The Divandi portal has compiled a local ranking of the popularity of building materials in private construction. The rating was based on a survey of construction projects taking place on the territory of a single cottage community. This village is located south of Yekaterinburg. On its territory there are 295 plots with an area ranging from 8 to 13 acres. Construction of the village began three years ago. Today, on 49 plots there are houses that are either fully completed or have a fairly high degree of readiness.

In the village chosen for the study, almost all technologies used in modern cottage construction were represented. To build the box houses, local residents used 15 types of building materials, including wood concrete, brisolite, heat blocks and even artificial flagstone made of foam concrete.

General information about the materials and cottages built from them is presented in the table at the end of the article.

Aerated concrete blocks – 21 houses

Gas block leads in popularity by a wide margin. In the surveyed village, out of 49 finished (semi-finished) houses, 21 were built from this material (the total area of ​​these houses is about 3,150 sq. m). The owners of the plots used mainly autoclave-cured gas blocks from the INSI company (Chelyabinsk). Blocks of the brands “Teplit”, “Betolex” (Novosibirsk) and “Porablok” (Kurgan), as well as conventional and autoclave-cured aerated blocks from unknown manufacturers were also noticed. Perhaps, including “garage” production. As a rule, houses made of aerated concrete are insulated on the outside with mineral wool slabs and lined with facade bricks. I talked about the Divandi portal earlier.

Other types of light blocks - 5 houses

There are 5 more houses in the village, the construction of which used lightweight (cellular) concrete. In addition to the aerated concrete mentioned above, this includes foam concrete, polystyrene concrete, sawdust concrete, etc. In the village under study, two cottages were built from foam blocks, another from polystyrene concrete and one from Arbolite (in this case, the concrete filler is crushed wood chips). In addition, in the village there is one cottage whose walls are built from a rather rare material - thin tiles made of aerated concrete (see photo above).

Timber and timber buildings – 13 houses

13 houses were built from wood. Including 5 - from profiled timber, 4 - from chopped (barked) logs, 3 - from rounded logs and 1 - from double timber. I already spoke in more detail about the Divandi portal.

Separately, it is worth mentioning a wooden residential building with an area of ​​about 70 square meters. m. The basis of the house is a standard log frame 6x6 m. On both sides, two extensions are connected to it, made using frame technology and covered with wooden siding. As a result, the area of ​​the cottage doubled.

Brick – 4 houses

Only 4 houses were built from ceramic bricks in the village, but these are mostly quite large buildings. The area of ​​the largest is approximately 360 square meters. m. Therefore, in terms of total area, brick houses are superior to the log cottages available in the village (see table).

All brick houses in the village are built from classic hollow one-and-a-half bricks. Three houses are insulated on the outside with mineral wool slabs and faced with facade bricks. The fourth house is still at the brick box stage. Work on its exterior decoration has not begun. Previously, the Divandi portal talked about.

Thermal block, frame and permanent formwork – 6 houses

The remaining 6 cottages in the village were created using “alternative solutions”. Two houses were built using frame technology with walls covered with rigid OSB panels. External finishing is mounted on top of the panels - plaster or facade panels (in this case, imitating half-timbered timber - see photo above). Another cottage is a classic frame house. Its supporting base is a frame made of timber. The walls do not have rigid structural cladding. From the outside, they are covered with a windproof membrane, on top of which façade panels are mounted. The Divandi portal spoke in detail about the construction of Caracas.

Two more cottages included in our review were built using permanent formwork. In one case, Lego blocks were used, in the other, Brizolit. A Lego block is two plates of expanded polystyrene (foam), which are construction site are connected with special “clips”. One plate forms the outer surface of the wall, the second - the inner one. When installing plates, hollow walls are obtained. After that, reinforcement is placed in the space between the inner and outer plates and concrete is poured. The house, built from Lego blocks, is lined with facade panels with the texture of masonry stone.

The last house in our review is built from thermal blocks. Each such block is a sandwich, which combines together: an element of the external cladding of the facade, a layer of thermal insulation (expanded polystyrene) and a load-bearing “brick” (made of expanded clay concrete). A wall erected from heat blocks immediately has an external finish.

