1. Find out what materials you need

To buy exactly what you need and not overpay, you need to decide what kind of work you will carry out. For this it is compiled.

A design project also saves you the agony of choice. An architect or designer explains in detail what materials of what colors and textures are needed - all that remains is to buy them.

When choosing finishing materials you need to pay attention to which particular room they will be used to repair. For example: for the kitchen it is better to take moisture-resistant ones, and for the bedroom - environmentally friendly paper or non-woven ones.

2. Decide where and from whom you will buy materials

If you want to save money, it is best to go to construction hypermarkets: they sell most of the goods at the best prices. But various little things, such as brushes or fasteners, can also be bought on the market - large chains sometimes inflate prices for such products.

As for manufacturers, it is always better to give preference to well-known and proven brands. So the risk of running into low-quality products is lower.

3. Study the packaging carefully

It is often clear from the packaging,. On the package quality product information about the manufacturer and the number of quality certificates must be indicated. If something arouses suspicion, for example, a blurry drawing, mistakes or misprints in words, it is better not to take such a product.

The packaging will also help determine the condition of the material. Look at the expiration date, pay attention to how the packaging itself looks, whether it is frayed: some materials may deteriorate due to improper storage.

4. Save smartly

4. Order materials in advance

Materials from abroad or items that are carried out by individual order, it is better to buy in advance - their delivery can take a month or more.

Good building materials are the key to a successful renovation or construction, therefore, their choice must be approached responsibly. It is one thing if professionals are engaged in this, as they say, the demand from them. But it's different if you decide to make repairs yourself.

In this case, all responsibility rests with you, so it is important to know some of the nuances and selection criteria that will save you from a number of mistakes.

Choosing building materials correctly

1. First of all, say a firm "NO" to cheap building materials. The fact is that such savings will certainly come out sideways, and after a year, the tiles will begin to fall off, the plaster will peel off, the concrete will crumble. Of course, you shouldn't buy the most expensive ones either, it is best to stop at the middle price segment. remember, that quality materials will never be cheap, so by buying them you doom yourself to re-repair.
2. Expensive products are not always synonymous with quality. Firstly, over-advertised brands spend a lot of money on advertising, but do not always monitor the quality of their products. Secondly, it is the promoted brands that are most often counterfeited, and even sometimes so that it is impossible to distinguish. Do not start from the ads, but from the reviews of those who used them. Alternatively, trust a brand that has been on the market for many years and has a certificate and separate points of sale.
3. Always check the integrity of the packaging. For example, concrete mix or deteriorate over time, if the integrity of the package has been violated, respectively, without seeing it, you will buy deliberately expired or damp material. The same applies to such materials, such as laminate or parquet board... They can be easily damaged during transportation.
4. Visit specialized stores or websites from manufacturers if you have a large-scale purchase of material. You shouldn't go to the market and buy something from under the counter without asking about the storage conditions and expiration date. Better to find good store, the more there is a chance to get on promotions and discounts, as well as seasonal sales.
5. Manufacturer. Everything here is quite controversial, but only one thing remains unchanged - the least trust in goods from the Celestial Empire. Most often they try to buy materials of European production, because they are considered the highest quality. Among the domestic ones there are also good producers, but then how lucky.

Floor coverings

If speak about flooring, then parquet or laminate immediately comes to mind. In one of our articles, you can and what is generally better, so we will not repeat ourselves. But one thing is worth saying - if your choice nevertheless fell on parquet, then do not skimp on good natural varnishes, which will have to be applied to the floor every 2-3 years. Yes, in general, such a pleasure will not be cheap, but the floor will last a very long time.

If you know in advance that it is not affordable, it is better to choose laminate or linoleum.

Tile

There are no special complaints about the tile itself, and it is not difficult to choose it. But what many want to save on is glue. And here, the most big mistake... You should not buy an adhesive base containing toluenes and phenols. These substances are radioactive and will harm your health.

Wallpaper must allow air to pass through - this is an important condition, especially for the bedroom and children's room. So besides beauty, there must be benefits. Do not buy cheap, low-quality materials, as carcinogens and benzene were used in their manufacture. Usually, this is a sin washing wallpaper.

