All About Relationships

BY KEVIN GAMMONLEY

For many of the distributors in our channel, decorative surfaces make up an important product category within an overall product mix that also includes wood panels, cabinet and closet hardware, stains and finishes and a variety of woodworking and kitchen/bath supplies. More specifically, commercial interiors make up a large part of the booming decorative surfaces market handled by these distributors.

This unique market requires dedicated focus, resources and expertise in order to successfully capitalize, but there are big payoffs for distributors who are successful in serving these markets. Commercial interiors includes segments for the workplace, healthcare, education, hospitality, retail, public space and government.

Breaking into the commercial interiors marketplace is all about relationships. Distributors and their manufacturer partners must get to know their local designers and architects personally and grasp a keen understanding of how they work and their everyday challenges. This takes a long-term commitment and specialized staff who are dedicated to serving as the liaisons between the distributorship and this dynamic community. Much of this work falls to the specifications representative employed by the distributor whose role is to develop and maintain strong relationships with architects, designers and all key players in the construction process including general contractors.

Spec reps have a unique and important role to play if a distributor is going to win business within the competitive commercial design market. These individuals work closely with architects & designers on specifications and approval of specific products. They also serve as technical consultants to ensure customer satisfaction, conduct project targeting and tracking as well as actively participate in the associations and industry events that are important to the A&D community.

This community puts a lot of trust in their distributors and the materials they choose. The final choices come down to how well the distributor can sell the benefits of the product for a project. Communication and education are a distributor’s

KEVIN GAMMONLEY has served as the Executive Vice President of the North American Building Material Distribution Association (NBMDA) for more than 30 years. www.nbmda.org most important deliverables for winning business. Other factors that come into play include responsiveness, integrity and mutually understood expectations. Strong partnerships can have many facets and no two are exactly alike, but these core behaviors and commitments create the foundation for the healthiest relationships.

So how does one distributor set themselves apart from the others? In addition to the expected support, distributors of choice for the A&D community also go above and beyond to deliver:

• Honesty around their products and their availability; every project is not the best fit for a distributor and their focus needs to be around developing a deep level of trust and credibility for the long-term relationship.

• In-depth probing to learn about the unique aspects of the project in order to grasp what the architect or designer really need.

• Problem-solving; first choice products are not always available so back-plans need to be ready

• Staying abreast of trends so that a distributor can offer ideas and services before they are requested; they need to be proactive solution-providers.

• Investment in technology that help to support the A&D community; documentation of the preferences of designers and architects in their past projects will help a distributor stand-out when future opportunities arise.

When a distributor has the resources available to help the A&D community understand and use their products, they have the potential to become their most trusted supplier who can give them the information needed to ensure a seamless design. This goes beyond the personal relationships and education to also include readily available online resources such as installation instructions and videos as well as sales tools to pitch their products to building owners.

Growth-oriented distributors will be highly visible at important industry events such as Neocon in Chicago and the AWFS Fair in Vegas this summer. These distributors are strengthening their relationships with their manufacturer partners and are learning about new products so they can ultimately share their knowledge and ideas with the commercial design community. s p

BY JAMES OLSEN