A Powerful Competitive Edge: Your Sales System
The Kitchen & Bath design industry has experienced some crazy growth in the last 3 years. From homeowners stuck at home deciding to finally remodel to housing growth in new places due to a rise in remote work, there is more business than ever before. And more competition. According to Google there are expected to be 150,000 kitchen & bath design businesses in the US this year, up from 120,000 in 2020.
Wait – what? Aren’t we talking about sales systems? What does 30,000 more competitors have to do with systems? As it turns out, a lot. Your sales system can be a huge competitive advantage as it can provide a superior client experience even before a prospective client ever talks to a designer, and long after a project is done.
From the Client’s Lens: Unlocking the Potential of a Well-Designed Sales System
In this episode we’re examining the sales system from the client’s perspective. While it is true that clients aren’t actual users of the system, a well-designed system can amplify the value they experience when interacting with your company while simultaneously reducing the burden on the designer.
How you might ask? Let’s walk through a couple possibilities. Your sales system can qualify incoming leads and start serving up relevant content (like a budget spreadsheet or remodel ready checklist) even before the designer reaches out to schedule a consultation. Sophisticated systems can even enable the right kind of leads to schedule their consultation directly, and then prepare them to gather the needed information to be ready for the design consultation. And send them timely reminders. And those are just some of the possibilities.
Empowering Client Interactions: The Edge of a Competitive Sales System
A great sales system can have a substantial impact on the client experience in the Kitchen & Bath design business in several ways:
- Enhanced communication: A well-designed sales system can explicitly and effectively communicate the next steps in the process to your clients, reducing the burden on the designer. It can also help prep the client between interactions with the designer, helping clients to gather necessary information or schedule the next meeting without the designer needing to remember to reach out.
Also, anyone that interacts with the client has the full context of the relationship. So if the client is delighted, the next person that interacts with them might ask them for a review. And if things haven’t been going well, the next person that interacts with them might offer something extra or a bonus, or at least knows not to ask for a review at that point.
- Personalization: An effective sales system keeps all client information in one place, enhancing your ability to provide customer-centric services. Now, you or any team member can quickly access complete client information without having to ask a client to repeat themselves. This not only streamlines operations but also creates a high-touch experience for your clients without additional strain on the designers.
- Amazing experience: A well-documented and transparent sales process can lay out exactly what will happen and when. This improves the client’s understanding of how things work and reduces any potential friction or misunderstandings. In other words, it can help teach clients not to be crazy.
Minimizing Errors: The Competitive Edge of a Robust Sales System in Kitchen & Bath Design
Another way an efficient sales system contributes to an amazing experience is that it helps to reduce errors. Without a solid system, it’s easy for details to fall between the cracks, which can lead to mistakes or misunderstandings..
Your sales system can play a key role in improving client experiences, increasing client satisfaction, and ultimately, providing an ongoing competitive advantage in your kitchen and bath design business.
In the next episode we’ll be taking the CEO’s view of the sales system. Sure, besides the salesperson, a sales system most obviously benefits the sales leaders in the organization. So let’s talk about how it is best created to provide the most advantage.
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