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How do you handle display credit? If you put in a countertop display how do you charge for the display? Do you do it for free? Do you discount it? Do you offer some type of future credit on work ordered? Help!!
If they are under a contract with us and we are going to be doing quite a bit, it is free (gauranteed work). If they are a smaller builder we charge 50% of their normal cost then give back 10% of that over their next 10 jobs. They get it for free eventually.
John
We get the manufacturer to pay for the material and we will do the fab and install for free. Of course they have to be a customer first. This can’t be some kitchen shop that al of a sudden wants a display. It must be an established customer.
None of our distributors will give you material any longer, they will give you 50% off however. Usually the 50% fee we charge will cover the material that we get charged for. I can barely get a half sheet for my own showroom for free and getting samples is like pulling teeth.
If a distributor will not support you selling their material, then pick a distributor that will.
Short Story…
About three years ago we wanted a quartz product. We called Caesarstone and they showed up that day, in the rain and delivered a sample rack and plenty of samples along with literature. A few months later we were selling a little bit and we asked for some material for a display. They said what color would you like and when.
We sell the crap out of Caesarstone because we love their committment to us. We are not their largest customer, but the salesmen and support staff they have built around their product makes them a huge success.
Do you know that supermartkets make more money selling shelf space than the actually make on selling the food. Where do you think a distributor can display their material if its not your showroom. You should charge them to display it. 🙂
And last, how much do you think the home centers charge the countertops manufacturers just to have the right to sell their product. It is in the millions. And they have to supply all the sales material for free.
Andy, You touched on a subject that few know about. When you walk into most Lowes, all this product you see, is not their inventory. They actually rent floor space in the building. Take a look at the employees working their with brown vest on, they are not employees, their name tag say Vendor. Most inventory is stocked by vendors. I’ve have been told that minimum display space is $2000 /mo per store. That is what they pay to hang a wall display. I know the lighting fixture area works that way….
John,
I agree with Andy and Kelsey, if you can’t get them to work with you then work with someone else. We always get our distributors to comp the material for displays, model homes, etc…. (if fact one of our distributors told us they would comp us the material for our new home if we made it available to show to our clients)
Why should they get free advertising? The least they can do is comp you the material.
I agree with all of you entirely and have asked many times why this is not the case. Here is the reason, there are so many fabricaotrs around here that if you dont want to deal with them, the guy down the road will. Primarily this is in regards to the larger manufacturers. The smaller manuf do give away free sheets. I am pretty good friends with one of the material reps here and that is what he told is the main reason. There are over 200 shops with in a 40mi radius here. 15 of which are major facilities, around 10 kitchens per day. Every once in a while I do get some free material for my personal showroom but not often.
Most fabricators don’t even have a showroom. Your rep is making it seem as though they are giving out 200 displays a year. On top of that a display will last a good 3 years and still look good.
We almost never do displays for nothing. If you give them something for free, it has no value to them. If they are forced to make a small initial investment, they work harder to pay it off. Many times we work out a credit back over time, but generally we force them to invest up front.
Reminds me of when I was a kid and we had an old bike in the shed with flat tires. It was an old rusty beach cruiser piece of junk, but some people like those, so I put it in the yard with a sign that said “Free Bike”. It sat for three weeks. I got mad, figured everyone thought it was junk so they didn’t want it. Replaced the sign with “Bike $5”. It was stolen the second day.
I had that happen with a couch once. As soon as I took the free sign off it (Because a friend called and said they wanted it) it got stolen….go figure!
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