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 subtly work with the assortment, different groups of customers 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 the maximum profit from each unit of goods, because for retail buyers the price is less important, and they are ready to pay 10-15% more for service, availability, transport accessibility, quality of service. But their maintenance requires large expenditures for goods in stock, retail outlets, 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 are guided by the presented assortment, 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 of retail stores located in areas with good traffic, it makes sense to continue developing your retail business.

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 that allow 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 the new product will be bought.

Secondly, when you know about potential customers who want to purchase 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 ​​building materials online. 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 customers? Come up with an informational reason. For example, call regular customers with a message about discounts, about the delivery of goods that they bought 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 sales of building materials? If your financial situation allows, sell the 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 are engaged only in wholesale trade, and a client stopped by/called to clarify the availability of a certain material, features or cost of a 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 retail network has a positive effect on increasing sales. 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

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, the experience of a successful entrepreneur who combined the production of building materials with the sale of not only his 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 premises, pay staff and pay 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 on 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, I laid out the paving slabs in all sorts of ways. He combined two and even four different colors of tiles of the same model, which could be laid in different color schemes.

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 advertising banners to be placed on the building. 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 the production premises need to be heated, the cost of rent was significantly more affordable.

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

A commodity producer always has a need for funds - these are debts on wages, rent, debts for supplied raw materials, or a person simply has a loan from a 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 since the conclusion of the partnership agreement

It turned out to be easy to find a manufacturer for cooperation. An agreement was signed with him. The list of presented products far exceeded my output of goods. 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 also revealed a certain style of work in such auctions. 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.

Retail Space Optimization

The trading floor began to be filled 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.

Trading room with samples of finishing materials.

I filled empty spaces in the trading floors with goods that fit the theme. For example, the sales floor was replenished with two stands - 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 have never been 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 relied on advice to consumers regarding the characteristics of the purchased building materials. In addition, he did not accept low-quality goods for sale.

Consumers did not have to run after sellers and ask for illiterate advice about the product I was selling, since I knew everything and could answer any question for customers.

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 have not let anyone down, so wholesale consumers have established business relationships with me.

It would seem that construction companies can go to manufacturing plants themselves and 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.

In our age of rapid growth and improvement of technology, it is not easy to keep up with various new products appearing in various fields, be it the food industry, nuclear technology or bioengineering. Progress has not bypassed construction technologies, and every day more and more new materials, more and more convenient and advanced construction methods appear. This material will highlight some of the latest know-how in the field of construction and interior decoration, present photographs of new products and give their main characteristics and advantages over their predecessors.

Clinker

To begin with, we will introduce such material as clinker to get acquainted with the new products. Clinker is a brick, but a brick with a number of advantages that ordinary bricks lack. Its main advantage over other facing materials is its price. Compared to, say, decorative facing stone, clinker is much cheaper and allows you to save a significant amount of money spent on finishing the facade. The next advantage of clinker is the variety of shapes and colors. Clinker brick does not contain chemical impurities in its composition, and consists only of water and clay with the addition of dyes. This is another advantage of this facing material; it is natural and environmentally friendly. Well, the last thing I would like to note about clinker bricks is its frost resistance and resistance to various natural phenomena that have a devastating effect on ordinary bricks.

Warm wall

Another innovation in bricks is a block called "thermal wall". It was invented in 1999. The thermal wall is presented in the form of a block, which consists of three layers. The first layer is a load-bearing block that carries the main load, the second is a layer of insulation, usually polystyrene, less often mineral wool, and the last is a decorative facade layer. The thermal conductivity of such a block is 6 times higher than that of ordinary brick.The heating wall is installed using tile adhesive, which is applied in a thin layer, which eliminates the appearance of efflorescence on the wall surface. This material has a large variety of configurations and design options. It is also possible to manufacture custom blocks. These blocks have no equal in thermal conductivity; they can retain both heat in winter and coolness in summer. Thermal walls can deservedly be called the material of the future, thanks to its efficiency, speed and ease of installation and a wide variety of facade design options.

P enoplex

The next new product I would like to talk about is Penoplex. Penoplex appeared on the Russian construction market quite recently. This is a new generation of insulation. It is made of extruded polystyrene foam boards with a very low thermal conductivity coefficient, resistant to various loads, moisture-resistant, frost-resistant, with a high level of noise insulation and non-flammable. Penoplex has a very wide range of applications in insulation and sound insulation. As insulation, it can be used almost everywhere, from swimming pools to road surfaces. The plates have grooves for more reliable and convenient fastening to each other. They can be attached either mechanically or using special adhesives.

