Deck Project Selling sidebar (745 words)

Customer Profiles:
A Valuable Tool for Consultative Selling

Those who recognize the importance of consultative selling may run into a challenge in setting up systems to implement this value-added service technique. Don't let its more labor-intensive aspect put you off of using this powerful positioning tool on your sales floor. Instead, use a proven method of data gathering that will help you sell more decks – and anything else – by finding out what your customer really needs.

Archadeck of St. Louis uses a checklist to outline each deck job's requirements before trying to narrow down the needs and desires of each customer. Their checklist covers such items as a survey, recording the type of house or other building the deck will attach to, physical site conditions like elevation, slope and drainage conditions, the presence of an existing deck, functions the customer wishes to have the deck serve, and options the customer is interested in considering.

We offer the following suggestions to help you develop your own checklist, which you can use to generate a Customer Profile for each job you do. Not only will this profile help you in serving the needs of your current deck jobs, but if you create the profile in a digital database format (Microsoft Access™, Excel, FileMaker Pro), you can store and retrieve the information to help you better serve your customer for future related work. You can create a separate record (or set of related records, one for each project) for each customer. This also creates for you a valuable database to mine for future marketing needs, such as determining prospects for future direct mailings.

In addition to the common-sense items listed in Archadeck's checklist, here are some considerations you might want to use in creating your own Deck Project Checklist:
1. Your customer's personal taste and design aesthetic. You can save a lot of time and energy by eliminating options that are obviously inappropriate (say, suggesting traditional redwood to someone who values the latest and most innovative materials) or learning about others you may not have thought of (suggesting turned balusters, decorative newel posts and finials instead of standard 4x4 posts and caps for a deck being added to a Victorian home).

2. Make sure form follows function. Ask what your customer wants to do with their deck. These goals will affect layout, space use, accessories and material choices. Primary activities might include
• Parties, gatherings, picnics – You'll need to allow for serving tables, seating, lighting and possibly a sound system.
• Relaxing after work and sunbathing – Plan for areas that receive constant sun exposure and others that provide the feeling of seclusion.
• Children's play area – Will you need to incorporate a sandbox, jungle gym, or safety railings in the design?
• Exterior office extension – Perhaps your customer will need electrical access and a desk or slanted writing surface to accommodate a laptop computer and other tools.
• Pets – Choose materials accordingly for durability and ease of maintenance for those customers who include the family pets in their plans.

3. Aside from the regular activities, don't overlook personal hobbies that might help you suggest specific accessories or configurations, such as
• Gourmet cooking – Perhaps a built-in barbecue pit or gas grill might serve as a logical centerpiece for your culinary-focused customers.
• Gardening – A bank of container gardens might be the perfect focus for a multi-level deck.
• Birdwatching – Don't overlook the possibilities for helping your customer attract their favorite feathered friends with a design that allows for strategically placed feeder platforms and shelter plantings.
• Art – If your customer enjoys creating or appreciating art, suggest a design that will allow for the display of pieces that hang or require a pedestal; perhaps the deck could occasionally serve as an outdoor studio or gallery for shows.
• Collecting – If your customer is an avid collector of any number of items, finding a way to incorporate some of those items into the design of the deck is a terrific way to make it a truly custom, personalized project.

4. Specialization – Ask about any specific needs that might not be part of a standard job that your customer might require.
• Existing structures and workarounds
• Landscape requirements
• Accommodations for children, pets and handicapped residents
• Secondary uses such as for pool and hot tub surrounds that will require water resistant or tiled areas, towel bars/rails, an outside shower head, privacy screens or cup holders