10 ways to sell more doors

n OOR SALES, especially for re- I m6dsling and renovation, are continuing strong this year as attention to design is concentrated on the European look, lofts, atriums, wood cabinets, high ceilings, special window treatments, fancy hardware and entry doors.

The following 10 tips are for those who want to keep their door sales in tune with the national trends.

(1) Sell doors as more than a product. Sell a special look, a distinctive touch, a mood, a feeling, an architectural dimension. Create a charismatic environment in your door section.

(2) Display doors with flair and drama. Line them up for inspection. Spotlight a single door. Put a row of doors in a wall to be opened, closed and walked through. Rack them in a space saving divider where individual doors can be pulled out for inspection.

(3) Promote door sales with open houses, special rebates, advertising, newsletters, promotion stories in local newspapers. Build connections with builders, remodelers and decorators. Sponsor a question and answer session on doors over the local radio or tv. Donate a door for a local charity.

(4) Emphasize service. Offer clinics in the finishing and hanging of doors. Have experts on your staff to answer questions on size availability. Be prepared to special order. Offer installation and finishing services. Make information on measuring available. Service complaints promptly.

(5) Maintain an impressive inventory of sizes and styles. Become THE door headquarters. Build a library of catalogs. Offer special order service.

(6) Market to both new home and remodeling sales. Have special open houses with incentives for contractors and builders. Promote your d-i-y services at clinics. Send out brochures and literature.

IIISPUYS should allow customer to see all of the door

(7) Advertise in newspapers and local home magazines as well as on radio and tv. Tie into door manufacturer's national advertising whenever possible. Have a truckload or parking lot sale of doors with your distributor's help. Hang a banner on the front of the store proclaiming.it as "door headquarters. "

(8) Train your staff to be door experts. Lean on your distributor for help in educating salespeople. Have early morning or after hours classes

Story at a Glance

Suggestions for gaining a bigger share of the prosperous door market. .. display tips. advertising recommendations ways to develop customer lists and build prospect potential.

and product sessions. Make sure that your staff knows everything about doors and all the answers to customer's questions. Drill them on patience and courtesy as well as sales techniques.

(9) Develop a broad customer base. Target all possible door buyers, builders, contractors, do-it-yourself, buy-it-yourself, residential, remodeling and commercial markets. Professional buildings, rest homes, retirement complexes, restaurants, small shopping malls and offices are all candidates for door purchases.

(10) Build your reputation and sales by participating in any available model homes, home shows and trade shows in the area. Displays of doors in shopping malls have been used successfully to develop prospect lists. A drawing in conjunction with a realtor with a door awarded to a resale buyer is a good way to develop a list of remodeling prospects.

rrtHEN A CUSTOMER asked to lU see entry doors 25 years ago, the dealer usually showed him a couple of wood doors. Now he is offered a choice of dozens of styles of wood, insulated steel, vinYl clad and fiberglass entry systems.

Insulated steel door systems are the best known of the doors utilizing man-made materials. TheY came on the market back in the '60s as a selfclaimed remedy for troublesome and expensive callbacks for builders. Steel door makers claimed wood doors installed and htted on the job site were causing problems.

The material and construction used in the steel door aimed to eliminate splitting, warping and rotting. The insulated steel door is usually a polystyrene, wood or particleboard core faced with galvanized steel.

Story at a Glance

The benefits of insulated steel door systems. ways dealers can use them to beef uP total door sales.. sales Presentation suggestions you can use.

In addition, the systems aPProach of a factory designed and manufactured frame, sill and weather stripping components often eliminated many of the ht and air leakage problems experienced with some sitebuilt door systems.

Builders responded favorablY to the new doors. As Performance improved, industrY standards developed and an expanded range ofProducts became available, the insulated steel door became accePted in the building industry. Current figures place insulated steel door sales at 57 .90/o of total door industry sales.

Professional remodelers and doit-yourselfers have accepted the insulated steel door as well as the builders. The broad range of Products and applications makes them useful for both residential and light commercial uses. The ease of installing the pre-hung system is especially adaptable to d-i-Y Projects.

In addition to entry doors, insulated steel door systems are available as sliding patio doors. Use as passage doors between garage and living quarters in residences is increasing as frre codes in some areas specify 90