More retail aids for Desigh-A'Deck

?HE California Redwood AssoI ciation spring-summer promotion will add new retail aids to its successful Redwood Design-a-Deck Plans Kit, making it easier for retailers to use the kits to stimulate big-ticket sales of garden grades of redwood for decks.

A new counter display holder for 20 kits converts from the shipment carton; a new tipsheet, How to Boost Your Redwood Sales with Redwood Design-a-Deck Plans Kit; and a step-bystep slide show, How to Build a Red' wood Deck, are useful for sales training seminars or in-store consumer clinics.

Last year, Design-a-Deck became the CRA's biggest-ever garden grades project with over 35,000 kits sold. Design-a-Deck exhibits were in home and trade shows from New Orieans to California and the kit won a sales literature award.

This year, Design-a-Deck, with even bigger retail promotion potential, has a new low dealer price so it's a profitmaker by itself. In addition, kit designer Richard O'Grady is available to help dealers set up deck displays and d-i-y clinics using new aids for bigticket redwood lumber sales.

Copyrighted Redwood Design-aDeck includes a 20-p. manual, punchout patterns, graph paper and plans showing how to design and build modular redwood deck sections with benches, stairs and railings to fit any house and yard. Complete materials lists on plans sheets help dealers handle lumber orders quickly and easily.

F.asy-to-build deck sections measure 6'x8' to 14'x20', with an average deck using around 1 100 bd. ft. ofredwood garden grades - construction heart and construction common - as specified in materials lists. All Designa-Deck planning materials are reusable for adding deck space and amenities year afler year, with great repeat and tie-in saies potential.

The kit's design proved so successful in 1977 that several major retailers, including the Western branches of Wickes Corp., now plan to use it as the basis of redwood promotion with sales training seminars, deck displays and regularly scheduled in-store clinics for consumers on deck building.

Here's how to use the CRA's new Design-a-Deck sales aids for your own promotion. The new CRA tiPsheet covers advertising, displays, in-store special events and sales seminars. You can use all or part of the package and add your own ideas as well.

Displaying the new kit holder and advertising with free newspaper and Yellow Pages art can launch your program. To encourage deck sales, kit price can be rebated on lumber purchases. A display deck built by a local contractor or store emPloYees can show off kits, with promotion banners and a color Design-a-Deck ad poster for extra interest.

A display incorporating stePs, benches, railings, garden furniture and plants can be built for customers to walk on. Or consider raising the deck three feet for consumers to use as a work surface for laying out plans kits during how-to clinics.

Story at a Glance

More retail sales aids have been added to the proven Design-ADeck package to make it easier for retailers to stimulate big ticket sales of garden grades.

Part of the deck's understructttre can be left exposed with sales personnel on hand to explain construction and the kit. The CRA slide show on deck building with 45 coior slides and a script can be presented on or next to the display, and can also be adaPted to automated A-V systems to run continuously during big-traffic days.

In-store deck clinics on SaturdaY afternoons or weeknights can draw up to several hundred customers. Some clinics may not pay off immediately, Homeowners must plan and budget for decks. But by the second year, experienced retailers have found (Please tunt to pase 54)