Racking up sales: more and more pool and spa retailers bank on billiard table sales as consumers blackball vacation plans

Pool & Spa News, August 22, 2003 by Rhonda J. Wilson

Earning your stripes in the showroom

The peak season for billiard tables begins in November and lasts until February. Retailers typically offer three types of models: solid wood, which are called "furniture tables" and offer consumers better resale value, or the less expensive laminates and veneers, which appeal more to families with children.

To create an inviting showroom, try simulating the look of a home game room. "We have lights hanging from the ceiling over the tables," Small says. "It gives the customer the impression that this is what it would look like if it were in the home."

To zero in on the sale, use the traditional technique of "prospecting" the customer by asking a series of questions. "We plant questions in their mind," Small says. "We ask, 'Who's going to be playing? What level of the game is going to be played? How often will the table be used?' By planting those questions in the customer's mind, especially knowing that nine out of 10 customers have never thought of any of those questions, it legitimizes us as someone who knows what we're doing, and it makes them feel more comfortable."

To close the sale, try creating a sense of urgency. "We tell customers, 'This week, and this week only, we're giving away a free Ping Pong conversion top or billiard lamp with the sale of a pool table,'" Small says.

Referrals also rack up sales. Wheeler, who offers customers $50 for one, says they represent his easier sales. "If they're happy with their product, you can turn them into little Amway-type salespeople for you," he says. "It's better than any advertisement I could run on TV telling people how reasonably priced I am."

In addition, financing options appeal to consumer budgets. "We do very well financing at this point," Small says. "It's an incentive for somebody to say, 'Hey, I can buy a pool table for $3,000, pay it off within a year and not have any interest charges.'"

RELATED ARTICLE: Taking a shot at selling billiard tables.

Thinking of carrying billiard tables in your product line? Here are six sure ways to get you started:

1. Dedicate adequate floor space.

Don't put tables on top of each other like stacked firewood. Allow the consumer to come into your store and "kick the tires," so to speak.

"If they're stacked up against the wall and piled up like a pyramid, you don't give the customer the opportunity to touch and feel the product," says Mike Small, the billiard table and aboveground-pool buyer at Seasonal Specialty Store in Foxborough, Mass. He uses about 3,000 square feet of showroom space for billiard tables and, he says, "Every single table in my showroom has at least 3 if not 6 feet of clearance, so you can see and walk all the way around the table."

2. Shop around for reliable manufacturers.

Manufacturers can make or break your business. Align yourself with a manufacturer that will stand behind its product.

"There is a boatload of brands, and a lot of them are junky," says Scott Wheeler, general manager at Pools Plus Inc. in Grand Rapids, Mich. "We used to carry one manufacturer, and one out of every three tables came warped right out of the box. They had missing parts, the laminate was peeling off, the veneers weren't properly glued on or the legs weren't level."