Table 1. Materials used in the construction of the cottage community

Business involving participation in trade chains “we buy imported goods and sell to our compatriots” ceases to be profitable. There are many reasons for this, from geopolitical to economic. For Russian production of any scale today the green light is on. How to navigate among the opportunities that have opened up, what can a small business bet on?

The time of intermediaries is running out

From the very beginning of economic freedoms in Russia and until recently, domestic small businesses preferred the sphere of trade and services. Often the business model was elementary: we buy abroad, sell at home. Low competition and huge opportunities for choice ensured high profitability of projects.

* - with annual revenue up to 1 billion rubles. (2014 criteria)

The crisis, sanctions, high dollar and weak ruble dictate new rules of the game: competition in trade and services increases, demand narrows, and profitability falls. The most significant decrease in revenue for the 1st half of 2015 was recorded in wholesale and retail trade, in cargo transportation. For small businesses, the time has come to adapt to market changes: today the trend is production and implementation innovative projects. This is where there are many free/low-competition niches. Let's figure out what is profitable for small businesses to produce in Russia now.

Assessment of the current situation by SME industry for the first half of 2015

* - index of the current situation - expert assessment of the state of affairs over the past period
Source: “Pulse of Small Business” study, Alfa-Bank, June 2015

Production prospects: where to look for profit

Today, imported products are available in any Russian stores: food, sports, children's, household, electrical and other goods. Often, the “made in Russia” label hides a product assembled from foreign components. Small business can start successful production any of these goods. The main thing is to identify which product, what quality and price will be in demand.

When deciding on production, it is worth taking into account the sentiments/preferences of consumers in the B2B and B2C sectors. Russians - individuals buy less and save more. The direction of using free money has changed.

What are Russians willing to spend on?

Russian enterprises focused on purchasing goods/services that allow maintaining/increasing sales levels while reducing costs, i.e. they are looking for inexpensive ways to increase the efficiency of business processes and reduce product costs. For example, by replacing imported components with Russian ones.

What is profitable to produce during a crisis by industry?

1 Furniture: junkyard chic

Italian kitchens are becoming an unaffordable luxury for many. It's time to offer our compatriots high-quality eco-friendly furniture Russian production. Our consumer now counts money, is sophisticated in the practicality of furniture and has tried Ikea.

Therefore, a successful furniture business idea should be:

• cheap to produce, competitive in price;
• fresh and original, using design solutions;
• environmentally friendly, using recycling ideas.

Furniture made from pallets (wooden construction pallets) meets these requirements. It can be a country house, garden, intended for offices and creating residential interiors in country, loft or industrial style. In this case, it is not necessary to disassemble the pallets; they are used as modules, constructing original models. The secret is in proper processing. Pallets are a cheap and rewarding “construction” material.

Important nuance. Furniture should look stylish and functional, not clumsy. Professional designers should participate in the development of models.

2 Pet products: cheaper and healthier

According to VTsIOM, 76% of Russians have pets. We are third in the world in terms of the number of pets per capita after the USA and China. What is it profitable for small businesses to produce in Russia for their smaller brothers?

Russian market animal feed is growing despite the crisis. In the most profitable segment of the market - food for cats and dogs - today there are two leaders: Mars and Nestle (joint share - 86%). They can and should be squeezed out by domestic producers. The main thing is to choose the right niche.

It is believed that Russians do not skimp on pets even when they themselves have nothing to eat. In reality, people switch their animals to economy-class feed, preferring the healthiest options available.

Healthy food for cats and dogs - minced meat and bones with vitamins and mineral supplements. Such food is used by specialized nurseries and is sought after by knowledgeable cat and dog owners. The production of “natural cutlets” for animals in Russia is carried out by a few small producers. The niche is not very competitive.

To produce natural food for cats and dogs, you do not need an expensive production line; everything can be organized in a minimal area with small investments.

To launch a full production cycle you will need the following equipment:

• cutting table for meat products;
• meat grinder and minced meat mixer;
• molding machine/scales;
• blast freezing machine and “hot” table for packaging;
• freezer.

