This dealer prefers to stage its own ceiling, floor clinics

HEN it comes to staging doit-yourself clinics for consumers, the folks atThe Home DePot would rather do it themselves.

The traditional approach to clinics is for a retail establishment to call in vendor representatives to conduct them. But the Atlanta, Ga., based building supplies chain decided it would be better if its own sales force taught customers how to install ceilings, floors, countertoPs and the like. Vendors were enlisted not to teach customers but to teach the salespeople how to teach customers.

A total of about 2,000 PeoPle attended the clinics held at eight Home Depot stores in Atlanta and Florida. Sales increased the month following the instructional series. And com- pany officials predict long-term sales increases as a result of its clinic program.

But why hold do-it-yourself clinics yourself? Why not leave them to the vendors? There are two good reasons, says Home Depot's personnel training manager, Jim Herman.

The first reason is that vendor reps who customarily teach clinics are "technical types" used to dealing with store buyers. Home Depot staffers, on the other hand, spend their day relating to retail customers, answering their questions and translating trade jargon into "common, everyday language."

The second, and perhaps more important, reason is that no matter how good the vendor reps are at conduct- ing clinics, once the clinics are over, the reps are gone. "What does the customer do? He has to turn to our salesman anyway," says Herman. "So why not establish that rapport and confidence right away between the customer and our people?"

"Our people are going to be here day after day. The obvious thing to do was to teach our own people to handle the clinics."

Six salespeople at each of Home Depot's eight locations were trained to act as clinic conductors, or "Pros," as they are called. The vendors selected to provide the training in various product categories included Armstrong (for ceilings), American Woodmark (cabinets), Glamor Top (countertops), Wallco

September,1983

(wallpaper) and Design Brick (artificial bricking).

A six-week advertising blitz paved

Story at a Glance

Southeast chain initiates d.i.y clinics using store personnel as instructors staffers relate well to customers . exceptional response with in. creased sales.

the way for the clinics, which were held Friday through Sunday at each location. There were radio spots and full-page newspaper ads. Three pages in one of Home Depot's periodic catalogues were devoted to clinic news. A special mailing was issued that included product stuffers from each vendor, measuring grids and price-incentive sheets announcing all the clinic times.

Prices on clinic-spotlighted materials were reduced by as much as half. To set them apart, clinic Pros

Decking Fencing

wore special aprons and handed out special business cards.

Training took place about two weeks before the actual clinics. "We picked good people to be the Pros," says Herman. "We picked people who are good public-relations speakers with a real sense of the materials and a good degree of selfconfidence. People who can work well one-on-one. or one-on-100."

Schooling began with vendor marketing reps and Home Depot officials exchanging ideas on how to

(Pleose turn to page .?8)