Best Practices for Pursuing Multi-Unit Refinishing Opportunities

An important strategy to scale your business (part 2)

As you are growing your refinishing business one of the challenges is how to create scale and stability in your business. Multi-unit opportunities are one important way to do that. Multi-unit opportunities are found with hotels, apartment complexes, dormitories, and realtors. Each of these is slightly different in terms of what they care about, how, and why they buy. In this paper, we will profile each type of buyer and discuss how to approach and sell to them.

General Guidelines for Selling to Multi-Unit Opportunities

These projects are different than single-family home jobs, so the approach is also different. When attempting to win a multi-unit project, remember the following:

• • Focus on the person, not the property: In multi-unit opportunities, your first objective is to build a relationship of trust and credibility with the decision-maker. If you can do this the decision-maker can provide you with a series of projects. It can be a very lucrative partnership.
• • Ask good questions and listen: Take the time to understand the decision-makers’ priorities for the refinishing project. Their priorities will likely include speed, quality, and price.
• • Solve a problem: In a multi-unit opportunity they are striving to solve a business problem: Poor online reviews, rising vacancy rates, newer competition, and meeting corporate brand requirements. Ask questions so you know the problem they are solving.
• • Timely, Professional Follow-up: The decision-makers in multi-unit opportunities are extremely busy. Provide them with a simple, clear proposal for the work you will do and follow up with them in a steady professional manner.

Selling to Hotel Managers & Property Managers

Selling to a property manager or a manager at an independent hotel or hotel chain is significantly different than selling to a homeowner. The most important differences are:

1. The decision-maker could be one or more of several different people.
2. Their criteria to invest is based upon a specific problem being solved.
3. They can sometimes be more price-sensitive depending upon the level of the Hotel.
4. Turnaround time is a high priority so the room can be occupied and generate revenue.
5. They will often need multiple units refinished. Know who the buyer is.

When you’re selling to hotels and property management firms, it is important to understand you are not selling to a property. You are selling to a person. Sometimes the decision-maker is the property manager, other times it is the maintenance manager. In other cases, the decision-maker could be the owner or someone in a corporate office. Typically, your best bet is simply to ask: “Who here makes decisions for refinishing and maintenance projects?”

Once you reach the decision-maker understand that you are building a relationship with that person. This is important for two significant reasons. First, hotel managers and property managers move around throughout their careers. The person you sell to and build a relationship with today could be the manager of a property just down the road in a couple of months. You want to follow the manager to the new property and begin refinishing there are well.

The other significant reason you sell to the person is that the hotel managers in your area are a small tight-knit community and most of them know each other. When you do a good job for one of them you can receive referrals from their good friend just down the street.

Always remember, you are in a people business first.

When you are selling refinishing services to a hotel, the buyer may be one of several different people. Within the hotel, it could be the hotel manager, or it could be the maintenance manager. In other cases, the buyer might be the owner of the hotel, the management company, and sometimes the hotel brand corporate office itself.

Your best strategy is simply to ask who makes decisions on refinishing. Ask at the front desk or ask the manager on duty, but quickly figure out who you should be talking to. Do not waste your time or talk about refinishing with someone who is not the decision-maker.

Understand the Managers’ Needs, Priorities, and Pains

Take the time to understand the needs of the hotel/property manager. Understand the competitive properties in their market. Are they surrounded by newer properties? Are they surrounded by properties of higher quality or similar quality?

Read their website for the hotel or the property to understand what they emphasize as their brand. Hotel brand standards are important. When the corporate office sets standards for the quality of the look, feel, and experience of that room it is very important. Each property and each manager face regular inspections. Minor issues can be corrected, but the manager could be fired for a single bad inspection.

Read reviews of their hotel and the property online. That will give you a sense of what their guests value and what they have found unsatisfactory. Read the one-star reviews.

This information is critical for preparing to present your refinishing offerings as a solution to a business challenge they have.

Use Their Time Wisely

The average hotel has almost 10 open positions. Property management firms are notoriously short-staffed. They often have little time. When you do get in front of the decision-maker be ready to explain quickly and simply who you are and what solutions you can offer in less than two minutes. You do not need to get into the details of schedule and prices, but you must quickly establish yourself as relevant. If you start with a long story or explanation or it takes you forever to get to your point, the decision-maker will get rid of you.

Offer a Solution to a Business Problem

Although it is certainly true that you do high-quality refinishing and have beautiful pictures to prove it, the hotel manager does not care if you do not solve a specific business problem that they are facing. There are several examples below:

• • “I think we may be able to reduce the number of negative reviews you have and increase the positive reviews.”
• • “I may have a solution to improve your properties’ attractiveness compared to your nearby competitors.”
• • “I think we may be able to improve the appearance of your rooms with a minimal investment.”

These are just examples and as you do your research into the property other ideas may come to you. When the hotel or property manager understands that you've done your research, and you understand his property and business challenges, he or she is more likely to work with you.

Make it Easy for Them to Say Yes

Make sure that your proposal is straightforward. They should see the financial investment and the time required to turn each room. You should also consider adding a very brief ROI calculation, with assumptions, that demonstrates the return on their investment in lower maintenance costs, higher occupancy rates, less discounting, or higher room rates. Emphasize that non-skid surfaces can lower the liability to slip and fall.