The cost of natural food is lower than that of industrial “drying”, even if it is produced from mechanically separated meat, which is used in the production of sausages. The business model is simple. The main limitation of sales is that there must be refrigeration equipment at the point of sale.

3 Construction and finishing materials: money out of thin air

The building materials market is shrinking. According to a study by RD Construction analysts, a drop in production for January-July 2015 compared to the second half of 2014 was recorded for cement, ready-mixed concrete, reinforced concrete products, and red ceramic bricks: -12, -30, -15, -1.5%, respectively. This is how the reduction in the pace of mass housing construction has backfired on building materials - the demand for housing is falling.

The main product of recycling old tires, crumb rubber, is used in the production of:

• rubber tiles/paving stones;
• coverings for sports grounds and fitness rooms;
• wall finishing materials;
• innovative road surfaces;
• accessories for cars (mats, mud flaps, etc.).

The cost of technological lines for “grinding” tires into rubber crumb depends on productivity, the degree of automation of the process, the quality and size of the output fraction. But in general, we are talking about costs of 1 - 12 million rubles. In addition to Chinese equipment options, there are also Russian ones: the plants of Vtorrezina Ecoprom LLC, Alfa-SPK LLC and others offer lines of their own design. It is better to prefer domestic equipment - both the quality of the product and the reliability of the machines are higher.

It is more profitable to produce goods with high added value, i.e., in addition to crumb rubber, produce tiles and coatings. The last two products are cold or hot molded from crumbs, polyurethane glue and dye. The cost of equipment starts from 2 million rubles.

The payback period for a mini-plant for the production of rubber tiles is from 6 months. The indicator is excellent, but the investment required to start will be significant. There is a more economical entry option: many manufacturers (EcoStep, Masterfiber, etc.) offer to start a franchise business. From 500 thousand rubles.

4 Tourism goods: my native country is wide

Growth of major world currencies and appreciation of prices work force in China have a positive effect on the domestic market light industry. In 2015, the share of Russian manufacturers in this industry increased to 24% and continues to increase. What should a startup focus on?

Russians save money on vacation trips abroad. Most have to be content with local flavor and sponsor domestic tourism. They need equipment.

• mid-priced tourist clothing and equipment;
• budget tents (up to 5,000 rubles);
• fishing goods low- and mid-price segment (up to 3,000 rubles).

The production of backpacks, ventilated caps/hats, windproof caps, gloves, “encephalitis”, thermal underwear, sweaters is a profitable business. You can choose a very narrow niche and start producing mobile baths or thermal bags.

It is not necessary to develop innovative boating raincoats or life jackets. It is enough to make practical and functional products a la the “Expedition” clothing range. But at reasonable prices.

5 Automotive equipment: Thule from Tula

What is profitable to produce in Russia for cars, where there is a free niche? Comparing our popular Swedish plastic autoboxes of the Thule brand with analogues is the same as pitting a Rolex against a regular watch. The Thule buyer primarily pays for style and branding. Moreover, from a production point of view, luggage boxes are the simplest products. Thule prices in Europe range from $400-970. The price, which is inhumane at the current dollar exchange rate already at the place of production, in Russian retail stores turns into an amazing one: premium solutions cost 60,000 - 100,000 rubles.

The average price segment of the car box market in Russia (10,000 - 20,000 rubles) is now under the radar of Polish, Czech, Italian and Chinese manufacturers. Special attention products from the Middle Kingdom deserve: they are widely represented, but the quality is objectively low. Time to make car racks in Russia. Domestic manufacturers of boxes for cars exist as a class, but are counted on one hand (brands ATLANT, VetlaN, LUX). Moreover, some have a meager assortment, others specialize in “luggage systems made from European components” (read: depend on exchange rate fluctuations), and still others have poor quality.

During a crisis, mini-production of universal luggage boxes (for all brands of cars) made of high-quality plastic with a reliable opening/locking system in low and medium price categories is profitable.

