I hope you didn’t think you were going to read a post about selling your business.

Even though this might be a great time to sell I would never suggest it because this is a great time to be in home organization…

Did you catch that – I said home organization not the “closet industry”

Those of you that have been doing this as long as I have know that we have come a long way from white melamine shelving and wooden closet poles.

If you’re new – yes we sold wooden closet poles and if you wanted to upgrade it you added a white plastic wrap so it all matched – boy were we fancy – LOL!!!

Our industry and product offering has matured to the point that we can compete with woodworkers that take much longer to install and are much more expensive.

By the way it’s no longer called melamine – now its TFL (Thermally Fused Laminate) and we refer to our imported panels from Italy as TSS (Thermally Structured Surface).

Need more proof that we have hit critical mass – try to find someone in  your market that installs white wire.  I’ll bet there are one or two companies – maybe – that still do it regularly.  There used to be 4 or 5 in every major market.

Even entry level homes are at least putting closet systems in the primary closets.

What does all of this mean?

With a higher end product that looks and feels like real wood, but is a fraction of the price, you need to be doing more than just closets.

I know what you are thinking – we do offer more than just closets.

I get it, I have been in your showroom.  I know you do laundry rooms, home office, wall beds, etc… but does your potential customer know?

The name of your company is “Custom Closets by… ”

How would Mrs. Jones know that you build and install custom wall units?

I know how easy it is for your crew to do a $4500 closet installation.

I also know that your phone hasn’t stopped ringing and you are booked out 3 months, but we all know this ride won’t last forever.  Even if it is a soft landing as Brian Beaulieu suggests, you need to pay for the new equipment you bought or the additional space that you rented during this gold rush.

Sure you can lay off employees if you had to, but do you want to get rid of good workers in a time when everyone is scrambling for people?

So back to my point – you need to start focusing on other rooms in the home.

Start creating your marketing around these other spaces.

Make sure your designers are explaining the other things you can do on their sales appointments.  Better yet have them leave behind a sell sheet of pics of all the other spaces you work in.

If you have your past clients email addresses – start an email campaign.

It’s no secret that it’s easier to sell more to an existing customer than it is to find a new one.

Start these efforts now so that when the closet space becomes more competitive you are ready.

Need some ideas?

That’s why I am hear –

• Wall beds and if you’re feeling really courageous – bedroom furniture.
• Armoires – I have been trying to find a nice one off the shelf for months and can’t.
• Home offices – the work from home trend isn’t going away.
• Mudrooms
• Wall units
• Wine bars
• Laundry rooms
• Butlers pantry
• Custom alcoves – this space almost always goes to woodworker.
• The list goes on…

You need to start positioning yourself now as the leader in total home organization – trust me you will be happy you did.

Let me leave you with one more thought – everyone’s New Years resolution is usually one of these 3 – save money, get in shape or get organized.

Maybe if you are positioning yourself as the home organization expert now – January might not be such a slow month – Have you ever gone to the gym on January 2nd?

Your turn – let me know your thoughts – comment below.

Have a comment or question but don’t want to post below – you can always email me at RDeMarco@Richelieu.com

Thank you for reading.