Ways to sell more wood moulding

By James E. Mongraln Director of Marketing Wood Moulding & Millwork Producers Association

OMEO\MNERS, builders and remodelers in the'90s ane well inforrred and interested in how the products they are buying will meet the specifications of their pro' jects, but moulding is a mystery to ru|ny of them.

Deciding on proftles, species, types and lengths confuses them unless the retailer takes time to talk about their projects and the results expected. Those who sell moulding should be trained to provide the help and answers needed. New products such as mouldings manufactured from imported woods, solid q fingerjoint' MDF primed or veneered r€quire expanded training in the specific application characteristics of each of these new products. (See related story p. 12) The Millwork Home Study Course offered by the National Sash & Door Jobbers Association (708-299-3400) is a good starting poinr

In addition to having moulding-wise employees, a stot€ can display information to help answer a prospective buyer's questions. For exarnple, a wall chart can show all the profrtes stocked in the store including the lengths available

Did You Know?

o Millwork sales represenll2l" of total sales and32"/" of growth in large home centers.

o Millwork with a retail rnargin of approximately 28"/"has 6.97 turns.

o Millwork is second only to wood as the largest growth product in a home center' o75o/o of the moulding remodeling is done by do-it'yourselfers.

and species with a nane or nunber for identification. Display boards that show cross sections of mouldings are great selling tools. They are extrelnely helpful since profrtes of moulding standing in a storage rack are difficult -to see. Because most customers are not very good at judging lengths, availability of a length stick is important so that the proper length can be selected.

Since most retailers are concerned with having only short lengths left in the moulding racks, the retail staff should be trained to sell the benefits of shorts. Studies show that in a typical house floor plan, more than 507o of themoulding can be shorter than 8 feet.

By finding out the size of the project, the number of roons, the dimension of the rooms and whether the mould-

Story at a Glance

Ways to train employees to sell more mouldinE, especially shorts displays that help customeri make the right choices for their proiects ... closs merchandising techniques.

ing will be stained or painted, a salesperson can show the customer the benefits of buying a variety of moulding lengths, including shorts. Buying in the lengths needed prevenB material waste and lowers costs for the customer.

Retailers also benefit from this type of merchandising program. Lr addition to gaining a satisfied customer who has-saved money on his projecL he will have the advantage of wholesalers giving him atlractive pricing on moulding bundtes with short lengths. These savings will enable the stofe to get a higber rcturn on sales or pass the savings on to tbe customer through promotions.

Cross merchandising is an excellent way to increase sales. Sales people should be adept at showing the tools needed for most moulding applications. These include a miter box, coplng saw, harnmer, nails, nail set" tape measure and finishing supplies. They also should be able to dexnonstrate how these tools are used.

As an adjunct to good salesmanship, clinics excel in helping consumers prepiue to taclde a moulding job. They should include mitering, coping, scarfing, splicing' hanging doors, doing built-up profiles and finishing. Using mouldings for craft projects such as picore frames also can be covered in clinics.

The Wood Moulding and Millwork Producers Association has a wealth of information to help retailers including a series of "How To" brochutes. This infonnation on working with mouldings, finishing, hanging doors, building up moulding profiles, and craft projects can be utilizedin retail training and displays. They also can be made available to customers.

Softwood