BEACON WINDOWS is the Window & Door Dealers Alliance's (WDDA) SpotLight Member of the Month for March 2012

What an honor to be chosen as the 3^rd  WDDA Member of the Year!  Relatively new to the industry, Beacon Windows started in the midst of one of the most challenging economies many of us have experienced in our lifetime.  As a new business I was thrilled to find out about the WDDA.

To me, the WDDA represented solidarity of purpose, a voice in a crowd that could speak for us as dealers. 

Thank you WDDA for being there for all of us and I look forward to growing with your membership!

Owner Lizette LaForge

Beacon Windows History: My history in the window industry began 8 years ago as a sales rep for others.  5 years ago I became sales rep/project manager for another company and singlehandedly completed over 1.5 million in sales/project management within an 18 month period of time. Armed with that experience, I took my own license and in 2009 Beacon Windows was born!

Things were a little challenging at first, but throughout the learning curve of putting together a business from scratch came some amazing life lessons.  Here’s one idea I’d like to share with other window and door dealers. Consider doing some repair work alongside your installation work.  We live in a beach community area with a LOT of high rise condos and hotels. Because of this, we have a lot of older sliding glass doors that have aggressive corrosion issues.  Due to the economy, most people are not seriously considering replacing with high impact sliders.

One day one of my commercial door buddies suggested to me that we consider repairing sliding glass doors.  I thought he was crazy until he told me how much he made in a morning all by himself.  So, with a little effort we learned the repair business.  We launched this division just over a year ago.  You could say “Business is on a ROLL!”  No matter what troubles our clients might have, we get them “back on track” and we certainly can “get a handle on it!”

The funny thing was that using the same diligence and excellence in our slider repair business that we require in the window and door installation side has had an unexpected blessing.  We have been covered up with calls for window installation.  We aren’t even advertising for this, but the word of mouth has been tremendous.  They meet us for the slider repair, learn about our window side, and the calls just come in.  Because we have established ourselves with excellence on the initial call, we have a very high probability of being the ONLY one they ask for a quote.

Another great way to establish a strong connection with the clients is to become a center of influence for them.  Personally, I LOVE connecting people to their dream referrals.  Active in several networking groups locally, I make it a point to mention this to each and every client we have.  We help them find solutions to other things they need and we do this selflessly.  This creates a sense of loyalty with our clients and many of them become friends that we keep in touch with for years.  In addition, if they have a business, I try to connect them to ways that will make them money.  One of my favorite games to play is to see if I can “make” them more money through connections I assist them with than it cost for our services.

As you can see, connecting is in my blood.  With that have come some absolutely amazing stories from clients I have met.  One just recently involved a slider repair client that has a fantastic building system.  You may be familiar with SIPs systems, but this particular company makes one that is not only highly insulated, light weight, easy to install, fire and mildew resistant, but also HURRICANE and Earthquake resistant. This was pretty awesome news for a Florida gal who needs an impact product to sell.  This one has Miami/Dade certification. What a find! All because of a little fishing on the initial call to see what connections he needed.  I have already connected him to some great developers and builders and look forward to connecting him to many others.  Keep in mind that many of these connections become additional sources of income for our company.

So let me ask YOU… what is your dream referral and how can I help YOU find it?  Let me know what you need and you never know… I might just bring it on.  I am connected to many businesses throughout the US and also have one tremendous connection that does international sourcing.  Close your eyes, turn around 3 times and point, and I can get that item made for you in volume.  If you can get me a sample, I can get you a quote.

To me, the WDDA represents a group with a common interest that seeks to help one another.  It’s up to us to pool our resources to the greater good of our industry. If there is ever anything I can do for you, please don’t hesitate to call me directly at 727-641-8106, visit us online at www.SliderRepair.com or www.Beacon-Windows.com, as it would be my pleasure to assist you!