Despite a slowdown in the economy and the inevitable impact this has had on the construction sector and the ventilation industry there are still new opportunities for growth and strategies for increasing sales.

Here are our top tips for achieving maximum ventilation sales in today’s market:

Play to your strengths 

Consultants and contractors are looking for two key things in a ventilation product – energy efficiency and quality. Success therefore depends on working for a reputable firm whose products are well built and meet all the relevant British Standards. Beyond that, success will depend on selling the features that are most relevant to the audience. Whereas a contractor is likely to be particularly price sensitive, a consultant will need detailed data on the efficiency of the unit to ensure the product will satisfy building regulations.

Know your stuff 

Good ventilation sales managers keep abreast of developments in the industry and know their own products in depth so that they can talk with confidence to engineers and contractors about the technical features and capabilities. Some of the best ventilation sales people are those who have worked as design engineers or consultants themselves and therefore have a better understanding of their customers’ priorities.

Be a good listener 

Listening to your customer and understanding their needs and any quirks of the project they are working on will help you engineer the best solution for them and tailor your offering and service to the job in question. Regular communication between you and the customer will make sure your offering continues to meet their requirements even if the parameters and schedules change.

Talk to the right people 

It goes without saying that a sales person needs to be talking to the key decision makers but it’s also important to keep abreast of trends in the industry to understand where the growth markets are. Although house building and office construction still have a way to go before emerging from the effects of the recession, refurbishment and expansion in the healthcare and education sectors is creating new opportunities for ventilation sales.