For many flooring dealers, tile is a scary proposition. It takes know-how and investment to sell successfully and even then the category is not an easy one. However, for those who embrace tile as the high-end, high-margin sale it can be, success is within reach.
To that end, we tapped flooring dealers to tell us their best strategies for being successful with the industry’s most design-forward and aspirational category.
Deby Winter: Carpet Tile & Warehouse — Vero Beach, Fla.
1. How can other retailers be successful with tile?
To be successful in the tile category, you must know everything about it. How it’s made. How it will be used once installed. Jobsite conditions. TCNA standards and methods of installation. It’s easy to fail miserably in this category if you do not understand it. A client recently stopped by to shop for tile. She said she was referred to me because ‘I speak fluent tile.’ We are located in a coastal community in Florida. If you don’t speak tile, you’re going to miss out on a minimum of 50% of store sales. Tile will outperform every other flooring option when heat, humidity, tropical storms and hurricanes come into play.
2. What is the importance of installation to this category?
Proper installation is the key to success regardless of the type of flooring being installed. However, it requires a higher skill level than any other category. Host supplier training for your installers. Most suppliers will gladly offer on-site training free of cost. Encourage your installers to become Certified Tile Installers through the Ceramic Tile Education Foundation (CTEF). Better yet, volunteer to become a host site for CTI Testing. Once my husband passed his CTI, we began hosting tests. Most recently, we hosted the tile industry’s first All Women Certified Tile Installer Test on International Women’s Day.
Tonya Kyzer: 360 Floors and More — West Columbia, S.C.
1. What do you think are your most important strategies to being successful with tile?
Being able to build good relationships with builders, contractors and tile sales reps—and maintaining a quality-over-quantity attitude with my tile setters. I am a woman-owned (family) small business in this industry. I maintain the highest standards for my employees and their quality of work. We are not a large, corporate-run or owned business, but we have grown this business over 300% since we started in 2018, and we are continuing to grow every year.
2. How do you handle installation?
We used to employ several tile installers, but we have reduced that number to only maintain the highest-quality tile installers. Installation practices are one of the most important aspects in the tile industry.
Chris Rogers: Wallys Carpet and Tile — three locations in California
1. What do you think are your most important strategies to being successful with tile?
Tile is one of the best products to showcase visually—great photos go a long way in catching attention for advertising and social media. We like to have a strong selection of samples on hand, but not so many that it becomes overwhelming. The key is curating what we believe are the hottest trends and constantly refreshing the showroom to reflect that. Plus, tile isn’t just flooring—it opens up a whole new world of decorating opportunities, from backsplashes to walls to showers. That creative freedom makes it a fun and dynamic category to work with.
2. How do you find and keep your installers?
Installation is everything when it comes to tile. You can have the nicest material in the world, but if it’s not installed right, it’s not going to look or perform the way it should. For us, keeping great installers is simple: treat them with respect, pay them well and on time, keep them busy and make their jobs easier wherever we can. The more we support them, the more time they have to do excellent work. I’m a former installer myself, so I personally vet every tile installer before they work with us.
3. How do you differentiate yourself from others who sell tile in the area?
We approach tile the same way we do with all flooring—through top-notch customer service and making the process as easy as possible for the customer. We really focus on guiding people through the design process, which can be tough for a lot of folks. Most customers want help making the right choices, and we’re here to walk them through it step by step, not just sell them product.
4. How does tile help grow the business?
Tile naturally opens the door to grow your business. When people think tile, they think flooring—and the two go hand in hand. It gives you a chance to offer more than just floors, and that versatility adds a whole new layer to what we can do for our customers.
