What is a “case good?” My favourite definition is any piece of furniture that used to be made out of wood or could be made out wood. But it is more than that, case goods include:
- Bedroom Furniture
- Dining Room/Dinettes
- Coffee and End tables/chair side tables/sofa tables
- Wall Units and Entertainment Stands
Most big box furniture retailers do not do a good job selling this category, most simply rely on customers to pick out what they want almost as an accidental sale.
As a sales associate, there is an opportunity for you with this category
I found it interesting that I could not find a single article on-line about how to sell case-goods.
STEP 1 – GREETING AND BUILDING RAPPORT
This step is virtually the same for all selling categories and case goods are no different.
The key point is to ensure that you do a good job listening and crafting your presentation, so that when the time comes to add a set of coffee and end tables to an upholstery sale or to ask about perhaps a new bedroom suite to go with a new mattress set, that your customer feels that they can trust you to have their best interests in mind.
STEP 2 – QUALIFICATION
Remember your job is to match your customers wants, needs, and expectations to what you have available, either in the warehouse or on display or to what you have access to.
Take time to practice your inquiries and find an order that helps you to help your customer make an informed decision:
Proven qualifications questions:
Bedroom Furniture:
- Tell me about what you have right now?
- What do you like?
- What don’t you like about what you have now?
- Have you considered a solid wood set?
- Are durability and longevity important to you?
PAUL’S NOTE: Solid wood is usually more expensive and some customers may choose a laminate set because of price and there is nothing wrong with that as long as your customers expectations appreciate the difference -> see EDUCATION
- How quickly do you need this? (Custom ordering will likely take 6-8 weeks; however, most people are not usually in a huge rush for case goods)
- Who is the set for? (Master bedroom, children, senior, single adult, baby)
- What kind of styling are you looking for? (Rustic, contemporary, platform bed, traditional, etc.)
- Are you interested in customer ordering a set-in different woods or stains?
- Tell me about the room it is going into? (Large, small, sloped ceilings, windows)
- What size bed would you prefer? (Bigger is usually better, but most come in the usual sizes – King, Queen, Double, or Twin)
- Ask whether or not the customer has a television in their bedroom.
Dining/Dinette Furniture:
- Tell me about what you have right now?
- What do you like?
- What don’t you like?
- Have you considered a solid wood set?
- How many people do you normally have for meals?
- Tell me about the room it is going into?
- Do you have a preference on the table styling: Harvest tables for large rooms and more people; Pub style tables; Tables with leaves for extra guests; Butterfly tables for smaller spaces; drop leaf tables?
- What style and quantity of chairs are you thinking of: Arm chairs, side chairs, bench style; combination, bar/pub style stools?
- Are you okay assembling your purchase?
PAUL’S NOTE: Unassembled furniture is usually less expensive and most are easy to assemble with some guidance and PATIENCE.
- Are you interested in accenting pieces such as sideboards; hutch/buffet; or corner cabinets?
Coffee, end tables/chair side tables:
Although some customers will come just looking for these items, usually they are tied to a new upholstery sale; or, they have bought a new upholstery set from someone else and that store did not sell them a table set (happens a lot).
PAUL’S NOTE: As good as some stores are, virtually all furniture stores do a poor job selling matching accessories like tables with their upholstery goods; independents and better retailers realize how important this can be and emphasize selling complete room packages.
- Tell me about what you have right now?
- What do you like and what don’t you like?
- Have you considered a solid wood set?
- Tell me about the upholstery set that you have?
- Tell me about how many pieces would you like?
- Have you considered a matching sofa table?
PAUL’S NOTE: If they have a motion set, ask them if they have considered motion coffee table set?
Entertainment Units/Wall Units:
Over the past number of years, traditional wall units have faded from the market partly as TV’s changed from a 4:3 format to 16:9, being replaced by “credenza” type units and because as the average tv size has gone from a 40-50-inch size to 65+ inch size, many traditional units cannot accommodate the newer bigger TV’s.
- Tell me about what you have right now,
- What do you like?
- What don’t you like?
- Are you putting the TV on the unit or are you using a bracket with the entertainment unit below it?
PAUL’S NOTE: Don’t assume because your customer wants a wall bracket that they don’t want or need a credenza below the bracket.
- Have you considered a solid wood set?
- Tell me about the existing furniture in the room?
- Would you consider an entertainment unit that comes with an electric fireplace?
You will notice at this point we have not asked anything about budget at this point, we are still trying to qualify what the customers is looking for.
STEP 3: EDUCATION
Successfully selling case goods requires a combination of feature, benefits, and advantages combined with a certain amount of flair.
Successful sales associates take the time to realize that case goods embody many unique and hidden attributes that average sales associates miss. Using and explaining the correct terminology enhances your presentation:
Solid wood – Each piece is made literally from individual pieces of wood, and each piece will absorb the stain differently.
