Nothing says more about a door and window company than its showroom. A showroom can represent a significant investment, but it is worth every penny. Nothing sells a door or window more effectively than the opportunity to see it up close at eye level and installed into an opening as it might look in one’s home. It is a chance to operate, to see how the door or window functions and to witness the beauty of the craftsmanship. Showrooms can enable you to position your company’s image as one of quality, craftsmanship, value and professionalism. These are all attributes that a prospective buyer wants to see in a prospective seller. An effective showroom will make the prospect identify with your company’s image while helping them to see a variety of the product types, styles, colors and finishes that you have to offer.

If a window dealer sells doors, then the entry into the showroom should be through one of the company’s best doors. Let the prospective customer experience the feel of walking up to a beautiful door with a beautiful handle and secure locking mechanism. The prospect will imagine that he or she is a visitor coming to their own home. “How will they feel when they approach the ‘gateway to my home’? What does this door say about the home and the family that lives within? Is it us? Does it imply a sense of style? Is it secure?”

Once beyond the entry door, the prospect walks into the showroom and is surrounded by various door and window systems, giving the prospect an idea of the different color and style options available. A variety of windows are mounted on each of the two adjacent walls, as well as the exit wall, which also includes an additional door. As the prospect is led into the inside of the showroom, he or she first feels what it is like to approach that door from the outside, and then once inside, experiences the door from the inside view as well. Also while inside the showroom, the prospect can see how secure the windows feel from the inside as well as how easy they are to open for cleaning. He or she can check the ease of operation of the locks. How secure do they feel? They may compare colors, styles and finishes.

Another great idea is to have infrared lamps set up outside of the showroom aiming solar and infrared radiation into the showroom through several of the windows. One window can employ clear glass with an adjacent window glazed with low-E glass and argon or even triple-pane glazing. Meters set inside the showroom in front of each window can be a great selling tool when it comes to demonstrating how much of the radiant energy and/or ultraviolet radiation is being blocked with the premium glass packages that are being offered. Mount a painting nearby and say, “Which window glazing package would you want near your Picasso?”

Finally, one of the most important things about a showroom is the invitation. You can have the greatest showroom on the planet, but it will do you no good unless you get prospects to jump in the car and drive over to see it! Now, when searching for door or windows, one of the very first things that prospective customers are likely to do is to jump on the internet to compare, say a half dozen or so, door and window dealers in the area. Then they narrow their search to two or maybe three at the most and that is where they will spend their afternoon, visiting the showroom of each company on their short list. So the idea here is to make the short list! Consider how effective your advertising campaign is such as the local newspaper, radio or television station. What can be used to entice the consumer to visit?

No matter how elaborate your showroom set-up may be, the goal should be quite simple: convince prospective buyers that there is no need to go to the next showroom or return to a previous one. The next invitation you want to hear is, “when can you come to our house to measure?”