By: Joel Grier and Shannon Murphy, Furniture Regional Sales Managers
There are many opportunities for office furniture within almost every vertical market but we will be focusing on the five listed below:
Healthcare/Hospitality
Education
Government
Legal/Financial
Industrial/Manufacturing
Healthcare/Hospitality
A great entry into these markets is through their soft seating waiting areas. This allows you to get your foot in the door with product that is readily available through our Furniture Advantage program.
· Products: Reception & waiting area/office desking and seating/lab stools/mobile and
sit to stand workstations/ glass boards and chairmats/breakroom
· Contacts: Facilities Manager/Human Resources/Office Manager
Education
Gone are the days of individualized desks in every classroom, now you can use every day furniture items to create a creative work environment.
· Products: Office desking and seating/classroom tables and seating/media center and
group meeting/cafeteria and breakroom/outdoor furniture
· Contacts: Procurement/School Bookkeeper/Facilities Manager/Department
Heads/School board officials
*For more information on selling to schools please visit:
Government
· Products: Office desking and seating/reception & waiting areas/breakroom/outdoor
furniture
· Contacts: Municipal Department Heads/Procurement/County and City Admin staff
Tip: Growing P-Card purchases for items under a certain dollar amount
Legal Financial
Trends within this category, along with the commercial sector are going the way of unassigned, hoteling workstations with multiple small meeting rooms/areas and lockers for personal belongings.
· Products: Sit to Stand desking/technology based furniture/Desk lighting/Ergonomic
seating and standing mats/Mailroom
· Contacts: H/R Mgr. / Office Mgr. / Facilities Mgr.
Industrial / Manufacturing
· Products: Office desking and seating/active office workstations/durable desks in
plants/boards and matting/task lighting and workstation accessories/vinyl seating
· Contacts: Facilities Manager/Plant Manager/Procurement/Human Resources Manager
Always ask questions and look for potential openings to sell to these types of customers. You will find that some agencies can place orders outside of their contracts if the purchase is below a particular monetary threshold. The growing popularity of P-Cards has led to an increase in that type of purchase.
Getting to know the correct contacts and asking the right questions can help uncover opportunities that you once thought to be off limits.