To do this you will need:

• vacuum forming equipment (Russian - from 350 thousand rubles);
• Press forms;
• raw material - ABS plastic.

Soft car boxes made of polyester, PVC and other plastic polymers are cheaper to produce. But this is sewing production and a completely different story.

Ways to increase sales

Trade in construction materials is a business on the verge of a foul. There are no huge markups, and the main profit comes from large sales volumes. Construction is declining. New materials are appearing and the range is growing. In order to be successful in this business, you need to work subtly with the assortment, different groups buyers and customer retention conditions.

How to increase sales of building materials in these conditions, and other features of increasing the profitability of this business area. This will be discussed in the article.

Who is the client?

All buyers of building materials can be divided into three groups.

1. Retail clients. They bring maximum profit from each unit of goods, because for retail buyers price is less important, and they are willing to pay 10-15% more for service, availability, transport accessibility, and quality of service. But servicing them requires large costs for goods in the warehouse, retail outlets, and service personnel.

2. Wholesale clients - construction organizations. This is the most attractive group of buyers, because they regularly need large volumes of goods. In addition to price, they focus on the range presented, speed and uninterrupted supply.

3. Wholesale clients - trading enterprises (intermediaries) who resell goods purchased from you. This is the group with the lowest margin - intermediaries increase your turnover, but provide minimal earnings, because in order to make a profit they must purchase goods at the lowest possible price. The essence of their business is to buy cheaper to sell more expensive, they can only overpay for an exclusive.

To increase sales of building materials, you need to clearly understand which customers you are targeting - wholesale, retail, or both.

Approach the choice not based on personal preferences, but taking into account the situation and statistics in the region and other objective factors.

The number of potential customers in the category, the current business situation, the needs of the regional market, the amount of funds you are willing to invest in development, and others.

Example

If you trade in a region that is developing well and has many developers, it makes sense to focus on them. If you already have an extensive network retail stores located in areas with good traffic, it is reasonable to continue the development of the retail direction.

10 effective ways to increase sales

You can increase sales in both traditional and non-traditional ways. We will tell you how to increase sales of building materials for the population and the B2B sector. Below are the 10 most effective ways, which allows us to increase sales in such companies by at least 20%.

1. Wholesale for the sake of retail. If before this you were exclusively engaged in retail, you can open an additional wholesale line, even if it does not bring profit. For what? To have a constant large sales volume, due to which you can receive discounts from manufacturing plants and a low entry price.

Having received a reduced purchase price, you can:

• set a higher markup on retail and earn even more on each unit of goods sold;
• reduce retail margins by keeping prices as low as possible, and increase profits by increasing turnover.

2. Expansion of the range. Expanding the range requires additional investments, and therefore must be clearly justified. It’s not worth taking this step “just in case” or “to make it cooler than others.” It makes sense to expand your product line if it will increase your profits or customer flow.

Expanding the assortment allows you to increase profits by attracting new customers and selling goods “by steam locomotive”.

Attraction of new clients. Expanding the assortment contributes to the emergence of new customers in two cases.

Firstly, when you know those to whom you can offer new products. It is naive to hope for ghost buyers who will appear with the updating of the assortment. Expansion is justified when there is confidence that new product will buy.

Secondly, when you know about potential clients who want to buy everything in one place. For example, if you have new roofing material, they will buy bolts, screws, and roofing material from you. You can break even on this material, but you can make money by selling screws, fastenings, and gutters.

Selling goods by “locomotive”, i.e. when a client comes to you for a new product, and leaves having bought a new product and something from the main assortment. In this case, as in the previous version, the new product may not bring profit - the profit will come from the “locomotive product”. Thus, you will not earn anything on the new product, but you will earn on everything that he buys additionally.

Please note that in this case the work of the sales manager plays an important role. It is he who must offer the client not only a new product, but also a “locomotive product”. He must actively sell and know everything about. In reality, it often happens that the owner creates such a system, but the manager does not fulfill the requirements and the company breaks down.

