“Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.” – Thomas Edison Do you ever notice how many people seem to have big plans, yet have very small accomplishments? You know the type. They are the ones who can always tell you what’s wrong, but are doing very little constructive…
Many successful flooring retailers spend a great deal of time mastering the art of making a great first impression when first greeting a customer in their showrooms. Clearly this is critical, but it’s important to remember that this is not the only opportunity to control first impressions. Let’s examine the opportunities to make positive impressions…
Having spent the majority of my adult life engaged in retailing, I have observed that many store owners and managers have given a great deal of thought as to what results they want to see their respective businesses achieve. They can tell you what products they wish to sell. They know how much margin they…
Each time that I enter TISE on opening day, I find myself standing in the display hall for a moment to let some of the beauty soak in. As I reflect, it becomes clear to me that this is a feeling that far too few retailers in our business seem to understand. I ask myself…
As flooring retailers continue the seemingly never-ending task of replacing and upgrading their sales personnel, there will constantly be new hires to blend into our staffs. My experience tells me that many managers put considerable time and resources into the recruitment process. Understandable. What I don’t understand is why when new staff members come on…
As I write this, I have spent the past month attending several industry conventions, trade shows and related meetings. The common question asked of me at all of these gatherings has been, “What are you doing to fix our installation problem? Are you training new blood for our industry?” My response has typically been, “Let…
Free. Is there a more misused, misleading and sometimes blatantly dishonest word in the English language? I think not. Its misuse became so prevalent that not long ago the government had to put an end to claims of “free financing”, etc. Logical thinking people would easily recognize that anything of value would obviously have a…
I saw this headline while reading the editorial section in a morning newspaper recently. The subject of the article was local politics, but it struck me as defining exactly the position many independent flooring retailers are finding themselves in today. We at the WFCA are seeing far too many dealers who have been too busy…
In the 1980’s the American Floor Covering Association (AFA), one of the components of today’s World Floor Covering Association (WFCA), offered a five-day traveling university that featured Walter Guinan, Frank Mayfield and Herb Wolk as the instructors. All three were fantastic talents, as is exhibited by their all being in our industry’s Hall of Fame,…
It’s a reality that most local, independent businesses are constantly being pressured by large mass merchants. It matters not if you’re selling toothpaste or televisions, some large firm is bound to have a bigger, faster, cheaper version that they are promoting with yet another barely believable offer. The flooring business certainly falls into this category….
The flooring industry has long been viewed somewhat suspiciously by the buying public. Frankly, I believe this dubious viewpoint has been deserved. I served on the Northeast Kansas Better Business Bureau board of directors for many years and each year we were provided with a list of more than 200 business categories ranked by the…
In the 1990’s, my firm was among several dealers asked to monitor all installation related interactions that our firms had with customers. We not only tracked installations, but all correspondence that we had with our customers which may have lead to them being disappointed with the service experience that they received. There were both single…