Moisture meter distributors, like any other sales-oriented business, are often on the lookout for ways to improve their sales. Selling moisture meters and moisture meter accessories can be challenging. However, there are a few ways distributors can improve their moisture meter sales.
To help you meet your moisture meter sales goals, here are a few tips for selling moisture meters:
Moisture Meter Sales Tip 1: Research Your Local Moisture Meter Users
One of the most important tasks for any moisture meter distributor is to study their local market to see what kind of moisture meter-using businesses exist in the area. For example, is your business located near farmland, or are there a lot of water damage remediation specialist companies in the area?
Knowing what kinds of businesses are in the area that might use moisture meters helps you choose the best types of moisture meters to carry. If there are a lot of farms in the area, agricultural moisture meters might be a good type of moisture meter to stock. Though, in this case, it may be useful to find out what types of crops are grown on these farms because different agricultural moisture meters are calibrated for testing different kinds of crops—a hay moisture meter wouldn’t be the right tool for testing moisture in grain, after all.
Also, if the area has a lot of water damage remediation specialists, it might be useful to consider what kind of building materials they’ll have to deal with the most frequently. If many of the homes and offices in the region have wood flooring and superstructures, then it may be worthwhile to stock wood moisture meters. If the majority of homes have gypcrete floors and drywall, then a drywall scale moisture meter would be the best choice.
By studying the local market and determining what is in demand among professional moisture meter users, you can improve your moisture meter sales—largely because you’ll be carrying the meters customers in your area want.
Moisture Meter Sales Tip 2: Check for Expedited Shipping Options
Time is of the essence for modern moisture meter distributors. So, checking for expedited shipping options when choosing between different moisture meter manufacturers to stock can be important.
Why does shipping speed matter? A few reasons include:
- Completing Moisture Meter Special Orders. Even with the most careful planning, it isn’t always possible to carry every moisture meter accessory that your customers need. Being able to place special orders for moisture meters (and moisture meter accessories) is crucial. However, the time it takes for a special order to ship can make or break the transaction. Modern customers are used to the convenience of online retailers that offer two-day shipping, so waiting two or three weeks for a special order isn’t going to cut it for these customers.
- To Replenish Stock after a Surge in Business. There are many reasons why a distributor might start selling moisture meters faster than they can restock them. For example, there might be a rush on restoration moisture meters following a flood or hurricane—largely because water damage remediation companies may need more moisture meters to give to their newer employees to speed along inspection work. Expedited shipping options help speed up restocks so you don’t miss out on opportunities to sell more moisture meters during the rush.
- Providing Superior Warranty Replacement Service. While it should be a rare occurrence, even the best moisture meters may need to be repaired or replaced because of a defect in its materials or manufacture. However, most of your customers won’t want to wait long to get a replacement moisture meter. Having a moisture meter manufacturer who can provide speedy shipping for their warranty repair/replacement jobs may be crucial for keeping customers happy without having to replace the meter yourself.
Between fulfilling special orders, getting restocks of sold-out products, and providing fast warranty repairs/replacements, the benefits of having expedited shipping options from your moisture meter manufacturer are clear.
Moisture Meter Sales Tip 3: Use Moisture Meter Accessories as Upsell Opportunities
One rookie moisture meter sales mistake that many distributors make is failing to recommend the right moisture meter accessories for their moisture testing products. They either push a pre-made package deal because it’s convenient, or they forget to upsell at all.
While many moisture meter package deals are good values, they may not be the right value for the customer in the store at that time. However, getting people to add to their purchase is a basic sales tactic for increasing revenue in almost any business.
Here, learning about all of the different moisture meter accessories that a manufacturer makes, how they work, and what customers are going to use their moisture meters for can be a great way to create some natural upselling opportunities.
For example, specialized electrodes are a commonly-upsold type of moisture meter accessory. However, not every electrode is going to pair well with every moisture meter. In fact, it is entirely possible to have two customers buy the same moisture meter and need two entirely different types of electrodes because of how they will put their moisture testing tools to use.
Case in point: If two agriculture customers buy the same hay moisture meter, and one needs to test hay moisture in the windrow while the other needs to test it in baled hay, the first customer will be better served with an electrode like Delmhorst’s 831 short pin prod electrode since the multiple points of contact are better for loose hay. Meanwhile, the second customer will be better off with an extra-long moisture meter electrode like Delmhorst’s 1235 10” prod. The longer prod can get to the center of a hay bale where normal electrodes cannot reach.
Another common moisture meter accessory upsell is spare moisture meter pins (for pin-type meters, at least). However, not all replacement/spare pins are the same, either. Moisture meter pins can come in different lengths, and some pins may be partially insulated so that only the tips are exposed. These insulated pins are especially useful for lumber manufacturers who want to determine the distribution of moisture in a wooden board—which can be useful information for optimizing the kiln drying process.
Many professional moisture meter users are strongly concerned with the accuracy of the moisture testing tools they use. For these customers, a Moisture Content Standard (MCS) can be an easy upsell. These tools help pin-type moisture meter users quickly check the accuracy of their moisture meters while on the job—letting them know if they’re getting accurate moisture measurements.
One caveat for using MCS devices is that the MCS has to be specifically made for the make and model of the moisture meter it’s being used to test. If used for a different moisture meter, the test won’t be valid. So, it’s important to double-check when upselling these moisture meter accuracy testing tools to ensure the right devices are being paired.
Moisture Meter Sales Tip 4: Check with Manufacturers for Moisture Testing Tips
A good salesman knows what all of their products are used for—a great salesman can give specific advice to their customers to improve the user experience. Knowing the ins and outs of using moisture meters for specific applications (such as testing hay moisture, water damage remediation work, or for kiln-drying wood) can be an enormous advantage for selling moisture meters and their accessories.
How so? A few reasons to become an expert on using moisture meters include:
- It Helps Make You a Trusted Expert to Your Customers. Trust is a priceless resource for moisture meter distributors. Without it, convincing customers to buy moisture meter products is significantly more difficult. Being able to demonstrate expertise in the use of moisture meters can help you earn the trust of customers—largely by showing them that you know what you’re talking about. This, in turn, adds weight to your upsell recommendations.
- It Helps to Build a Relationship with Your Customers. Aside from being able to present yourself as an expert, leveraging your knowledge to answer questions and provide quick tutorials can help you build a positive relationship with your customers. Being able to provide real help and advice makes you more than just the “moisture meter sales guy”—it makes you a person that they can go to for moisture testing advice.
- You Can Learn about Upsell Opportunities. Learning how to perform certain tasks and the tools required for them naturally gives you insight into which tools your customers may need. This helps you make better recommendations for which moisture meter accessories customers should purchase. Also, by explaining why certain accessories are needed, it’s easier to convince customers to buy them.
Creating a relationship with your customers by becoming a trusted source of help and advice for using moisture meters can be an incredible competitive advantage for selling moisture meters. And, it gives you a personal touch that online-only retailers cannot match.
So, checking with moisture meter manufacturers to see if they have any resources that can help you become an expert on how to use moisture meters is fairly important. Some moisture meter manufacturers may even have resources that you can share with your customers so you can build positive relationships.
Need help in becoming a moisture meter expert so you can better help your own customers? Sign up for Delmhorst’s Distributor Relations Program today to get access to program-exclusive resources and support.
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