Also, the quality of building materials is determined by their service life, and the higher it is, the better material.

Some mistakes

But there are certain ones that 70% of the population admits:

• Insulation. Today, expanded polystyrene is one of the most popular materials for insulation, because it has a low cost and stands out favorably among competitors, therefore it is used in most cases. But there is one important detail- expanded polystyrene can be used, but only for certain designs... The fact is that it has a high degree of flammability, so they cannot insulate the facade of the house, at least for reasons fire safety.
• Screed. To save money, some people do not buy mesh reinforcement, which is 100% necessary. As a result, the concrete starts to crack, you have to call the craftsmen and pay twice as much.
• It is not worth saving on foundation waterproofing. It directly depends on him how long the structure will stand.

As you can see, choosing materials for repair or construction is not so difficult, it is enough not to chase prices, choose a trusted brand and check the packaging. As for what building materials are in demand, then, perhaps, the most common is cement, because no construction can do without it.

For information on how to choose a cement, see this video.

Ways to increase sales

Trade in building materials is a business on the verge of a foul. There are no huge markups in it, and the main profit comes from large sales volumes. Construction is shrinking. New materials appear and the assortment grows. In order to be successful in this business, it is necessary to subtly work with the assortment, different groups buyers and terms of customer retention.

How to increase sales of building materials in these conditions, and other features of increasing the profitability of this business line. This will be discussed in the article.

Who is the client?

All buyers of building materials can be roughly divided into three groups.

1. Retail customers. They bring the maximum profit from each unit of goods, because for retail buyers the price is less important, and they are ready to pay 10-15% more for service, availability, transport accessibility, quality of service. But their maintenance requires high costs for goods in the warehouse, retail outlets, service personnel

2. Wholesale customers - construction organizations. This is the most attractive group of buyers, as they regularly need large quantities of goods. In addition to the price, they are guided by the presented assortment, speed and security of supply.

3. Wholesale customers - trading enterprises (intermediaries) who resell the goods purchased from you. This is the group with the lowest marginality - intermediaries increase your turnover, but give the minimum earnings, because in order to make a profit, they must purchase goods at the lowest possible price. The essence of their business is to buy cheaper to sell more expensive, they can only overpay for an exclusive.

To increase sales of building materials, you need to clearly understand which customers you are targeting - wholesale, retail, or both.

To approach the choice not out of personal preference, but taking into account the situation and statistics for the region and other objective factors.

The number of potential customers in the category, the current business situation, the needs of the regional market, the amount of funds that you are ready to invest in development, and others.

Example

If you trade in a region that is developing well and in which there are many developers, it makes sense to focus on them. If you already have an extensive network of retail stores located in high traffic locations, it is wise to continue developing your retail business.

10 effective ways to increase sales

You can increase sales in both traditional and non-traditional ways. We will tell you how to increase sales of building materials for the population and the B2B sector. Below are the 10 most effective ways, which allows us to increase sales in such companies by at least 20%.

1. Wholesale for retail. If before that you were exclusively engaged in retail, you can open an additional wholesale direction, even if it does not bring profit. What for? In order to have a constant high volume of sales, due to which it is possible to receive discounts from manufacturing plants and a low entry price.

Having received a reduced purchase price, you can:

• put a higher markup on retail and earn even more on each unit of goods sold;
• reduce the retail margin by making prices as low as possible, and increase profits by increasing turnover.

2. Expansion of the range. Expanding the range requires additional investments, and therefore must be clearly justified. It is not worth going to this step "just in case" or "to make it cooler than others". It makes sense to expand the product line if it will increase profit or customer flow.

Expanding the assortment allows you to increase profits by attracting new customers and selling goods by the "steam locomotive".

Attraction of new clients. The expansion of the assortment contributes to the emergence of new customers in two cases.

At first, when you know those to whom you can suggest new items. It is naive to hope for ghostly buyers who will appear with the renewed assortment. Expansion is justified when there is confidence that the new product will be bought.

