The Crucial Question You Should Ask After You Close the Deal

One of the oldest disagreements in construction supply revolves around how much business a dealer will lose when a sales rep defects to a competitor. “Not much,” says the dealer. “Nearly all,” replies the dealer sales rep. But there’s a rarely used way to help settle the debate.

Next time the sales rep completes a sale, after the commitment is certain, they should put the paperwork aside and ask the client “Why did you buy from me today?” Then the sales rep should sit back and, above all else, keep a straight face while listening to the customer’s reply.

Odds are, the answer won’t involve price, as lots of surveys have found that price is relatively far down a contractor’s list of factors. The answer might be because the sales rep was persuasive; score one for the sales rep who believes their relationship with the customer trumps all other factors. Then again, maybe the customer bought in spite of what the rep said or did. The key to victory might also be because the customer was too busy to shop, or perhaps because the rep treated the customer to golf a week before, or perhaps because the client likes how the dealer delivers products and makes billing easy; score that one for the company, not the rep.

Most times, experts say, the answer surprises.

Reports such as Zonda’s Builder Brand Use Study have found consistently over the years that builders’ No. 1 concern about a product is how well it performs. Their No. 2 concern is whether they can buy that high-performing product from you. Factors such as price, warranty, and ease of installation trail on the list.

Aside from availability, the sales rep also matters because they’re the person who can explain a product’s qualities and serve as a conduit between the manufacturer and the builder. A recent survey of 300 builders by the Home Innovation Research Labs found that, when builders talk about what they want from products, they often bring up the dealer relationship instead. For example, while HIRI’s survey found builders believe the top way a manufacturer can reduce construction costs is to develop products that are faster and easier to install, close behind was a dealer’s ability to deliver the product to a jobsite in correct quantities and undamaged. Having products in stock was third, and the ability to guarantee delivery times was fourth. In other words, three of the four top ways builders think construction costs can go down depend on how dealer handles that manufacturer’s ever-improving product.

Smart sales reps also can use the “Why did you buy?” question to gather intel affecting the rest of the company. A customer might praise the credit and accounts payable departments for being great to work with or the IT staff for setting up online bill presentment and payment. On the other hand, the customer might grumble about having to shop with you despite how the truck driver delivered the last load.

Construction supply is a relationship business, but that relationship often is more complicated than a simple “I’ve got it — wanna buy it?” transaction. Asking why a customer buys from you can be a simple, fast way to get to the real bottom line.