Nizhny Novgorod
Igor Kochetov
retail chain "Mebel-plus"
Now we are seeing serious changes in the structure of consumer demand. Firstly, sales have decreased significantly upholstered furniture. Accordingly, its share in our trading floors. Upholstered furniture had not previously been a core product category for Furniture Plus; this position was well represented by subtenants who collaborated with local suppliers. However, with the onset of the crisis, many small operators closed their outlets. We faced the need to increase purchases in order to fill the vacant space. When selecting the “soft” assortment, we focused on the most inexpensive models costing from 10 to 15 thousand rubles: they sell best. The products of federal suppliers operating in the middle segment simply ceased to be in demand. For example, we have always bought good sofas from the Pushe factory. Today they are no longer relevant. Now everything is dictated by price. Logically, it needs to be reduced, but factories, on the contrary, increase the price tag. We have no choice but to suspend work with them.
Taxi online in Kyiv - Avangard. avangard-taxi.com.ua/online-zakaz.html - quick order a taxi to the airport
In the cabinet furniture sector, furniture from our own production “Ash” has taken a leading position. We have been striving for this for a long time and are now very pleased that, thanks to assortment restructuring, we can influence selling prices ourselves. The most popular product items of "Ash" are small furniture forms. Small walls kitchen corners, cabinets, cabinets, chests of drawers, inexpensive beds And computer tables. Based on our direct order, Yasen launched the production of popular analogue models. For example, we are now successfully selling an analogue of the Lotus wall “Samba” and several kitchen modules, the prototype of which was the “Stolplit” model. We don't feel any remorse. We would be very happy to sell furniture from the factories themselves if they supplied it to us on time and in the right quantity.
Nevertheless, the products of the Stolplit factory still occupy a significant share in the Furniture-Plus product portfolio. Stolplit kitchens are the most popular among buyers. I also cannot complain about the sales of the Miassmebel and Volgogradmebel factories. They also run smoothly.
In general, I would like to note that the average bill in our stores has decreased by 30 percent. People most often make purchases that do not exceed 15 thousand rubles. A purchase of up to 20 thousand is already considered large.
Belgorod
Irina Bondarenko
chain of stores "Expert"
Since the beginning of this year, upholstered furniture sales have become worse. Buyers have lost interest in sofas costing more than 80 thousand rubles. Since last year, we had two sofas at the exhibition for 200 thousand each, and we are happy that we managed to sell them in early February. We currently do not plan to order such models. For our customers, they have definitely moved into the expensive category. The most popular models are Eurobook sofas. And it doesn’t matter who produces them. The main condition for demand is price. It should not rise above 50 thousand rubles. As for suppliers, the best results for our stores are shown by the Int and Frayling factories. The rest fell by thirty percent.
There is better dynamics in cabinet furniture sales. The products of our main suppliers - Dyatkovo and Angstrem - are still on sale. True, even in the “corps” consumer preferences are gradually changing. Average check per purchase decreased by 15 percent. At Dyatkovo, sales of the mid-price Melody program have practically stopped, but buyers’ interest in the economical Concept has not disappeared. By the way, the factory recently introduced new colors. The new ones are getting worse. The buyer needs time to get used to the updates. I don’t know how far-sighted it is to experiment with popular models during a crisis.
Ufa
Farit Sakaev
retail chain "Cozy House"
Tables, chairs, chests of drawers, computer desks - these are now the most popular items in our stores. Sales volumes of small forms have not decreased. However, there was a change in favorite suppliers. Previously, our undoubted sales leader was Elburg products. Until recently, we actively supported their signature format “City of Tables and Chairs”. However, with the rise in the exchange rate, prices for Elburg positions increased by 20 percent. The buyer responded immediately. Sales fell. Now in the table and chair sector, sales of furniture from another wholesale and retail company, Domoteka, have begun to increase. Their prices are lower and their offer in the economy segment is wider. Domoteka has its own own production, and they are less affected by currency fluctuations.
Demand for bedrooms has fallen. Not to say that they are not bought at all, but somehow they are not particularly active. People stopped buying full-fledged sleeping sets right away. They prefer to buy a bedroom in parts. First a bed, a month later - a closet, then a chest of drawers... We understand that it’s easier for them this way, and we meet them halfway. We “remember” customers and notify them about new arrivals.
The most popular models in the bedroom category are the “Legend” set from the Lotus factory, as well as “Geneva” and “Eden” under the same brand.
Perhaps, Lotus products remain one of the most popular among buyers. Their famous Samba wall and a range of living room models continue to be very popular. What is typical is that similar models from Interdesign sell much worse. In general, I can say that against the backdrop of negative sales figures in the living room furniture sector, only Lotus is showing at least some positive dynamics. Unfortunately, Lotus remains difficult to work with due to systematic violations of contractual obligations.
In the segment of economical furniture best performance at the Tri Ya and Intedi factories. Children's rooms and hallways are selling well.
Sales of upholstered furniture have fallen. I am especially worried about the situation with the Rival factory. Previously, their sofas sold very well, now there is almost a 50 percent drop. However, a similar picture is observed only among federal suppliers. Products from local factories are becoming relevant. They make the same sofas, and you can negotiate the price with them, unlike Moscow manufacturers. Now the share of products from local manufacturers in our assortment matrix has increased by 40 percent. Accordingly, the share of federal producers has decreased. The most popular models in the upholstered furniture sector are Eurobooks and sofas with roll-out mechanisms. That is, sleeping options. Nobody needs chairs.
