How to open a building materials store? Online sales of building materials: pros and cons. Market participants say what building materials to sell

In recent years, the population of our country has been actively building and no less actively renovating new and old apartments. Many cities are now experiencing a construction boom. And that’s why everyone needs building materials. Selling materials and other components needed for construction and renovation is a profitable business. Many entrepreneurs have understood this, which is why there are many stores with a similar focus. But there are still unoccupied niches and attractive opportunities in this business. Let's look at how to open a building materials store.

Store format

Building materials and accompanying product names are sold in different ways. In construction markets, small stalls, warehouse stores, construction supermarkets and regular hardware stores. Before starting this business, you need to understand what types of construction stores exist. And which of these types suits your capabilities. Or maybe you’ll study what’s out there and come up with something of your own. So, the conditional division of construction stores:

Small shops, from 20 to 50 sq.m. plus a warehouse of approximately the same area. Such a store usually presents one or two groups of goods, with 30 or more items. For example, wallpaper. Or paint. Or floor coverings. Along with the main group of products, related products can be sold. For example, wallpaper and wallpaper glue of several types, suitable for the types of wallpaper present in the store’s assortment.
Larger stores, up to 200 sq.m. total area, the area of the sales area in this case can be 100-120 sq.m. Such a store may offer several dozen product groups. There may be wallpaper, paint, several types of flooring, plumbing, boards, and pipes. The total number of product articles can reach 5-6 thousand items.
Large construction stores with a sales area of 1000 sq.m. and extensive storage facilities. Such a store usually has at least ten departments, where you can find almost everything you might need for repairs and construction. Product groups number in the hundreds, and names in the thousands.
Store-warehouse. There is no division into warehouses and sales areas. The goods are presented to customers in the volumes and quantities that are available in the store. On average, the size of such complex trading enterprises ranges from 2000 to 3000 sq.m. But there are also small warehouse stores that sell goods of one or two directions.

Required Documentation

First you need to register in the Unified State Register as a legal entity. After this, you can receive a certificate of registration with the tax authorities.

Typically, owners of construction stores choose one of two legal forms of doing business - (IP) or (LLC). Individual entrepreneur is convenient if you do not have a very large store and you are its sole owner. An LLC is usually used for larger businesses and when there are co-founders.

You will need to choose a tax system. This choice may depend on local laws, and laws may vary from region to region.

A convenient tax is UTII (UTII), in most regions of the country all retail enterprises, which include a building materials store, fall under it.

If your city does not provide UTII for this type of activity, then you can choose the simplified tax system -. This tax is 6% if the object of taxation is income, and 15% if the object of taxation is income reduced by the amount of expenses.

Since 2014, a new taxation system, patent, has been introduced. It consists in acquiring a patent for each type of activity. This taxation system is only possible for individual entrepreneurs.

You should receive a notification from Goskomstat that your enterprise has been assigned codes according to OKVED (the All-Russian Cadastre of Economic Activities) that correspond to your business activity.

In addition, you will need to obtain permission from the following authorities:

City Administration.
Chamber of Commerce.
Fire inspection.
Traffic police (when organizing parking).

Shop space

Criteria for choosing a location for a building materials store:

Proximity to a busy highway with a constant flow of cars.
Area of new buildings.
On a large construction market.
Close to stores of a similar focus that do not duplicate your store.
In the area of the industrial zone of the city - there you can find suitable premises at a favorable price.
The premises must be in a non-residential area, so firefighters will not allow the sale of flammable substances, which make up a significant part of the assortment of a hardware store, in a residential area.
There must be ample guarded free parking next to the store.
Convenient access roads should lead to the store.
For a large warehouse store selling large quantities of bulky goods, it is desirable to have access railway tracks.
The store must comply with the requirements of the SES and fire inspection for the conditions of storage and sale of goods.

The next question that needs to be decided: rent or buy the premises? Owning a premises is, of course, convenient, but it requires a large investment that will not be returned soon.

Therefore, if you already have your own suitable premises, great. This will solve a lot of problems. If there is no premises, and you do not have substantial initial capital, then it is better to rent a store premises. Perhaps it will be a lease with a subsequent purchase if your store is doing well and you have a stable high income.

Shop equipment

The set of equipment is standard and simple and includes:

Single-sided racks attached to the walls for displaying goods.
Double-sided shelving, which is located in the central part of the hall.
Showcase cabinets with glass doors for placing small-sized goods.
Showcase counters for some departments of the store.
Retail nets for hanging suspended goods.
Fasteners and hooks for placing goods on the walls.
Packing table.
Cash register, one or more.
Trolleys and shopping baskets.

