30.2K
Downloads
320
Episodes
Step inside the mind of a retail and wholesale veteran who’s spent four decades turning struggling businesses into profit powerhouses. Pete Primeau doesn’t just talk theory – he delivers battle-tested strategies from the trenches of the furniture and mattress industry that translate into explosive growth for ANY business. What You’ll Discover: • Advanced sales psychology and customer conversion techniques refined through $millions in transactions • Marketing strategies that work in today’s hyper-competitive marketplace • Leadership insights from someone who’s built teams, scaled operations, and navigated every economic storm • Vendor relationship mastery that creates sustainable competitive advantages Why This Show Is Different: While Pete’s roots run deep in furniture and mattress retail, his expertise transcends industries. The psychological triggers that sell a $3,000 mattress work just as powerfully for software, consulting, real estate, or any high-consideration purchase. The operational excellence that drives furniture showroom success applies to restaurants, service businesses, and e-commerce ventures alike. Meet Extraordinary Minds: Each episode features game-changing conversations with industry disruptors, serial entrepreneurs, marketing innovators, and business leaders who’ve cracked the code in their respective fields. From tech startup founders to manufacturing moguls, from retail revolutionaries to digital marketing masters – you’ll gain insider access to the strategies driving today’s most successful enterprises. Your Host’s Credentials: Pete Primeau brings unmatched authenticity to every conversation. As author of ”Miles & Miles of Retail Selling Greatness” and ”Sell A Million,” and founder of Primeau Furniture Sales, he’s not just interviewing successful people – he’s one of them. His track record of transforming underperforming sales teams and optimizing vendor partnerships speaks louder than any diploma. Subscribe now and join thousands of ambitious business professionals who refuse to settle for average results. New episodes drop weekly, each packed with immediately actionable insights you can implement before your next customer interaction.
Episodes
Monday Feb 08, 2016
Monday Feb 08, 2016
This audio lesson is a discussion between Doug Stewart and myself about Tuft & Needle’s article “Death of the Salesman” My friend and co-host Doug Stewart lit a fire underneath me about a week ago when he posted an article that Tuft & Needle posted named “Death of the Salesman” in our closed Facebook called the “No BS Sales School For Furniture & Mattress Store Salespeople” It’s only closed to the public. If you sell furniture or mattresses you are most welcome to join our group. It’s a great group of sales professionals who educate, support, and motivate each other. Just Click Here https://www.facebook.com/groups/571859249526559/.
I’ve included the link to the article so you can read it for yourself and make your own judgements about the veracity of the information put forth. Warning before you read Tuft & Needle’s article “Death of the Salesman” take your blood pressure medicine. Click Here to read Tuft & Needle’s work of fiction https://m.tuftandneedle.com/death-of-the-salesman-4b27a5b14b94#.duyg9resh. Can you tell what I think about it? Just click on the player up above to hear the outrage in my voice.
Instead of rehashing the conversation between Doug and me, I will simply let my words speak for themselves. Doug asked some very good questions that we as an industry must answer with actions. If you want to check out Doug, Just Click Here http://doug-stewart.com. If want to check out me Just Click Here peteprimeau.com. Just press play on the player at the top of this post and put your seat belts on! I am in rare form but I meant every word I said. Please share your thoughts with me below.
Thanks!
Pete
Tuesday Feb 02, 2016
Tuesday Feb 02, 2016
Tuesday Jan 26, 2016
Tuesday Jan 26, 2016
Doug and I discuss what we learned from last year. Doug learned the value of preparation at Furniture Today’s Future Leaders Conference. He was impressed by how well organized the event was. Doug and I both learned how to co-host a podcast last year. We learned how to moderate our two closed Facebook groups for the industry which are The No BS Sales School For Furniture & Mattress Salespeople and The No BS Business School For Furniture & Mattress Stores.
Doug points out how forming a sense of community in our closed Facebook groups helped some of our dealers avoid tragic mistakes as well as finding new ways to succeed. I learned the value of an action review for the week when I was struggling to finish my first book. It is a handwritten checklist.
