Since implementing this approach, Painted Plum Building Solutions has seen its profit margin increase nine points to 25%, simply by eliminating any room for missed selections or misinterpretation. Clients make their selections with Sau’s help and that of local showrooms and vendors, and both Sau and the client sign off on those selections.
SHOPPING SPREE The plan-before-you-work approach is an important step that allows clients and remodelers to initially sort all the pieces, by room, product category, or both. The next step requires a more detailed approach that involves sending clients out into the vast world of home design stores, often with little more than a CAD-generated vision in their heads, let alone the big picture for the project. Though many customers will enter into a remodel with some idea of how they want their finished homes to look, others don’t. Add to that busy schedules and differing levels of inspiration, and designers must choose carefully the best way to help their clients shop for products.
“We tailor our shopping experience to each client depending on how much they would like to participate,” Nelson says. “Some like to go to showrooms with me, or they prefer to go alone. Others don’t have time to shop, but they do have a vision, so I’ll take a look at their house, listen to their ideas, and offer suggestions that fit both their budget and their vision.”
Budde agrees, noting that product-selection meetings with her customers usually begin in the Dave Fox Remodeling showroom. “We try to accomplish as much as we can in the showroom first,” she says. “The samples we have for cabinets, countertops, and wood finishes are fine for a lot of our customers to work with, so we can get many selections made at once.”
For clients who want to see full granite slabs or other non-showroom possibilities, Budde takes them on a tour of other vendors’ showrooms over a period of a few days or weeks. “Depending on the scope of a job, and especially for high-end projects,” she says, “I like to take homeowners out to touch and feel the tile, the appliances, the cabinets.” Budde says she never sends clients shopping by themselves, lest they become overwhelmed. Grouping showroom visits based on their location in the city, she says that most clients can handle about two major selections per day without getting too worn out.
Sau agrees that product selection is often the most challenging part of a remodel in the customer’s view. “Planning is tiring and tedious, especially because there are no tangible results right away,” she says. “If I’m shopping with clients, I can add knowledge and help them make efficient decisions, and keep them excited and focused on the end result.”
Kent Eberle does not shop at showrooms with his clients. Instead, he chooses to bring the stores to them by way of a company-created catalog called the Product Selection Information Guide. “The guide is a binder with about 140 pages of information on products we’ve used in the past,” says the president of Sacramento, Calif.-based Eberle Remodeling. “It contains information not just about the products, but also about maintenance issues, installation issues, and our experiences with the product.”
The guide, presented to customers once they enter into a design agreement, also contains a list of local vendors that carry the products, so clients can check them out in person at their leisure.
When it was first created 10 years ago, Eberle says he and his staff took about three months to compile the guide, with each lead staff member responsible for a specific section from appliances to trim. “When we first implemented this approach, we noticed that it did help speed up the product-selection process by helping clients wade through the enormous volume of product options available,” he says. “Now, prices and availability of different options for each product require regular updating, but it’s worth it to make sure customers have the most up-to-date information.”
THE ILLUSION OF CHOICE For most remodelers who handle several projects each year, knowing how to fit together all the pieces of a job comes relatively easily. However, for homeowners, who may take on just one or two home remodels during their lifetime, the challenge is much greater.