Product range

You should choose the groups of products that should be in your store after considering the following questions:

Store size. If you have a large supermarket, you will be able to have a wide and varied assortment. If your store is small in size, then you need to choose one direction.
Availability of similar stores in your city or area. If you want to sell flooring, make sure there is no similar store nearby.
Buyers' needs. Study the construction goods market, find out what is in short supply and what goods are in abundance.

In any case, your store should have a wide range of products. The modern buyer is spoiled by the abundance of goods and is unlikely to return to a store with a meager assortment. If the space does not allow you to display a large quantity of goods, you can also work from catalogs, to order.

We list the standard product groups for a building materials store:

Suppliers

You can search for suppliers in person by visiting all wholesale centers in the city, or via the Internet. The first method is convenient because it is easier to agree on conditions through personal contact, the second is because you don’t have to go or drive anywhere, you just need to look through the catalogs of the companies you need and compare prices.

Don't limit yourself to suppliers who have a presence in your city, especially if your city is small. Look for suppliers in nearby major cities. This is usually more profitable.

Often large bases deliver goods to neighboring cities for free for large enough orders. In many cases, you can not only submit a request for a product, but also enter into an agreement with the supplier via the Internet.

Store employees

To open a hardware store and ensure its prosperity, you must find experienced employees. Your store should be managed by a person who has worked in this field for several years. After all, the range of goods, contacts with suppliers, and personnel management depend on it.

Sales consultants must have all the information about the product; in addition, they must understand the construction and repair process itself in order to give advice or consultation. If your store has several departments, then each should have at least one consultant who thoroughly understands the products of this department.

In addition to sales consultants and management personnel, you will need cashiers, cleaners, a warehouse manager and loaders.

Remuneration for store employees should be stimulating: salary and bonus, the size of which depends on the quality of work and the quantity of goods sold. With this approach, employees work most efficiently.

Business plan for a building materials store

Opening a small building materials store with an area of about one hundred square meters, according to experienced entrepreneurs working in this business, costs 300–400 thousand rubles.

The average turnover per month is 200,000 rubles. This is with a trade markup on goods of 20-30%.

Most of the turnover goes to payments to suppliers (about 70%). That is, 60,000 rubles remain. You also need to pay salaries and taxes. There will be a very small amount left.

Therefore, opening a small store is profitable only if you have the opportunity to purchase goods inexpensively from suppliers and make a markup on it in the store of more than 30%. In addition, you need to agree with suppliers on the delivery of all goods without prepayment, for sale. And one more thing – the premises. If the rental price is high, your business may become unprofitable.

Conclusion: opening a small-format building materials store is profitable if you have inexpensive premises (preferably one that you own) and favorable working conditions with suppliers.

Opening of a store with an area of about 200 sq.m. will require an amount of 1.5 million rubles, including the full cost of payment for the goods. Monthly turnover is 800-900 thousand rubles, net profit after taxes is 50-60 thousand per month.

Supermarket of building materials, occupying 1500-2000 sq.m. will require investments of 8-10 million rubles. The turnover of such a store is approximately 3 million rubles per month, and the net profit is about 150,000 rubles.

This trading option is the most profitable for the business owner and the most convenient for the client, because he can purchase all the main and related products for repairs in one place.

Promotion of a building materials store

Since competition in this business is high, and the location of the store may not always be successful from a marketing point of view - such stores are often located on the outskirts of the city or in industrial zones - advertising becomes of paramount importance.

By the time the store opens, you need to prepare advertisements in the local press, and, if possible, on radio and television. You can also install advertising posters and banners on the streets of the city, informing about the opening of a new store, its advantages and discounts for first customers.

Be sure to start your website on the Internet, because now they are looking for everything they might need. The website must be made with high quality, it must attract attention, give an idea of your product range and prices. It should contain information about your work hours, options for delivery of building materials, and your contact numbers. Don't forget to update it regularly.

Another effective form of advertising is cooperation with repair and construction companies and teams. They will bring their clients to you and purchase materials from you if you give them the opportunity to receive discounts or percentages on the sales of new clients attracted.

You can attract sales representatives who will offer your product to companies involved in interior design, renovation and construction. This way you can find profitable regular customers who will purchase large quantities of goods from you.

