Do you know the difference between selling and marketing? Selling is used for a specific occasion when you want to convince customers that your business is the place for one-stop shopping, that you'll do a great job of meeting customers' expectations and provide a quality product. Marketing is an ongoing process that may result in a sale when the same customer seeks out your business because she's heard about you and wants to know more. After the customers have found you is when you have some selling to do.

No matter what the style, the key trend in bath products today seems to be "the more luxurious, the better." Consumers looking to redesign a single bath, or remodeling their homes to include more, bigger and better baths, want the materials and finishes to be posh, make an impact and offer supreme functionality.

Almost every business preaches the benefits of customer service. Many talk the talk. But how many have the explicit mindset and systems in place to actually walk the walk? If we truly believed in every trite marketing expression -- from "Quality is Job One" to "Have it Your Way" -- we would never have recessions!

The 36th annual NeoCon World's Trade Fair took place at the Chicago Merchandise Mart in mid June. The event is North America's largest conference and exhibition for interior designers and facility managers. The event showcases state-of-the-art concepts for office, healthcare, hospitality, residential, institutional, and government environments under a single roof. More than 1,200 new products were introduced to the marketplace this year.

Installing working displays that include all the "extras" represent an effective way to draw potential clients into your showroom. The magnetism of working models that are also priced and packaged creates practically unlimited sales potential with the consumer.

In my last column, I discussed distinguishing characteristics of a well-planned showroom. Let's say you used these elements to build your showroom and it turned out beautifully. But now it's 12 to 18 months later and things have changed. Some of your displays contain discontinued product. Some surfaces are starting to show wear and look shabby. Some of the overall design elements have reached the end of their life cycle and do not look as fresh as they once did.

As regular readers of this column probably realize by now, my passion is designing showrooms. It should be your passion also, because your showroom is your key to sales and profits! To create a professional look, you must plan and maintain an effective, efficient showroom.

Every once in awhile, we all seem to hit a brick wall. No matter how hard we try, we just can't seem to close the sale. Before panic sets in, think about -- even list -- the customer objections that prevented the sale.

It's the beginning of the New Year -- time to make some resolutions! I'd like to suggest one that could potentially make a big difference to your floor covering endeavors. Specifically, I advocate that you look at your business with new eyes.

Lighting is a vital tool in the showroom. After all, you want your customers to be able to see your products in their best light so that they can make a wise and satisfying buying decision. But with more than 3,500 electric light sources to choose from, lamp selection can be quite a challenge.