Resin Floor Installation Guide: The Sale

When selling Epoxy Depot products for your resinous floors; you are selling solutions, craftsmanship, and a lasting investment. This guide outlines how to sell resinous floors using core principles, focusing on value, education, and building genuine relationships.

Understanding Your Epoxy Depot Products and Your Target Audience:

• Product Knowledge is Key: When selling Epoxy Depot products with your coating systems, you should become an expert on the different types of resinous flooring systems (e.g., self-leveling, mortar coats, flake systems, metallic epoxy), their properties (e.g., chemical resistance, abrasion resistance, impact resistance, slip resistance), and their ideal applications. Understand the installation process, including surface preparation, mixing ratios, application techniques, and curing times. The more you know, the more problems you can identify, the more you will sell. Also, the more questions you can answer, the better you will sound to the customer. All of this will elevate you above your competition without having to remark on your competition.
• Identify Your Ideal Customer: Who needs resinous flooring? Consider various sectors:
  • Industrial Includes: Warehouses, factories, manufacturing plants, garages.
    • You should focus on durability, chemical resistance, and safety.
  • Commercial Includes: Retail stores, showrooms, restaurants, hospitals.
    • You should focus on emphasizing aesthetics, ease of cleaning, and hygiene.
  • Residential Includes: Garages, basements, patios.
    • You should focus on highlighting aesthetics, durability, and moisture resistance.
• Tailor Your Pitch: Understand the specific needs and pain points of each target audience. What problems do they face that resinous flooring can solve? Your best strategy is to keep your ears open, and your mouth shut while your customer is explaining their problems, needs, and wants.
• Solve Problems, Don’t Just Sell: When selling Epoxy Depot products with your coating systems, Don’t just push a product. Understand the client’s needs and challenges. Does their floor need chemical resistance? Is it for a high-traffic area? Offer solutions tailored to their specific situation.
• Under-promise and Over-deliver: When selling Epoxy Depot products with your coating systems, don’t make promises you can’t keep. Focus on exceeding expectations. This fosters loyalty and generates positive word-of-mouth.

Lead Generation and Qualification:

• Networking: Attend industry events, join relevant associations, and build relationships with contractors, architects, and facility managers. This should be your main focus for advertising, especially if you are a new startup business. Remember, no one knows you, yet. Building relationships is your main objective at these events.
• Online Marketing: Create a professional website showcasing your work, testimonials, and the benefits of resinous flooring. Utilize social media to share project photos and engage with potential customers. Consider targeted online advertising.
• Referral Programs: Encourage satisfied customers to refer new business. Offer incentives for successful referrals such as a free gallon of Epoxy Resinous Cleaner (ERC) so your customers can properly clean their floor. ERC is available at your local Epoxy Depot.
• Qualify Leads: When selling Epoxy Depot products with your coating systems, don’t waste time on tire-kickers. Ask qualifying questions to determine their budget, timeframe, needs, and decision-making process. Internet-based advertising can be loaded with bad leads that need to be qualified so you aren’t wasting your time and fuel running after every lead.
• Double call Method: Call a second time immediately after the first. A lot of people are using spam blockers. Those spam blockers let the second call go through without interruption if you call back within so many seconds.

The Sales Process: Focus on Value, Not Just Price:

• Initial Consultation: When selling Epoxy Depot products with your coating systems, LISTEN carefully to the customer’s needs and concerns. Understand their specific requirements for the flooring. Let them tell you what they want. Remember, you are selling a floor that the customer must live with. Your job is to guide them, not tell them what you want to install.
• Site Visit (NECESSARY): Assess the existing floor conditions, measure the area, test for moisture with a Tramex CME5 (available at Epoxy Depot), and test the hardness of the concrete with a MOHS Hardness Test Kit. You should scope out how you are going to get power to your equipment and what your access is to get your equipment inside the space. This is your chance to prepare yourself and your crew to install a resinous floor in the customer’s space. Take detailed notes and measurements. As I am an Eagle Scout, I live by the Scouts Moto to always be prepared. This adage fits perfectly in this situation. By doing all of the above while you are on site, you will set yourself up for success and build trust with your customer.
• Present Solutions, Not Just Products: When selling Epoxy Depot products with your coating systems, explain how different epoxy systems can address the customer’s specific needs. Focus on the benefits of resinous flooring, such as:
  • Durability and Longevity: Resinous floors can last for many years with proper care, reducing long-term costs.
  • Low Maintenance: Resinous floors are easy to clean and require minimal upkeep.
  • Chemical Resistance: They can withstand harsh chemicals and spills, making them ideal for industrial environments.
  • Aesthetics: Resinous floors can be customized with various colors, patterns, and finishes to enhance the appearance of any space.
  • Safety: Slip-resistant options are available to improve safety in high-traffic areas.
• One Floor Type Doesn’t Coat All: When selling Epoxy Depot products with your coating systems, remember and identify all the problems the customer has brought to your attention and help them select the system, not the products that they need to fit the customer’s and floor’s needs. DO NOT fit a floor to the space, such as only using 1 product for a base coat and 1 product for a topcoat, regardless of what your moisture testing tells you. You should always protect yourself and the customer against the liability of installing the wrong type of floor and subsequently replacing it due to failures you could have avoided by using the correct products.
  • Samples: Show samples of your work and explain the different finishes and textures. Take some time and make samples that the customer can touch and feel. Conditions, such as lighting, can make huge impacts on the look of your flooring system from space to space. Always have samples that the client can take into their space to see what the floor will look like. Remember, your customer must live with the floor once you are done. Don’t leave them with a reason to give you a poor referral every single day they walk on that floor.
• Address Objections: Be prepared for objections like price. Reiterate the value proposition. Explain the difference between your quality and cheaper alternatives. Offer financing options if appropriate. Don’t be afraid to walk away from a deal if it’s not a good fit.
• Provide Clear and Detailed Quotes: Outline all costs associated with the project, including materials, labor, and surface preparation. Be transparent about pricing.
• Follow Up: Stay in touch with potential customers after the initial consultation. Answer any remaining questions and address any concerns.
• Keep Yourself Organized: Invest in a proper CRM to help facilitate your requests, estimates, install metrics, accounting metrics and follow-ups. Also invest in accounting software to link to your CRM. By doing this, you can run your business from your phone.
• HAVE A SOLID CONTRACT: I cannot stress this enough. A well-written fair contract keeps you and the customer on the up and up. It is the end-all-be-all for your business as far as customer interactions are concerned. A fair contract explains what you, the contractor, is responsible for AND what your customer is responsible for and what to expect from working with your company.
• Warranty: Included with your contract there should be an explanation of what your warranty includes and excludes. The exclusions can be more important in our industry than the inclusions. Always use a lawyer to make sure your contract is legal in your state.

Closing the Deal and Project Execution with Epoxy Depot products:

• Ask for the Work: When selling Epoxy Depot products with your coating systems, don’t be afraid to ask for the sales order.
• Confirm Project Details: Review the scope of work, timeline, and payment terms with the customer. Leave no stone unturned here. Be transparent about every detail.
• Professional Installation: When selling Epoxy Depot products with your coating systems, ensure that the installation is done correctly and to the highest standards. This is crucial for customer satisfaction and future referrals.
• Post-Installation Follow-Up: Check in with the customer after the installation to ensure they are satisfied with the results.
• Reviews: Ask for a review immediately after the job is done. If you wait, the customer will get busy and won’t remember to do this. Have an easy way for your customer to leave you a review while you are going over the punch list at the end of the project.

Building Long-Term Relationships:

• Provide Excellent Customer Service: Respond promptly to inquiries and address any issues quickly and efficiently. It’s as simple as answering the phone. DO NOT IGNORE PROBLEMS. Your reputation is your greatest asset.
• Seek Feedback: Ask customers for feedback on their experience. Use this feedback to improve your services. It might be good to conduct a customer satisfaction survey that can be sent with the final invoice. NEVER be afraid of being graded by your customers.
• Stay in Touch: Maintain contact with customers after the project is complete. This can lead to repeat business and referrals. Send out periodic newsletters to your current customers. Let them know of new products and systems that you can install as you add more to your repertoire.

Beyond the Sale:

• Continuous Learning: Stay up to date on the latest epoxy technology and installation techniques for selling Epoxy Depot products with your coating systems.
• Networking: Build relationships with contractors, architects, and other professionals in the industry.
• Reputation Management: Maintain a positive online presence and actively seek testimonials from satisfied clients.

Conclusions:

When selling Epoxy Depot products with your coating systems, by following these principles, you can sell resinous floors the Epoxy Depot way, building a successful business based on quality, integrity, and lasting relationships. Remember, it’s not just about selling a floor; it’s about providing a solution and building a partnership.