The average bill in our stores decreased by a third - from 30 to 20 thousand rubles. Now is a difficult time for active sales. Not only is it a crisis, it’s also the beginning of the off-season. We, of course, have already begun to prepare to pass it with the least losses. It is important to maintain customer loyalty. Now we have developed an installment payment program with one of the banks. We see that people are ready to buy a complete set of the same bedroom, but they don’t have enough money - we offer installments. In this case, we release the goods to the buyer without a discount, since the discount amount goes to the bank. This service is now gaining popularity, because people, despite the crisis, have not yet lost their consumer sense.
Moscow
Evgeniy Leontyev
retail chain "Sofas and Armchairs"
I can’t say that our average bill has decreased. Of course, some redistribution of price preferences occurred, but this did not particularly affect the network’s turnover. Sales of mid-segment models have fallen, but indicators in the “economy” segment have increased. Profit, of course, decreased, but this was due to a decrease in markups and our desire to maintain the maximum low prices. Today our task is to maintain prices at pre-crisis levels. So far it's working.
I also can’t say that there are any hit models online. We have controlled demand. If we decide that this month we need to sell maximum amount“Eurobooks”, then we are preparing a corresponding promotion. Since this kind of promotion is planned for the year ahead, we do not expect any surprises in the form of an unexpected change in the relevance of the models. For us, the product that we choose is effective.
Meanwhile, the development of the Sofas and Armchairs network continues. We are expanding our trading platforms and over the past three months they have opened 9 new stores.
Chita
Alexander Dmitriev
trade and retail enterprise Rimex-M
We have six of our own stores. In Chita, Khabarovsk, Krasnokamensk, Mongolian Ulaanbaatar, and another one was opened in the city of Borzya, Trans-Baikal Territory. We work in the “medium” and “medium plus” segments. In Chita, we have a separate trading format, “Folk Furniture,” where we sell economy-class products.
It is clear that we see different situations in different segments. In “economy” the average bill decreased by half. A purchase of 10–15 thousand rubles is considered very successful for the store. Although previously the average bill exceeded 25 thousand rubles. The sales leader in economy is Stolplit. First of all, kitchens and beds from this factory sell well.
In the “middle plus” segment, the decrease in the average bill is not as noticeable as in the “economy” segment. In principle, we have so far managed to sell all the furniture displayed in the halls. Unlike other operators, we continue to actively trade in imported furniture of medium-high price segment. Everything is simple here. They just reduced the markup a little and remained at the same prices. However, “average” Italy and China have dropped significantly.
Sales kitchen furniture fell by 15 percent. Our former leaders - the Maria, Rossibalt and Ulyanovskmebel factories - are still showing negative dynamics.
In the upholstered furniture sector, MC-5 continues to be our priority factory. Of course, the average bill for furniture from a Kirovo-Chepetsk company has decreased. Previously, we easily sold sofas worth up to 500 thousand rubles. Now models costing from 70 to 250 thousand are selling well. In the middle segment, Dobry Stil and Pinskdrev are leaders.
In the mid-price category, Kirov-based Lotus has good sales. But, unfortunately, we don’t earn much from it. Delivery delays and organizing our own service eat up all our profits. I hope that the situation with Lotus will improve over time. In any case, they have been promising us this for several months now.
Novosibirsk
Elena Zemtsova
"Eskado" store
Buyers' interests are slowly but surely shifting towards essential furniture items. We sell a lot of chests of drawers, cabinets, tables and chairs. The hallway is already considered a big purchase. People are splitting orders. One bedroom can be purchased within three months. First they will come and buy a bed, then - cabinets, then - a wardrobe. ABOUT dressing tables there is no question. They are already considered a luxury.
We see the same thing in the upholstered furniture sector. Three-piece sofa sets plus armchairs are no longer relevant. But small case models costing up to 16 thousand rubles are very popular.
We see the same price shift in the “corpus”. Ready-made kits are in demand. Among them are Lotus’s “Samba”, Diamond’s “Sakura”, Angstrem’s “Freestyle”. The old proven models of Zarechye and Red October - Arcadia and Lunaria - are selling well. In general, the old economy series show positive dynamics in almost all factories. One gets the feeling that the buyer is afraid of new products and prefers to take what is sold at stable price and has proven itself well.
We, focusing on changing consumer demands, are forced to revise our assortment policy. Of course, we react warily to changes in price or any characteristics of popular models. We believe that now is not the time for such experiments.
Irkutsk
Valeria Vasilyeva
retail chain "World of Furniture"
I do not notice any sharp changes in the structure of demand or the scale of purchases. There has always been a specific buyer in Irkutsk. And in better times people did not make large purchases, preferring to buy furniture sets in parts.
The demand for the assortment has remained virtually unchanged compared to November last year. Surges of interest in specific product groups depend on seasonality. Nowadays living rooms and bedrooms are in great demand.
The tastes of buyers have not changed, but the same cannot be said about their capabilities. The average bill decreased by 10 percent. In addition, we noticed that people began to buy more often, but for less money. Large amounts, and in our case this is a purchase of 10 thousand rubles, they are afraid to spend it.
In general, it is quite difficult to track consumer trends in furniture retail based on visitors to our stores. The tastes of our customers are essentially shaped by our suppliers. We sell what we want to sell, not what they want to buy from us.
The Dyatkovo programs “Concept” and “Octave” remain the sales leaders; they are selling well modular system"Prestige" of the Angstrem factory. The Arts and Crafts line is also very popular. factory near Moscow"Vanguard".
