This must be what it is like to be a Big Player, even, dare I think it, a National Chain. Volume must give you enough leverage to get things other retailers have to—gasp—buy.
On my drive to the same cabinet distributor’s awards dinner, I planned letters of apology to all the salespeople and sales managers I’d argued with over the years about volume.
I was converted. Now I understood. Long live King Volume!
At the dinner, I sat beside the owner of a large, successful home center. He was a leader in our market and had always been a top performer for the cabinet distributor. I fancied myself his equal now, smug with the knowledge of King Volume. We two were masters of gross volume, ready to receive accolades for our devotion to the mighty top line. I chatted about the initiatives we would be launching next year to increase our sales even further—not mentioning that I had argued against these very initiatives just weeks earlier.
When our company was recognized for our sales achievements, I humbly accepted our plaque. My dining companion, for the first time that I could remember, did not receive a sales achievement award. I couldn’t help but ask him if a mistake had been made.
“We cut our volume by 75 percent,” he told me.
I was horrified. King Volume had a traitor in his midst. “We became selective with our cabinet sales and raised our margins,” he said. “Now we make the same amount of profit with much less aggravation.”
But what about the perks? The free advertising? The gold ingots?
“If you make enough money, you can buy your own advertising.”
He had a very good point. On the way home from dinner, I composed retractions to the letters of apology I’d planned a few hours earlier.
Gross sales are great. They can bring significant clout with suppliers, which can lead to beneficial discounts and perks. But at the end of the year, it’s the bottom line, not the top line, that counts.
Mighty Margin, forgive me for forsaking you.
Tad Troilo is a manager for Cranmer’s Kitchens by Design in Yardley, Pa. 215.493.8600. E-mail: TadNT@ aol.com
