Knowledge: taking you further than ever
Whether from Google, word of mouth or social media, today’s property owners are much more educated about the products they purchase. In fact, the research period for large purchases is typically 12 – 18 months, if not longer, whilst homeowners deliberate the vast amount of choice available to them.
For window replacement, gone are the days of blissful ignorance or decisions based simply on what windows look like. Today, homeowners want to know the impact their new windows will have on the environment, how energy efficient they are and whether or not they’re recyclable when they come to the end of their life.
With this in mind, they also want their fabricator or installer to have the ability to answer the questions they couldn’t find online – and offer them reasons why their product is better than the alternatives.
Knowledge = Sales
To increase your chances of closing a deal with the 21st Century homeowner, you’ll need more in your toolkit than a hammer, nails, silicone and spirit level. The most important tool at your disposal is your expertise – your knowledge about the products you sell. Knowledge will help to boost your sales. Being the expert not only makes you more passionate about what you sell but it also puts you in the category of ‘expert’ to customers - leaving them with the peace of mind you’re the right person for the job.
Demonstrating Value
The profitability of a product is as complex as the supply chain that produces it. From the quality of the extrusion and manufacture to the hardware and the installation itself – each part of the line needs to know as much as possible about the product they’re producing and selling. Anyone can sell by reducing the price – but to achieve a profitable business, the key is to demonstrate value… and that takes knowledge.
The Liniar Sales Guide
One systems company has raised the bar for fabricator and installer support with more than simple marketing brochures and technical guides - Liniar. Providing them with all the tools they need to succeed – in the way of expertise – Liniar’s Sales Guide offers customers the ability to have knowledge at their fingertips. This ‘bible’ covering all the products in the Liniar range offers the full selling points of each, highlighting critical information such as energy ratings, accreditations, colours and available options, amongst others – with focused benefits for each level of the supply chain, depending on who you’re selling to.
Closing the Gaps
The complex supply chain of the fenestration industry can put installers as many as nine steps away from the systems company which designs, tests and extrudes the product being fitted.
Sue Davenport, Marketing Director at Liniar, explains why the company felt the need to create its Sales Guide and how it’s already helping bridge the gap between systems company and installer:
“The Sales Guide is an important tool for everyone along the supply chain. Internally, it has become a training guide – it’s given the whole Liniar team a handy reference to every product we create, as well as helping them build confidence to answer enquiries quickly and accurately.
“Our fabricator customers love it, as they can quickly explain to installers and homeowners the benefits of each window, door and roof – and as it covers the Liniar building product and outdoor ranges too, they can supply these ranges to installers alongside windows, whilst being able to answer questions.
“It’s also a critical guide for installers, as it includes answers to the most commonly asked questions from homeowners – in fact, everything except the price! “From Liniar’s unique glazing platforms to the co-extruded patented bubble gasket in the window system, the Sales Guide explains exactly why these are benefits, in simple terms for consumers to understand.
Liniar designs and tests products, extrudes the PVCu profiles and delivers them to independent specialist manufacturers and resellers all over the UK. You can find your nearest with a simple postcode search.
It’s easy to get in touch with Liniar. Fill in a quick form and your enquiry will be directed to the correct department. Note our office hours are Monday-Friday, 8:30am to 5pm and we endeavour to respond within 24 hours.