A community of decorative plumbing and hardware professionals creating a culture of excellence through professional development.
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Calling All Manufacturers!
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DPHA Manufacturers, we would love for you to be a part of the 2020 Professional of the Year Awards! The Awards Committee would like to hear from any firm interested in producing the physical awards presented at the 2020 Conference. All ideas are welcome!
This year we will be presenting custom awards in the following categories:
- Showroom Professional of the Year
- Manufacturer Professional of the Year
- Representative Professional of the Year
- Showroom of the Year
- Representative Agency of the Year
- Customer Service Department of the Year
Funds are available to cover the cost of the awards. If you are interested in producing the awards for this year's conference, please submit a proposal to Rebekah Covay at
rebekah@dpha.net
by February 15, 2020.
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DPHA Members' Blog - January 10, 2020
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As a DPHA member you may use this content as your own in any of your marketing efforts, including your website, emails, newsletters and more. Use images of spaces you've designed to accompany content and insert your market territory, showroom name and contact information as applicable.
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As the calendar turns the page to a new year and a new decade, now is the time to flip the switch on a bathroom renovation. We surveyed our showroom team to identify the top trends we expect in 2020 bathroom remodeling...
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2020 Corporate Sponsors will be added as we receive completed forms.
Please email
Kymberly
if you haven't received the form yet or have any questions.
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Sales Tips and Industry Thoughts
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The Unique Customer Journey:
Thoughts from Fellow Jeff Valles
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Your company has been successfully working with this talented designer for years, but today seems a bit different. Do you handle her the same way as in the past? Do you start asking questions to learn what is different or do you simply listen a bit harder and slow down. I vote for the latter, you?
Truth be told, we must always keep in mind that every time a customer visits your showroom, their path on every project is unique. Not only is this meeting unique, but every meeting pertinent to this one job will be unique. Your customer still retains the trust, but time moves on and situations change. Who knows what has happened personally or professionally to any of the players since you last spoke?
In all situations, salespeople must always actively listen. If it is a first meeting, they must discover the pecking order for this particular group on this particular day. Who is the alpha? The client? Designer? Builder? For all we know, this might be the first time all have been in the same space together...what fun!
Your main job is not to expose any issues, but engage them in a way that they know you are there to help, listen and learn. If you start probing and expose issues, you and the group will have to deal with what is exposed. If that happens, the underlying issue is their trust in each other and in you. You are the outsider, therefore, the easy scapegoat.
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Am I digging too deep on this? Our DPH industry, on average, closes roughly 35% of bids. We can improve that percentage if we improve the way we engage our customers.
Little things matter. One little flub can throw a monkey wrench into hard won trust and confidence of an old or new customer. I think you will agree that every sale is unique. Understand that each time clients enter your showroom they are on a unique journey. Engage with them to learn all you can.
I suggest taking a few minutes before your next PK to discuss this with your sales team. This simple awareness is important for your new budding sales heroes to understand. New salespeople are wrongly looking for repeatable processes to follow, and that will not play well in the long run. The best salespeople approach each meeting with an open mind. Their experience has them ready to engage each fresh opportunity and the unique collection of issues that job will drop in their laps.
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No Such Thing as a Free Lunch...or Free Shipping
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Free shipping has become an expectation for most American consumers thanks in large measure to Amazon. Shipping charges are the number one reason why online shoppers abandoned their online carts, according to a 2018 survey by
Internet Retailer,
further supporting the notion that Americans do not believe they should pay for freight. Other shoppers faced with a minimum for free shipping will make additional purchases, or buy more expensive products, in order to qualify for free freight, claims University of Pennsylvania Wharton School Professor Roy Berman.
Consumer ire caused by having to pay freight for online and other purchases reflects the economic principle known as “pain of paying,” claims Ravi Dhar, director of Yale’s Center for Customer Insights. “The reaction to free shipping goes beyond the normal way of looking at cost and benefit,” explains Dhar. It’s similar to the anger hotel guests have when they have to pay to use the Internet in their rooms. And often the pain of paying is more about the thought of having to pay for something that most of the time is free regardless of how much the consumer is being charged. Offering a discount that has the equivalent value to the shipping costs is not as effective as free shipping. Dhar claims that consumers will pay more for products if there is not a separate charge for freight.
