HOW TO GET YOUR BUILDING MATERIALS SALES TEAM TO START SELLING CUSTOMERS WHAT THEY NEED NOT JUST WHAT THEY WANT?

Ready-mix concrete, grout, and other construction materials are easy to sell. Customers walk into your store with those needs specifically in mind. In fact, it might not be difficult to convince them to buy an extra bag or two. After the counter sales staff throws in a free hand tool and plastic measuring cup, your customer walks out with exactly what they came in for. But therein lies the problem. Your customer walked out with exactly what they knew they needed. But what about what they didn’t know they needed?

How do you get your staff to start selling customers what they need, not just what they want? In this article, we highlight some practical applications for you and your staff to sell products that increase customer productivity and in turn get them to come back with requests for more great products.

1. Cross-selling and Up-selling.

There are customers who walk in and know exactly what they want and even where it’s located in the store. That’s an easy sale. But no employee should give a customer the minimum experience. Suggestive selling or cross-selling is a sales technique where an employee asks a customer if they would like to include an additional purchase or recommends a product. Upselling is a sales strategy that involves encouraging customers to buy a higher-end version of a product than what they originally intended to purchase. And all your employee has to do is ask a simple question. Instead of asking what material they need, ask instead about the project.

For example, let’s say a customer walks in and asks to purchase a skid load of concrete. After a polite greeting, your employee should immediately follow up with

“Sure thing! What are you working on?”

That initial question is all it takes to begin to understand your customer’s needs. Let’s say they’re building a retaining wall. Your employee could follow up with another question asking the purpose of the wall and then offer a specific brand of concrete that’s more expensive. For example:

“What kind of wall are you building? Oh, a retaining wall? We sell a lot of “this” brand for that particular project. Would you like to purchase this instead? Have you tried this kind?”

From there, another question could lead to an additional sale like;

“How are you planning on mixing this? Do you need any buckets? We carry a great mixer that has the perfect paddle attachment for this amount of concrete."

This interaction leads to more than just a bigger sale….

2. The guidebook says.

Your counter sales rep may not know as much as the pro contractor that just walked in. But, they can still enhance the customer’s shopping experience by offering thoughtful services and asking intuitive questions. Services like providing a pre-printed list of needs for the job. 

Imagine that a customer comes in for tile materials and is immediately handed a list of required supplies, tools, and what aisles they are located in. What if that list even had suggested measurements and amounts for various job sizes? Again, starting with asking simple questions, your employee could quickly reference a pre-printed complimentary guidebook that your store provides. This guidebook could be kept behind the service desk for easy access by your employees for situations just like this as a reference listing everything their customer needs. Here’s an example:

“Looks like an additive is needed for your compound. Would you like me to show you some mixing paddles for that material?”

Or even offering specific tools that help with the job

“That’s a lot of water you will need to mix. We sell a water dosing device by Collomix that could help get it done faster.”

3. Everything you need.

Your counter sales staff may be learning on the job. As they observe, have them take note of products customers are buying for specific jobs. What tools and supplies are purchased for tile work or self-leveling or framing? From this observation, your staff can create a list of these products that they can refer to not only when assisting customers, but actually hand the list out when customers come in.

Again, start with some easy questions like:

“So, what project are you working on? You’re self-leveling a floor? Here, this could help. We’ve created a list of all the products recommended for a job like that. Can I grab any of these for you?”

You probably aren’t able to train all your employees on every material compound your company sells and how to mix and apply it. But providing an access guide for your customers and employees is easy to do and is impressive. There are many situations where a guide could be utilized from concrete repair, to grout sealing, to concrete glazing.

All these suggestive selling techniques show the customer that you are committed to their success and will do whatever it takes to get them what they need. Even though your employee may not be an expert, studies show that salespeople who are educated about their products sell up to 123% more than others with no training. Could your employee direct them to a specific type of tool? Yes! And without high-pressure sales either. While the general point is yes, to sell more, the overall effect will be beneficial to more than just the bottom line.

Shop with us today or speak with one of our Customer Service Representatives for more details.  Our stores are conveniently located in Corinth 450-7247, Vide Bouteille 450-7246, Monchy 450-7248, or Babonneau. You can visit our website or you can follow us on Facebook.