Be sure to issue discount cards, simple or cumulative, to regular customers. Don't forget to run promotions when new types of products appear. Invite design consultants or builders to participate in these promotions. Organize online and SMS distribution of news from your store to regular customers.

In the current economic climate, the idea of starting your own business is becoming increasingly popular. The thing is that a personal enterprise opens up a number of advantages that were previously unavailable. At the same time, you should not hope that your own business is devoid of any difficulties and unpleasant moments. From the very beginning, you need to understand that in order to achieve any positive results it will be necessary to put in a lot of effort. Today, trade in building materials is almost the most popular business idea.

Relevance

The demand for construction products is quite high among domestic consumers. The thing is that quite a large number of people are making repairs in their houses, apartments or country houses. That is why they often turn to the building materials retail trade for help. On the other hand, there are individuals or legal entities who are engaged in large construction projects. Given the large volumes, representatives of the second group can be found in the wholesale trade of building materials.

Buy or create from scratch

People who decide to start selling construction materials quite often have the following question: should I buy a ready-made construction store or is it better to create it myself from the very beginning? Although both options have their advantages and disadvantages, purchasing an already established business is considered a more profitable solution to this issue, since in this case it will be possible to assess the profitability and profitability of this particular store in a certain territory. Thus, it is believed that buying a ready-made store and re-registering it as your own is the right decision. In addition, experts say that the costs of both purchasing and creating a store are approximately the same. For those who have decided to start their business from scratch, it would be useful to remind you that you need to register a legal entity for trading in construction materials. An LLC can be called whatever you like. The main thing is that this name does not repel potential clients.

Types of construction stores

Fortunately, for the common consumer, the number of places where you can purchase various types of building materials is now very large. The entire set of retail outlets for building materials can be divided into the following groups based on the range of products offered and sales area:

small shops with an area of up to 100 sq. m with an assortment of about 200 items;
large stores (construction supermarkets) with a total area of about 200 sq. m, offering their customers 5-15 thousand product items;
warehouse stores with an area of up to 2500 sq. m. and a trade assortment of up to 1000 articles.

At this stage, you should immediately determine what type of store you are going to open. Here it is very important to correctly assess your own strengths and existing demand in order to avoid possible financial problems in the future. For example, if you have a dream of opening a construction supermarket, but in an area where there is no strong consumer demand for construction products, then it is better to abandon this dream. It is much more profitable to open a small hardware store to balance supply and demand.

Space for a hardware store

This is how we smoothly approached the next important aspect in opening our own building materials trading business. The location of your store is one of the most important factors affecting its profitability. Naturally, the location of the outlet will directly depend on its type. However, the most universal is considered to be the one located next to new buildings or close to a busy transport route. It is this location, as well as convenient access roads, that guarantee the store a decent flow of potential customers in advance.

It is also worth noting that it is undesirable to set up a building materials store in a residential building. In this case, problems may arise with the fire service regarding the sale of flammable substances.

If you decide to open a warehouse store, then it would be useful to equip it with access railway tracks so that you can transport large loads in different ways.

In general, when it comes to choosing the best location, you need to find a compromise between a good location and rent. The fact is that landlords also understand the importance of the location of the store, and the cost of rent increases proportionally with the improvement of this very location.

Appearance

Once you have found a suitable location and premises for your store, you should start decorating it. Appearance should be given special attention, since it is from this that visitors will make the first conclusions about your business. Thus, the store must be attractive in a general sense and have a sign that is correct from a marketing point of view. In addition, do not forget about the need for parking, which is also very important for your future clients.

Internal view

There should be a favorable atmosphere inside your store so that customers want to stay there and come back. First of all, you need to make sure that the internal appearance matches the external one. Here it is necessary to use the same color scheme, the same design techniques, the same fonts, and the like.

good lighting;
large areas;
easy access to goods;
clear prices;
product signs;
grouping of goods by affiliation;
favorable temperature.

These were the most general requirements. When running your own business for a long time, independently determine a number of other requirements that will be special for you.

Another important aspect when designing a store is the correct placement of the goods. The most important thing here is to put in the foreground those products that you consider the best selling, that is, promising building materials for trade at a particular moment. For example, if you know that a strong hurricane recently passed through, then materials for roofing and glazing repairs will be promising products.

Range

What is the most important element of a hardware store? This is an assortment. In a store that sells building materials, it must be very large. The best option is when you can offer your customer almost everything: from a nail to a dish sponge.

It is also very important to provide products from different price groups. For example, if you are selling imported timber at a crazy price, it would be quite reasonable to also have a cheaper alternative.