Secondly, when you know about potential clients who want to buy everything in one place. For example, if you have a new roofing material, they will buy bolts and screws and roofing material from you. On this material, you can go to zero, but you can make money on the sale of screws, fasteners, gutters.

Selling goods by a "locomotive", that is, when a client comes to you for a new product, and leaves, having bought a new product and something from the main assortment. In this case, as in the previous version, the new product may not bring profit - the profit will come from the “steam locomotive product”. Thus, you will not earn anything on a new product, but you will earn on everything that he buys additionally.

Please note that in this case, the work of the sales manager plays an important role. It is he who must offer the client not only a new product, but also a “steam locomotive product”. He must actively sell and know all about cross-selling. In reality, it often happens that the owner creates such a system, but the manager does not fulfill the requirements and the company works to zero.

3. Website sales. Online sales are efficient method to increase sales during a crisis or during periods of seasonal downturns, for example, in winter. Sell ​​building materials online. If you don't have your own website, now is the time to create one. If there is a website, it is important to correctly promote it, achieving relevant (targeted) visitors. The site allows you not only to expand the circle of buyers, but also to save on costs (for renting an office and wages managers, because an employee working from home can take orders from the site).

• Visualization. To increase sales, you should not just advertise a product in words, but visually show customers how it can be applied. For example, if you sell roofing tiles, add a photo of the roof covered with the tiles to your magazine advertisement. Or put up display stands with well-laid tile samples at the point of sale.
• Search for news feed. Not sure how to hook your customers? Come up with an informational reason. For example, call regular customers with a message about discounts, about the delivery of goods to the warehouse, which they took last time, or about the imminent appearance of a new product.

5. Performing the functions of a picker. Large customers are ready to pay extra for the opportunity to purchase goods in one place. You can not only sell your product, but also find / bring other products for customers. Everyone will remain in the black: you will sell your goods and, possibly, earn money on mediation; the client will receive the necessary building materials in one machine.

6. Schedule of work. You can achieve an increase in sales in a building materials store by adjusting the work schedule.

• The main client flow. Ideally, it is worth keeping track of the days and times in which the main flow of customers goes and be sure to take orders during this period. For example, if the lion's share of orders goes on Saturday and Sunday, then it is better to do the day off on Monday, and leave Saturday and Sunday as workers.
• Counterbalance to competitors. If your competitors work until 18:00, work until 20:00. If they rest on Saturdays and Sundays, try working on those days. This will increase the chances that customers will come to you.

7. Possibility of payment by installments. How to increase wholesales of building materials? If financial position allows you to sell the goods in installments. The main thing is to keep track of the size and condition of accounts receivable.

8. Cold calling. You can increase the number of sales by using cold calls. They will not give quick results, but if you build the dialogue correctly, in 2-3 months the number of clients will begin to grow.

9. Active work with clients on the incoming stream. It is easier to keep the client than to call him "cold" later. It is important that managers establish contact with all clients who came on their own in order to be able to subsequently make “warm” calls.

• If you are only engaged in wholesale trade, and the client looked / called to clarify the availability of a certain material, features or cost of the product, you should involve him in a dialogue, if possible, clarify the needs, and certainly take contact information.
• If you are engaged in both wholesale and retail, it is important to competently communicate with customers who come to retail outlets... Keep in mind that these may include wholesalers and those responsible for large purchases.

10. Standards of customer service. The increase in sales is positively affected by the introduction of uniform service standards throughout the retail network. It is important to monitor the work of managers and train them in competent communication with clients.

Situations when the manager was not in the mood and sent a client or was too lazy to fully answer his question should be reduced to zero.

For this, all telephone conversations must be recorded, and in trading halls surveillance cameras must be installed. Ideally, develop a ready-made algorithm for a conversation with a client for each manager and compose answers to any objections.

Summarizing all of the above, to increase sales of building materials in your company, you need to follow these steps:

• Analysis of customer needs
• Maximum customer satisfaction
• Improving the work of your own sales department
• Attraction of new clients
• Motivation to keep existing

Interaction of various building materials- a thing to pay attention to. Sometimes even the most original ideas do not have a worthy embodiment due to the appearance of inappropriate contrasts.

