Industry Insights

Of all the kitchen and bath pros with which dealers work regularly, remodelers qualify as among the most important. They also happen to be one of the most challenging groups to get to know. But the effort is worthwhile: The financial rewards of a successful remodeler relationship can be considerable for dealers.
Such networking efforts are especially important during difficult economic times, when everyone is scrambling for business and searching for new projects. For dealers, establishing a strong relationship with a remodeling firmcan support your top and bottom lines as these remodelers send clients to you as their preferred
kitchen and bath dealer.


That means by working with remodelers,
you'll be able to meet your sales goals
with fewer in-house resources. Why? Remodelers
can sometimes lay the groundwork
for kitchen and bath dealers, refining
customers' wants and needs so showroom
designers and sales professionals don't have
to start from scratch. The remodeler can also
assist with the preliminary work of qualifying prospective customers, from finding the
clients to confirming their readiness tomove forward on their projects, saving a kitchen
and bath dealer valuable time.

If you're interested in establishing such a relationship, there are many different ways
you can identify and connect with remodelers who might be looking at new options for
cabinetry in kitchens and baths. You could attend a local chapter meeting of the National
Association of the Remodeling Industry (NARI). Or you could host an open house that showcases your cabinet offerings and highlights examples of your best
kitchen and bath work.

Establishing a Great Relationship
In many ways, a successful relationship between kitchen and bath dealers and remodelers can be compared to a friendship between two people who have found a kindred spirit-another person who shares a
similar view of the world. "We watch out for each other," says
Bobby Adams, a remodeler in Winchester, Va., referring to his preferred cabinetry
dealer. "They refer potential customers to me, and I send customers to them. It's a special relationship because I know I can't let down the folks who refer me, and they feel
the same way."

Establishing a great working relationship may take a little time. Dealers and remodelers
both need to understand the similarities and differences in the way they each do business. Dealers should talk to their remodeler partners, asking them about their business philosophyand priorities, which can vary from firmto firm. One remodeling firmmight concentrate on providing intensive customer service or offering innovative designs. Anotherremodeling companymight be rigorous about staying on schedule or budget.

Similarly, kitchen and bath pros need to articulate their philosophy, priorities, and
vision for the project to their dealer partners, so that you can be sure your two approaches will be compatible and result in a happy customer.  "It's important that my customers feel comfortable and happy with the entire process, and that includes more than just me and my subcontractors-it also includes
vendors, dealers, and distributors," says Christopher Wright, founder and president
of WrightWorks, an Indianapolis-based remodeling firm that primarily handles highend
projects and works with dealers when it comes to cabinetry.

Every time a remodeler refers a client to a dealer, he is putting his reputation in the
dealer's hands, notes Wright. He trusts that dealer to treat his clients exactly as he would treat them, providing the same level of service, attention, respect, and professionalism. It's a concept expressed bymany remodelers. "A referral is a direct reflection on me," says Matt Lederer, president of Mahogany Builders, a Chicago-based remodeling company that works on 50 to 60 kitchen and bathroom projects annually. "I need to know that dealer is going to provide a good experience
for my customers."

Likewise, kitchen and bath pros need to "WE WATCH OUT FOR EACH OTHER...[DEALERS] REFER POTENTIAL CUSTOMERS TO ME, AND I SEND CUSTOMERS TO THEM."they need to know about the budget. Remodelers may accompany their clients to these meetings as a service. "We're going to sit through two hours of the first meeting, ask questions our customers would never think to ask, and take [notes on the cabinets and their installation] so we know what is being ordered," Lederer explains.

If a misunderstanding should occur anytime during the process, the remodeler and
dealer should work together tomake it right. "When you work with someone who values
you as a long-termclient, you know you'll be taken care of when there are issues,"Wright says. "If something shows up as wrong, it's
important that it's taken care of quickly." In the end, dealers have a critical role to
play in kitchen and bath projects that involve a remodeler. From their specialized
experience and design ideas to correct measurements and on-time cabinet delivery, dealers offer expertise to enhance any kitchen and bath remodeling project.
know they can trust their remodeler partner will treat their customers well and be worthy of referrals.

Working With a Remodeler Partner
When youworkwith a remodeler on a project, it's important for everyone to understand howeach firmworkswith its customers and tocustomize their approaches accordingly.
For example, some remodelers may take
a more active role in the design process.
They invest time and energy to create a design plan that fits their clients' budgets and tastes and expect dealers to help execute their design with little variation.
In other cases, remodelers prefer that
their clients work with designers and dealers
to come up with a plan for their kitchen
and bath projects. In this case, dealers have
more room to be creative and offer ideas for
layouts, cabinet design, appliances, and
even flooring and lighting.

"As much as you want to systemize projects and people, every project is going to be
different, and remodelers will be different,"Wright says.
Wright suggests that dealers consider offering amultitiered pricing schedule or price
flexibility based on the amount of design work they do for customers on kitchen and
bath projects.Given such variations, it's important to determine the scope of services each professional offers so that responsibilities are clearly defined. When Wright works with a new dealer, for example, the two of them establish ground rules so both he and the dealer understand the project objectives, responsibilities, and expectations. He contends that dealers and remodelers who work together successfully are able to come to an understanding about what the other brings to the table and are willing to respect each other's contributions.

Working With Customers
For the many homeowners, kitchen and bath improvement projects are too overwhelming for them to go the DIY route. So when a homeowner chooses to hire professionals, the dealer and the remodeler have the opportunity to serve as both a guide and a resource to the homeowner, replacing stress and confusion with a sense of control and satisfaction as they respect customers' tastes and work within the budget.

The first opportunity for the dealer and remodeler to satisfy the customer occurs
during design. Sometimes, however, the remodeler and homeowner have already had
initial design discussions that would have benefited from a designer's input. Despite
joining a project already in process the designer should be able to pick up the discussion
from where it stands. The second opportunity to satisfy the customer
revolves around the budget. While dealers certainly can suggest products and
services to referred customers, kitchen and bath pros should find out if there's anything

DETERMINE THE SCOPE OF SERVICES EACH PROFESSIONAL OFFERS
SO THAT RESPONSIBILITIES ARE CLEARLY DEFINED.