Recent Closet & Storage Conference Reveals the Best Way to Close the Deal
- Jeff Klein
- Mar 17
- 2 min read
One of the biggest take-aways from attending the recent CIA (Closet Institute of America) Closet Summit Conference & Vendor Expo, was a special seminar entitled: "Understanding and Selling to Your Indian~Asian~American Clientele"
Conducted at the Closet University (CU) School for Cultural Studies at the Charlotte Summit Conference last October, KJ Singh and Archit Bhise, both with ClosetCRM, conducted their seminar to a packed house. Both were born and raised in India and emigrated to the USA and Canada as teenagers. Both attended MIT.
Among the dozens of key points in this one hour presentation was the Indian culture's perception of 'price vs. value'. As most closet & storage designers are aware, the Indian culture negotiation merry-go-round can be tedious and complicated . . . and that's confirmed by presenters KJ and Arch.
Be Aware
What most designers/salespeople are not aware of is how valuable 'value' is to the decision making process by many in this demographic buying group.
Designers are urged to stress "investment'" in your storage solutions proposal and not refer to the commonly used terms like as price -or- cost -or- budget -or- allowance.
Asians take pride in their homes and are attracted to conveniences that also add valuation to their "investment". Once you realize that rationale, the terms cost and price need to be dropped from your sales pitch.
Stress Value, Not Price
By stressing that the proposed closet and storage system will add value to the property's appraisal equation, while the owner is able to appreciate and utilize it's functionality daily, it can no longer be construed as just a cost.
Among the other gems revealed at this Closet Summit Conference seminar, concerning the Indian Asian American culture, is how these "household" decisions are reached and the value of using the closet industry's reliance on "Universal Design", which is desirable for these multi-generational households. We will, however, save that for another blog.
CIAMO (Closet Institute of America Members Only) members are encouraged to view the entire seminar video from last October's Closet Summit Conference at:
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