3. Sales through the website. Online sales are an effective method for increasing sales during a crisis or during periods of seasonal decline, such as winter. Sell Construction Materials through the Internet. If you don't have your own website, now is the time to create one. If you have a website, it is important to promote it wisely, achieving relevant (targeted) visitors. The site allows you not only to expand the circle of customers, but also to save on costs (on office rent and managers’ salaries, because an employee working from home can accept orders from the site).

• Visualization. To increase sales, you should not just advertise the product in words, but clearly show customers how it can be used. For example, if you sell roofing tiles, add a photo of a roof covered with those tiles to your magazine ad. Or place stands at points of sale with samples of tiles laid properly.
• Search for news feed. Don't know how to attract clients? Come up with an informational reason. For example, call regular customers with a message about discounts, about the delivery of goods that they took last time to the warehouse, or about the imminent appearance of a new product.

5. Performing the functions of a picker. Large customers are willing to overpay for the opportunity to purchase goods in one place. You can not only sell your product, but also find/bring other products for clients. Everyone will benefit: you will sell your product and, possibly, make money through intermediary; the client will receive the necessary building materials in one car.

6. Work schedule. You can increase sales in a building materials store by adjusting your work schedule.

• Main client flow. Ideally, you should track the days and times when the main flow of customers occurs and be sure to accept orders during this period. Let's say that if the lion's share of orders comes on Saturday and Sunday, then it is better to make a day off on Monday, and leave Saturday and Sunday as working days.
• Counterbalance to competitors. If your competitors work until 18:00, work until 20:00. If they have Saturdays and Sundays off, try working on those days. This will increase the chances that customers will come to you.

7. Possibility of installments. How to increase wholesale building materials? If financial position allows you to sell goods in installments. The main thing is to keep an eye on the size and condition.

8. Cold calling. You can increase the number of sales by. They will not give quick results, but if you build a dialogue correctly, in 2-3 months the number of clients will begin to grow.

9. Active work with incoming clients. It is easier to retain a client than to cold call him later. It is important that managers establish contact with all clients who come on their own in order to be able to subsequently make “warm” calls.

• If you only study wholesale trade, and the client stopped by/called to clarify the availability of a certain material, features or cost of the product, you should involve him in the dialogue, if possible, clarifying his needs, and be sure to take contact information.
• If you are engaged in both wholesale and retail, it is important to competently contact customers who come to retail outlets. Keep in mind that these may include wholesalers and those responsible for large purchases.

10. Customer Service Standards. The introduction of uniform service standards throughout the entire trading network. It is important to monitor the work of managers and train them to communicate competently with clients.

Situations where the manager was not in the mood and sent the client away or was too lazy to fully answer his question should be reduced to zero.

To do this, all telephone conversations must be recorded, and surveillance cameras must be installed in trading floors. Ideally, develop a ready-made algorithm for each manager to talk with the client and draw up answers to any objections.

Summarizing all of the above, to increase sales of building materials in your company you need to perform the following steps:

• Customer needs analysis
• Maximum customer satisfaction
• Improving the work of your own sales department
• Attraction of new clients
• Motivation to retain existing

Trade is considered the domain of budding entrepreneurs. “This is the simplest and therefore the most widespread type of small business,” says sociologist Arkady Semenov from Moscow. - Take, for example, building materials store. According to random surveys, where would you start your business, from the list of ten proposed ideas, many gave preference to selling goods for the repair and decoration of apartments. It turned out that this is even more interesting than a car service or.”

And in fact, almost all people, with very rare exceptions, in one way or another at least once in their lives bought wallpaper for their apartment, screws for fasteners, taps for plumbing. Moreover, due to the constant bustle and queues, one gets the impression that almost all stores of this profile are successful. Is this really so and what needs to be done to open a successful outlet goods for repair, we decided to find out.

Optimists and pessimists

Judging by the information and discussions on the RuNet, the topic of owning a building materials store is popular. Here are some posts worth checking out:

“...I would like to hear your opinion knowledgeable people: How profitable is it to open a building materials store? - forum member Bulavka is interested.

“If there is an opportunity, then there is nothing to even think about, open up, develop, prosper! This type of business will always be in demand,” another forum participant, shahter78, is convinced.

