(This installment is the first of two parts)
My wife and I recently ventured to Florida to plan out the Flooring Business Master Class 2024, scheduled to take place Nov. 14-15 in Orlando. The trip was a lot of fun. We crossed through 10 states, stayed at nine different hotels or Airbnbs, visited seven flooring dealers, took one ocean trip with my brother and, most importantly, we spent over $200 on junk food at five different Bucees on our route. (I highly recommend the brisket and the banana pudding, by the way.)
This trip took us out of 112 degree heat in Arizona and into the more comfortable 80s down route I-40. We traveled 5,650 miles in two weeks. It was kind of exhausting, but it was one of the most interesting trips I’ve ever done. We plan on doing something similar in 2025, when we will make our way to different states in the Northeast portion of the country.
I travel extensively because I love visiting other stores and meeting with flooring dealers and their staff in person. The retailers we caught up with on the trip were all clients that I worked with in the past or present to help them grow their flooring business. We do a lot of work over the phone, but there is nothing like meeting them in person and visiting their stores. As much as I teach them to increase profits and sales, I’m always learning something new at the same time.
I stopped by Raider Flooring in Lubbock, Texas, to visit my friend Mike Anderson. He was one of the fastest to price his showroom. Mike took it to the next level and put big signs on his wall where he displayed installation costs. Mike understands customers are not price shopping; they are information shopping. If you give them information they will be much more likely to do business with you than if you put them off and say, “I have to go to the home and check everything out to give you a proper price.”
From there we went to OKC, where Bill Schober, Metro Flooring, shared his system for paying commission to salespeople. I actually met Bill several years ago; I utilize and teach his system to many other flooring dealers. It’s one of the best ways to pay commission and manage cash flow.
We traveled on to South Carolina and met a young couple—Ashley and Heath Peterson at Blue Mist Paint & Flooring—who’s working hard and figuring it out. We strategized on moving, changing the name, maybe getting rid of paint in order to reach larger revenue goals.
Then it was on to Get Floored (Myrtle Beach) with Jacob, Jessica and their new son, Oliver. It’s so hard to hire good help that they just decided to make their own employees! These guys are having fun building and growing their family business. Jacob has brilliantly utilized social media and other home services to build a spectacular reputation for his company.
Adrian Blanco of Brevard Tile, Melbourne, Fla., is crushing it with showers. He works with his beautiful wife and mother. I love this kid. He’s a hustler who works hard and he has been doing great building his brand and reputation, always with a smile on his face.
Look out for the next installment to find out how our trip back home to the “oven” (Arizona) went.
Jerry Levinson is the former owner of Carpets of Arizona. He now focuses full time on training and education. He runs Jerry’s Flooring Business Master Class and is the author of “Profit Now.”
