team building that will provide your customers with the best products and services you can offer, remember the largest association in our industry: the National Kitchen & Bath Association. I won't bore you with a lot of statistics and bulleted reasons why you should participate -just this one point-you get out of it what you put into it. Put more into this resource so it will inspire your resourcefulness!
Over the last 24 years, I've made friends and contacts across the country that inspire me and help me with ideas, in addition to learning processes to enhance my business. If you're a member of a buying group, the NKBA is an enhancement of the services you're already receiving. Buying groups only make up about 10 percent of the current NKBA membership, however (members are dual members). I've used NKBA meetings to find employees and employers, as well as to find out where jobs I've lost ended up and why. It's a great resource for top dealers to network and learn from each other.
The new NKBA website is easier to navigate and much better looking, in my opinion. I've only begun to scratch the surface in my exploration of the site at NKBA.org.
It amazes me how many vendors don't go to NKBA meetings. Representatives say they're too busy dealing with the leading buyers in their communities. What's that? Their leading buyers are usually attending NKBA meetings and it's a great time to have an informal discussion that may end up expanding both businesses.
If you're operating at the upper end of the kitchen and bath business, I've heard that the NKBA is too "pedestrian or lower end for my business"-PLEAAASE. What's that? That's like saying you already know so much, you can't learn any more...open your mind to new ideas, or even to recycle old ideas that can be easily adapted to your business model.
When you open your mind to receiving new information, or even relearning old information, it's amazing the transformation that takes place within your business mindset. Ideas are looked at positively and with a positive "How can I make this work" attitude, instead of a negative "I already tried that once" attitude.
My first webinars have been a real learning experience. I made some mistakes and they have not gone as smoothly as I would have liked. However, instead of giving up, I'm adapting and changing for the better. For example, I don't like talking into a "dead space" with Go2Webinar. If you have more than 15 people sign up, you can't let everyone talk. From now on, I'm making panelists out of the first 15 people that sign up and we'll hold a lively discussion. Also, I am holding one-on-one Go2Meetings with individual companies with less than 15 participants. Instead of giving up on the idea, I'm adapting.
Take a second look at your local NKBA chapter, go to every meeting, and be involved. You'll find it to be a valuable resource and tool for ideas, market information and great friends over the long run.
About Robert Foltz, CKD
Robert Foltz, CKD is experienced in all areas of the retail kitchen and bath business. As a manufacturers' representative, his experience and expertise can help improve your business. He also works as a sales trainer, consultant, and personal coach.
With 23 years of experience in every area of the kitchen business, he has personally experienced the most common mistakes all business owners and sales people make. He has used that experience to develop a formula that will help you avoid those common mistakes and to dramatically accelerate your success.
Robert can be reached at and his work can be seen on www.KitchenSalesCoach.com.