Doug learned not to use his iPhone for scheduling. He now schedules everything by hand. I concur with Doug that all my scheduling is now done by hand. I tried to convert all my scheduling years ago to digital and too many things fell through the cracks. So I went back to a paper planner and I hand write all my scheduling. I also handwrite all my content creation. Doug created a journal in Evernote so he wouldn’t lose ideas.
I learned that I don't have the right to prejudge. I tell the story of how I recently prejudged that a dealer would not buy my mattress line and they bought it despite my best efforts not to sell it. I’ve learned that lesson more than once in my life. Doug tells a great story from his grandfather further illustrating my point.
Tuesday Nov 24, 2015
Tuesday Nov 24, 2015
I interview my co-host Doug Stewart about his talk at Furniture Today’s Future Leader’s Conference. Doug’s talk was three talks in one. He spoke about succession, leadership, and mentorship.
Doug points out the pitfalls of a bad hand-off in a family business. If you will be transitioning a business soon, don’t miss this! He dives deep into several types of bad hand-offs that can all be avoided with awareness. Many owners and soon to be owners share personality traits that help make them successful. Those same traits can make a good hand-off almost impossible unless both parties come to the table armed with understanding and awareness.
I point out the need for all stores to fully develop their unique selling proposition to maximize their stores potential. Doug defines leadership in a new and different way.
He shares a lesson that he learned while taking his daughter Kendall skating. Doug shares his formula for responsibility for the mentoring relationships in your life. He shares the 5.5 mentors that we all should have. Don’t miss this episode. Don’t miss Doug’s metaphor about swinging Kendall at the playground. To continue the conversation with Doug just click here http://furnishingresults.com.
Wishing You Success!
Pete
Wednesday Nov 18, 2015
Wednesday Nov 18, 2015
I interview John Kolencik who owns Matrix Impact about how to hire the next great salesperson. John encourages us to use simulations in our interviews to improve our hiring process.
John’s first recommendation is make the simulation as real as possible. He insists that the interview must be taped. We are trying to determine if this candidate is coachable. Multiple simulations should be used to determine coachability and aptitude.
Here are John’s Top 3 Items to focus on in the interview.
1 Learn what the candidate thinks the most important thing in selling is. The three A answers that John is looking for are:
1 Listening
2 Questioning
3 Building Relationships
2 What is their commitment to customer satisfaction? Is it in sync with yours?
3 Find out about their work ethic. There is no one question for this. There are many layers to the questions and they are peppered throughout the interview. Here are some of the questions:
1 Tell me about high school and what activities were you in?
2 Did you have a job in high school?
3 If they went to college ask them how did you pay for college?
4 What activities were you in college?
5 Can you tell me about your first job?
I talk about my old boss from Serta’s favorite question to ask in an interview. John shares a story about how one of his customers almost hires a professional bass fisherman who was gone eight to ten weeks a year!
I ask John, “How do we get our salespeople off to a good start?” John’s answers are enlightening and at times surprising. Don’t miss this interview! If you have questions for John call him at 216-347-6729 or go to his website at matriximpact.com.
Wishing You Success!
Pete
Tuesday Nov 10, 2015
Tuesday Nov 10, 2015
Doug Stewart Interviews me about my new book “Sell A Million” which despite it’s title is not a sales book but rather it is a marketing book written for furniture and mattress stores but it’s principles and techniques could be applied to any business.
Doug points out that the book is a philosophy book as much as a marketing book that has my philosophy of doing the right thing written into every chapter. There are over 101 tips to help furniture and mattress store owners to sell another million dollars or more this year. Doug asks me why he wrote the book. Doug asks what one thing if a store was only going to do one they should do. As always Doug and I have lots of laughs.
I mentioned Doug, Jeff Giagnocavo, and Simon Aronowitz as people who have had an influence on this book. The best way to order the book “Sell A Million” is to Just Click Here https://www.createspace.com/5979471?ref=1147694&utm_id=6026.
Sell A Million!
Pete
Monday Nov 02, 2015
Monday Nov 02, 2015
Don’t quit! I go back to 1980 to tell you about a time in my life when I decided to quit. What I didn’t know is that I achieved what I sought out to achieve I just didn’t know it yet. This audio lesson will light a fire that won’t easily be put out.
Wishing You Success!