Offer Creative Packages for Refinishing Multiple Rooms

The hotel/property manager who wants to work with you will probably have multiple tubs and multiple apartment units to refinish. Develop a creative plan to do a certain number of tubs each month or each quarter. This allows them to spread out their investment in refinishing throughout the year. This levels out their budget. They will appreciate your creativity and flexibility. This also opens the door for developing an ongoing contractual relationship to do tubs every month.

To build credibility offer to do the first repair for free. A well-executed service call builds your credibility as much as the quality of your initial refinishing.

Effective Follow-Up

Like many homeowners, you will not immediately get a decision when you present a proposal to the hotel manager. If they do not decide when you provide them with the proposal make agreements with them about when you will follow up. Politely and professionally continue to follow up with a combination of phone and email until you get a yes or a no.

Selling to Realtors & House Flippers

Realtors and house flippers are not exactly alike, but they are similar.

Selling to realtors or house flippers can be very rewarding because once you have established yourself as a quality reliable vendor, they will use you each time they see a need. Below are some of the keys to working with realtors and house flippers.

Understand Their Needs

Each realtor or house flipper may have their point of view on the best way to use refinishing services. Don't be afraid to ask them what they're looking for in terms of color quality turn-around time and price. When the realtor understands that you know their priorities you become easier and more attractive to work with.

Use Their Time Well

Realtors are extremely busy people. When you initially meet them be very clear and succinct about what you offer and how it can help the realtor sell homes more quickly for higher prices. When you can get those messages across quickly the realtor appreciates that you're using their time well.

Build a Relationship

If you're going to establish a long-term relationship with a realtor or house flipper don't be afraid to invest upfront in building a personal connection. Do things like:

• • Attend their open houses.
• • Drop by their office with some donuts.
• • Ask to be invited to their weekly sales meeting.
• • Offer to do a brief presentation at their weekly sales meeting.

The time and energy you invest in building the relationship will pay off handsomely.

Consider Gifts and Incentives

Among all decision-makers and influencers, realtors are particularly very money-motivated. When you offer incentives and gifts like gift cards or cash for a lead that closes it can be productive.

Sell the Value, Not the Refinishing

When you are offering your services to a realtor or house flipper you are not selling them refinishing, you're selling them, a shorter time on the market, higher sale price, and more showings. As you present, your refinishing products and solutions always include the benefits of refreshed and upgraded kitchens and baths to help the realtor and the seller.

Be excellent at communicating follow-up and follow-through.

A realtor or house flipper will appreciate your timely follow-up from each meeting and contact. In your follow-up things such as answers to their questions, a timely quote, and schedules for refinishing. Timely, accurate high-quality communication makes you a vendor who is easy to deal with. The realtor wants a vendor who is easy to deal with.

A Conversation with a Realtor/House Flipper

Below is an outline of an example conversation with a realtor that has been used successfully by one of our wonderful refinishing customers, Brad Stoffel of Quality Restoration Inc. Thank you, Brad!)

Your Commercial

Approach realtors and flippers with the overarching message, “We do reglazing and resurfacing of countertops, bathtubs, tile, and cabinetry.”

• • Let them know they can bring you their listings that:
• • Don’t show well … the ones that have “good bones” but are dated by out-of-style colors.
• • Were priced reasonably but not getting solid offers.
• • Tell them that by next weekend you can show that same house WITHOUT all the negatives.
• • No more honey oak cabinets from 1993
• • No more baby blue fiberglass surround
• • No more fake woodgrain laminate tops

When a buyer sees these things, they don’t think, “I could reglaze that tub for $800.” They think, “This bathroom will need gutted in the next few years.” and in their mind decrease their offer by at least $10K and are less excited about the property.

Be sure you show how your services can bring them more offers, from more motivated buyers, and much faster than any other home improvement they’ve ever experienced.

The Conversation

Usually, at this point the realtor or flipper will bring up a specific property they’ve dealt with in the past that had issues: it was all yellow everywhere … or had lime green countertops. You know the ones. This gives you an opening to pitch your solutions, so:

• • Talk about pricing and timeframe would be like on a similar project and strongly encourage them to call us when they run into any possible areas that are a strong negative for their buyers.
• • Stress that the objective is not to make this the buyer’s dream home, but to make it a more attractive option. Remind them about the couple that just toured four homes and is trying to decide where to make an offer, they’ll refer to your listing as “that house with the ugly greenish bathroom.” You can help both the realtor and their seller avoid those situations.
• • End by saying it’s been a great intro conversation and gives realtors a very good idea of how best to use our services.

Final Thoughts

Developing multi-unit opportunities is one path to develop and grow your business. It can help increase your total revenue. It can also help you create steady revenue streams in less certain economic conditions.

Developing multi-unit opportunities requires a strategic approach. This approach includes understanding the multi-unit opportunities in your area. It also includes approaching them in a way that establishes your credibility as an ongoing vendor. It will also require you to build relationships with these key decision-makers so that they can rely upon you.

As you develop the strategies and skills to develop multi-unit opportunities you will be able to use these skills to open a wide variety of opportunities.

At each step along your journey of developing your finishing business, you should always look upon NAPCO as your partner. We will provide you with quality products, best-in-class training, supportive peer groups, great customer service, and marketing tools. We see your success as our success.