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There are many ways window
coverings dealers or decorators can distinguish themselves and increase
profits through add-on sales: there’s motorization, wall coverings,
floor coverings, furnishings, artwork, accessories and so on. Rose Riggins,
Inside Outlook Inc., Turnersville, NJ, makes use of all of these and more.
But to really separate her business from all others she literally stepped
out of the house—both in terms of her business and in the products
and services it offers.
Seven years ago Riggins added exterior window coverings—most notably,
hard-wired, motorized lateral-arm awnings—to her product mix. She
followed that four years later with “the gutsiest thing” she
had ever done: moving her home-based, shop-at-home business into an 1,800-square-foot
showroom and incorporating it as Inside Outlook. The results of both were
dramatic.
“About seven years ago, I bought a new home and after doing a beautiful
paved patio and walkway with designer furniture and the whole nine yards,
I found I could not use it. It was excruciatingly hot,” Riggins explains.
“I started to look into awnings. I interviewed about five different
awning companies. As I was interviewing them, they were interviewing me
to sell for them.”
After deciding on a manufacturer and supplier, Riggins went to work learning
all she could about awnings. She sold awnings with logos to businesses
as well as awnings for storefronts, restaurants and office buildings.
But it was residential applications that really started to pay off. “I
realized that as I was making calls for interior design and window dressings—we
specialize in elaborate window dressings and draperies—that awnings
were the perfect add on,” she says. “It made sense. You were
already in the home. Why not do the exterior of the home as well as the
interior? I was extending my interior design to the outside.” Hence,
the company’s name, and its slogan: “Dress your windows, inside
and out.”
NOT FOR EVERYBODY
Although awnings have been a particular success for Inside Outlook, Riggins
says there are pros and cons to offering them that every dealer must consider.
First, they can be an expensive item, running from a couple thousand dollars
to several thousand dollars each. Second, there are restrictions as to
where and how they are used. Custom awnings cannot be made to just any
size. Their width must accommodate their length, so they generally are
offered in standard sizes. They also can’t be left open in bad weather.
Fabric awnings will absorb water adding stress to the mounting brackets,
and high winds can pull them from the home.
In addition, Riggins explains, it takes specially trained installers to
put up an awning. They should be factory trained and able to make repairs
on-site; be insured; have a general sense of carpentry or home building;
and be able to handle the elements working outdoors. Awnings also require
special delivery trucks and installation equipment because of their size
and at least two installers because of their weight (250 pounds or more
each).
If the awning were motorized, a licensed electrician would be needed if
it is to be hardwired into the home’s circuitry. “I am one of
the very few merchants who will do full electrical installations,”
Riggins says. “Most companies use an outdoor plug-in system. I prefer
a complete package concept. It leaves the customer with a finished and
ready-to-enjoy product. They like that.”
Awnings’ pros are just as many and begin with their increasing popularity.
European designer fabrics and modern-day technology make retractable awnings
extremely versatile, especially over patios and decks. With motorization,
awnings can be easily extended out on sunny days to provide shade and
protect interiors from heat build up as well as ultraviolet rays and the
fading of indoor and outdoor furniture. On cloudy days they can be retracted
to let in as much light as possible. Available sun and wind sensors make
it even easier. “They are out of the way when you don’t need
them, as well as in bad weather, but they add so much warmth to a home,”
Riggins explains. “They add warmth, add value and give homeowners
another space. People don’t realize how they create outdoor spaces.
You feel as if you have another room.”
Although they are not new by any means, with updated fabrics in designer
colors awnings are receiving a new cachet—they are not the aluminum,
fixed awnings of decades past. “It’s hysterical when people
come to me and ask, ‘Are these new?’” Riggins says. “They
are not new at all. The styles come from Europe and were used for years
and years in Europe. It’s not a new concept.”
