Sales of building materials is a wide industry which is done in every country. But because of its widespread nature, the dealers in the field tend to be relaxed and minimal effort put at impressing customers. This should not be the case because every business is meant to satisfy a customer’s need, hence making the customer the most important entity. So, if you think you are doing great, wait until you use these 5 sales strategies for building materials.
Know your customer
The first rule in sales, whichever industry it is, is knowing your customer. The second rule is knowing your customer and the third is knowing your customer. All your products are meant to meet the customer’s needs which is why you should know this need which you are satisfying.
Knowing your customers does not necessarily stop at knowing what they do, but it extends to what their goals and wants are. For instance, two soon-to-be homeowners can have different goals. One may want to work within a budget and the other one’s goal could be to get the best, at whatever cost. Know what each customer wants and aim to fulfill this by going diverse with the products.
Advise your customers
Most customers come to the stores with no idea of what they want. Therefore, part of knowing them would be knowing what they intend to construct and advising them accordingly. This alone will make your customers keep coming. So, if your customer needs lumber, know which kind of lumber; whether Doug-fir, Hem-fir or Spruce, is best for the work. This also bares another strategy, which is knowing your products.
Follow up
There are three stages of sales. The first is attracting the customer, the second is selling your product and the last is follow-up. The last step is more often than not dismissed and seen as unnecessary, and this is where most building material retailers go wrong. Build your name before, during and after the sales.
Ask the customer to give you feedback on the material, if their needs were met and what improvements they would like to see when they shop next with you. Besides helping you improve the products, follow-up also helps you counter any problems the customer might have fast enough before information about the problem gets out to other customers.
Market your product
Here is another strategy. Marketing is for every single business. One reason why you do not have enough traffic for your business could be because customers do not know about your business. They do not know what you offer, the kind of goods you offer and sometimes even your location. Use brochures, online marketing tools and so on to take your business out there.
Collaborate with contractors
While some homeowners purchase materials on their own, most often leave everything in the hands of the contractors. If they don’t do this, then they seek recommendations from the contractors. This puts the contractors in the list of people you need to seek and create relations with. You can do this by making collaborations, offering good deals and keeping in touch with them.
These five summarize all the sales strategies for building materials. All of them put the customer in the middle, making him the most important entity. This is why as a retailer, you want to make sure the customer is satisfied by, among other ways, providing the best. This you can do by choosing the right dealers, and Sherwood Lumber offers some of the best products and deals.
