Page 71 - Lighting Magazine - August 2013

Retail Strategy

3. RemoDeling & home 4. inteRioR DesigneRs
FuRnishings RetaileRs & aRchitects
Developing and managing preferential relationships, gif These professionals have a signifcant amount
card referral programs, design trend seminars, and sales of infuence on where homeowners shop and
events with furniture, fooring, kitchen & bath, window & what they purchase. Because of that, it is of real
door, etc. retailers are excellent sources of ongoing refer- lasting value to proactively develop, nurture,
rals for buy cycle prospects. and manage relationships with them. How?
The ways in which to execute programs with these re- While there are many ways, one of the best is to
tailers can vary, yet basically consist of visiting the store invest in an outside salesperson to call on them
to speak with the owner/manager to suggest and discuss regularly and provide presentations on new
ways in which you can engage one anothers sales staf for products from markets, new design trends, and
referrals plus customers for purchases. emerging technologies.
Another strategy is to utilize the same gif card
TIP! Developing market-wide sales events program I described for real estate agents. Who
between your stores is great synergy. wouldn t want to give clients a $100 gif which
costs them nothing? Another good method is to
host in-store events.

TIP! The key take away here is: DONT
GIVE UP! Try, test, adapt try, test, adapt
until you succeed!

YOU 5. community & PRoFessional

tRaDe associations

Get actively involved in your local business as-
sociations such as the Chamber of Commerce,
Rotary Club, and others, plus the professional
trade associations that operate in your mar-
ket for real estate agents, architects, interior
designers, kitchen & bath professionals, remod-
elers, and home builders. Listed below are links
to these associations where you can fnd your
local chapter and take action today!

www.realtor.org, www.asid.org, www.aia.org,
www.nkba.org, www.nari.org, www.nahb.org

Making a sustained efort to become an active
and visible member of complementary associa-
tions and groups can make a substantial impact
2. electRicians on your business and your life. Get involved!
Make a contribution! Enjoy life-long friendships!
These folks are all too ofen overlooked and ignored as an excellent While you may have tried before and failed, oth-
source of referrals and business for lighting showrooms. Developing ers have tried and succeeded greatly. How about
an outside sales efort supported with referral gif cards, direct mail, you give trade associations another try and be
telemarketing, in-store events, and branded premiums (i.e. caps, tape FULLY INVESTED in the efort?
measures, cups, etc.) can increase your success with generating more While I did not include home builders here,
business and referrals with electricians. they surely can provide you with business and
referrals. However, I believe the fve groups I
TIP! With a commission reward program in place, they can actually listed have the potential to provide you with
become an extension of your sales force. even more and beter leads.

august 2013 | enLIGHTenment Magazine 69