“I’ve been in the subject for a long time,” a certain Dmitry Ivanovich doubts. - There are enough problems, the most important of which is the attractive price. I don’t know how to achieve it. Repairmen are cunning people. They are looking for something inexpensive. Moles dig the ground. If you raise the price a little, your customers will blow away like the wind. And trading cheaper than competitors is at a loss.”

Economist experts, in particular Mira Kolomiytseva, who specializes in small business, considers the last statement a kind of cry from the heart. “Numerous publications on the topic of “owning your own building materials store” have nothing to do with reality,” she says. - For example, some authors link starting amounts to retail space, they say, this key indicators. Abstract numbers are given, the observance of which supposedly guarantees the success of the undertaking. In particular, 500 thousand rubles are needed as working capital for a point of 100 square meters. Meanwhile, this disorients budding entrepreneurs.”

According to Kolomiytseva, people have the false impression of a quiet business that will generate income in any case. Meanwhile, the store should be “correctly configured” in terms of assortment with taking into account the prices of the nearest wholesale distributors.

We are talking about a kind of road map that should be drawn up before the start. "Buyers don't like it narrow specialization building materials store,” says Valery Andreev, a businessman from Rostov-on-Don. - As a rule, they come with a list, according to which they buy. Therefore, the assortment should be as thoughtful as possible. I know one entrepreneur who, in a large chain building materials supermarket, stood at the cash register and quietly took into account who, what and how much was buying.”

In this assortment, on the one hand, duplicate items should be excluded, since unnecessary items are expensive to service. On the other hand, transport and storage costs are optimized. “It is necessary to establish a clear system of interaction with distributors,” advises Anna Smirnova, director of a small building materials store. - Good personal relationships are important here. In this case, it may be possible to access the changing price lists of wholesalers via the Internet.”

Expense arithmetic

Anna Smirnova, relying on personal experience, says that the store should have convenient transport accessibility. This could be a residential area, or even an industrial zone, or an area along the main entrance and exit from a city or village. “Renovation of premises may be the most budgetary, but you will have to fork out for equipment,” Arkady Semenov is sure. “It’s psychologically important for people to buy in a familiar work environment, and certainly not in a barn.”

Therefore, it is necessary to install specialized shelving up to 3 meters high and 1 meter wide, as well as several glass display cabinets that can be locked with a key. You will probably need a turnstile for buyers, a packing table and about ten chrome-plated carts for purchased building materials.

Of course, each store should have its own business project, but basic indicators should still be taken into account. We present them in a simplified table.

Cost items for opening a store

To summarize, we can say that opening a building materials store will require a businessman to detailed planning and strict implementation of the plan. Experts believe that the “break-even point” will be passed within a year from the moment of opening, while the profitability of the business should be at least 15%.

In any locality in Russia there is and will always be a need for the construction of facilities for various purposes. And over time they deteriorate and require repairs. This means that we cannot do without construction and finishing materials in our lives. Hence the conclusion - the sale of such goods is a popular and profitable business.

Reconomica today I will share with you, dear readers, my experience successful entrepreneur, which combined the production of building materials with the sale of not only its own, but also similar products from other companies.

The main tool for the development of this business was the organization of an office to receive orders from consumers for similar goods. You will learn about the positive and negative aspects, the benefits received and the prospects of the specified business.

Greetings. My name is Mark. I am 37 years old. I'm from Astrakhan. Now I am selling tiles, tiles, decorative mosaics and many other related products for construction, renovation and interior decoration.

I don’t have a store, but an office for receiving orders. Trade turnover ranges from one and a half to two million rubles per month, from March to November inclusive.

Sales begin with the onset of the construction season and until its end. I’ll briefly tell you how I came to this type of activity.

My first steps in the construction business

It all started with the production of paving slabs; I organized this business in 2014.

Production of paving slabs.

Things weren't going well with production. There was only enough money to rent the premises, wages workers and payment of taxes.

At first I worked with virtually no profit. There were orders constantly, but it was almost impossible to make money on them.