The fact that awnings are a big-ticket item can mean bigger margins for
decorators and dealers too, especially if high-end fabrics, motorization
and sensors are selected. “These add to the cost, but if you can
sell it, it adds to your bottom-line profit,” Riggins says. “As
in anything,” she adds, “you have to have sales ability.”
Finally, offering today’s awnings will set a business apart. “Out
of all the designer showhouses, and there are at least four of them in
my area annually, I believe I am the only person who sells awnings and
window treatments and interior design,” Riggins says.
You might get the idea that Riggins gets a bit passionate about awnings.
“I love selling them,” she says. “They are beautiful and
functional. I have never had a dissatisfied or even a less-than-ecstatic
customer.”
SHOW AND TELL
As Inside Outlook’s sales grew, Riggins soon found she needed more
space than what she had available in her home, at the very least she needed
a warehouse to store the six to seven custom awnings that would come in
for clients on a weekly basis. She found the perfect location on Route
42 in south-central New Jersey, less than 20 minutes from Philadelphia,
PA, and on the main highway leading to the Jersey shore. The building
had a warehouse and a showroom, and it has made all the difference to
her business.
“My business quadrupled. Exposure is one of the biggest things for
a successful business,” Riggins says.
Inside Outlook is represented in three area yellow page directories with
three ads in each: one under interior design, one under draperies and
window coverings, and one under awnings. “Nine ads in three counties
do bring in business,” Riggins says, “but if you are going to
advertise like that, you have to have a place for them to go and see and
learn about the products. What sells potential customers is coming in
to see finished product, and our honesty in educating them on the pros
and cons.”
What Riggins offers is full-service interior design including flooring,
furnishings, artwork and, of course, all types of window coverings from
hard window treatments to draperies. “It’s a fun business because
every single job is different. Someone could come in here looking for
top treatments, while someone else needs to address the issue of privacy,
or someone else simply wants a beautiful area rug. We do it all.”
Riggins says.
“We keep up with everything,” she continues. “We have all
of the latest books on all of the hard treatments, and we have them displayed.
We have full-size windows and doors and have treatments on all of them
that function. We have one of the most extensive displays of fabric samples
available for viewing and selection.”
Throughout the showroom customers will see a lot of attention to detail.
As they enter they are drawn to a wooden deck built facing the large storefront
windows. Behind that is a wall created to look like the exterior of a
house complete with siding, windows, window boxes and a roof with an operational
retractable awning attached. To create a transition effect from outdoors
to indoors, a paved walkway with patio lights has been installed. Through
the door is an interior bedroom with dressed windows, upholstered furniture,
bedding, table cover, sculptured area rug and a custom, operable fireplace
to create a cozy, warm atmosphere.
“It was an expensive venture,” Riggins admits about her showroom,
“but it was worth it because it demonstrates all our capabilities.”
ALWAYS A NEED
Riggins’ success is based on being a full-service interior designer
to her clients and offering them something no one else does. “Frequently
I am hired at the planning stage of a construction project and see it
through to completion. Customers want flow and continuity, but do not
know how to achieve it. I work very closely with clients in selecting
the palette and fabrics to help them create the finished look they desire.”
This type of service sets Inside Outlook apart, and there’s a lot
to be said for distinguishing your window treatment business from the
competition and adding to your bottom line—especially in an economy
that is supposed to be “iffy.” Actually, the economy can work
to your favor. Riggins says customers nowadays are staying at home, creating
more welcome and usable spaces. “They are spending a lot more money
on designer patio furniture as well,” she says.
“Obviously we’re economy dictated. We could float or we could
sink, but so far so good. I do believe there is always a need for privacy,
and people are staying home more now so they want to be surrounded by
beauty and nice things. They want to be comfortable at home and to create
an atmosphere they won’t want to leave. They are spending money on
renovation, or are building new homes because interest rates are affordable.”
Almost as if to prove her point, during our interview with Riggins, three
new customers walked into Inside Outlook’s showroom.
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