Pointers for Boosting Woodworking Sales

By Rick Hill

August 15, 2011 | 2:11 pm CDT

We've been talking about growing sales by differentiating your woodworking shop from others. The most important technique is empathy - listening to customers, really listening, is a key way to differentiate your business from most others. That's because this skill is so uncommon in businesses in woodworking, cabinetry, or in businesses in general.

But it's a critical skill in a field where custom projects driven by the client are the deliverable. In our case its wood cabinets, furniture, rooms, etc.

Here's a half-dozen potential ways to highlight the difference between your woodworking business and the rest of the lot. Next time we'll give you another batch of pointers like these:

Daily clean up service: offer to seal the doors to the adjacent rooms so dust doesnâttravel throughout the house. You may already be doing this, but are you promoting it?

Fast installation: increasingly firms are pre-staging cabinets for quick installs. Have you considered this? Can you create ateam of skilled plumbers, electricians, and carpenters that will all arrive together and getthe job done quickly? Would you be able to install over a weekend, like the Extreme Makeover Team?

Quality of product: Solid wood vs. particleboard, hinges, slides, inside accessories; thereare all kinds of ways to promote quality. Unfortunately, many low quality companies use the word 'quality' in their tag lines. To set your company apart from these competitors,make sure to spell out what products you use that make your product better.

Special wood finishes or custom stains. The woodworking industry is a fashion industry. Fiveyears ago we did a lot of white pickled finishes. Two years ago there was a ton of corbels, carvings and ornate doors. Now we are into Green cabinets and natural woods. Promotethe ability to make all these colors and finishes come true. Think ahead of the trend. Are you spraying a finish that could be considered Green? Promote it now.

Delivery: are you faster than your competitor? Promote it. This is a fast food society and we have a hard time waiting 2 minutes for a meal. 8 weeks for a display or kitchen is an eternity.

After the sale follow up: offer a one-year free adjustment on all cabinet doors and cabinet door cleaning. It gets you back in the house to ask about other possible jobs.

Heading to IWF 2010? Let's meet at WoodworkingNetwork.com's Booth No. 2224.

Editor's note: Rick Hill is a consultant specializing in woodworking companies that need to find new markets and more sales. He is also an independent sales rep and founder of WoodReps.Com, a national association of independent reps in the woodworking industry. He can be reached through his website OnPointSales.com.

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