“Creating a showroom just isn’t that hard to do. You already have most of the materials, the cost is minimal and you can create a big benefit for your customers – and over time, your bottom line as well. It doesn’t have to be sophisticated, just presentable.” 

Brandon Wilsey, Sales Rep
Agan Drywall Supply
Sioux Falls, South Dakota

South Dakota Sto Distributor Puts Initiative on Display

Jason Ziegeldorf, sales manager at Agan Drywall Supply in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and a Sto product distributor, was frustrated. As he recalls, “Over the years, while working all these home/product shows, we kept hearing the same question: ‘Do you guys have a showroom?’ Well, in January 2007, we could finally answer yes.”

Ziegeldorf and his team – especially sales rep Brandon Wilsey – decided to take their Sto product marketing to the next level. It all began, as Ziegeldorf recalls, when “the roughly 30’ x 60’ space next door to our office came up for lease. We grabbed it, and that became our new showroom.”  

An Independent Distributor
Rick Braun, the Sto sales rep who counts Agan as one of his clients, notes, “They did it on their own, completely independently of Sto, which makes it even more impressive and worthy of recognition. They’ve put a lot of time and effort into this investment in their business, and it’ll definitely pay off down the line.”

Ziegeldorf credits his sales rep with doing the heavy lifting of actually constructing the displays, but the arguably modest Wilsey promises it’s not difficult: “We’re salespeople, not applicators, and we did it all ourselves. It does take time, and the first few took longer, but each new one got progressively easier.”

The Nuts-n-Bolts
According to Wilsey, building all the displays followed the same basic formula. They began with a base of foam blocks, cut into various shapes – square, rectangle, triangle, cylinder, pyramid, octagon, etc. The foam blocks then received a base coat, followed by mesh, and a final coat of black Decocoat.

Each finished block would then be used to display a different product (i.e., StoTique Finish Systems, StoCreativ-Brick, So Classic Color Collection, Granitex, etc.; see pictures), or in one case, a literature center.  And because they’re foam – only 30-40 pounds each, on average – they’re nicely portable for the tradeshow circuit.

With a bit of help from the Sto web site, the Agan crew added a clever touch, one that brought some technical depth to the new showcase. Wilsey explains: “We pulled a bunch of PDF product schematics and spec sheets off the Sto site, took them to Kinko’s, had them blown up and added them to the showroom. Builders and architects definitely appreciate the added technical detail.”

The Verdict
So, has the new showroom paid dividends yet? According to Ziegeldorf, while it’s too early to say for sure, traffic has risen, and any given day sees at least one visitor – builder, architect, interior designer, or homeowner – or one of the first three coming by with their customers.

Says Ziegeldorf, “Bottom line, this showroom makes it easier for our customers, both commercial and residential, to check out the Sto product line – from basic finishes to more advanced – and over time, that can’t help but translate to more sales.”

Adds Wilsey, “What I hear most from people is that they’re really glad it’s here because it lets them see the full potential of the Sto product line – beyond just samples of products. People may be aware of the basics of a particular product line, but we can display so many more products in the showroom. And because we can, they might see, for instance, that for a little extra cost, they can really do something special with their home. Plus, people may not fully understand how a product is actually incorporated into a building and here we can explain it.”

Rick Braun adds another perspective to Agan’s noteworthy efforts: “I put it in the category of brand advertising. When clients see samples out of a sample case that they haven’t used, they’re going to be reluctant to try them. But, if they see that this distributor has invested in a showroom to showcase their products, they feel much more confident in going with them, because they realize that not only will they be around for the long haul, but, more importantly, that those products will be supported.”

Hats off to you guys at Agan. Great work! Any light bulbs going on out there?

END