In addition, do not forget that the store must keep up with the times. Firstly, you need to constantly monitor the replenishment of the assortment with various new products, and secondly, in the summer, focus on one product, in the winter - on another.

Other Important Points

In addition to all of the above, there are a number of other points that can be decisive when the question arises about the profitability of your building materials store. First of all, this concerns advertising. If you want to get a decent flow of customers from the first days of work, you should not skimp on funds to promote a new business.

The next aspect is the careful selection of personnel. Particular attention should be paid to how this very staff will serve customers. Any manifestations of rudeness or rudeness towards customers must be stopped immediately.

Another point that can attract more buyers is the provision of additional services. For example, delivery of purchased products or the presence of construction teams who could assemble, install, and repair what was purchased. This can be an additional advantage of the new store in the eyes of the target audience.

The final point is taxation. Trade in construction materials, like any other type of commercial activity, is subject to taxes. This point needs to be taken into account from the very beginning, when running your own business is just an idea in your head.

Conclusion

This article mentioned the main points that you should pay attention to when starting your own building materials trading business. Naturally, this list is far from complete, but careful consideration of each of these points at an early stage will greatly facilitate starting a business. Don't be afraid to take risks, then everything will work out!

Ways to increase sales

Trade in construction materials is a business on the verge of a foul. There are no huge markups, and the main profit comes from large sales volumes. Construction is declining. New materials are appearing and the range is growing. In order to be successful in this business, you need to subtly work with the assortment, different groups of customers and customer retention conditions.

How to increase sales of building materials in these conditions, and other features of increasing the profitability of this business area. This will be discussed in the article.

Who is the client?

All buyers of building materials can be divided into three groups.

1. Retail clients. They bring maximum profit from each unit of goods, because for retail buyers price is less important, and they are willing to pay 10-15% more for service, availability, transport accessibility, and quality of service. But servicing them requires large costs for goods in the warehouse, retail outlets, and service personnel.

2. Wholesale clients - construction organizations. This is the most attractive group of buyers, because they regularly need large volumes of goods. In addition to price, they focus on the range presented, speed and uninterrupted supply.

3. Wholesale clients - trading enterprises (intermediaries) who resell goods purchased from you. This is the group with the lowest margin - intermediaries increase your turnover, but provide minimal earnings, because in order to make a profit they must purchase goods at the lowest possible price. The essence of their business is to buy cheaper to sell more expensive, they can only overpay for an exclusive.

To increase sales of building materials, you need to clearly understand which customers you are targeting - wholesale, retail, or both.

Approach the choice not based on personal preferences, but taking into account the situation and statistics in the region and other objective factors.

The number of potential customers in the category, the current business situation, the needs of the regional market, the amount of funds you are willing to invest in development, and others.

Example

If you trade in a region that is developing well and has many developers, it makes sense to focus on them. If you already have an extensive network of retail stores located in areas with good traffic, it makes sense to continue developing your retail business.

10 effective ways to increase sales

You can increase sales in both traditional and non-traditional ways. We will tell you how to increase sales of building materials for the population and the B2B sector. Below are the 10 most effective ways that allow us to increase sales in such companies by at least 20%.

1. Wholesale for the sake of retail. If before this you were exclusively engaged in retail, you can open an additional wholesale line, even if it does not bring profit. For what? To have a constant large sales volume, due to which you can receive discounts from manufacturing plants and a low entry price.

Having received a reduced purchase price, you can:

set a higher markup on retail and earn even more on each unit of goods sold;
reduce retail margins by keeping prices as low as possible, and increase profits by increasing turnover.

2. Expansion of the range. Expanding the range requires additional investments, and therefore must be clearly justified. It’s not worth taking this step “just in case” or “to make it cooler than others.” It makes sense to expand your product line if it will increase your profits or customer flow.

Expanding the assortment allows you to increase profits by attracting new customers and selling goods “by steam locomotive”.

Attraction of new clients. Expanding the assortment contributes to the emergence of new customers in two cases.

Firstly, when you know those to whom you can offer new products. It is naive to hope for ghost buyers who will appear with the updating of the assortment. Expansion is justified when there is confidence that the new product will be bought.

Secondly, when you know about potential customers who want to purchase everything in one place. For example, if you have new roofing material, they will buy bolts, screws, and roofing material from you. You can break even on this material, but you can make money by selling screws, fastenings, and gutters.

