industry : lead generation
It’s All About the Leads HOW BELTWAY BLINDS IN MARYLAND SUPERCHARGED SALES AND PROFITS BY FOCUSING ON LEAD GENERATION BY SOPHIA BENNETT liver Schreiber, president and CEO of Beltway Blinds in the Washington, D.C., area, may own a window treatment company, but he doesn’t consider that his principal line of work. “I’m not in the window treatment business. I’m in the lead generation business and the sales closing business,” he says. Window treatments happen to be the product he sells. But a company needs sales leads in order to be successful, so that’s where he focuses much of his time and effort. This mindset has paid off. In spite of the pandemic, Beltway Blinds was able to increase its revenue by 75 percent in 2020. As of March, it was on track to see a growth rate of 53 percent in 2021. More importantly, the company increased its net profit from 1.62
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percent to 15.85 percent last year alone. Schreiber provided a window into the inner workings of his company, sharing suggestions for other window treatment retailers looking to increase their sales, profitability and overall success.
Finding leads and setting appoinments
Traditionally, Beltway Blinds has pursued two main strategies for generating leads: trade shows and canvassing. In 2020, the company planned to do 120 home shows, boat shows, car shows, wine festivals and other events where large groups of people gather. Most were canceled due to the pandemic, but when they start up again, Schreiber will operate under the same playbook. “When we go to a show, we have one goal
in mind: schedule appointments,” he says. The booth has no brochures or swag. “We have nothing except our people in the booth (and an assortment of high-quality window treatments for show). There are no chairs, so nobody that’s in the booth can sit down. There’s no eating. There’s no being on your phone. The goal for our show staff is to speak to every single person that walks by the booth.” Schreiber encourages his staff to make people smile by saying something as simple as, “You look like you could use some new window treatments today.” Once people stop to talk, each employee’s mission is to get them to set an appointment. The scheduled day and time are written on the back of a simple postcard that also provides the company’s contact information. (The postcard can also be handed out to people who want to follow up after the show.)
