May 2017

Sometimes you have to say “no” for the customer to say “yes.” There’s an existing paradigm that salespeople are pushy and high pressure. Of course, some are so it’s important to create a paradigm shift as early in the selling process as you can. You must demonstrate to the customer

Jill Konrath’s thoughts on selling can seem puzzling until you stop to make sense of them Editor’s note: This is the last of a three-part series on improving sales. This month we look at how paradoxical principles can help you sell more. Sometime back, I ran across an article titled The

Operating a decades-old home furnishings business is similar to having seniority on an association staff. There’s little satisfaction in bragging rights when your years on the job sound as much like a liability as they do an asset. When the Home Furnishings Association was formed from the merger of three

Your customers won’t try something new? How do you know? As I write this column it’s a Thursday, so I’m participating in #tbt (Throwback Thursday) and flashing back to 2010 when I was at my first market as a rep. It was winter in Las Vegas and the wind was

In our agrarian past, every farmer wanted 10 sons because all that free labor meant he could have a much bigger farm. The patriarch not only controlled the family business, he also generally controlled the career choices his children were allowed to make. That trend has persisted in modern family

Knowing when to grow is a tough call. HFA members offer tips to help make the decision. Opening a furniture store can be a difficult decision. Opening a second, third, or fourth can be just as difficult. If you’ve been thinking about adding a new location, there are a lot

The NPD Group (a leading consumer market research company) recently released a list of 10 ways to win consumers hearts this year, based on their examination of retail sales data and industry trends and looking ahead to where retail is headed. Here’s 6 of the tips that apply to the furniture