192•
SMART MANAGEMENT
Are you onlyselling? There’s a whole lot more
(Continued from page 16.) So one of the easiest first tasks is
to figure out what is right, then shout it from the mountain tops. Even if your competition does the exact same thing right, when you make a point of it, your customers give you the credit. • Describe your differentiators in terms that the customers can re-
how it matters to the contractor in measures that matter to them. Your fast service claim sounds like moth- erhood. It only matters to them when you explain that it makes them more productive so they can make $XX more per week. From the trade cus- tomer’s perspective, “Motherhood is nice but show me the money.”
possible difference to improve your odds in the new normal of wholesale marketing.
...Get really focused on your customer’s buying experience, and then use every
late to very directly without much effort —As I said in a previous col- umn, you cannot expect customers to connect the dots to discover why they should give a hang about what you do. So don’t try to highlight or promote anything that you cannot also explain, in a very direct way,
• Innovation matters more now
than ever —Start thinking out of the box to provide services that cus- tomers don’t yet know that they need and value. A. One successful wholesaler pro-
vided a project manager with every major project that they were awarded.
New brand identity for Rheem (Continued from Rheem, page 1.)
the highest quality, reliability and durability,” said Rheem CEO JR Jones. “Given that water heating and HVAC systems account for more than 60% of a home’s energy consumption (source: U.S. Department of Energy),
Rheem has a unique opportunity to build off our rich history of high-qual- ity water heating and HVAC products with a full suite of innovative and en- ergy efficient products.” More specifically, attendees of the AHR Expo were treated to a highly
KBMI looking up (Continued from NKBA, page 1.)
“Consumer spending this holiday season was significantly up from the previous three years, yet still well short of levels enjoyed the first part of the decade. Hopefully, this KBMI is a sign that the kitchen and bath in- dustry is also on the right path and that the economy is slowly moving towards recovery.” The NKBA KBMI is determined
by averaging expectations of NKBA member kitchen and bath dealers dur- ing the next quarter based on ex- pected increases (+1), decreases (-1) or no change (0) in each market con- dition. That total is divided by the number of dealers surveyed and mul- tiplied by 10, which gives the KBMI a range of -60 (pessimistic) to +60 (optimistic). The NKBA KBMI sur- veys approximately 150 kitchen and bath dealers across North America each quarter. Among the NKBA KBMI high-
lights: • Showroom visits — Up 38% from previous quarter; up 21% from
previous year; 79% anticipate an in- crease in Q1; 1% anticipate a decline • Kitchen remodels sales volume
— Up 113% from previous quarter; up 110% from previous year; 82% anticipate an increase in Q1; 2% an- ticipate a decline • Kitchen remodeling prices —
Up 20% from previous quarter; up 9% from previous year; 34% antici- pate an increase in Q1; 2% anticipate a decline • Bathroom remodel sales vol-
ume — Up 105% from previous quarter; up 50% from previous year; 72% anticipate an increase in Q1; 2% anticipate a decline • Bathroom remodeling prices
—Up 22% from previous quarter; up 18% from previous year; 39% antic- ipate an increase in Q1; 4% anticipate a decline • Kitchen and bath revenue —
Up 155% from previous quarter; up 117% from previous year; 78% antic- ipate an increase in Q1; 3% anticipate a decline. Visit
www.nkba.org.
• Be sure to visit
www.thewholesaler.com for web exclusive articles and videos! •
His job was to babysit the project, co- ordinate material deliveries, double- check take-offs, visit the jobsite, consult with the foreman and to quickly deal with problems along the way. This differentiator allowed the wholesaler to win more jobs without matching the low-ball bidder. It didn’t happen because the contractors asked for it — most of them had no idea that they would even use the service. However, after a couple of problem-free jobs, the contractors reset their bar for the wholesaler’s role and only one wholesaler had the team to deliver at the higher level. The result was more project awards at higher margins. B. Another wholesaler provided handheld devices to his service con- tractors as a way to lock in all the products used to replenish the trucks and to bill for service jobs. The con- tractors were trying to solve their re- plenishment and billing problems, but never imagined that their whole- saler could provide the answer. C. Other wholesalers provide
professional overview of exciting new Rheem products and systems, all of which feature a high-quality, modern appearance. Also on hand were prod- ucts in the Rheem exhibit that are not yet released, such as the second-gen- eration hybrid electric water heater, featuring a color touchscreen. Finally, Rheem took extra steps to
ensure that its exhibit design and lay- out align with the company’s outlook on innovation through the incorpora- tion of new technologies. For in- stance, Rheem brand ambassadors working in the exhibit leveraged iPads®
•THE WHOLESALER® — MARCH 2011
unique features and services to make their website and webstore the best in their market not just another undifferentiated me-too website and webstore. Understanding that you are selling
the product and the buying experi- ence is the first step. So get really fo- cused on your customer’s buying experience, and then use every pos- sible difference to improve your odds in the new normal of wholesale marketing.
n
Rich Schmitt is president of Schmitt Consulting Group Inc., a manage- ment consulting firm focused on im- proving the profitability of distribution and manufacturing clients.
www.go-scg.com
Rich is also the co-owner of Schmitt ProfitTools Inc. (SPI), a business pro- ducing print, CD-ROM, web and palm-based catalogs as well as pric- ing management and analysis soft- ware for wholesalers.
www.go-spi.com
Venerable Calif. distributor celebrates 50
(Continued from Geary, page 1.) to provide background on
Rheem products. They also gave a sneak peek of an upcoming iPhone® /iPod Touch®
Rheem racing game app
that was developed to tie into their racing sponsorships. As a bonus, champion NASCAR driver Kevin Harvick of the No. 33 Rheem Chevrolet was also in the Rheem exhibit demonstrating the game for AHR attendees and challenging his fans. “Over the past three years, Rheem
has invested more in our products, people and operations than at any other time in our history — even in the midst of very challenging eco- nomic times,” said Rheem senior vice president and COO Chris Peel. “We are very proud to share with the AHR Expo attendees the early fruits of our efforts, including our new products and brand identity.”
Rheem also unveiled a totally new
and enhanced website in February that projects the company’s new branding and direction. Visit
www.rheem.com.
By 1969, Geary and Sherden had pur- chased Pacific Air, a Sacramento dis- tributor. The expansion continued, and in 1974 they opened a third loca- tion in Phoenix. Sherden retired in 1975, and the next year the company name was changed to Geary Pacific Corporation. In the next decade, lo- cations opened in Redding, Calif., Seattle, Tucson, San Diego and Gree- ley, Colo. Geary also acquired Spe- cial Service Supply, a distribution business with locations in Las Vegas, San Jacinto, Calif. and Bullhead City, Ariz. In 1989, the company began using
the name Geary Pacific Supply. They consolidated and relocated several lo- cations over the years and are now headquartered in Orange, Calif., with 15 branch operations in five western states. Geary distributes Bard Manu- facturing, Goodman Manufacturing, Modular Metal Fabricators and a host of other high-quality product lines to complete their full-line supply house product offering. Geary Pacific is a family owned
business with the 2nd generation firmly in place to continue the com- pany’s mission statement: “To be the best provider of high-quality residen- tial and light commercial HVAC products and services.” Visit
www.gearypacific.com.
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