Vladivostok
Dmitry Semakov
retail chain "Mebel-Grad"
I cannot yet provide accurate data on changes in the structure of demand. We are just doing calculations and analysis. Unlike other Russian regions, which reported a serious decline in demand already in November, Primorsky Krai held on for another three months. Our decline began at the end of February and continued in March. We are now seeing a 15% decline in sales and a change in the nature of demand throughout the network.
The average bill fell by 10 percent. In general, it was never particularly high - it remained at the level of 15 thousand rubles. Now we are seeing a gradual decline in consumer activity and a clear desire to save as much as possible. This is how the situation in Vladivostok is developing. In regional centers and towns the decline is more noticeable. The average bill remains at 8 thousand rubles.
We have already adjusted our purchasing policy. For now, we have suspended work with suppliers offering middle-class furniture. We focused on the “economy”. We sell the entire Stolplit line in the same volumes, but we have removed furniture from the Lotus factory from the matrix. They could not agree on the terms. The Dyatkovo mid-price line has been reduced. On the catwalks in stores we strive to leave only those models that will be of interest to our customers, that is, “economy” and “budget”.
Rostov-on-Don
Valentina Novikova
wholesale and retail company "Mebeltorg"
Sales have been declining since the beginning of the crisis. Several times we failed to fulfill the monthly plan. November of last year and February of this year were quite harsh months. However, in March the dynamics improved. Probably, consumer panic has subsided, and we, in turn, being not only a retail but also a wholesale company, have increased the number of counterparties.
We are not losing optimism: no matter what the times are, furniture in the South is still selling quite briskly. Chechnya and Adygea purchase significant volumes.
We fill the economical niche with goods from numerous local manufacturers. The middle segment is also quite stable. Our main suppliers are the Kaliningrad factories Interdesign, Mann-Group, Feiga, Eurofurniture, as well as the Ufamebel company. In addition to our own stores, we service the trading floors of our partners in Rostov, Volgograd and Astrakhan regions. In the near future we intend to open a wholesale warehouse in Grozny.
Despite the general decline in sales, we are not going to revise the range. Recently held in Krasnodar furniture exhibition showed that operators do not lose interest in our furniture. Of course, the buyer is now focusing on inexpensive models, but our suppliers have such in their product portfolio. Now the “Italian” collection of “Interdesign” and the “Sahara” program of the Mann-Group company are selling well. The new Ufamebeli program, “Cary Princesses,” also has good dynamics.
Ekaterinburg
Arkady Potorochin
retail chain "Centromebel"
Since the beginning of last fall, we have recorded a 40 percent drop in sales. I can’t say that some segments sank more and others less. We are seeing a uniform decline in demand for all categories of furniture. In this situation, we, of course, have to reconsider our assortment - abandon slow-selling models and develop a promising product. In our stores, the products of the companies Yartsevo, Borovichi, and Angstrem are sold well. All of their popular lines are still in demand. After the Zarechye factory regulated the prices for its Harmony program, this collection also began to be sold. There was no drop in sales for furniture sets from Louis Dupont. This company probably shows the best sales results for us.
For heads of sales departments.
Attention! This free article is not part of the Uncensored Furniture Business course.
Believe me, at least 1000 trainees have passed through my hands for the position of furniture sales consultant.
Why so much? Why is there such a staff turnover? It is a very rare case when a store employee “grew up” like a chick and left his father’s house proud, to the delight of his “parents”. Naturally, these quality people always go for promotions: they create own business, they are lured to higher positions in reputable companies, and so on. But this, we repeat, is an exception... And we are talking about experienced sellers.
The majority of trainees did not live to see certification. We have a "rule" three days“, when in the first three days of the internship we don’t even pay the “internship”, we don’t apply for a job, but at the same time we put a lot of pressure on the intern. That is, we have been looking at each other for three days. So, let’s admit that 70% of trainees cannot “survive” these three days, they simply run away.
Conclusion? People don't want to stress.
And in a furniture store it’s impossible to become a quality salesperson without straining... So they run away... Well, Boss, if you want to work with trash on trash terms, then continue to ingratiate yourself with candidates, have heart-warming conversations, entertain interns with stories from life, anecdotes, instead of teaching them and forcing them to work for the benefit of the store... There is an expression “Politeness is mistaken for weakness”... A good expression, lifelike. So, this is just about interns.
One of our previous articles describes the mistakes of store management when working with trainees furniture store. We do not consider it necessary to duplicate this description. But, believe me, these mistakes are completely banal. And when you list to a person, a director, his mistakes when working with interns, some even slap themselves on the forehead: “Well, I knew all this, I know, why do I make these mistakes again and again?!”
Enough about the mistakes. The success of an intern, a young salesperson, depends not only on who and how much “bends” him during the internship period. The success of the seller depends on himself, moreover, only on himself.
Therefore, people, beginners, their bosses, those who want to strain, learn, become a professional, earn money, respect themselves...
1 Keep a notebook and write down all suppliers there (write down lines, collections, assortment, detailed information-presentation on the factory).
2 Make a “registry” of supplier catalogs in your notebook.
3 Learn to work with “product registers” (I don’t know what you call it - this is a list of goods in stock, according to which you, in fact, work; sometimes a printout from 1C, sometimes a notebook).
