Recently, I had an appointment with a showroom manager. When I arrived, they were busy with an account and asked for my patience.  So, I sat down, observed, listened and learned.

The selection was just getting underway and to watch them dance was a thing of beauty; the showroom manager did not immediately start a showroom tour by asking the designer what they are looking for. They started by mapping out the job, breaking down each bathroom and kitchen, inside, outside and bar. Once the rooms-to-be-addressed schedule was finished, they “shopped” each room individually. But only taking time to select the finish, faucet and toilet for each bathroom and finish, faucet and sink for each kitchen (inside, bar and outside). Once that was finished, the designer left a set of blueprints, said goodbye and was out the door. What just happened? Where is the designer going? What shower system do they want, what about the lavatory bowls? And what bathtub statement do they want to make for the primary bathroom?  Freestanding, Drop in? So many questions are still not answered.

Yes, at this point in the dance there are many questions to be answered. All those questions will be answered when the shower manager/salesperson leaves the showroom floor and does the complete bath and kitchen blueprint take-off applying the meeting’s notes. In a quiet home or company office, away from the hustle and bustle of a busy 21st-century decorative showroom, a knowledgeable salesperson will dig into their knowledge of today’s market, the designer’s style filtered through their meeting notes to create the total schedule. Then it will be priced evolving into a comprehensive quote.

Let’s step back from this particular sales process and compare it to the standard method of selecting decorative plumbing for a fine custom job. In this laborious process, the showroom person, the designer and maybe, the homeowner meet in the showroom. They review the plans. Then go through the showroom one bathroom and kitchen at a time and select each individual piece needed. Each piece for each room is independently searched, discussed and selected. This process is time-consuming and mentally draining. It is so consuming that it is commonly practiced for the bathrooms to be selected in one meeting and the kitchens in another. Once each selection has been made, the experienced showroom salesperson will retreat into their private enclave.

In a quiet home or company office, away from the hustle and bustle of a busy 21st-century decorative showroom, a knowledgeable salesperson will dig into their knowledge of today’s market, the designer’s style filtered through their meeting notes to create the total schedule. Then it will be priced evolving into a comprehensive quote.

Sound familiar?

At this point, we have arrived at the same point in both sales processes. The original quote has been completed and will be shared with the designer and whoever else has requested copies. And the quotes will be reviewed line by line and discussed until the final schedule/quote is agreed upon.

Let’s breakdown the sales processes:

Drill-down showroom sales process

First, outline the complete job.

1st Meeting:

Use showroom to:

• Select finish and faucets for each bathroom; and
• Select finish, faucets and sinks for each kitchen.

2nd Meeting:

• Create complete bathroom and kitchen schedule and initial quote;
• Work with all parties to finalize the bathroom and kitchen schedules and quote; and
• Work to close quote.

Historical showroom sales process

1st meeting:

Use showroom to select each fixture for each bathroom.

2nd Meeting:

• Use Showroom to select each fixture for all kitchens;
• Create complete bathroom and kitchen schedule and initial quote;
• Work with all parties to finalize the bathroom and kitchen schedules and quote; and
• Work to close quote.

It is obvious that the first sales process requires less time for all involved especially our showroom salesperson while producing the same results.One might think that in process No. 2, the back and forth conversation in the comprehensive selection meetings save time in the quote finalization but that has not proved to be the case.Once the faucet and finish filters are set, it is easy for a knowledgeable showroom person to effectively apply their industry and style sensibility to each space. The designer, builder, plumber and homeowner trust the showroom brand and its showroom salespeople to select, set up and price their job best. If they do not, then why have they taken their valuable, billable time to visit this showroom?

In discussing this process with the showroom manager, they told me they have been working on perfecting this technique for quite a few years and, with the help of the pandemic generated business boom and lockdown, their customers are now quite comfortable with drill-down selection process. It is now everyone's process.

Is this a bit simplistic? Yes and No. Not for a designer, plumber and builder that have worked with a talented and knowledgeable showroom salesperson. They have done many jobs together and know what each other prefers. If a particular job has a unique twist, it can be easily noted and used in building the preliminary quote.

As a side note, this process works much better if the brands specified have an easily accessible and comprehensive library of product images, specifications and instruction sheets. This will help the showroom salesperson designer, builder and plumber see, present on all levels of the quote and install process.

I am confident that many leading showroom salespeople follow the drill-down sales process today. For those following the select all approach, a few focused discussions on the two processes will educate you and their manager as to whether they can step up to the drill-down approach. Not everyone will be able to both convince themselves that they do not need their customer’s approval on each item and also earn the trust of the client that they can allow the salesperson to make the selections for their job. Some salespeople want that immediate approval and some designers, builders, plumber and, especially, homeowners, want and demand that control. They all struggle to trust the final review if they have not presented or seen all the possible choices. This is where solid salespeople trust themselves to get best and have the ability to earn that same trust from their clients. It just takes time and a focus on personal improvement.