losing window & door sales with poor displays & weak sales talk

ing of doors and windows including stepped up employee training and additional advertising.

6

OORS & WINDOWS do not

L7 sell themselves. They require heavy merchandising with excellent displays and sharp salesmanship.

Most dealers recognize this. In fact, an authoritative industry study of home center retailers projected a heavier merchandising focus on doors and windows in the 1990s. The survey found 590/o of the retailers expecting to accelerate the merchandis-

Many dealers are already on their way to this goal with outstanding showrooms and employees who can discuss the merits of low-E glass as well as the aesthetics of round tops and French doors or the energy efliciency of a carved entry door.

John Curry Co., Las Cruces, N.M., recently opened a 3,400 sq. ft. facility with a special showroom for homeowners to select their doors, windows and other items. According to owner John Curry, you just can't buy these things from a brochure or catalog.

Story at a Glance

Ways retailers are intensifying interest in merchandising doors & windows... showroom concepts, display ideas you can adapt. techniques to help customers make a buying decision.

On an even larger scale, Pioneer Door Sales, Ogden, Ut., devotes about 3,000 sq. ft. of selling space solely to doors. A wide range of working and movable displays show-

Basic Window Knowledge

o Skylights and windows high on the wall admit more light per square foot than lower windows and allow the light to penetrate deeper into rooms.

o The standard recommendation is a room's glazed area should equal l0% of its floor area, but some designers use larger window units since light and heat loss or gain can be controlled, but too small windows can't be modified to catch more light.

o A good view can be maximized by interior openings positioned so that the view is visible from more than one window.

o Put windows on at least two walls to create a pleasing, balanced natural lighting in a room.

o Patio doors or low windows make a small room seem larger.

Clerestory windows provide natural light and privacy on side walls of houses built on narrow lots.

case well over 50 styles, fully installed with threshold, weatherstripping and hardware. "We also have outside sales people out working with contractors and dealers, ensuring our full area is covered," says door specialist Joe Chapple.

Grant Road Lumber. Tucson. Az., takes its show on the road, regularly participating in mall shows and other community events. "We've been doing these shows for five years," buyer Ned Thomas notes. "They are excellent exposure for our company and for product knowledge."

Various distributors, including Andersen Window and Atrium Door & Window, ship full size displays to the site to line the halls of the malls.

o When determining head and sill heights, try to provide views from both sitting and standing positions. People tend to look down and out of windws rather than up and out.

. Indirect natural light reflected off walls is preferable to direct sunlight in a kitchen or other work area.

The frame and sash must create a pleasing visual composition when windows are combined.

. Angle top windows should line up with roof and ceiling lines.

o Hal[ and quarter rounds can soften the lines of a house or add a traditional look to modern designs.

Eastern morning light is soft and pleasing; southern light has the greatest potential for passive solar gain; western light is harsh with unwanted heat gain in summer; northern light is soft and diffuse, but windows on the north lose heat in winter.

A local ad campaign kicks off each event.

And to further draw traffrc, Grant Road Lumber offers a special giveaway. "We'll get a real expensive door," says Bob Mahoney. "We'll stain it. finish it. install the hardware, and give it away at the show. At our last four-day show, we gave away an $800 door. We provided the stain, finish and labor; Nicolai donated the door, and Weiser provided the locks."

Not only did the promotion attract huge crowds, but it also helped generate future business. The entry blank for the drawing included market research questions to help the company gather prospective sales leads.