To avoid such mistakes, let's see how each such combination is characterized.

Concrete + wood

The interconnection of these elements forms a clear interior based on the contrasts of opposites. Grayness and coldness - the emotions that concrete brings completely dissolve in the warmth and home comfort created by wood. Any decor and interior items installed inside such a room have a special accent that will please everyone.

A slightly rough concrete surface looks great in the context of a smooth ceiling made of wood. Like design move creates a special atmosphere that allows you to achieve the highest degree of tranquility and peace of mind.

Using wood as the main material for ceiling covering whose variety is different light shade, allows you to relax while taking a bath and completely forget about the abundance of stone that surrounds you. It is this combination of colors in the interior that has the most positive effect.

A distinctive feature of such an interior is that specific surfaces are decorated using the same materials. That is, if these are walls, then they are made of concrete, if it is a ceiling, then wood is used accordingly.

It was possible to go even further and make a wooden floor, as well as decorate with this material other elements of the interior decoration, which are located in horizontal plane... But the designers decided to limit themselves to a small percentage of visual load.

Cause visual effect... Concrete has neutral color that goes very well with brown shades natural materials... Well, do not forget about the emotional interaction that occurs as a result of using these names.

Steel + wood

Steel, along with concrete, is the main building material of our time. Not a single event aimed at the construction of various buildings and structures is complete with the participation of these names.

Therefore, it is not surprising that these two elements have similar characteristics, both physical and emotional. As well as concrete, steel is not distinguished by visual soulfulness and warmth.

Therefore, it is not surprising that in this case, when forming different options the interior comes to the aid of a tree. All the same functions, in the form of giving comfort and a positive atmosphere, are required from wood in this case.

In addition to aesthetic properties, wooden elements in this case provide high level practical side... As a poor conductor of heat, wood interacts well with steel as an excellent insulating material to maintain optimal temperature conditions.

Also, insulation, which includes natural elements, in an autonomous mode can maintain a comfortable level of humidity, which excludes the possibility of corrosion on metal products.

Here you can see an excellent combination of steel, in the form metal frame supporting the upper tier of the building and the roof itself, as well as the wood that was used to clad this chic dome.

Wooden elements, unlike metal ones, have some size restrictions, so in this case we used original technique, which created the appearance of the layering of the planks.

Thanks to this, the resulting image turned out to be even more voluminous and mesmerizing, while retaining the effect of the grandeur of the metal, and the warmth of natural materials.

The reason for the visual effect. Great combination strict lines and correct forms, the source of which is steel, with a somewhat rough and warm wood surface. The formed image absorbs all these characteristics, which has a positive effect on its visual perception.

Glass + bright colors

The presence of transparent glass elements with dimensions from the floor and ceiling allows you to correctly redistribute attention in the conditions of the existing corridor.

In this situation bright hues can peacefully coexist with more bright shades, with the help of which the staircase is framed. The glass screen has a double function in this case. It simultaneously separates and connects two components of one space.

Let's imagine this interior without a glass screen. A cacophony of colors that generates a strong visual load is something that will necessarily accompany small rooms, which is the presented zone.

It is unlikely that you will feel even a little comfortable in such conditions. Making everything in a single neutral light is, of course, a way out, but it will not bring the desired result that can be compared with the existing image.

The reason for the visual effect. Glass smooths out any interactions of elements decorated in different colors... Plus, this material itself has the ability to give the room a special style and a certain charm.

White color + white color

White color used throughout the interior. The reason for this phenomenon is the ability of such a design to convey a sense of spiritual purity and expand visual space any room. Let's take a closer look at the property of this technique using a specific example.

Light and brilliance are the main stylistic components of this bathroom design. The dynamics of the radiance of all the elements used, which from the first seconds fascinate and attract attention, are based on the alternation of materials with different surface textures.

