5 minute read
Navigating Motorized Window Treatments
Strategies to sharpen your motorization skills and become more comfortable with this new technology
BY LUANN NIGARA
One word: motorization.
Did you just shiver from head to toe?
If you didn’t, high five to you. But if you did, it’s OK. I arrived a little late to the party, too, and while I have been actively working on upping my motorization game for the last several years, I definitely still don’t know everything. Not only is every situation different, the technology changes like lightning. The changes are designed to make things better and easier, but as you master the latest innovation, it can get harder before it gets easier. Compounding the stress is that the stakes are typically higher with motorized projects. It is a big responsibility to advise homeowners and their builders about the many details, such as wiring and junction boxes and 12v versus 110v and Radio Ra… holy moly, the lingo alone is enough to scare you.
But motorized window treatments are here to stay, and if you have resisted learning about the nuances and intricacies of motorized window treatments, this is your warning: You cannot avoid it any longer. There are some good reasons for people to install motorized window treatments. We know how critical it is to eliminate the all-too-real danger to babies and toddlers caused by cords, and motorization is a big part of this solution. And as technology evolves in all sectors of our lives, everyone wants to operate anything and everything remotely. We start our cars from inside the house, we adjust the heat and A/C from our phones and we see who is ringing our doorbell at home from our desk at work.
As millennials buy homes, the expectation for total home automation has become, well, expected. Then we have their boomer parents asking for motorization not only because of the convenience and the flexibility motorization offers, but also because it relieves the challenges they face with age.
What can you do if you want your business to stay relevant and competitive, yet you lack confidence in this booming product category? Here are some strategies.
Be Your Own Laboratory
My No. 1 strategy is to install a variety of motorized products in your own home. By doing this, you will not only be more proficient at selling motorization, you will sell much more of it. There are two major benefits of motorizing your own spaces. As you research how to motorize the various products you want in your home, you will learn the limitations, features and capabilities of the various types of products. For example: • Hunter Douglas uses only proprietary motorization, which you’ll need to know if you are mixing brands in the same room.
• Drapery rods must be plugged into an outlet and cannot be battery operated. • Lutron components cannot “talk” to Somfy components until you have an URTSI device.
Details like these are important. It is through the process of real problem-solving, ordering and installing motorized treatments that you gain a level of understanding that goes beyond what you can read online or learn in a webinar.
This is exactly how I really began to understand motorization. We wanted a combination of drapes, woven wood shades, roller shades, HD Duettes and HD Alustra roman shades in our home. In specifying them and having long, detailed conversations with my lead installer, I learned many of the ins and outs of the various systems, including how I was going to hide the cords and whether battery motorization would work for particular products.
The other major benefit of having motorized treatments in your own home is that you learn to appreciate the convenience, even in areas where motorization is not a true necessity. Prior to motorizing my treatments, I would walk around furniture to the four windows in our bedroom in order to open and close shades and drapes. Now I hit two buttons and out the door I go. Is this a critical quality-of-life change? Well, certainly not critical, but definitely appreciated and time-saving.
Think about a piece of tech you currently use daily that you thought you would never need. Ten years ago, would you think you would “need” to tell your TV to change channels rather than simply pressing a button on your remote? It’s the same with motorized window treatments. When you use them, you learn to appreciate them.
Go to Industry Events
If you want to learn about motorization, you absolutely must go to industry events. This is where you see what the latest innovations in motorization are. The best of the best is the International Window Coverings Expo (IWCE). At the expo you can see the newest introductions, operate the products and talk with the sales reps, who can explain to you the features and benefits of their lines. There are also two outstanding opportunities to learn more about motorization. If you are brand new and want a primer on everything motorized, you should attend “Introduction to Motorization” with O’D McKewan. This course will introduce you to the terminology and the various motor types and power supplies. It will give you a grasp on what you need to know to have productive conversations with your clients.
The second opportunity is also with O’D McKewan and is the “Motorization Specialist Certification,” which is an eight-hour seminar. This is for you if you want to learn everything from the basics to the advanced techniques of designing and installing custom motorized window treatment projects. By the end of the day you will be able to talk with your clients and the electricians, builders and installers about all aspects of motorization. It’s an amazing opportunity to gain confidence, clarity and motivation to become the “go-to” motorization person for your business or community.
So why is all of this important? It is where the future of window treatments is going, but it is more than that. If you want to be recognized as a leader in the industry, then you must be proficient in motorization.
The other benefit is the profitability of motorized window treatments. Even a simple suggestion that your client add battery operation to a single cellular shade increases your gross sale by about $300. The great advantage is your other net costs, such as installation and freight, do not change with the addition of motorization, so your net profits increase on this unit. When you start to compound this over many projects, you will substantially increase your net profits. When you bring more value to your clients and create more net profit for your business, you can count yourself as successful. z
LuAnn Nigara is an award-winning window treatment specialist and co-owner of Window Works in Livingston, NJ. Her highly successful podcast “A Well-Designed Business” debuted in February 2016. She has since recorded more than 400 episodes.
