Do you need more installers? Is the lack of installers impacting your ability to grow your business? What if there was a way you could get all the installers you need right now? Well, it turns out you can, and that is what this column is all about.
In a recent Floor Covering News Marketing Mastery webinar, which I co-host alongside Ken Ryan, FCNews senior editor, we had two guest experts who revealed a program that will help you consistently recruit new installers for your business right now. Our first guest was Jim Aaron, executive director of the Floor Covering Education Foundation (FCEF). He laid out the two-track approach the FCEF is using to solve the installation crisis (see page 6). The first track entails creating a long-term influx of new installers across the U.S. The second track, by comparison, is short term and is focused on helping dealers reach new, young installers right now by working with the FCEF.
The second guest, Deb DeGraaf, is the co-owner of DeGraaf interiors, an NFA retailer headquartered in Grand Rapids, Mich. She uses the FCEF program to consistently recruit new, young installers into her business.
During the webinar Deb and Jim showed step-by-step how you can do the same thing in your business.
- Locate a space to train your new installers. You’ll need about 2,000 square feet of space for the training modules where participants can practice laying the flooring. Your local distributors are an excellent resource for this. DeGraaf contacted All Surfaces, which gave her the space she needed in the back of one of their warehouses. She paid about $6,000 (a one-time expense) for a carpenter to build the training modules.
- Recruit high school seniors. DeGraaf contacted the guidance counselors at local high schools in her area and told them that she had a career opportunity for seniors who were considering a career in the trades. She asked if her installation manager could do a presentation for their shop classes. The shop teachers were eager to have her installation manager speak.
- Lay out a career path. During the presentation, DeGraaf’s manager laid out a clear career path, showing the students exactly how much they could expect to earn when they started and what they could be making in a few years. He painted a clear picture of the bright future they could enjoy as a professional installer.
- Utilize FCEF scholarships. CFI sent an instructor to her first school, which had five students. FCEF paid half of the instructor’s fee, and DeGraaf paid the other half. When the new installer went to work for her, he paid her back through payroll deductions. If the installer stays for a year she will bonus those deductions back to him.
- Obtain fast results. It took DeGraaf 90 days to set all of this up. During those 90 days she invested three to four hours per week to make it happen. Out of the five students, three went to work for her. The fourth student went into the military. The fifth was sent to her by a flooring store from outside her area to be trained and is now working for that store.
These programs work for small retailers and large ones alike.
Jim is the founder and president of Flooring Success Systems, a company that provides floor covering dealers with marketing services and coaching to help them attract quality customers, close more sales, get higher margins and work the hours they choose. Visit FlooringSuccessSystems.com for more information.
