Should installers do more to generate their own leads?
Danny Williams, managing director of Pioneer Trading asks – have we created a ‘snowflake’ generation of installers?
Deceuninck held a round table discussion recently, a worthy and welcome effort. With my general disdain for golf, for which the discussions were a precursor, I did not attend.
According to published reports and a subsequent discussion with Luke, editor of this magnificent organ, a couple of key conclusions from the event were that sustainability is pretty much for the birds and holds little sway for homeowners or commercial specifiers; and price/margin/discounting remains the biggest issue facing our industry.
So, no change there then.
But in confidence and on condition that I agreed to maintain anonymity, Luke advised that one prominent attendee at the talks was critical of retail installers, specifically that many had forgotten how to sell and that they should work harder to generate their own leads.
On each of these points I concur.
In fact, I wonder if we the suppliers of windows and doors, are complicit in creating a bunch of retail installers that are unable to run their businesses effectively, dynamically and independently of their key suppliers, in effect creating a ‘snowflake’ generation of installers – a generation that has become ineffective, therefore, when faced with the challenges of tough market conditions.
Ever more comprehensive marketing support has become a key element of any supplier’s pitch to their customers and arguably, customer retention and recruitment would be nigh on impossible without it.
The upmarket Gerda entrance doors that we supply throughout the UK, are backed by extensive marketing support, including the generation of sales leads from homeowners, for example, although my trade frame customers are less reliant upon such activities.
While this support has helped streamline operations and reduce overheads for smaller installer businesses, it may also have unintentionally eroded some of their commercial sharpness and independence.
Suppliers often provide:
- Branded brochures and POS materials
- Website templates
- Social media content
- Quote tools and CRMs
- Showroom signage and samples
This is immensely helpful, particularly for sole traders or small teams without time or expertise to manage marketing in-house.
But it also means that fewer installers are developing their own brand identity or investing in long-term lead-generation strategies of their own (e.g., local SEO, online reviews, referral schemes, community engagement). And I argue that this has led to a ‘sameness’ in the market – and now, a diminished sense of entrepreneurial initiative amongst many installers.
I have always said that sales leads are ‘fuel for reps’; and when I was a commission salesman back in the day I pulled all sorts of stunts to nick leads that came in through the letterbox of the showroom or were left on the company’s answering machine. These were gold because they were generated by our own hard-fought efforts and were specific to our company.
And it remains true today: there’s a big difference between a lead that an installer has paid for or generated via their own efforts, and one passed on by a supplier.
Many installers treat the latter with less urgency or ownership. There is always more commitment to leads that have come through the installer’s own channels, because they’ve earned them. When a business generates its own enquiries – through reputation, marketing investment, or sheer hard work – there’s often more effort put into converting that lead, and a greater sense of pride in the customer journey.
There is an assumption that leads generated by suppliers are shared with multiple installers or which may be filtered by the supplier’s criteria, narrowing the field of scope for the retail installer (I have to say at this point that for Gerda, our leads are ‘pure’ and only supplied to specific, approved retailers).
This de-values the lead in the installer’s mind, although it is an attitude often based upon assumption.
The danger of supplier-dependency is that it removes some of the competitive pressure that usually drives small businesses to innovate, improve, and grow. If a steady stream of marketing materials and lead referrals keeps the calendar full, there’s little incentive to sharpen sales skills, invest in a digital presence, or build a distinctive customer experience.
In other words, just as with many young adults in broader society and perhaps entering the workplace for the first time, there is feeling of entitlement, that their suppliers are privileged to do business with them. In other words, we have created a snowflake generation of installers, not age-related but true across even established firms.
Installers should absolutely value the support their suppliers provide – many suppliers go above and beyond in today’s market. But the healthiest installer businesses are those that use supplier support as a bonus, not a crutch and in which a strong partnership exists between both parties.
There’s real long-term value in owning your customer journey from start to finish. When an installer generates their own leads, controls their brand message, and builds customer relationships on their own terms, they close more sales, enjoy higher customer satisfaction, command better prices and therefore margins. And build an altogether more resilient business.
In short: suppliers can provide the tools – but the sharpest installers still know how to build their own ladder.