There was a need to increase production volumes and reach serious clients. This step required huge investments in production. There were no such opportunities.

Choosing the direction of further development of the business

The further path of business development was vague. It was necessary to either urgently decide something or stop business activities.

How the idea came

An acquaintance of mine worked at that time in a managerial position in a manufacturing company that specialized in the manufacture of bricks and concrete products. He suggested ways for further development.

Finding ways to promote your business

I thought that production was built first, and then the goods produced were sold, and the business flourished. Maybe this happens on paper, in fantastic business plans, but not in reality. First, you need to trade someone else’s goods and replenish your customer base, and when stable demand arises, you can open your own production if it is profitable.

Opening without market knowledge and experience is a path to failure.

Proof of this is the many small businesses that opened and closed, accumulating large debts.

First mistakes

I was like that too. I read an amateurish business plan in some social network. Everything seemed easy and simple. But in fact, he had almost said goodbye to the invested money and was ready to sell his car to pay off the accumulated debts.

Business is a science and a way of life. This craft can be mastered. The main thing is to set the goal correctly and find a short path to it.

Initially I wanted to try something I was unfamiliar with. Business does not tolerate amateurism. Especially in the manufacturing sector. It took a long and difficult time to get out of the current situation. It’s very good that there was an experienced person who told me what to do next.

Stages of opening and developing a sales office

Choosing a retail location and its purpose

Even if there is no one to sit there, the sales office should be in order to:

• receive clients;
• present products;
• conclude contracts.

Conditions for renting premises

There was free space on the territory where I rented the production workshop. Its area was 150 m², the rental cost was 15 thousand rubles. per month, without utilities. The total amount of payments was approximately 18 thousand rubles. per month. I reluctantly took this step.

Equipping the office with everything you need

For full-fledged trading you will need:

• furniture;
• racks;
• computer;
• Printer;
• various stationery items.

I spent 70 thousand rubles on furnishings and equipment for the office.

The furniture was the cheapest. The printer was also included in this price; the computer had to be brought from home. The retail space was large, but there were no other options.

Setting up a full-fledged office is expensive.

Later, the space of this office became insufficient.

Methods for displaying products on the sales floor

The first thing I did was exhibit my products. Since there was a lot of space, paving slabs laid out in all sorts of ways. Combined two, and even four different colors tiles of one model, which could be laid in different colors.

Showing samples of paving slabs is a necessary sales attribute.

Thus, I could not show my products in a workshop environment.

Expansion of the range of building materials

So I became a representative of a mini-factory for the production of building materials.

In the sales area, he displayed the bricks they had made, and placed catalogs of the rest of the products, which, due to their large dimensions, could not be placed in the office.

Display of samples of bricks and other products in the sales office.

I placed samples of floor slabs and foundation blocks near the gates of my workshop.

Product promotion activities

The next question concerned information support for trade - marketing.

The office was located on the roadway. The administration allowed to place on the building advertising banners. I made two banners measuring 1 by 4 meters to hang on different sides of the building. Their cost was 8 thousand rubles.

And they also made a remote stand, which was located in front of the entrance to the building. Its price was 2 thousand rubles.

From 4 thousand to 7 thousand rubles were spent on promoting products in Avito, newspapers, making leaflets and business cards. per month.

How to make money selling construction products from third-party companies

As a result of the increased demand for their products and the inability to satisfy the needs of consumers with the available production capacities, it was necessary to urgently make some decision.

Reasons for turning to other manufacturers

There was no money to expand production, and I didn’t really want to increase it.

In the warm season, it was still possible to pay rent, but in winter, when there are almost no orders, and production room You need to heat, the rental cost was significantly unaffordable.

The solution was to negotiate the sale of tiles from other manufacturers .

My advantages when choosing a partner

In the modern market, the problem of any manufacturer is the sale of products. In such an environment, with fierce competition, manufacturers who do not have their own sales channels become hostage to sellers.

if I have good client, then the company provides a minimum wholesale price for the products.

The commodity producer always has a need for cash– these are debts on wages, rent, debts for supplied raw materials, or simply a person has a loan from the bank.