Selling goods by “locomotive”, i.e. when a client comes to you for a new product, and leaves having bought a new product and something from the main assortment. In this case, as in the previous version, the new product may not bring profit - the profit will come from the “locomotive product”. Thus, you will not earn anything on the new product, but you will earn on everything that he buys additionally.

Please note that in this case the work of the sales manager plays an important role. It is he who must offer the client not only a new product, but also a “locomotive product”. He must actively sell and know everything about. In reality, it often happens that the owner creates such a system, but the manager does not fulfill the requirements and the company breaks down.

3. Sales through the website. Online sales are an effective method for increasing sales during a crisis or during periods of seasonal decline, such as winter. Sell building materials online. If you don't have your own website, now is the time to create one. If you have a website, it is important to promote it wisely, achieving relevant (targeted) visitors. The site allows you not only to expand the circle of customers, but also to save on costs (on office rent and managers’ salaries, because an employee working from home can accept orders from the site).

Visualization. To increase sales, you should not just advertise the product in words, but clearly show customers how it can be used. For example, if you sell roofing tiles, add a photo of a roof covered with those tiles to your magazine ad. Or place stands at points of sale with samples of tiles laid properly.
Search for news feed. Don't know how to attract customers? Come up with an informational reason. For example, call regular customers with a message about discounts, about the delivery of goods that they bought last time to the warehouse, or about the imminent appearance of a new product.

5. Performing the functions of a picker. Large customers are willing to overpay for the opportunity to purchase goods in one place. You can not only sell your product, but also find/bring other products for clients. Everyone will benefit: you will sell your product and, possibly, make money through intermediary; the client will receive the necessary building materials in one car.

6. Work schedule. You can increase sales in a building materials store by adjusting your work schedule.

Main client flow. Ideally, you should track the days and times when the main flow of customers occurs and be sure to accept orders during this period. Let's say that if the lion's share of orders comes on Saturday and Sunday, then it is better to make a day off on Monday, and leave Saturday and Sunday as working days.
Counterbalance to competitors. If your competitors work until 18:00, work until 20:00. If they have Saturdays and Sundays off, try working on those days. This will increase the chances that customers will come to you.

7. Possibility of installments. How to increase wholesale sales of building materials? If your financial situation allows, sell the goods in installments. The main thing is to keep an eye on the size and condition.

8. Cold calling. You can increase the number of sales by. They will not give quick results, but if you build a dialogue correctly, in 2-3 months the number of clients will begin to grow.

9. Active work with incoming clients. It is easier to retain a client than to cold call him later. It is important that managers establish contact with all clients who come on their own in order to be able to subsequently make “warm” calls.

If you are engaged only in wholesale trade, and a client stopped by/called to clarify the availability of a certain material, features or cost of a product, you should involve him in the dialogue, finding out his needs if possible, and be sure to take contact information.
If you are engaged in both wholesale and retail, it is important to competently contact customers who come to retail outlets. Keep in mind that these may include wholesalers and those responsible for large purchases.

10. Customer Service Standards. The introduction of uniform service standards throughout the entire retail network has a positive effect on increasing sales. It is important to monitor the work of managers and train them to communicate competently with clients.

Situations where the manager was not in the mood and sent the client away or was too lazy to fully answer his question should be reduced to zero.

To do this, all telephone conversations must be recorded, and surveillance cameras must be installed in trading floors. Ideally, develop a ready-made algorithm for each manager to talk with the client and draw up answers to any objections.

Summarizing all of the above, to increase sales of building materials in your company you need to perform the following steps:

Customer needs analysis
Maximum customer satisfaction
Improving the work of your own sales department
Attraction of new clients
Motivation to retain existing

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Hello! Got a job in a company engaged in construction and sale of building materials. Department for the implementation of sports projects - construction of stadiums and sports complexes, reconstruction of sports facilities, renovation of school gyms, construction of tennis courts.

There are a bunch of different materials (sports flooring).

Accordingly, clients can be: fitness clubs
schools
football and other clubs
construction companies wanting to build a sports ground next to a residential complex

How to competently reach each of these clients?
For example, you can call fitness clubs directly and talk to the director of the commercial department
What about schools? (I understand that it is necessary to act through the district education departments, since the schools themselves do not decide anything) but how?

How can I find out about schools and health centers under construction? (paid databases do not count)
In general, I will listen to any advice you have. Thanks in advance
...

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3 0 0

Every year, after demolition and renovation work, about 90 million tons of materials are thrown away, of which about 13 million tons can be reused. For example, the authors of the BuilderScrap project created a free website that allows builders to find customers for used building materials.

