Growing Your Remodelling Business By Looking Further Afield

In the current financial climate, everyone is looking for something to differentiate themselves from their competitors.

One highly effective approach which some of the best US remodelling businesses are now adopting is to look overseas for new ideas.

Take Europe, for example. In general, environmental laws are far tougher in Europe than they are in the US, and this has resulted in a range of innovations which are not yet common here.

In Germany, there is now the notion of a "PassivHaus", which means a house which can be heated and cooled throughout the year with little need for external energy. This has lead to the development of different glass types, window profiles, door opening mechanisms and ultra-efficient ventilation systems (which can reclaim heat or cold from expelled air). With the price of fuel and electricity likely to increase significantly over the next few years the demand for these products in the US is sure to increase.

In England, triple glazing is rapidly becoming adopted as fuel costs rise and the technology becomes more widely available. And in scandinavia, the use of heat pumps for recycling waste heat is common.

Another example is the sales tools which are in use in different countries. In the UK, it is now common for professional remodellers to use software in the home to show the customer exactly what they are proposing before even producing a quotation. This has huge benefits to both the consumer and the business - the consumer gets to see exactly what they're buying before it's been built, and the business no longer needs to worry that the customer will come back later with a complaint that they didn't understand what was on offer. Sales people which don't use this technology are now starting to lose out to those which have it, and it's rapidly becoming a "must have" for the double glazing industry.

The flow of ideas is between countries is two way - companies in Europe are benefitting from some of the things the US does best. For example, Dave Blakeman, CEO of UK-based RPS Software says "The US is a very competitive market, and the use of a sales process in the US is common. We're now launching our Infocus sales process software in the UK, where few business have yet to integrate a formal sales process into their operations. There currently isn't a solution in Europe with this level of sophistication".

A very effective way to pick up new ideas is to visit a trade show in Europe - many exhibitors speak good English. A couple of major exhibitions to watch out for are Fensterbau in Germany, Ecobuild in the UK and Batimat in Paris. If you decide to visit, it could be fun to add another day or two on to your trip and see the site of some of Europe's cities!