Video courtesy of piola666 / Creatas Video / Royalty-free / Getty Images.

Prior to the pandemic, a successful showroom salesperson would sit at their desk in the middle of the showrooms and get to work. On a normal day, they would prep for their next appointment, build and follow up on their quotes and put out fires before they exploded. All the while keeping one eye fixed on the front of the showroom, ready to jump up to help a customer. Decorative plumbing showrooms are rarely located in a high-traffic retail area and most people do not frivolously shop for plumbing fixtures. The people, professionals and homeowners that visit a fine plumbing showroom are usually there for one of four reasons:

• They are planning a remodel or building a home and are looking for ideas;

• Something in their home or on a job is broken, damaged or incorrectly specified and they are looking for its replacement;

• They have started the process of remodeling or building a home and are looking to make their selections; and

• They have made their specifications online or with a competitor and are looking for alternative ideas or pricing.

We all agree that an attractive faucet is a captivating creation and should be installed in every fine home and updated as styles change. But, due to all the work involved in its installation, elegant plumbing fixtures rarely attract the aspirational shopper. Replacing and adding new, beautiful plumbing to one’s home is a large and intimidating project. So our showroom salespeople grind through the paperwork, service their customers and wait for customers to come calling.  

Is this the best way to use their talents?

Should we forever lock our engaging salespeople inside the showroom?

How many talented designers, builders and plumbers in your market do not walk into your showroom?

The pandemic seems to be winding down as our blistering economy is showing signs of fatigue. Might this be a good time to take your showroom story on the road? Texting and email are great communication devices, thousands of possible customers binge on Facebook and Instagram daily, telephone and video calls are a wonderful way to say hello but nothing carries the weight and memorability of a face-to-face visit. It is always best to talk person-to-person and waiting at a desk in a showroom is 100% reactive. It is time to be proactive and expand the reach of your showroom team beyond your showroom’s walls.   

I believe this is a time of transition and offers an opportunity for trusted showrooms to get aggressive leveraging their strong reputation. Designers are now working at home and at the office. Builders and plumbers have been so busy they have forgotten they have an office. And all have had little time to visit furniture, textile, flooring or plumbing showrooms. It is time to take your product stories to your good clients wherever they might be.  It is time to meet clients on their turf.

These calls will also allow your product knowledgeable salespeople to better understand how their customers work. They will marvel at how designers weave flooring, colors and plumbing fixtures into amazing spaces and see how builders orchestrate their subs and products to create buildings people have only seen in their dreams. Your salespeople will become more rounded and earn more customer trust by simply being there.

Some of your salespeople will jump at this opportunity, others will fight it every step of the way. But, if you start with confirmed appointments that leverage strong salespeople-client relationships, most, if not all, will learn to love it. Slowly the word will travel that your team is getting out of the showrooms and supporting talented professionals in the field. Then your team can start to reach out new professional customers and reach into new markets.  

Since the turn of the century, sales and marketing experts have been telling us to meet our customers where they are.  In the year 2022, it is time to actually do it.

"And I can't wait to get on the road again

On the road again

Goin' places that I've never been

Seein' things that I may never see again

And I can't wait to get on the road again," - Willie Nelson

If you would like to discuss this further, please reach out to me on Linkedin.

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