The construction idea of a business on a website is to find a customer for this material. After registering a construction company, a list of goods to be sold is posted on the website. This list should include different building materials. For example, floorboards, beams, window frames, doors, office furniture, door frames. Buyers, having found the desired material, have the opportunity to contact the company through the website.

After the transaction is completed, the building materials are delivered to the customer, and the company is removed from the site. This idea is beneficial for the buyer, as it saves him from unnecessary costs. Sellers are given the opportunity for additional income. This building idea is valuable for environmental protection because...

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So, having decided to start or develop your business in the direction of storing building materials, you need to take into account a number of certain nuances. Firstly, it is important whether the problem of how to organize a warehouse is paramount, and therefore whether there are sufficient funds to carry out such a project. Secondly, it is very important whether the creation of a warehouse is an addition to an already existing and expanding business, or whether the warehouse business will be founded from scratch.

The main questions on how to open a warehouse are, naturally, buying or renting premises, as well as where to find potential clients interested in storage services for building materials. Even if there is a fairly large amount of money that you plan to invest in the premises where the warehouse will be located, you should not spend the maximum amount. It's best to think about whether renting would be more profitable. This can be done by calculating the payback of this...

5 0 0

In connection with the aggravation of “chronic” construction, trade in building materials has again risen to the peak of relevance. In general, we can say that this is an eternal topic, because to one degree or another people are constantly being built.

You can trade building materials in two main directions:

Wholesale, targeting construction companies, developers; at retail, for the mass consumer.

In the first case, it is best to organize a warehouse store, an online store, and in the second, any retail outlet.

By and large, trade in construction materials is practically not subject to seasonality - sales declines are observed only during times of economic instability.

The rest of the time, construction is in full swing, and building materials are needed for this.

The list of works includes the implementation of state programs for affordable housing, individual developments and the construction of non-residential real estate, as well as numerous redevelopment and repair work...

6 0 0

Online business without investment is an idea that attracts many beginners (and not only beginners!) entrepreneurs. At the same time, such activities will be truly effective and profitable only if we are talking about selling a real product or service. Offline, such trading is most often impossible without significant investments, but, fortunately, on the Internet it is now possible to start commercial activities without investments - with only a selling website and a little patience.

A partner store for building materials and house plans can help with this - a ready-made business on the Internet that anyone can connect to. This opportunity is offered by the affiliate program service "Business Motor" and the company "Teplo Doma".

What does an online business selling building materials mean?

The scheme of work in this case is quite simple:

The partner registers on the Business Motor affiliate program service. Registration...

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You are unlikely to be mistaken about the level of competition in the building materials market today. Entrepreneurs and companies fight with “colleagues” in different ways. Someone reduces prices, dumps, another offers some exclusive feature, and a third promotes his website in the hope of finding his customers there. All methods have the right to life.

Commercial offer for building materials: is there any benefit?

Today we will talk about those construction business owners who are trying to attract additional clients by sending out commercial offers for building materials.

Is there any benefit from such messages? Eat. And you can “get hold of” a decent number of new clients, but subject to two conditions.

First: your commercial proposal for the supply of building materials or something else must attract a potential customer. From the first lines.

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How can a sales manager find clients?

The most important formula for success is knowing how to treat people

Theodore Roosevelt

“Don’t learn the tricks of the trade - learn the trade,” says popular wisdom. Yes, the modern trading market is developing according to strict laws of competition, and in order to stay afloat, companies have to use different methods of work, for example, methods of attracting new customers.

Everyone understands that they will not come on their own. It follows that for the growth and survival of the company, the search must be carried out regularly, and not be a one-time event.

What should a manager know about his clients?

Finding and attracting clients for a sales manager becomes one of the main tasks of the job. With an active and creative approach, this is not at all difficult and quite doable. First of all, the entire client base needs to be divided into four groups:

Uninterested clients. Expected clients. ...

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Vadim, the picture just doesn’t add up in my head.

Options.

1. The manager needed an experienced manager who could independently raise the bending direction. You signed up for this. And they were able to convince him that you don’t have experience specifically in selling cement, but you have great potential! In fact, it turns out to be zilch. You misled him. His expectations were deceived.
You lack basic competencies in this area. Which are very difficult to purchase in a couple of months. It is these competencies that distinguish a newbie from an experienced salesperson. There is a reason why experienced managers are paid 3-5 times more than new ones. What do you recommend? You are waiting for someone to advise you here: do it once, do it twice, do it three. Most likely this will not happen, because in EVERY specific situation it is necessary to do differently. And it takes a lot of time to figure out exactly your situation.

