We can all identify with the buzz that comes when you have a customer ‘sign on the dotted line’ and say yes to a new kitchen.

It’s very fulfilling.  And the bigger the job, the bigger the buzz.

And what many kitchen retailers have realised, is that often a bigger buzz comes when you’re able to get a different sort of customer to sign on the dotted line.

You see, selling direct to consumers is important, but you’ll do all of that sales and design activity for what is, in reality, a one-off project.

Here’s a troubling thought for you:

Last week someone in your area bought a kitchen. 

They weren’t a price shopper, and they wanted something stylish, good quality and long-lasting, so they spent good money on it too.

Here’s the problem: they didn’t buy it from you. 

Not because they considered using you and then dismissed it, but because you weren’t even on their radar.

Okay, so it didn’t turn out to be the warmest of bank holiday weekends, but the sun definitely appears to be shining for kitchen retailers, after a somewhat mixed start to the year.

I was on my travels last week, visiting several kitchen retailers, and for the most part, they’re all experiencing the same thing:

The last month or so has seen an uplift in the number of leads and sales coming through the doors…

I’m occasionally a betting man, but I prefer to take risks that I have more control with.

But I’d certainly put a hefty wager on the fact that there are several big kitchen companies that you know you’re better than…

Wren?  Magnet?  IKEA?

They’re probably cheaper than you, but the chances are that the quality and service you provide is on a different level.

As you can imagine, I speak to a lot of kitchen businesses; some clients, some prospects, some friends.

And what I’ve realised, is that the vast majority of them have the same problem when it comes to getting leads and making sales.

 It’s not that they don’t have ideas about how to get more customers. In fact, in lots of cases, they’ve got ideas coming out of their ears.

 But what they don’t have is time to implement those ideas.

In this month’s edition of Inspired, your kitchen marketing newsletter brought to you by Inspire KBB:

David Barker reports on the marketing strategy inspired by an octogenarian taxi driver.

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If I asked you what the most important asset in your kitchen business is, what would you say?

There are all sorts of potential answers:

Superior products, terrific showroom, high-performing staff, manufacturing facilities and plant, the list goes on and on.

But I’d like to propose that there’s something even more important than that…

Someone asked me recently, what's the greatest sale you ever made?

It took a while to consider it, but here’s the story...

I know a guy who’s a tremendous salesman.  A natural.  Ice to Eskimos, coal to Newcastle, the whole thing.

He also spends money like it’s going out of fashion.  It’d be slower to set fire to the stuff!

He was telling me about his latest purchase the other day, and it got me thinking about an old truism - as relevant in kitchen sales as it is anywhere else…

In this month’s edition of Inspired, your kitchen marketing newsletter brought to you by Inspire KBB:

David Barker explores an important new insight into what influences decisions from Google Search and how you can benefit from it.

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I’ve always believed in the power of learning, no matter how accomplished you already are.

One of the people I’ve been learning a lot from recently, is a guy called Grant Cardone. You might have heard of him – he’s very American, very salesy, but he’s got some really excellent stuff to say.

In his book Sell or Be Sold, he makes a terrific point that hit me head-on…

The one thing you need to get ahead, is to sell.

 With that in mind, here’s 7 sales lessons that’ve stood out so far:

Well, 2019 isn’t waiting around for anyone is it?!

As I write, February is in sight, with Christmas a distant memory and we’ve had the busiest start to any year I can remember. Which is great. 

We’ve got huge plans for this year, which means that we’ve needed to knuckle down and put a lot of the foundations in place during January.

Thankfully for me, our newest member of the team has been a vital and integral part of everything we’ve done this year, and I thought I’d take this opportunity to introduce her: Chloe Dunn.

I had an interesting response to my email on Jose Mourinho a while ago (which is highly topical now that the ‘Special One’ has been dethroned at Old Trafford!).
 
It was from a kitchen retailer called Neil. He expanded upon the point I’d made about Mourinho making the best of the squad he had, his first time round at Chelsea.
 
Here’s what Neil said:
 
“A person once said to me: 5, not 50. Look at the market in the 5-mile radius around you – there’s probably more opportunities there than driving 50 miles to do business.”
 
I'm sure you'll relate to that, it’s a powerful and true insight.

We’re well on the way towards Christmas now, and no doubt you’re super busy on your final jobs, ensuring that families have their brand-new kitchens in place before that wonderfully natural deadline of the 25th December!

But today, I just want to touch briefly on what happens AFTER Christmas.

As we all know, there’s a big rush to get new kitchens installed prior to the big day, but the buying intent kicks back in soon after Santa slides down the chimney.

In fact, over the years, one thing has become very clear to us about kitchen buying dynamics.  It starts with a profound trigger…

Before I go any further, I want you to banish all thoughts of what a successful sales and marketing message should look like. 

Because what I’ve got to share with you goes completely against the grain of what most people think marketing is – we call it the ‘Re-activation Email’. 

Quite frankly, it wouldn’t be too harsh to consider it the runt of the marketing litter.  It’s a bit of an ugly little bugger, but it sure does get results.

As I mentioned the other week, I’ve always believed in the power of mentors – having someone who’s already trod the path that you want to go down is a very smart way to shortcut success.

Last week I mentioned one of my oldest mentors; this week I want to refer to one of my newest – the inimitable Nigel Botterill.

Botty’s a bona fide UK business superstar, with bags of sales and marketing experience.  Last year, he introduced me to a very clever approach, that can be used with great effect in the kitchen industry…

Throughout my career, I’ve always had mentors, and there’s a simple analogy that explains why:

You wouldn’t attempt Everest without a Sherpa.

Having someone on hand who knows the route is hugely valuable, can stop you heading off in the wrong direction, and make sure you go the most direct way to your desired destination.

I was flicking through the channels the other night and I caught one of those football shows, ‘The Premier League Years 2004/5’. It was the season that signalled the arrival of ‘The Special One’, Jose Mourinho.

It was 14 years ago now, but there are two big marketing lessons in the changes that Jose made to Chelsea, and I wanted to share them with you.