Garage door industry magazine for garage door dealers, garage door manufacturers, garage door distributors, garage door installers, loading docks, garage door operators and openers, gates, and tools for the door industry.
Issue link: https://idoi.epubxp.com/i/216705
DOORDEALERDIALOG (continued from page 21) The Effects of the Recession Tarnow Doors participates in two large home shows in the winter and spring; in two half-day shows run by local Chamber of Commerce organizations; and a fall show by the Michigan Restaurant Association to promote the motorized screens for patios and gazebos. Henry Tarnow has also made it a point to participate in local service clubs, and to not only join the industry trade associations, but to also give back. "Being a member of the trade organization, you have to give back to the community," says Henry. "You can't just take, that's why I belong to service organizations, why I've been a member of the local community organizations, that's why I was on the IDA Board of Directors. Maybe it's part of my heritage, but I just think it's something you have to do. In addition to helping make yourself known, if you're giving something back, it will always come back to you." Dave Patton "What's happened to our business is, since the inception of the pre-fnished steel door," said Henry, "we've sold a lot less high-end wood doors and a lot more pre-fnished steel doors. And that has hurt the bottom line – you might be selling the same number of doors but you're not making the same net proft dollars that you used to. " "Another factor is customers don't want the maintenance of the wood door –they want a steel door," Henry continues. "Carol is going out doing the maintenance on the wood doors, and we're still fnishing wood doors, but a lot of it has to do with the total economy. When you look at what we were doing in 2005 – 2006, and then where we ended up in 2008, you can go from $3 million to $2 million in sales that quickly, and now we're working our way back up." "The volume of work and proftability of work are much better in 2013," according to Henry. "And because we're so lean crew-wise, our schedule is full three weeks in advance. It's a good thing to be able to schedule that far in advance and to know that you have a good backlog, but a bad thing to a customer with a door lying on the foor. We make it work in those cases." "Replacing a door often happens when there's a broken spring," offered Henry. "Instead of spending the money on replacing springs, many of our customers opt to go for a new door. We ask them on phone if their garage door is in good enough shape to spend $200 for new springs, or shall we discuss the option of a new door? Maybe about 10 percent of the time they'll say 'that's not a bad idea'. But we do about a half-dozen spring jobs a day, so it adds up. " Continued on page 25 Sales Tip: Always start with your most expensive products when showing products to a new customer. Never be afraid to ask for a fair proft. Gerald Hogg Russel Helgemo 22 22 International Door & Operator Industry™ International Door & Operator Industry™