4 Learn to work with a price tag. The price tag (by law) must contain comprehensive information for both the Client and the seller (a very good cheat sheet). But! Never sell at the price tag, at the price tag. Here, like nowhere else, the human factor is present. And in furniture, a mistake of three to five centimeters can be very costly. Let us repeat, we “broadcast” for normal, decent stores, and not for “Three A...” cooperatives, where half a meter back and forth is the norm. Therefore, sell from the “product register”, from the price list. There shouldn't be any errors there (although they do happen).
5 Learn to work with price lists.
6 Constantly walking around a store or trading salon, “remembering” what they saw.
7 You can invite one of your colleagues to play role-playing games: selling to each other, asking only open-ended questions, trial completion of the transaction, working with a problematic (furious) Client.
This is a huge, painstaking, tedious and monotonous job! But it’s worth it, and the results are amazing!
Good luck with your furniture sales!
Consulting managers often have a difficult time, so I would like to highlight a few key points on the issue of how to sell furniture correctly. We hope that this will help you in future communications with customers and help you increase your sales. How to communicate with buyers?
First of all, you need to imagine yourself in the client's place. Furniture is an expensive product, regardless of financial well-being, buying furniture is not done on impulse. Often, the very fact of purchasing furniture is a significant event or is associated with it. In this regard, clients have a lot of anxiety and doubts, because they will have to live side by side with their new acquisition for many years. Very often, a client needs to take into account not only his own opinion when making a purchase. There are many reasons why people buy new furniture and they are usually typical: renovation, moving to new apartment, birth of a child, need for life changes.
Knowing these typical situations helps to identify the client’s needs, and you can ask a number of clarifying questions about them. Sometimes even the client himself does not think about some points that can later be very important. And the manager, with the help of his leading questions, helps to do correct solution. The client will be much more comfortable communicating with a manager who will quickly understand his desires and needs. After all, not everyone immediately clearly understands what kind of furniture they need. In addition, furniture is a product with many characteristics, so people often have a superficial understanding of design features furniture or have high expectations regarding this product. You must know absolutely everything about the product and present the information simply, clearly and concisely.
How to meet a buyer? This question is also very important. After all, this is the first impression of you, of the company, and we all know that we meet people by their clothes. Meeting the buyer correctly means observing his preferences and listening to what competitors offer. You definitely need to say hello, this is not only a way to attract attention, because each of us would like a friendly attitude.
Offer quality products and always warn about defects, because people may return to you. Always invite the client to study the contract so that there is no doubt about the reliability of your organization. Knowing how to sell furniture correctly, you will ensure good reputation both for yourself and for your company.
It is better to show the product face to face; if it is a sofa, then it is better to offer to sit down and lie down, point out its ergonomics and functionality. When presenting children's furniture, it is better to focus on environmentally friendly clean materials, voice the characteristics of the materials, talk about the strength of the frame, the absence of sharp corners. It is better to approach the issue of price when you have already discussed the advantages of the quality and properties of your furniture.
Be sure to smile and make eye contact. Nothing helps in working with clients more than a sincere desire to help. We hope that these simple tips on how to communicate with customers will help you in further work. Good luck!
02.11.2016
“This article was written by Alexander Seleznev, General Director"Content Farm" company, http://content-farm.ru/, whose knowledge and experience I consider useful for furniture companies."
Alexandrov S. A., founder of MMKTs
My team is engaged in online promotion on a turnkey basis, and it so happens that among my customers this year there are several furniture makers. Therefore, especially for the MMKTs website, I’ll tell you 2 real cases of online advertising for them. Owners of furniture businesses, based on the data from this article, will be able to, at least approximately, estimate how much they will need to spend and how much they will be able to get when selling goods via the Internet.
So, 2 Customers for whom we did almost the same work, but whose results were radically different. We had detailed initial discussions with both clients to assess the situation and decide how best to promote themselves online. But both customers eventually asked to make landing pages and launch contextual advertising. They say, “We’ll make money from this, and then we’ll think about it further.”
Both customers have kitchens. Both customers have very small companies, literally a dozen people.
One customer is in Belarus, the other is in the Urals. From now on I will call them Belorus and Uralets. About half a million people live in the region that Belarus planned to sell to. Uralets does the same.
Their consumer segments were slightly different. Belarusians have an average minus. Uralets has an average plus. This was caused by the fact that Uralets, in former, prosperous times, acquired high-quality equipment. In particular, for example, equipment for photo printing. As well as CNC machines with a cutting accuracy of 0.1 mm.
Contextual advertising and landing - what is their function when selling furniture online
First, just in case, I’ll tell you - what is contextual advertising, and what are landing pages.
Selling on the Internet, by its very essence, is no different from ordinary sales on the ground. To sell something you only need 3 things:
A product, that is, something for which people will agree to give you their money.
Stream of passers-by. Of which some need your product.
A place to exchange a product for money. For example, a store. Because if your product is in a warehouse and no one knows about it, then no one will buy it.
Next we need a flow of passers-by. Contextual advertising does just that. Like promoters who invite people to come to your store during promotions. Contextual advertising invites those Internet passers-by who are interested in furniture to look at you. At the same time, you pay only for those who agreed and came to you. For those who are not interested and pass by, you do not pay.
Next we need a “store”. Where your visitor can get acquainted with your product. On the Internet, this role is played by either your website or landing page. A landing page is a micro-site consisting of just one page, on which, ideally, only one product is offered. For example, only kitchens.
Now attention! A landing page is not an online store, it’s just your showcase behind glass on the Internet. This is a closed showroom behind glass, on the doors of which it is written “do not come close, do not touch anything!”
