In the first installment you learned how Earl Swalm, a Canadian floor dealer, took control of his business and grew it by 50% in one year, while at the same time cutting his work hours to less than 35 per week.

In this installment I’m going to cover the sales and marketing strategies Earl used to get this impressive growth. In a short column I can’t cover every single strategy, so I’ll focus on the most important.

Mining Your Database For Gold

Most floor dealers totally ignore the only people on planet Earth who have proven they will give them money in exchange for flooring: their past customers. Instead they opt to spend a king’s ransom on print or online advertising, chasing cold prospects who don’t know them, like them or trust them. If that describes you, don’t feel bad.

A lot of the training in our industry focuses on cold advertising, both print or online, which misleads a lot of dealers into thinking this is the best way to grow their business. Not true. Now, there’s nothing wrong with cold advertising, in fact I teach dealers effective print and online strategies for reaching strangers, but it simply cannot deliver results that are comparable with marketing to past customers.

I’ve seen dealers go from nearly closing their doors to, within a couple of years, opening their second store by marketing to past customers on a monthly basis. That is what Earl did. He uses a monthly newsletter that is full of fun, informative, entertaining content, so customers actually look forward to reading it even if they don’t need flooring right then. (This is very different than sending out a 10% off postcard, most of which wind up in the trash unread.)

Earl’s strategy creates total top of mind awareness, so when a customer needs flooring, or when they have the opportunity to refer someone in their sphere of influence, they think of him.

Email Magic

Email marketing to your past customers can also be effective, as long as you don’t spam them with endless pitches to buy stuff. Earl uses email content which is similar to his printed newsletter: fun, engaging content that people enjoy, and will forward to their friends.

Creating a Culture of Referrals

This starts with the basics, like showing up on time, dressing professionally, returning calls on time; doing what you say you’re going to do, when you say you’re going to do it. It also means treating customers like royalty by WOWing them with great service. Do things like offer beverages to prospects, wear shoe covers while in their home, give them free spotter or cleaning kits and a customized floor maintenance plan. You should also ask for referrals. When you provide great service you’ve earned the right to ask.

Equipping Your Team For Success

Earl uses a step-by-step selling system that WOW’s customers, positions his sales team as trusted advisors, differentiates his store from the competition, enables him to command premium prices, and helps his team close more sales. He implements this system by having regular trainings with his sales team.

Like Earl, you should have a written, step-by-step sales process that you can provide to your team, train them on how to use it, and hold them accountable.

By doing these things, Earl is growing his business by attracting more and more repeat and referral customers. Some benefits of doing that include:

  • Dramatically improved sales closing rate
  • Less time wasted on strangers who turn out to be “price shoppers.”
  • Higher margins
  • Increased referrals. (Repeat and referred customers tend to refer more than strangers who come in from seeing an ad or doing a web search.)
    In the next installment, I’ll cover the strategies Earl used to cut his work hours in half.

In the next installment, I’ll discuss how Ear was able to cut his work hours.

To Tons Of Customers!
Jim Augustus Armstrong is The “Coach”

Jim Augustus Armstrong is the President of Flooring Success Systems, a program that equips dealers to double their profits, cut their work hours in half and beat the boxes! Many dealers have totally transformed their businesses and their lives for the better after joining Flooring Success Systems.
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