By Jim Augustus Armstrong
(First of two parts)
“The No. 1 reason customers don’t buy is lack of ‘wow.’ We’re not losing customers to competitors, we’re losing them to other industries.” That’s according to Terry Wheat, founder of RFMS, in a recent presentation on selling. I tend to agree with his assessment. When a customer walks out without buying and disappears into the ether, most dealers think they lost her to a competitor. While this is some- times true, oftentimes the customer decided to buy a TV instead. Why does this happen?
Since I founded Flooring Success Systems in 2007, I’ve been preaching to dealers that it’s essential to impress your customers. But when I walk into most showrooms, I often get the opposite effect. In fact, it’s oftentimes downright depressing. Following are some examples from showrooms I’ve visited in the last year.
One dealer had a massive showroom stacked floor to ceiling with racks holding thousands of samples, with narrow aisles in between. The windows were blocked, and you couldn’t see more than about 20 feet.
Another showroom was so cold I had to put my jacket on. It also was stacked nearly floor to ceiling with display racks. If I was actually shopping for flooring that day I, might have gone to Best Buy where the showroom is bright, exciting and fun, and blown my flooring budget on a flat screen TV just to cheer myself up.
Following are some of the main commonalities I found in many of the stores I’ve visited:
Way too many display racks. Sometimes stacked floor-to-ceiling, oftentimes blocking windows and generally creating a claustrophobic effect. Why does anyone think that this is a good idea? You don’t need 107 samples of light beige carpet. You need to curate and create open space.
They smelled like chemicals—or worse. At best, new flooring products have a chemical odor—and if they sat in a warehouse, you can add dust to the mix. This is not a smell that inspires people to open their wallets. Bake some cookies or bread and make your showroom smell like home instead of a dusty warehouse. Keep your store cleaned and vacuumed, including your carpet samples.
No music on the PA system. This was one of the most depressing aspects of so many of the stores I visited. Ladies and gentlemen, you’ve got to start putting yourself into Cathy Consumer’s shoes. She’s spent hours online looking at flooring. She’s excited about finally getting new floors. Finally, she decides to visit some stores. On the way she stops at Starbucks where the interior is clean, open, cheerful and happy. She walks inside, smiling a little as she inhales the delicious aroma of fresh ground coffee. There’s a hum of pleasant sounds: drinks being made, customers chatting and pleasant background music. She gets her caramel latte to go, climbs into her SUV and heads to the first flooring store on her list. (Maybe yours?) She walks inside, smiling a little in anticipation of finding the floor of her dreams.
Subconsciously she’s expecting an experience on par with her visit to Starbucks. Instead, she experiences the polar opposite. Why not put her at ease by playing some cheerful background music?
Remember: You only get one chance to make a first impression. Make sure it’s a favorable one.
Jim Augustus Armstrong is the founder and president of Flooring Success Systems, a company that provides floor dealers with digital and offline marketing services, and coaching to equip dealers to make more money, work fewer hour, and get their lives back. For information visit FlooringSuccessSystems.com.
