To sell or not to sell???

[Jeremy]

Do any of you sell tile to customers at a discount? If so where do you buy and what is needed to offer this ($)? Do you have to have an account with a distributor or do you have the customer pay for the materials upon ordering? Can you get some sort of color chart or samples like you can with carpet? Thanks!

John, I have been reading your book as well as the "other" persons book. VERY informative! One question though. In your book you build "screeds" out of mud, the other guy uses wood, why? Wouldnt the wood strips give you a mud deck just as uneven as the floor beneath? Im lost again.

[John Bridge]

Michael uses "float strips" to do floors, but then he has to go back and fill the depressions the strips leave. I like mud screeds. I use float strips when floating shower walls.

Yes, you should open charge accounts with tile distributors.

[Sonnie Layne]

I do offer discounts on tile that the client orders thro' my distributor. I don't give it to them at my cost, that's my business, but I do give discount off retail.

I generally get cost of materials up front. The materials are the property of the client and the job and are stored on the premises. That way, if I get hit by a bus, they've got their materials and I may have enough money left in the bank to pay a carpenter to build a pine box.

I like John's idea of mud screeds, it may have never occured to me until I read his book. Just makes sense, doesn't it?

[Jeremy]

OK, I didnt notice the fact that Mr. Byrne used mud UNDER the boards!!! I thought he was placing the boards directly on the subfloor. I went back and actually READ everything and now get it! Sorry.

As for the account Im gonna check on that. What about the samples though, do any of you have any? Do you just send them to the outlet and have the customer pick their tile from their display?

[Bud Cline]

Don't get into screwin' with selling tile it will break ya. Let the showrooms do that. To sell tile you must show tile and you'll never keep up with all the changes and chasen and mind changing that goes on there.

There's no money in it unless you can get into it big time. You need some samples(???) go borrow 'em from a showroom.

[LEXX]

Jeremy, I get samples about 20 max all 16x16 to 18x18. colors run from neutral to realy good looking stone colors.
Nothing freaky like orange and so on.

Then I right the price that I pay on back in CODE like
13400567983 so I only know what the price (real price $.98)

Then I take ONE of each tile and cut it into 8x8 sq. so I can carry All samples in a utility Bag in side the house of the client.

When they have narrowed it down then I go out to the truck and bring in the Full piece. They pick out the grout and cut me the check for the tile and I install it.

Hope this helps
Lexx
Tile on ...

[Sonnie Layne]

I don't carry samples. I give them a biz card, then they can go to the retail salesroom, tell 'em they're with me.

I sell largely from the showrooms.

[John Bridge]

Me too. I tell them where to go look. Tell them to call me with a stock number.

[Jerry The Tile Guy]

I also send the customer to the showroom. I have a couple retailers that I get referals from that I send the customer to. I also will send the customer to the distributor.

Go to the distributor showroom. Get to know the folks in there and get cards. I have a map on how to get there I also give the customer. Have the customer come back with the name and number of the product.

At one time I was doing a lot of decks in a large condo complex. I went to the distributor and picked out 6 tiles that I thought would look good on the decks and put them on display boards and make up names for them, and a price code as mentioned earlier so that I could give a quote on site. This worked in almost every unit.