LBM Journal May/June 2010 : Page 18
BOB BUCK & DAVE KLUN ON SELLING TO REMODELERS Develop Salespeople, Not People in Sales Remodel your current account base to align the right people with the right customers. B y now, reducing overhead and cut- ting costs have run their course as key strategies for LBM dealers to survive the recession. After all, there are only so many ways to re-organize depart- ments or reduce inventory. Companies who want to do more than simply survive need a strategy to improve the other side of the ledger sheet: growing sales revenues. Increasing your sales will not only en- able you to take a larger share of the cur- rent market, but also help to fine-tune your systems as the economy continues its climb out of the trenches. The first step to growing your sales is understanding your account base of cus- tomers, and one way to do that is to rate them on prior sales figures. In a larger yard, the following levels may be appro- priate: A) for over $100,000 in building material orders; B) for $25,000 to $100,000 and C) for less than $25,000. Ask yourself what the potential is for each of these segments for the coming year. In other words, what will your sales plan be for each of these customers? Chart their monthly sales over the last year to identify the changes in activity level for each account. Which accounts are be- coming more or less active? Are particular accounts specializing in certain product areas or demanding specific services? And don’t forget those remodelers who either don’t have an account with your yard or have an account with no activity. The potential sales growth with those re- modeling contractors can only go up. Now align your sales staff with the ac- counts. Generally it’s best to give each salesperson a mix of accounts, say 4 to 7 18 LBM JOURNAL ❘ May/June 2010 ❘ LBMJournal.com Marketing/Sales Operations Owner/Management Products Financial Sales Counter/City Desk of the A accounts; 8 to 10 of the B, and 12 to 15 of the C. (This has less to do with the exact number of accounts than in pro- viding each salesperson with an assortment of companies to handle. The capacity of each sales person will vary as well. Some have the drive or the time management skills to handle more accounts. Adjust their account base accordingly.) Now evaluate your sales force. Team the best sales staff with each prospect. Consid- er the skill sets for each sales person within the categories of product knowledge, tech- nical expertise and industry experience. For instance, have any of your salespeople toured a manufacturer, lumber mill or I-joist plant? Conveying that hands-on information back to the customer can have great value. The technical side of things could con- sist of beam calculations, floor loads, wind shear walls for windows, how much con- crete goes in post holes given their size and depth and so on. This is a bit deeper than product knowledge and allows salespeople to differentiate themselves accordingly. Equally important is individual industry ex- perience, as this helps build credibility with customers in a shorter period of time. Use the above information to help your business target remodeling accounts and assign sales staff to your current accounts. Does each sales person have a healthy spread of account sizes? Team a remodel- er who specializes in window installations with a salesperson who has the background and expertise to service their needs quick- ly and efficiently. Decide which of your salespeople have the drive and hunger to best revive inactive accounts or turn cold calls into new accounts. Your sales force is a team and as such, each member should be aware of how they operate within the team. Providing as- signments that play to their strengths and partnering them with the right accounts will increase sales. ■ DAVE KLUN is VP of marketing and sales for The Remodelers Choice, a Minneapolis- based LBM dealer focused exclusively on serving remodelers. Reach Dave at dave.klun@theremodelerschoice.com. BOB BUCK is co-owner of Buck Brothers Construction, a professional remodeling firm in Minneapolis-St. Paul that focuses on mid- to high-end homes. Reach Bob at bob@buck-bros.com.
Bob Buck & Dave Klun
By now, reducing overhead and cutting costs have run their course as key strategies for LBM dealers to survive the recession. After all, there are only so many ways to re-organize departments or reduce inventory. Companies who want to do more than simply survive need a strategy to improve the other side of the ledger sheet: growing sales revenues.
Increasing your sales will not only enable you to take a larger share of the current market, but also help to fine-tune your systems as the economy continues its climb out of the trenches.
The first step to growing your sales is understanding your account base of customers, and one way to do that is to rate them on prior sales figures. In a larger yard, the following levels may be appropriate:
A) for over $100,000 in building material orders; B) for $25,000 to $100,000 and C) for less than $25,000.
Ask yourself what the potential is for each of these segments for the coming year. In other words, what will your sales plan be for each of these customers? Chart their monthly sales over the last year to identify the changes in activity level for each account. Which accounts are becoming more or less active? Are particular accounts specializing in certain product areas or demanding specific services?
And don’t forget those remodelers who either don’t have an account with your yard or have an account with no activity.
The potential sales growth with those remodeling contractors can only go up.
Now align your sales staff with the accounts.
Generally it’s best to give each salesperson a mix of accounts, say 4 to 7Of the A accounts; 8 to 10 of the B, and 12 to 15 of the C. (This has less to do with the exact number of accounts than in providing each salesperson with an assortment of companies to handle. The capacity of each sales person will vary as well. Some have the drive or the time management skills to handle more accounts. Adjust their account base accordingly.)
Now evaluate your sales force. Team the best sales staff with each prospect. Consider the skill sets for each sales person within the categories of product knowledge, technical expertise and industry experience. For instance, have any of your salespeople toured a manufacturer, lumber mill or I-joist plant?
Conveying that hands-on information back to the customer can have great value.
The technical side of things could consist of beam calculations, floor loads, wind shear walls for windows, how much concrete goes in post holes given their size and depth and so on. This is a bit deeper than product knowledge and allows salespeople to differentiate themselves accordingly.
Equally important is individual industry experience, as this helps build credibility with customers in a shorter period of time.
Use the above information to help your business target remodeling accounts and assign sales staff to your current accounts.
Does each sales person have a healthyspread of account sizes? Team a remodeler
Spread of account sizes? Team a remodeler who specializes in window installations with a salesperson who has the background and expertise to service their needs quickly and efficiently. Decide which of your salespeople have the drive and hunger to best revive inactive accounts or turn cold calls into new accounts.
Your sales force is a team and as such, each member should be aware of how they operate within the team. Providing assignments that play to their strengths and partnering them with the right accounts will increase sales.
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