Matte, mirrored or chrome-plated - all these are descriptions of objects that make up the image of the presented interior decoration. Therefore, it is not surprising that every person who finds himself in such a room feels quite comfortable, without fear of slipping or accidentally staining something from the surrounding idyll.

Any light that enters here is repeatedly reflected off the white surface, creating the illusion of a huge space. By the way, such a technique is well suited for those for whom such a topic as the interior of a small bathroom has become a real punishment.

Any design element of this bathroom, despite certain differences in design, is, in principle, neutral and does not draw too much attention to itself.

This background, resulting from the use of exclusively white components, is ideal for small color accents... The red flower on the shelf, in this case, is like an explosion, which completely changes the idea of ​​the formed image.

That is, you can always change the direction of the design with the help of small additions, the role of which can be played not only by flowers, but also by various accessories, as well as bright decor.

The reason for the visual effect. White is a classic. In addition, it perfectly enhances the beauty of brighter elements.

White + wood

This combination allows the use of a small amount of wood. Even a few natural elements are enough to revive the whole image, giving it life and special comfort.

The flight of stairs, made in exclusively white color, creates the illusion that the steps are floating in the air and lead not to the upper floor, but to the kingdom of unearthly light and the brightest emotions.

With this combination of colors, only a few wooden spans are enough, the rest can be made from more cheap material... This is very important in cases where family budget is not infinite.

The staircase looks very original, having open structure, where the function of steps is performed by small wooden planks... Such an approach allows maintaining the seriousness of the style of the formed interior and at the same time harmoniously weaving emotional touches home comfort that for a living space, you see, it is very important.

The reason for the visual effect. White color in the interior guarantees interior space the presence of an element of lightness and airiness, which is in no way affected by the tree, which brings exceptionally warm emotional touches.

Black + white

The interior in black and white is a classic, and the images formed through the use of this stylistic technique are guaranteed to be successful.

Such a style is able to hide any imperfections of a room, is suitable for any scale, and forms a special mood, where feeling dominates exquisite style, unique charm, and correct, and most importantly, healthy attitude towards your person.

In this case, in addition to color palette, attention is deserved by the materials that were used in the interior design. Steel and glass are the names of elements that form the basis of such design components as stairs and stylish furniture.

Due to the presence of this factor, the interior decoration of the room has acquired cosmic shades, which makes it possible to classify the image as ultra-modern and very original.

The reason for the visual effect. Everything here is like black and white photographs, which, despite the subtleties of their thematic content, arouse the keenest interest of any public.

Brick + steel

Brick, as a building material, has been used by man for several hundred, and even thousands of years. Steel, as a highly functional metal alloy, was invented relatively recently.

That is why the combination of these elements in construction industry almost always crowned with the creation of amazing designs.

The brickwork of the facade gives the whole building a somewhat vintage look, which makes the use of the metal from which it is made window frames and garage doors, somewhat unusual.

But despite everything, all these actions are quite relevant, and the resulting image was not only able to preserve a piece of history in its appearance, but also acquire new memorable modern stylistic touches.

The reason for the visual effect. The smooth mirrored surfaces of the steel are in perfect harmony with the variegation of the brick, which was used during the construction of the building.

Wood + stone

The combination of these natural materials in any case leads to excellent result, and the interior, in the creation of which a similar design move was applied, is simply doomed to success.

In this case, the stone plays the role of a kind of stylistic anchor on which the entire design of this room is based. Choosing a relief structure stone wall allowed to provide interesting game chiaroscuro, the effect of which everyone can enjoy. Wooden steps perfectly complement the design of the staircase, making the interior decoration harmonious and visually attractive.

The combination of stone and wood in this case forms a magnificent image with its own stylistic philosophy. It is simply incredible how two materials, different in all respects, can complement each other, showing an example of incredible harmony, which in a special way affects the existing atmosphere, filling it with sacred meaning.

Surface of white marble framed wooden elements, which were used to decorate the walls, is a kind of altar, which you can admire for a very long time.

The reason for the visual effect. These natural elements perfectly complement each other due to the fusion of completely different emotional components.