Not all shipping is the same. Smaller retailers pay a higher rate to ship packages than large companies like Amazon, who leverage their scale and volume for lower rates. Similarly, Amazon has convinced consumers that they have a right to return any purchase without charge or consequence.
Amazon has helped offset its free shipping charge through its subscription service Prime. There are more than 100 million consumers who pay Amazon $119 a year for “free shipping.” That is more than $11 BILLION in Prime dues. Amazon’s strategy is to entice Prime members to purchase as much as possible on its site to take advantage of the free two-day shipping offer.
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So how can smaller retailers compete with free shipping offers? There are a few different options available for showrooms.
- Reduce the discount offered to cover the cost of freight. This is a way to have the customer covering shipping costs without them feeling like they are. Some dealers do this with incoming freight from manufacturers as well.
- Increase the price of products to cover the cost of freight. This allows customers to feel like they are still getting a full discount, but you are covering any freight costs.
- Require a certain purchase amount to qualify for free freight, similar to what most manufacturers do. You will still be eating the shipping costs, but the larger orders will provide some relief.
- Instead of itemizing your quotes, provide lump sums for projects. Your new bathroom fixtures are $22,583 and that includes freight. The pain of paying for freight may be alleviated by not seeing it as a separate line item.
The fact is that shipping, like lunch, is never really free.
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DPHA would love your feedback! In this section of Connections, we will be asking for your opinion on a different topic each week. Let your voice be heard!
Last week we asked dealers how you combat IMAP pricing policies. A whopping 60% of you match prices when needed. For those who were unaware, IMAP is "Internet Minimum Advertised Price."
This week we have a question based on the sales tip article above:
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How do you combat Free Shipping from competitors?
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We don't charge shipping on any orders and eat the costs
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We increase our selling price and offer free shipping
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We don't charge shipping on orders over a certain amount
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We have our set shipping costs and stick to them
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Member News, Updates and Cool New Stuff
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Top Knobs
announced the five winners of its inaugural Design Board Contest. Entrants, including interior designers, architects and trade professionals, were invited to submit their Top Knobs projects for a chance to win up to $5,000.
Congratulations to the Grand Prize winner - Dave McFadden of PB Kitchen Design in Geneva, IL. McFadden used the Flat Sided pulls from Top Knobs Aspen II Collection in brushed satin nickel in his kitchen design. He focused on creating a kitchen fit for entertaining while maintaining the industrial aesthetic of the rest of the house.
Click
here
to see the rest of the winners.
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Congratulations to the 2019 Q4 Recognition Program Graduates! The following associates completed all three Recognition Program Categories, and will be receiving desk plaques to show off their accomplishments!
Megan Finn, Astro Design Centre
Caitlin Poirier, Astro Design Centre
Matt Frank, Astro Design Centre
If you are interested in utilizing the DPHA Recognition Program for training, please email kymberly@dpha.net
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Stone Forest's latest addition to the Elemental Collection, the Ventus Wall Mount Sink, was awarded Interior Design's 2019 Best of Year Honoree in the Bath Fittings Category.
This is the seventh design award for the Elemental Collection.
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Barclay’s
new Ceres is a charming scooped 59” acrylic freestanding tub set on an unassuming base.
The 59” bathtub has acrylic interior and exterior walls. The option to add foam insulation between the tub walls for a longer lasting warm soak is available. An overflow slot with an integrated drain is one of Barclay's new exciting features for many of its acrylic tubs. White drain and overflow covers are included. A stunning selection of custom colors is available from Sherwin-Williams.
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Best Regards,
Kymberly B Weiner
Director of Marketing & Sales
Decorative Plumbing and Hardware Association (DPHA)
504.475.8111
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