Linocrom

Next on the list is roofing material linochrome. Linocrom is perhaps the most advanced roll roofing available today. It is a layer of polyester or fiberglass, onto which a special binder bitumen coating is applied.It has high performance qualities, is resistant to temperature changes, exposure to water and is durable.Linocrom can be produced with or without special crumbs. This material is used not only on flat roofs, but also on pitched roofs, and also as waterproofing of foundations and plinths.

Liquid rubber

Continuing the roofing theme, one cannot fail to note another new material for roof waterproofing - liquid rubber. When using liquid rubber, the risk of water leakage through the roof is completely eliminated, because The coating is applied by spraying in a continuous, uniform layer. A distinctive feature when using liquid rubber is the ability to use it on roofs with any configuration, as well as from any materials - concrete or wood.The use of liquid rubber does not require removal of the old coating. The only requirement is careful preparation of the surface for further application of a layer of liquid rubber. It is necessary to clean the surface from grease and dust contaminants, and the surface must be absolutely dry; if this is missed, then there is a high risk that sufficient adhesion of the rubber to the roof surface will not be achieved. As a result, all the efforts you put in will be a waste of your energy and time. In addition, moisture should not be allowed to get on the applied rubber layer for two days; this is how long it will take for such a coating to dry.

liquid tree

Continuing the “liquid” topic, we should mention another product that has appeared on the modern construction market quite recently - liquid wood. Liquid wood is a very practical and reliable building material. It is made in the form of a board from polymer resins mixed with natural wood fibers. The advantages of such boards are obvious. First of all, the price. The price of this material is lower than the price of natural wood, despite the labor-intensive and complex production process. Liquid wood is a real find for designers and planners who want to embody in their ideas the reliability of plastic and the beauty of natural wood. The reliability of this material allows it to be used in places where natural wood will not last very long, for example near bodies of water, such as swimming pools or ponds, since liquid wood is not subject to rotting, insects do not grow in it and it is resistant to the vagaries of nature. A board made of liquid wood can withstand quite a lot of weight without deforming or breaking, it will not crack during installation, so installation is easy and quick even if you do not have the skills to work with this material.

Cork floor

Another, no less interesting wooden novelty is cork flooring. It is made from the bark of the cork tree, which grows mainly in countries such as Tunisia, Spain and Portugal. Cork flooring has amazing elasticity, which is achieved due to air pores that occupy half the volume of the cork itself. This flooring is resistant to mechanical stress, such as heels or legs of tables and chairs, and returns to its original shape after the load is removed. But you shouldn’t get carried away with the loads; it will be better if the legs of the furniture rest on special stands, because Excess weight will cause the cork to crumple, after which it will no longer return to its previous state. In addition to resistance to deformation, cork flooring has amazing soundproofing properties, so it is relevant if noisy neighbors live on the floor below. Thanks to its fine-grain structure, cork flooring is always unique and individual. The color options for such floors can be very different, but they are mostly made to order in color. Cork floors are installed using special glue. After installation, you can optionally varnish the floor, although due to the large number of pores, you will need at least five layers of varnish until it stops being absorbed and begins to form an even, smooth layer. It is not recommended to make cork floors in damp rooms, as they are susceptible to moisture. This is one of the disadvantages of cork flooring. Another disadvantage is the fairly high price, so not everyone can afford such a soft, warm and environmentally friendly floor.

Rubber tiles

Well, the last new product on the construction market, which will be presented in this review, will be a product that is practically impossible to get anywhere - these are rubber tiles made from obsolete car tires. This product was invented by the European company Euroshield. The inventors of these tiles were forced to come up with such an original way of recycling old tires due to the fact that all landfills and trash cans are filled with useless tires. Rubber tiles have amazing strength, can withstand both hail and heat, are not affected by temperature changes and have an original appearance.

Recycled tire shingles are stronger than any known roofing material due to their ability to stretch and contract. Rubber tiles are mounted, like ordinary flexible tiles, using glue or using screws and nails. The warranty period for this new product is set at 50 years, but in reality it will last much longer. Even after the end of its useful life, the product can be recycled again to make new shingles, so it is essentially a forever roof.

All the new items presented in this material are new only now, but soon they will become a part of our everyday life, taking the place of outdated and less advanced materials that were used in construction before them and will finally displace the building materials we are accustomed to. And these new products will be replaced by others, and this will continue as long as man lives on Earth. His inquisitive mind constantly strives for discoveries and the desire to improve his life, finding the most amazing solutions to the most unusual problems.