Idea's for increasing business!

[Ste B]

Hi All.

I signed up to this forum before starting my business a couple of years ago. I run a tile showroom and am nearly up for my 2nd anniversary! Prior to opening the showroom I was a self employed tiler and the plan was to open the showroom, put my feet up and watch the money come rolling in! Unfortunately it isn't quite that easy! In order to get the money in I have gone back 'on the tools' and employed 2 members of staff to run the showroom. It turned out that a large proportion of our customers wanted a 'supply and fit service' so it made sense to sell them the tiles and also fit.

However, in the last couple of weeks, one of the ladies has gone on maternity and the other one has left by mutual consent (we had a few issues that I won't go into). So at the minute i'm running the showroom and asking favours of family to help as I always have a lot of work booked in so unable to cancel. Ideally I would like to focus on the showroom rather than be a tiler - who also runs a showroom.

The problem is I don't think I could survive at the minute without doing the fitting side, so i'm looking at ideas and to promote the business so we get more customers through the door and ultimately become self sufficient as a showroom business. For the last year or so I have been on the tools every day and only work in the showroom on a Saturday so had very limited time to try and get the business where I'd like it to be. I'm out a lot of evenings doing quotes / deliveries etc and have three young kids so time has been the big issue. Now I don't really want to get someone in before Christmas as we shut for two weeks and now I can focus on what I initially set the business to become.

I'm looking for ideas and inspiration to help so I'd be grateful if anyone could help.

Thanks

 

[Annoying Donkey]

How about subcontracting the tiling work...

Get other tilers to promote your showroom in return for commissions or something else...

 

[Mr A P Davies]

I'd say the same, get someone else to do the tiling work.

Your obviously getting the work. If your getting plenty, then there is probably plenty more to get.

Seems to me that tilers are a certain breed. People either love it or hate it. You've surely got contacts. Put the word around that your looking for hungry young tilers, good ones. Employ them as subcontractors. (I think you can only do this for so many week.......)
The sharper ones will probably want to just buy the tiles off you, as will general builders, but that doesn't really matter.

Probably, your going to have to shift more tiles than you already are, to make the shop pay, so launch into promoting your shop. Gotta be easier than laying them yourself.

 

[RLlewellyn]

Subbing the tiling is a good idea in theory, but if for some reason that one tiler has a meltdown or a bad day, that's reflected on your business and you have very little control over it.

Do you have a website?
Do you use online marketing?

 

[Carl Mintern]

Treat the hiring of a tiler the way you treated the hiring of showroom staff.

One of the biggest roadblocks to business growth for people can be 'hiring yourself'. Because we feel no-one will be as reliable, as quick, as diligent, as committed to customer service etc etc as us. So we end up getting stuck trying to do everything.

This leads to working ridiculous hours, and a cap on business growth. I imagine many people on this forum have been through this.

Hire someone to do the tiling. They won't do it the same as you..... and that's ok!

Hire the right people, give them what they need to thrive in their own style of working, and then leave them alone.

That's not to say it's easy, but if you can do all three parts of my last sentence I'm sure you will find it a successful way forward. If I were you, I'd be thinking of growing that side of the business. Sounds more achievable than focusing on growing sales at this point. Note- you don't need to pick up the tools to achieve this!

 

[Ste B]

Thanks everyone, really appreciate your advice. Sub-contracting the work is definitely something I have thought about and based on all your comments something I need to seriously look into. My only issue is in order to get the work I'd need to be charging probably a fair bit more than my competitors to still make my bit. Or do I try and sell it to tilers that i'm doing the donkey work by getting the leads and pricing the work so they can just turn up and complete the job at a slightly reduced rate than what they would normally chage? I think that I've realised that i'm a bit of a control freak and find it hard to let go!

Since I have posted this thread I signed up to the free index and paid the premium rate which sends you leads out for work. I replied to a few leads but this is something that I could focus on & set up a sub-contracting team. Perhaps try and get in with a few building firms as well.



So in terms of promoting the showroom side of the business anyone got any good ideas? We have a lovely showroom and a huge range of quality tiles but we just need more customers through the door to show them off. Most people are highly impressed when they look round, but the fact is we would need to increase sales.

Our showroom is just off a main round so a lot of people don't even know we are here. The road we are on is still fairly busy and we are in a building with around 7 other retail businesses. We advertise in the local paper, have around 500 likes on Facebook & the same amount of Twitter followers.

Thanks

 

[Carl Mintern]

How many of the local tilers use you as a supplier? Are you competitive against the likes of Topps etc?

You should call every tiler within your catchment area (find them) and invite them in for a free coffee and bacon butty on a morning of their choosing, no obligation (the butty is a cheap way of paying them for their time)

Do you offer credit accounts? If you are in a position to do so, send an account form to every one of them. I know for a fact that many small businesses will choose a supplier they hold an account with over anyone else due to cash flow. (Beware of the pitfalls here and do your due diligence)

While doing all the above, also make sure you have the fundamentals in place. A sign written vehicle or two, good signage for your shop etc. This doesn't just mean the sign above your door, but signs with an arrow at several junctions on every way to it.

Keep a handful of leaflets/flyers in your glove box. Every time you pass a house with "sold" or "to-let" on, stop and post one. The former puts you in front of new buyers, the second potential landlords. Both key markets.

Talk to local bathroom suppliers. Ask if you can display some of their literature on your counter. Guess what you want in return? Then go to carpet suppliers and repeat, then go to..........

These are off the top of my head

 

[LowPrices.uk]

Are there any billboards on the main road near your shop that you can use to advertise on? Just say your shop is round the corner.

 

[dmckellar]

There are a few tilers who live near me. They have large houses and from passing their house now and again - a fair few vans on the road also.

Ive spoken with one of them and he is "in" with a house builder so he supplies tiling labour on building sites, i don't know if he stocks the tiles or if it is up to the house builder who buys the stock based on clients requests.

We do cleaning works for house builders and the tilers are all on price work per m2 so that might be an avenue for you. You might not sell tiles to the builders but at least you could make a couple of quid on each meter fitted by one of your fitters?

I think you are in a hard game - lots of large tile companies who can afford to blow you out the water price wise.