152-the-screamThe kitchen and bath industry is made up of a group of talented individuals who have worked long and hard at their craft to get to where they are today. We are aware of that because we work with designers like you every day.  We have designers on our own staff, and we work with other kitchen and bath dealers daily.

When you think about it, designers in the K&B industry are much like professionals in the art world. You could even say they are artists of kitchen and bath design with design software or hand-drafting being their tools instead of oil paints, charcoal and clay.  But unfortunately, not everyone has been in the business for 25+ years or had the opportunity to apprentice a kitchen design master; and likewise, not all designers who have been in the industry that long are great at closing the deal.  Designs don’t sell themselves anymore, people!

So, what do you do with the new guy who’s just getting into the industry?

It seems like the design community wants to let them hang out to dry. How is someone supposed to learn to sell kitchens if no one even gives them a chance? We seem to have hit a nerve with our latest whitepaper “Learning Kitchen Design – Understanding the Basics, Part 1” judging by the way you all have reacted. We’ve heard good and bad in commentary back to us, but we’re OK with that…

How about we look at it this way…

If you’ve got someone who understands the consumer buying cycle, knows how to close and is passionate about helping your business succeed, why WOULDN’T you want them on your team?  Teach them enough basic design to get them started…enough that they’ll be confident in what they’re selling, and bring that talent into your showroom.  Use it to beat out your competition.

We believe that there is a tide shift in the market. Pre market crash, we were able to sell on design and design alone. Post crash, we still need to be good designers, but of equal importance is the ability to have selling skills. This eBook allows those with selling skills to add a design facet to their toolbox. No one is saying that mastery of this material will teach you everything you need to know; we’re saying that it will start those who are willing down the path of a learning process.

Anyone with basic design skills can sell a kitchen

We want the industry to hear us loud and clear when we say that.

Yes, design is something that is taught, groomed, and polished over a career, but you don’t need to have a 6th sense to understand what a good design is and how to satisfy the needs of your clients; you just need to know the basics of kitchen design and hone your craft from there.

Sure, you may not want someone with only basic design skills to be your lead designer (mistakes are costly), but someone with these basic skills can be a key player in selling kitchens and can add to their design toolbox as time goes on.  The basics don’t cover everything (we all know that); but they’re enough to get started.

For the record, this eBook was written by a kitchen designer with over 30 years experience in the industry. He is a CKD and CBD and has taught design around the country via vehicles such as Planit Fusion, 2020 and AutoCAD. As the opening says, “there is no substitute for experience in this industry.” That said, we all had to start somewhere.

To those who want to learn design basics so you can understand enough to sell kitchens, or even those who’d like to freshen up your basic skills in kitchen design, we’ve got an eBook for you. To those of you who think you’re part of an elite group, times are changing so we urge you to brush up on your sales closing skills.