P.M. Bedroom bucks economy by focusing on add-on sales
David Perry, Bedding editor -- Furniture Today, April 6, 2009
GREENDALE, Wis. — P.M. Bedroom Gallery sees some opportunities in the tough sales climate facing its customers in the Midwest.
The retailer, which operates eight showrooms in Wisconsin, Illinois and Minnesota and is based here in this Milwaukee suburb, says it has a chance to improve its add-on selling.
“Maximizing sales per customer is important,” said Ben Huth, co-owner and co-founder of the company with his brother, Arvid. “We need more sales from less customers. Business has gotten tougher. There is less traffic in our showrooms.”
The traffic slowdown gives the company's employees a chance to brush up on their skills and take more time with their selling and delivery techniques, he said.
“You can step up your game, especially in slower times,” Huth said. “The customer service staff has more time. The phone isn't ringing as much.”
In that slower climate, it's more important than ever that the company's sales associates do a good job of add-on selling, Huth said. “The biggest thing is changing the culture of the sales staff. The sales associate may think, 'I've maxed them out. If I mention sheets, they will throw up their hands.'”
But, he continued, consumers are often willing to purchase accessories. “The customer may have separate budgets for mattresses and accessories and may be willing to spend on a mattress pad and sheets, in addition to the mattress,” Huth said. “We are trying to train the sales staff to ask for the accessory order and to present accessories. That's a good start to selling more accessories.”
P.M. Bedroom Gallery tracks the add-on sales produced by each of its sales associates, and “we are holding them accountable for add-ons,” Huth said.
Sales associates who do a good job with add-on sales are rewarded. The retailer recognizes them with rewards like gift cards to Starbucks or state lottery tickets. “Things like that go a long way,” Huth said.
The company sells a variety of sleep sets, ranging from innerspring to foam, and from air to a couple of flotation beds. Its flagship line is Platinum Dreams, a private-label line made by Clare Bedding in Escanaba, Mich. That producer, headed by bedding veteran Don Balsavich, also markets bedding under the Restonic, Eastman House and Eclipse brands.
“The competitive nature of the sales associates at P.M. Bedroom Gallery, and other stores, is a factor in their success in selling accessories,” Balsavich said. “Also, at P.M. Bedroom Gallery, the sales associates know they are being tracked on accessory sales and that provides a strong motivation for them to focus on accessory sales.”
In addition, P.M. Bedroom Gallery provides the tools and training for sales associates to generate add-on sales, Balsavich said. “And, finally, there is also the bottom line: Those additional sales generate commissions that go into their paychecks.”
P.M. Bedroom Gallery sells Mantua bed frames and DreamFit sheets, mattress pads and pillows. Those goods are American made, a point of emphasis for the retailer.
“I like to carry those vendors because they seem to always be able to ship consistently and I don't have to worry about things not being in stock when we need them,” Huth said.
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