2. The manager does not understand how sales are built. In his mind there is a table, a chair, a telephone and a computer...

11 0 0

According to a long-standing tradition, Ukrainians renovate their apartments in the summer, and experienced craftsmen begin to look for customers in the spring. The repair season lasts throughout the warm period of the year and subsides only in October-November, depending on the weather. Although minor finishing work and plumbing repairs can be carried out all year round.

Today we decided to figure out what repair work is most in demand this summer, where to look for customers, how to protect yourself when making payments, and how you can earn extra money.

WHAT HAS CHANGED SINCE LAST SUMMER

Last year there was practically no work. People were in no hurry to invest their savings in major home renovations, preferring to wait out difficult times with a “stash.” Even experienced craftsmen, who had been working in repair teams for many years, did odd jobs.

But there were many offers for visiting workers who gather at the construction “labor exchange” at the Vokzalnaya metro station or at the entrance to the Wallpaper Market. Trying...

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The number one task for most sales department heads and sales managers working with corporate clients is the active search for new clients. And, accordingly, to solve this problem it is necessary to constantly collect information about promising organizations.

What methods of finding clients do you use?

We list the main sources of information about potential clients:

1. Free business information directories. In this group we include all-Russian information resources Yellow Pages (www.enironavigator.ru, www.yp.ru, Yandex.Addresses, www.yellowpages.ru), Business address (www.euroaddress.ru), Allinform (www.allinform .ru). Yellow Pages of Russia (www.yellowpagesrussia.ru). Adresat.com (www.adresat.com), DoubleGIS (www.2gis.ru), as well as regional ones.

2. Electronic trading platforms can be divided into universal (multi-industry), industry and product. Examples of universal (multi-industry) electronic trading...

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The work of translators has always been relevant. And in the modern world, where borders between countries are less and less noticeable, and people travel more and more, be it business trips or leisure, the services of translators are more in demand than ever. Everything is changing and with the development of new information technologies, the demand for typing services is increasing.

After all, this is relevant to everyone from ordinary students to reputable companies. At the same time, competition in the market for these services is very high. Therefore, in searching for clients, it is important to use all modern methods, one of which is placing advertisements in online publications and on advertising sites.

We are posting an advertisement for translation and typing services

The first thing you need to do is place an advertisement about the service on the RIA.com website and promote it for search. To do this, we fill out as many fields as possible in the ad, but in the description we indicate only the most important information.

Clearly formulate the range of services you provide (translation, typing...

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An entrepreneur from Siberia, Vlad Petrov, is successfully engaged in the wholesale trade of building materials. How to work in a crisis. Where to find buyers and how to choose suppliers. What kind of profits can you expect, and how promising is work in this direction?

Due to the crisis and rising mortgage interest rates, experts expect either a freeze in construction or a reduction in the final price of apartments. What will happen to construction companies, how they live, and how business is built, said entrepreneur from Siberia Vlad Petrov.

Start

I had a lot of business experiments: I sold RayBan glasses, I had an online store (see “”), I had a share in. But my biggest income came from wholesale trade in construction materials. If I marked up 300-600 rubles for glasses or goods in an online store and sold 1-2 pieces per day, then in the construction business I mark up 20-30 rubles per ton and sell 90 tons per day, or even more.

I started doing wholesale trade in building materials a year ago. My classmate invited me. He had a friend who was a Kamaz driver and asked him to find a shabashka. The first Kamaz did not bring us good income, so we began to expand: looking for new carriers, intermediaries and suppliers.

About business

We transported crushed stone, soil and sand to private owners, marking up about 500 rubles per car and receiving cash. It was really not a lot of money and we decided to register as an LLC, since large construction companies work only by bank transfer.

Business took off. Builders always want delivery on time. Our strength here is that pits, factories (for example, a cement plant) cannot deliver not only on time, but often cannot deliver anything at all on their machines.

Once I was on excursions for partners of manufacturing plants, there were a lot of people - carriers, contractors, builders. We were taken around the plant and shown how to obtain high-quality products. I think this will surprise many, but the plant has only 14 vehicles for transporting products. Naturally, the plant cannot cope with supplies to all construction sites in Novosibirsk (and we have more than 100 of them). This is where we come to the aid of builders! We agree on delivery in our own vehicles at a discount, find a carrier, receive an advance payment and take it to construction sites.

