Member Profile: Tim Stumm

Tim Stumm, showroom manager for Expressions Home Gallery in the Dallas Design District, currently serves as chair of the ALA Public Relations, Communications and BiNational Committee. Stumm is known as an industry leader in customer service and creative marketing and has a firm grasp of forecasting future trends in lighting. Under his leadership, his teams have been a finalist for the Showroom of the Year awards six times. Recently, he sat down with ALA staff to offer some insight into the industry and discuss the upcoming issue of Lighting magazine.

You are very involved with the development of Lighting magazine. What are you most excited about for the 2017 issue?

I’m most excited about the new look – I’m excited that we’ve got more content than we’ve ever had, more inspirational photographs to help customers communicate their wants and needs to the salespeople. I’m also really happy with how we have redesigned the front cover to give this issue more of a shelf life. People will leave this on their coffee tables a lot longer than before; I’m hoping we get a shelf life of six months or more. I am also looking forward to the glossier cover stock, which is more in keeping with other high-end magazines. The page layouts this year are also very inspirational. ALA’s manufacturers have provided such great lifestyle shots, you find yourself wanting to redo parts of your home just based off the images in the magazine.

How do you use the magazine in your showroom?

There are several ways you can use the magazine in your showroom, I personally suggest the following:

• In-store gifts: Everyone that comes into your showroom should receive a copy of the magazine. Make sure you put a label on it that says “compliments of your showroom,” with your phone number, logo and email address.

• Marketing: Take this magazine outside of your showroom. I think many showrooms have enough time to go out and visit a job site or designer in the morning; I call it pitching and catching. Go out early and pitch to a couple people, then be in your showroom from 10 a.m. on so you can catch anyone that comes in. I also think leaving copies of the magazine with your showroom label in places like doctor’s offices (to chase a higher buyer try plastic surgeons) is a great tactic.

• Sales pieces: I’ve always said that if you have a customer who says “I’m just looking” or “I don’t know what I want,” that is the perfect time to ask if they’d like a cup of coffee. Then sit them down with some sticky notes and tell them to tag what they like, not necessarily what they would buy, but what they like. This will quickly give you an idea of the person’s style, and will make your consultation move along more quickly.

What advice do you have for showrooms? Are there other tools and resources ALA provides that you would encourage fellow members to take advantage of?

The one thing you want to do in this industry is be the expert. You don’t just want to be the guy selling lighting, because the customer can get that from the internet. Consumers today need your expertise and they’re willing to come to you for your knowledge. If you don’t know how to educate the customer and get them to understand what you’re selling, you’re only going to confuse them and they are going to go somewhere else to get the education.

Every tool that ALA provides should be used by every showroom. ALA offers everything you need to have a successful showroom. Make time for your associates to complete the webinars and review the online basics. Part of being a member is using the tools. The more you use, the better your business is going to be. I’d also like to add, if your sales staff are not lighting associates, you are doing a disservice to yourself. At minimum everyone in the showroom should be an accredited lighting associate.