The manufacturer is always happy to sell, even with minimal markup on the product. I took advantage of this situation.

Very often he earned more from sales than the manufacturer.

Positive changes in business provide impetus for further growth

When organizing any business, constant movement forward is necessary. Otherwise - stagnation.

Significant progress in trade after the conclusion of the partnership agreement

Finding a manufacturer to collaborate with turned out to be easy. An agreement was signed with him. The list of products presented far exceeded my product output. A quarter of the room was occupied by an exhibition of their products.

I started searching for suppliers who could provide exhibition samples, stands, catalogs and other promotional products for free.

Finding new ways to increase sales

And a certain style of work in such auctions also emerged. It was necessary for the manufacturer or wholesaler whose products I represent to release the goods from the warehouse at the sales price in their office.

Not everyone agreed to such cooperation, but still there were entrepreneurs who wanted to expand. They also had conditions - if I represent their assortment, then I no longer work with anyone.

Samples of reinforced concrete products in an open area.

Optimization of retail space

The trading floor began to fill with samples of various goods. Then he divided the trading zones. On the production site he placed the largest specimens - reinforced concrete products.

Roofing samples.

They were joined by samples of timber, roofing, mesh, metal products - everything related to construction.

Samples of rolled metal.

I divided the office space into three parts - an office and two halls. The first hall served to display products for construction and landscaping, the second hall presented materials for finishing rooms and bathrooms.

Sales area with samples of finishing materials.

I filled empty spaces in the trading floors with goods that fit the theme. For example, shopping room two stands were replenished - one with LED lighting, the second representing manufacturers of swimming pools for personal plots, saunas, and baths.

Temporary setbacks are inevitable

Not all positions were profitable. Some goods or services were never sold. For example, I have never accepted an order to make a pool or fountain. Mosaics for bathrooms sold very poorly and took up a lot of space, but bright and beautiful stands with such samples had a positive influence on buyers.

Not everything is on sale, but some products create a good atmosphere on the sales floor.

How much does trade in construction materials bring?

I’ll tell you briefly about the profit received from the sale of construction and finishing materials.

Amounts of allowances for goods

I marked up the goods sold by 10 to 30%. The highest markup is for paving slabs and building materials.

Tiles, porcelain tiles, tiles and countertops made of natural stone also work well. The average markup was 20%.

What does income depend on?

If the turnover passing through my office amounted to 1 million rubles, then I have approximately 200 thousand rubles left in profit.

From there, taxes, deductions, rent, advertising expenses and the salary of the seller and accountant are deducted.

Half of this amount remains. If at the height of the season you manage to sell 2–3 million rubles, then the costs are the same, and the profit increases. I wrote my turnover above. It’s not difficult to calculate how much the business brings me in net.

But don’t forget that January and February are months with almost no revenue. However, money must be paid for rent, and employees of the enterprise must be paid wages. And for this you need to work hard during the busy season.

My trading method

Some, after reading the article, may think that I am an ordinary speculator, and buyers do not receive anything when purchasing goods through my sales office. If that were the case, then customers wouldn't come here.

Consulting customers on products

I made a point of advising consumers regarding the characteristics of the building materials they purchased. In addition, he did not accept low-quality goods for sale.

Consumers did not need to run after sellers and beg for illiterate advice about the product I was selling, since I knew everything and could answer clients’ questions.

Application of the software

He also mastered computer 3D modeling, and made room renovation projects for free, calculating the materials used.

For example, the program calculated the quantity of tiles for a bathroom accurately, and customers did not have to purchase extra material, such as tiles and glue.

Design service

My salesperson also provided design services and helped buyers decide on colors, sizes, and finishing options.

It's very hard work.

An impeccable reputation of a businessman is an important component of a successful business.

Another advantage is reputation. In three years of work I haven’t let anyone down, so they installed it with me business relationship wholesale consumers.

It would seem that, construction companies You can go to the manufacturing plants yourself, where you can purchase goods in large quantities.

But, apparently, there are problems that prevent such actions.

When words do not differ from deeds, this is a reputation that also pays off.