Crisis and seasonality

When I started selling building materials wholesale, I believed that our business was seasonal, for example, in December (the first month of my work) I earned 3,000 rubles. I was shocked and wanted to quit, but my friend told me that construction is a seasonal business and they will soon order more. And already in March I earned 111 thousand rubles. In December 2014, I already earned 49 thousand rubles, therefore, although our business is seasonal, with experience I have acquired regular customers, and I will sell in any month.

I think the same about the crisis. There is always a crisis in our country. As they built, so they will build. As they bought materials, they will continue to buy them.

Our company will not lose during the crisis, but most likely will even gain. Suppliers will raise prices, carriers will raise prices, and we will mark up as much as we mark up. That is, the final price of the product will be higher, but our profit will not change.

Search for clients

At the very beginning, when I was still working at the factory, I looked for clients through advertisements - I posted them on the Internet on free boards - according to the principle of “one product - one advertisement” and people called me. I negotiated a price with suppliers, coordinated everything, and sent the machines to the site. Then he took money from the car owners.

A friend already had a company at that time, so it was possible to look for a “big one” - take orders for large volumes of materials and conduct transactions by bank transfer. So I started calling construction companies from DoubleGIS and online catalogs, concluding contracts and doing accounting.

One cannot write off such an “extreme” type of customer search as cold calling. One winter I went to the site, talked to the foreman, and he gave me the phone number of the deputy director of the development company. As a result, during the season we brought about a thousand tons of sand and crushed stone to this construction site and removed about a thousand cubic meters of soil.

Work with providers

At first, I worked with reputable companies that had their own fleet of vehicles, a legal entity, accountants and sales managers - I looked for a client for them, transferred him to the company, the transaction was carried out through the supplier’s legal entity, and I took my percentage. Now we have concluded contracts with quarries, that is, the work has become slightly more complicated - we buy sand from the quarry, arrange a carrier, and issue an invoice to our company.

It is better to look for such carriers - simple KAMAZ operators - through other carriers or foremen, and pay everyone based on the work completed, so that the supplier does not cheat you. The first time it can work for trust on applications, where the carrier will collect the money on the spot, and then transfer it to payment in installments.

Secret of success

I believe that the secret to success is to work! And nothing else. One of our customers is a large developer, I thought that the market has long been divided and they already have a contractor with whom they have been working for a long time. I knew they had a tender system. But I called, and now we supply them with 20 to 30 truckloads of crushed stone and sand per day to 4 construction sites, and transport cement once a week.

The tender for the supply of building materials for the developer was won by a trading company that supplies materials at prices slightly below market prices. She buys materials from other trading companies like ours. In order to make money with the company that won the tender, I had to give a price 30 rubles below the market price and receive a 50 ruble discount from the supplier. Total 20 rubles per car in the black.

Working with small and large companies is very different. Large construction companies require large volumes of supplies at low prices. Small companies require small volumes and are willing to buy at high prices. Typically, supply managers of small companies have poor understanding of prices and, in an attempt to reduce them, ask for the price right away.

I called one company, where they immediately asked me to name the price of crushed stone. I said that I would calculate it and call back, however, the supplier did not let up and demanded the price right away. I really didn’t know how much it would cost to deliver 100 tons to them and immediately said: “One ton is 860 rubles including delivery,” we shook hands. After calling suppliers, it turned out that delivery to this area would cost 650 rubles per ton. So I earned 26 thousand in a day.

And of course, the work must be regular - that is, it all doesn’t look like I strained myself once or twice, earned some extra money, and then rolled cotton wool for a whole month. You need to set yourself a work plan for the month, week and day - make a certain number of calls per day, visits per week, constantly post advertisements. You need to constantly look for clients, as they may switch to competitors or finish construction.

Philosophy and motivation

I believe that business is, first of all, stability. I had a month when I only made 20 thousand, but another month I made 100,000. In bad months I live on savings, and in successful months I have a blast.

Many people say that this situation with money is, on the contrary, not stable. I answer them: “I once worked at a factory and my salary was constantly delayed. And I received 15 thousand a month. Now I may not receive anything, but I can receive in a month an amount equivalent to the factory salary for a year. I can live comfortably all year thanks to one month. I have savings. But I couldn’t afford to make them at the factory. So where is the stability?

I'm married, I dream of a child. I teach entrepreneurs from different cities about their business. I really hope to find someone from Novosibirsk in this way so that I can have a company that will buy from me 10-15 rubles more expensive than from the supplier, relying on my experience.

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