May, 2007

How to Sell Deck Accessories

Selling the basic project is only the first step in the sales cycle. Successfully upselling decorative accessories is a case of “show and tell.”

By Bob Heidenreich

When it comes to selling a profitable deck project—and creating an outdoor space that a homeowner will love for years to come—it’s important to remember that details and accessories are an integral part of the package.

After I meet with a customer, discuss their needs, sketch out a quick design of how their deck might look, and give them a price, I also begin to suggest accessories that they may want to consider adding to their deck.

Deck accessories come in a wide variety of forms. For instance, customers need to consider lighting choices, arbors and pergolas, stairs, benches and planters, or even decorative post covers. They also need to make decisions on railing styles, balusters, and a number of other details.

To help guide customers through this process—which is ongoing during the sales cycle—I use several strategies:

1. First, every photo we feature in our sales portfolio, store, and web site is of a fully accessorized deck, so that customers can respond to the look and feel of a “real” deck, with amenities.

2. We also have numerous in-store displays where actual products are positioned in a real-life setting. We have an extensive, newly designed showroom that features full- and half-size decks, with a variety of post cap covers, lighting options, and so on, so that customers can get a “real feel” for how their deck could look.

3. In our store, we display similar accessories next to each other, so that customers can readily contrast choices available.

4. We do not promote low-quality accessories, but we do contrast a variety of products to demonstrate differences in quality from good to best.

5. We use creative sales offers and techniques in advertising. For instance, we may give one stacked stone post cover away free, and the customer then buys the balance to complete the order.

6. We include upscale accessories as incentives for a customer considering a deck project, which might include decorative post cap covers with a Tiffany-style light design.

7. We remind customers that stair lighting is now required by the IRC code. That leads to a discussion of what choices are available, and we can then guide the customer through the selection process.

8. In addition to off the shelf lighting, we offer customized light post designs that we create in our shop. We can create unique custom-cut lighting that features a sailboat, for instance, with low-voltage luminescent lighting set directly into the column. This helps us truly customize each customer’s deck to meet their desires.

9. We offer custom benches and planters often left over from Home Shows at a discounted price. This gives the customer a unique decorative option at a good price, and also helps us keep past inventory moving out of our store.

10. We manufacture custom accessories as well as off the shelf brands. These might include lighted posts and custom risers. We do this to provide the extra level of service that makes a customer choose our product over a competitors’.