Pete
Monday Aug 31, 2015
Monday Aug 31, 2015
Doug Stewart and I interview communications and social media expert Julia Rosien who is the Brand Engineer for Restonic. She discusses the importance of online reviews not just for the referral value which is enormous but for SEO value as well.
Julia stresses the importance of RSAs using their positive online reviews as a tool to close more sales. She also observes that very few RSAs ask their customers for online reviews. She then helps to understand that not all negative on line reviews are actually all negative. There is massive SEO value to all reviews whether they are positive or negative. If it is negative we should view this as an opportunity to correct the problem and potentially create a raving fan.
Julia shares her secret sauce for handling a negative review into a positive. The first step is to say “Thank You”. The second step is to say “I’m Sorry”. The third and final step is to take it offline. It cannot and must not be solved online. Get on the phone with the customer and solve the problem. One of my dealers volunteered his cell phone online and asked the customer to call him. After he solved the problem he asked the customer to go back online and post online that they were now happy. Julia points out that a customer who comes back online and gives a great review after a complaint can be extremely powerful.
I apologize for my air conditioning kicking on. I can’t edit it out because I recorded it in garageband. The conversation between Doug and Julia was so powerful that I didn’t want you to miss a second of it. She encourages all retailers to follow up with correspondence to the customer within thirty days of purchase to make sure that they are happy by email. Customers that receive this kind of extra attention are much more inclined to give a positive online review.
We all had so much fun and there is quite a bit more to this interview than what I’ve posted here. She also tells us which review sites we should all ignore. Just click on the player above to hear the entire interview. Don’t Miss it! If you want to contact Julia for more great tips and advice you can contact her at Twitter @JuliaRosien. Thanks Juilia for sharing your wisdom with us!
Wishing You Success,
Pete & Doug
Wednesday Aug 26, 2015
Wednesday Aug 26, 2015
Doug Stewart describes customer’s expectations about quality and price. Allowing your customer to leave your store with a low price and a unrealistically high expectation of product performance is sales malpractice. I share an example of selling straight to eliminate unrealistic consumer expectations from my own experience.
Appropriate expectations are the key to creating value and selling responsibly.
Doug shares a story about his Grandfather teaching him how to buy for their furniture store. Selling an item for $2 that you bought for $1 is . Doug was taught by his grandfather that value is selling an item that your customer would be willing to give you $3 for $2.
Never sell anyone anything. Help them to sell themselves. Give customer ownership of their decision. If customer picks an item that is not the right product for them. Doug suggests asking them this question, “Is price more important than quality?” If they say yes then write it up. Asking them that question fulfills your obligation to sell responsibly. If they say no then further educate them about what the product will and won’t do.
Doug asks “What do you call a person who makes a decision for anther person without their consent?” When you decide not to show your best products, furniture protection, and mattress protection to a consumer you are taking away their right to make their own decision. Treat every customer as if they can buy your best products and let them decide for themselves. Plus much more Join us for this podcast!
Wishing You Success!
Pete
Wednesday Jul 29, 2015
Wednesday Jul 29, 2015
I interview the Adjustable Bed Guru Randy Thompson on the secrets to selling adjustable beds. This July Randy sold 29 beds so far this month and it’s early on July 29th. Please excuse the noise from the AC. Randy’s small store in Van Wert, Ohio with a population of 10,774 will ship almost $1,000,000 in sleep systems this year with one full-time salesperson.
Randy describes training two mattress stores in North Carolina that immediately doubled their adjustable bed sales after his Silver Bullet training.
Randy’s first secret is that he spends a lot of time understanding the customer’s problems when it comes to how they sleep. His advice is to be a problem solver for people with sleep problems.
Randy’s selling system is not brand driven it is customer back driven. The secret is finding the mattress that supports their back. Randy has very specific techniques that will help any RSA find the perfect mattress for your customer.
Randy’s Silver Bullet training is available two ways. The first way is Randy will come to you and train you and your staff. The second way is to arrange a time with Randy to visit him at his store. If you can come to Randy he will give you a 50% discount on his training program. Call Randy at 419-238-3399 to learn how to sell adjustable beds if you are small furniture or mattress store. Randy doesn’t train large chains. Call Randy today and start selling more adjustable beds!