Because of the glass, people cannot touch the upholstery of your sofas, they cannot sit on them, they cannot do anything, they can only look from afar.
Would you yourself shell out tens of thousands of rubles for a product that you can only look at from afar, from behind glass?
So there will be no visitors to your landing page.
All a landing page can do is connect your landing page visitor to your manager. The most practical thing is when a landing page visitor leaves his phone number, this phone number goes into your CRM, and then the manager calls this person as quickly as possible, negotiates with him either for a measurement, or for this person to come live to your salon.
Yes, of course, the landing page uses any and all methods to “anchor” the visitor. Interest him to take the next step, rather than turn around and leave.
But still, landing pages only do a good job of establishing contact with the visitor.
Remember: The function of your landing page is not to sell, but to turn visitors into leads. Your manager will continue to sell.
Two cases of selling furniture through contextual advertising - two different results
Now let's return to our Belarusian and Uralian. Here are the actual numbers (rounded, but close to the truth):
|
Average number of landing page visitors (per week) |
||
|
Average consumption per week, rub. |
||
|
Average cost of a landing page visitor, rub. |
||
|
Average number of leads (per week). |
||
|
Average cost per lead, rub. |
||
|
Average number of leads (per week). |
||
|
Average cost of a potential client, rub. |
||
|
Average number of sales (per week). |
||
|
Final average cost buyer, rub. |
Infinity |
Results:
The Belarusian is completely satisfied with the results. Sometimes he asks to stop advertising for a while because his production can’t cope. As I said, this is a very small business. In addition, both Belorus and Uralets launched online sales IN ADDITION to the regular sales that they already had.
The Ural resident suffered a big loss.
I’ll tell you why there was such a difference a little later. First, I’ll tell you why furniture businesses, according to my observations, are starting to actively go online.
You're Losing Half Your Clients If You Don't Promote Online
Of course, we need to go online, and have been for a long time.
That is, we can assume that only those furniture makers who are experiencing a decline turn to me. Those who are already doing well don’t need online promotion services.
However, I claim that over the past few years, ALL furniture makers who do not promote themselves on the Internet are missing out on half their clients.
That is, people are already so accustomed to the Internet that almost half of them first look for furniture on the Internet, and only then go to where they have their eye on something.
If you can’t be found on the Internet, then half of your potential clients won’t even think to look at you! Did you understand?
If you are not visible on the Internet, then you can only count on the remaining 43 percent. And taking into account the fact that the furniture market has lived quite comfortably for many years, and this is probably why most furniture makers prefer to work the old fashioned way, almost all of your competitors are laying claim to the same 43% of the market.
Those few furniture makers who successfully work on the Internet also, by the way, participate in the division of this 43%. Not counting the fact that they also get the other 40% of the market.
Hence the conclusion: There are companies in the furniture market that are doing well.
This situation reminds me of the story about the frog that was placed in cold water and began to slowly heat it up. They heated it little by little, and the frog did not experience any discomfort. Not yet cooked.
There is nothing worse than the gradual but non-stop deterioration of the market
I myself went through such market vicissitudes when I was closely involved in my offline business. Namely, the trade in computers. At its peak, I had 4 stores in 3 cities. The market was changing, and we had to act very aggressively just to stay afloat.
Now I see the same thing in your furniture market. Only the changes are slower. If the situation develops the same way as in previous years, then without the Internet your sales will continue to decline by 10 percent per year. Even without a crisis.
“People don’t buy furniture on the Internet!”
You can object to me: “People don’t buy furniture on the Internet!”
And you'll be right.
For a person to spend serious money, for example, on the same kitchen, he needs to personally look at the colors, knock on the countertop, scratch it with his finger, he needs someone to help him cope with his doubts...
In the same study “Total sales - 2016” to the question “What methods do you most often use to purchase goods?”, for the category “Furniture and home goods”, 26% answered - Internet, and 64% answered - store.
It seems that for a long time, furniture will be bought primarily in stores. But because of the Internet, people are now deciding differently which stores to go to and which ones not to.
And this will only intensify. “In 2016, in Russia, 73% of citizens aged 18 years and older use the Internet, of which 47% of respondents do this daily.”
Your use of online promotion, of course, will not change the situation on the market.
You will have more clients, because you will gain access to those clients that you previously lost, to those who, using the Internet, decide “where to go to inquire about furniture.”
Why is there such a difference in the results of the cases, can contextual advertising be considered a “magic pill” and the formula for a successful online sales chain
Let's now return to our Belarusian and Uralian.
Why was there such a terrifying difference in results? For one, production periodically fails, and for the other, there are only expenses, without sales.
If you look again at the table at the beginning of this article, you will see that the number of landing page visitors and the cost per visitor are almost the same.
Yes, of course, there are differences. Contextual advertising is based on an auction principle. Yandex and Google give preference to those who pay more. Therefore, it is impossible to say in advance what the cost will be for one or another city.
One can only be sure that major cities There is more competition and therefore advertisers have to charge higher prices.
And you can be sure that in rich regions the cost will also be higher. Because advertisers can more easily charge higher prices for their ads.
But still, contextual advertising is the most understandable for businesses, including furniture makers. I paid the money - visitors quickly came - some of them became buyers. Therefore, in Russia, according to various estimates, the share of contextual advertising is up to 80% of the money spent by businesses on the Internet.
All the furniture makers I've talked to essentially want a “magic pill.” I paid - and everything immediately became fine. I even put this in the title of the article.