Solids with oak veneer – Each piece is still wood; however, in order to keep the price more affordable, only the finished surfaces are made from oak
Drawer dovetail joints – French dovetails are interlocked for strength; English dovetails are grooved; and simply glued or nailed joints are the least strong.
Mortis and Tenon joints – These classic joints are very strong and the wood is shaped to interlock two pieces in a very strong joint.
Stain absorption – No two stained pieces of wood will ever match, that is the beauty of solid wood.
MDF – medium density fibre board, typically this is less expensive than solid wood, it is different than solid wood but it does have its benefits, chiefly, cost.
Paper laminate – For the entry level price points, this type of finish keeps the costs low. Not something your customer will be able to give to their grandchildren in twenty years.
Corner blocking – In better constructed sets it adds strengths and rigidity.
Types of mirrors – Landscape (wider than tall); Portrait (taller than wide); mule mirror (small squarish mirrors); beveled edge finish
Types of dressers – 6 drawer, 8 or 9 drawers; mule dresser; juvenile scale (usually smaller for children but also very useful for seniors)
Types of chests – Armoire, Gentleman’s, 5 drawer chests
Types of beds – Platform; Upholstered bed; Captain’s bed; Mates bed; Cannonball
Charging station – Certain nightstands, end tables, and chair side tables have attachments for charging cell phones
Types of finish – Distressed; Wormy maple; high gloss; natural
Types of chairs – Arm chair, Side Chair, Swivel, Upholstered, Bar stool, Bench, bow back, arrow back
Types of tables – Harvest, Drop leaf, butterfly leaf,
Types of entertainment units – Credenza; Credenza with a fire place; Pier group with 2 piers, bridge, and credenza;
Special terms: Bun feet, velvet lined drawers, curvilinear, brushed nickel pulls, brushed nickel knobs, patina
Educating your customer about your company is very similar to your process for other categories. Education for Case Goods involves learning about the ability to use the above terms and descriptions when you show a case good.
Please keep in mind that unless you point out the special features of any case group, your customer will not likely notice.
PAUL’S NOTE: If your store simply lines up bedroom groups, dinettes, and other case products; expect that your customers will not even notice them. Encourage your decorators to put groups and products at angles or to display the sets in such a way that people have to walk around them, and make use of special point of purchase (POP) signs to act as silent salespeople (menu price tags that show the prices of all available sizes, mini-posters that outline the characteristics of the set, etc.).
In order to keep costs to a minimize, many vendor case goods will come unassembled or READY TO ASSEMBLE (RTA), it is imperative to tell your customer if they are going to have to assemble their purchase. Assembly is usually very simple; please make sure you encourage them to read the instructions and keep the following in mind:
- Tables usually just require attaching the legs and tightening the bolts;
- Chairs can be a little trickier, the key is to only hand tighten the bolts, then find a flat space and have someone sit on the chair and then tighten to prevent wobbling.
PAUL’S NOTE: If the table has detachable leaves, always have two people to open and close the table, especially when demonstrating it, and store the leaves when not in use under a bed, not standing up in closet to prevent warping.
STEP FOUR: DEMONSTRATION:
As with other categories, now is the time to take what you learned in the first 3 steps and apply that knowledge to specific products.
Bedroom:
- If they are looking at a solid wood set have them sit on the bed and look at the colour samples
- Take a moment to highlight the specific feature, benefits, and advantages and use tie-downs to link to what they have said they wanted
- Mention that usually there are extra matching pieces available (lingerie or gentlemen’s chests)
- Inquire about whether they might consider purchasing a new mattress set
- Inquire about whether or not they have a television in their bedroom
Dining/Dinettes:
- Have them sit at the set
- If the customer has children, look at the ease of cleaning
- For fabric covered chairs and benches, plant the seed for fabric protection, especially if children will be using the set
Coffee, end, and chairside tables:
- Many table sets have very useful features such as:
- Lift top coffee tables
- Charging stations
- Casters or hidden casters
Entertainment Units:
- For credenza type units, remember that many sets come in different sizes depending on the size of the television, and they may not be on the display floor.
- Show how the vendor allows for easy wire and cord management
STEP FIVE: CLOSING THE SALE
At this point, now you will be addressing and overcoming objections and your ability to handle those issues will be the same as for any other home furnishings categories.
STEP SIX: AFTER SALES SERVICE
Case good sales often result as a secondary sale when sales associates have previously sold upholstery goods or mattress sets; however, they can also work to drive additional or later sales if you have executed all of the other steps properly.
If a customer is satisfied when you follow up their case goods delivery or pickup:
- You might use the sale to make a mattress set their next major purchase;
- You may follow up on purchasing a television for their bedroom or kitchen;
- They may want to purchase additional chairs or the matching server for their dinette.