Above I gave an analogy with promoters. Contextual advertising - like these promoters. She invites passers-by to stop by. But in reality, you do not sell at the expense of promoters. Are you doing different types attracting visitors, dealing with managers, managing the premises, managing the product line...
Don’t consider contextual advertising a “magic pill” that will solve all your problems.
Golden years when there was a peak economic efficiency contextual advertising have already passed. It was SEVERAL TIMES cheaper, and there was little competition. Nowadays, contextual advertising is no longer suitable for every product and not for every city.
For which cases contextual advertising is suitable and for which it is not - I will summarize at the end of this article.
The furniture business needs to go online. Almost half of your clients are already there. You can sell furniture online. And for furniture business In general, contextual advertising works.
BUT!
Only if you don’t treat it like a magic pill, but build a high-quality sales chain from start to finish. That is, contextual advertising + landing page + good job sellers.
After all, in fact, the cost of a landing page visitor is not even important. That is, how much did you spend directly on advertising - how much did you pay for visitors to come to you.
The BUYER'S cost is important.
If you get 20 thousand profit from selling a kitchen, then spend 1200 rubles. To get these 20 thousand is an acceptable price.
Return again to the table at the beginning of this article. You will see that the cost of a lead for a Belarusian and a Uralian is comparable. Let me remind you: a lead is a visitor who is ready to communicate with you further.
The catastrophic difference between the Belarusian and the Uralian began after the potential client left his contact.
For Belarusians, out of 17 such people a week, managers successfully processed 14. That is, 82%.
And at Uralets, out of 14 leads, only 3 were successfully processed. That is, 21%.
By “successfully processed” I mean we brought the client to the point of calculating the cost of the kitchen.
The Belarusian has sales, the Uralian has no sales.
We did something else for Belarus.
Namely:
- Together with Belorussian, we worked with him on promotions that were published on the landing page to increase attractiveness for clients.
- We worked for several months, perfecting both contextual advertising and the landing page itself. That is why I give weekly numbers in this article. One day is not enough to improve something. A month is too long. But moving weekly is optimal.
- We worked on communication between managers and clients. We listened to dozens of recordings of managers' conversations. And obvious errors were eliminated. And, together with Belarus, we ensured that his managers called the client within a few minutes. While the client is still warm.
Therefore, the most important advice in this article.
If you are thinking about selling furniture online, start with the main thing: training your managers.
Through contextual advertising, you can sell only those products whose sales profit per unit is from 3,000 rubles. and higher. And only in cities with a population of over 100 thousand inhabitants. IN small towns contextual advertising may no longer work. There will be too few visitors, and the associated costs of creating, setting up and managing contextual advertising will eat up all the profits. In this case, it will only help you if you yourself become a specialist in contextual advertising, you will personally deal with it and landing pages, and therefore you will not have any associated costs.
If you want contextual advertising, prepare a budget not only for the advertising itself, but also for the people who will bring contextual advertising, landing and the work of managers to condition. For a region with a population of 1 million people, the total costs will be in the region of 80-100 thousand rubles. per month. Half is for the advertising budget, the other half is for making the entire sales chain work.
You won’t be able to achieve anything with 20,000 rubles. The money will simply be wasted.
And if you need a guaranteed result, ask the International Furniture Consulting Center to first bring your sales department up to standard - in your sales department you have a black hole for your money!
If you don’t have a sufficient budget for contextual advertising, unite. Thank God, few clients will go to another city for a kitchen. If you are in different cities, then you are not competitors, but potential partners. Business does not live on contextual advertising alone. Clients can be obtained from social networks. You can attract attention and loyalty to yourself with the help of reviews. The same contextual advertising, if done not for an individual customer, but for a group of customers, will cost significantly less. Those furniture makers with whom I spoke this year, I saw very interesting promotions to increase sales. Judging by Belarus, the right shares work well. The most effective ones could be used for everyone.
Let me note in passing: association on an initiative basis, when you agree to share your work with partners in other cities for free, does not work. I personally checked it several times. You can't go against human nature. We need one person in charge who works not only for conscience, but also for money.
Although, this advice is a topic for a separate article. I will tell you in detail only if this article arouses interest and there are requests from you, dear furniture makers. Write for this.
Furniture businesses need to go online. Go immediately. You will gain access to the second half of the market, which is currently denied.
It's worth it.
With respect to you and your business,
Alexander Seleznev,
Founder of the Content Farm agency,
[email protected]
P.S. 10th of November The International Furniture Personnel Center conducts webinar "Problems of small furniture businesses when accessing the Internet, and how to deal with them." There will be more practical information - what and how to do for you. Webinar free, you just need to pre-register.
01.09.2015
|
1. What a furniture seller needs to know 2. Real story furniture sales manager WITHOUT work experience 3. Tips for furniture sellers:
4. How to offer furniture to a buyer to achieve results 5. Another sales story 6. Why am I so confident in the performance of furniture sales techniques? 7. Sales formulas that definitely work! |
If you are directly involved in furniture sales, then most likely you are interested in what is new in this industry. I suggest you read the article “Tips for furniture sellers from an expert on sales techniques.” Read the entire publication and you will find out that it turns out that you can achieve a high sales rate without having any experience in furniture sales. And at the same time successfully increase revenue within one month. This will help you build your own career as a furniture sales consultant.
What a furniture seller needs to know
For furniture sales consultants, despite the current interesting times . Namely: prospects career growth, the possibility of self-realization. And these are not my speculations, these are facts.
Employees of my company conducted a survey: out of 30 furniture sales consultants who took the “AS Furniture Sales” training, 28 people consider fair payment for their work, and 27 want to grow according to career ladder. If you are interested in this direction, immerse yourself in reading.
The payment system is almost the same everywhere: salary + percentage of sales volume. For good salespeople, the bonus paid for sales always exceeds the salary, sometimes several times. You just need to learn proven sales techniques and convert more furniture showroom visitors into buyers. You will learn how to do this further.
The real story of a furniture sales manager with no experience
And now I would like to draw the attention of those who believe that a sales manager without work experience cannot count on decent payment for his work. The real story of a girl from Kuzbass who got a job as a sales consultant in an upholstered furniture salon.
In July 2015, during my 27 shifts, the outlet’s revenue increased by 75%.
Imagine an applicant who has such achievements in his resume. Even if it’s not fate, as we like to complain, dismissal, layoff, but the consultant will already have such a thing in his portfolio. How long do you think it will take a salesperson to find a job? And this despite the fact that this girl had only 3 months of experience in furniture sales at that time.
Maybe she was born a salesperson? This is not entirely true, or rather, not at all true. She was a little lucky, and everything else is a matter of technique. More precisely, a sales technician, which I teach in a distance learning course for training professional furniture sellers.
She was lucky because she was forced into the training. She was referred to me from the company where she works as a sales consultant for upholstered furniture. And then she began to actively apply what was given in the training. Here is her verbatim review:
And this is not the only case when adding to activity and initiative the right techniques sales, this is the result.
Learn techniques for working with buyers
Furniture companies that are developing rather than standing still, whether wholesale or retail, invest in training their staff. It is for such companies that I conduct trainings. Leading companies are building systemic in-house training, because they believe that this is one of the the most important factors stability and growth.
Where are the careers, prospects, opportunities? You ask.
Accordingly, if you plan to work and build your career in the furniture industry, choose companies that do not just sell quality furniture, and for those who are growing and scaling due to investments in personnel: ask about this during the interview so as not to waste time. Learn from your colleagues during your internship or probationary period whether managers offer training opportunities. If the company where you want to get a job does not conduct trainings, courses, or seminars for employees, it means that you will need a lot of time to learn how to work competently with customers and it will be difficult to build a career. Only under a certain set of circumstances will you be able to sell a lot and receive good bonuses for sales.
An example to follow in terms of systematization of personnel training is the company. I conducted training for their regional representatives in July in Moscow.
But don't just rely on the company you work for. Develop yourself. Read literature on sales.
|
How to work with literature
Do not immediately discard the information that seems incomprehensible, inapplicable, absurd, or unacceptable to you now.
Often, this is only true at first glance. But then the thought arises of how this or that technique can be used in your work.
Or perhaps this perception occurs while you are who you are now. Having started to take care of yourself, to work through your qualities, you will suddenly find that those moments that seemed incomprehensible or unacceptable have become obvious. And you started using them in your activities.
For example, when conducting trainings, I constantly hear the following question: “How many times can you try to establish contact with a buyer if he never responds? Will I seem annoying?
As a rule, this question comes from self-doubt, and from a lack of understanding of the basics of communication, and from ignorance the right techniques establishing contact.
After the training, this mental barrier is usually removed, since during it we work on all these three areas.
After reading the book, it may also take some time to realize how to begin to apply new knowledge in life. And it takes time for new personality traits to form.
I had a time when I started reading a book and suddenly felt some kind of anxiety. As I noticed later, this happened with literature that had a strong impact on me and required personal changes from me. This kind of “worry” has become for me the criterion of a good book :)
Work actively with books:
Emphasize the right places;
Fold over pages you want to return to;
Write your notes in the margins.
IN e-books All this can be done easily too!
It's best to start with these books:
Reading is not enough. You also need to train!
Attend webinars, seminars, trainings. Many of them are now free.
If you are interested in developing not only in sales, then you will need literature and courses on management and psychology. Make inquiries by email, I will tell you what to read, what events to attend.
Every furniture sales consultant is able to earn more, and whoever wants to can build a career. Managers of furniture companies constantly contact me in search of good salespeople, administrators, and managers.
Your path might look like this:
shop assistant
senior salesperson/administrator
manager of one retail outlet or several; director of the entire retail chain.
You can go the other way, become a mentor for other sellers, a training specialist.
How to learn to work with customer doubts and objections?
If the prospects for growth in the furniture industry seem realistic to you, take control of your career and act. Let management know that you want more than the average salesperson at a furniture showroom. Follow this algorithm:
On your next shift, put furniture sales techniques into practice. Make sure they work. Share the book with your colleague. Let a colleague apply the techniques, this way you will remove doubts about the topic “not everyone can do it.” Show the book to your management and tell about your achievements. Show your interest in best results. After all, you don’t just need a big salary this month, you want to build a career. To do this, take the next step.
Check out the contents distance course. Show this page to your manager and say the following: “Help me and my colleagues increase our furniture showroom sales in the next quarter.”
During the training process, you will learn sales techniques that will help convert more visitors into buyers, which will certainly affect sales results.
Every step of the seller in this course is thought out to the smallest detail:
capturing attention → identifying needs → persuasion → removing objections → closing the deal → pressure.
How to offer furniture to a buyer to achieve results
Read about how one of the webinar participants in August, a kitchen furniture seller, went through all these stages in practice:
“I decided to start boldly. I really liked this phrase that you recommended using: “Did you come to us for a walk or do you want to place an order?”
I really like this style of sales - tough and straight away, without snot.
A girl of about 30 came in. (Stood by the kitchen with an orange in his hands).
I waited 5 seconds and looked into your eyes with a smile like this:
Did you come to visit us for a walk or want to place an order?
What happened right away?!
There is absolutely no point in postponing such an exciting journey! Moreover, you are in the best salon our city! (I move away from the kitchen with gestures inviting me to look around). What is your name, may I ask?
Victoria!
Great, Victoria! My name is Konstantin, may I be your assistant in the world of kitchens?!
(She comes closer to the kitchen where I was standing).
She(smiles - obviously thought that something was wrong with this guy):
In principle, there is nothing else to help, just plans.
Plato argued that the world of things begins with the world of ideas - so you are on the right track! Does a kitchen space already exist?!
She (can't stop smiling):
Yes. I bought an apartment and now my head is spinning.
The first step has been taken. I'm ready to take the rest into my own hands. Let's start...
I asked questions, answered them, exchanged contacts - I had a plan of the apartment in my hands.
Conclusion: This approach can be used on the drive. And, most likely, carefully. Because, on the same day, a man came into our salon, in his hands was a purchased hunting knife in a case. I didn’t do that with him! He just asked whether he was coming to us in the kitchen or to our souls! The man smiled and asked for a catalog – I couldn’t refuse him!”
Konstantin, Barnaul, kitchens, medium plus segment.
Such stories evoke a smile, admiration and surprise: “Is this possible with customers?” During the training, I consider all aspects of furniture sales, nuances that you will not learn about anywhere else, and, most importantly, it is taken from life.
Another sales story
from another student of mine:
"Woman looking at sofa cushion with rhinestones, holding it in his hands.
Such a little thought can be ordered from any fabric so that it fits more harmoniously into your interior. (I say, slowly approaching).
Thank you. (Places a pillow and starts moving away from me).
Sofas can also be ordered in any fabric and configuration: straight, corner, U-shaped. (Without moving from his place).
He walks silently and looks at the sofas.
Which one are you looking for? Which room? (Little by little I start to follow her).
Just looking.
Have you come to check out our store? Very good! Here, take the catalog, you can see the entire range on the website.
He takes the catalog silently, turns right, into the competitors’ territory, there are also sofas there.
On the right we have imported sofas, on the left our production base.
He returns to our territory, walks further, and stops near one of the sofas.
Very interesting model, due to the “click-clack” mechanism, it has an additional backrest position, sit down and try how comfortable it is.
Yes, it's convenient. (Sits down).
The sofa is on an orthogonal base, the wings can be folded, it will be more compact and comfortable (I bend the wings to the maximum), sit down, now it is even more comfortable.
He sits down and confirms his comfort.
He gets up and says:
Just two or three people sit down and that’s it...
How many people usually sit on your couch at the same time?
I'm alone for now, but you never know...
You can see a similar model in the same style with an armchair.
(I open the catalog)
It also has an orthopedic base, it is also on legs, only the mechanism is different, it is a sofa-book.
This is even better, such a mechanism is reliable.
The sofa can be ordered in leather, as in the photo, or in fabric. Moreover, it looks even more interesting in colored fabric, let's see some samples.
Agrees.
I take out plain options, embossed fabric and with colors and components with the words “ I especially like this one", I look at the reaction, looks and touches the colored one more, I continue:
Very interesting shades, you can order the sofa in color, and make the pillows and bottom a single color, this will make it even more interesting.
Yes, and there are many shades here, you can hang purple, gray, and beige curtains. You are right, the pillows will look better in plain colors. And I like the feel of it. How much will it cost?
A sofa in this fabric 19900, we will make it in 30 days, we will deliver it free of charge.
Is there an installment plan?
Yes, and without % (I explain the conditions).
Thank you, Anna (I looked at the name on the badge). You have interested me very much. Please write down the name of the sofa, fabric and price.
I write it down and give it away with the words:
Don’t delay your decision, we give gifts for every order, but this is only until the end of the week.
OK, thank you!
Did you notice how skillfully the seller drew the buyer into a dialogue and brought him back when he wanted to leave?
These 2 stories are based on the sales techniques that were given in the “Sell Like an AC” Course. You will understand why the dialogues developed this way and what techniques were used when you take this Course yourself.
Why am I so confident in the performance of furniture sales techniques?
Because I worked on each of them personally.
Yes! I tested sales methods on myself.
At first, I observed how the “stars” of furniture sales worked: what they said, how they behaved when communicating with customers.
The seller himself, who loves his work, intuitively comes up with effective techniques, but he cannot describe his actions, because he believes that he is not doing anything special - he is just working.
Then I went to sell the furniture myself instead of the seller, to make sure that his method was highly effective and to exclude the influence of the charm of an individual.
Sales formulas that definitely work!
Some of these formulas and techniques are described in the “Instructions on how to become a star,” which I recommended above. They will be enough for you to increase your income. And in order to increase it, come to a two-month We will share the latest developments that I formed during a summer tour of five cities in Russia.
After completing the Course, you will be able not only to systematize your experience, learn new things and start selling more, but also subsequently train others. This will be another step in your professional and personal development and a bridge to career growth!
Sign up for the next one
See you!
- Sincerely,
- Alexandrov Sergey Aleksandrovich,
- Expert and author of a book on increasing furniture sales
- International Furniture HR Center