Yes you have to spend a bit of time in the shops chatting to the staff.
Its the same as me. When I am in there putting in stands for diamond drills you have to spend a bit of time chewing the fat. Staff are able to offer discount and it seems if they like you then they also can be more generous.
Another thing I find is that staff will actually recommend you to tile buying customers if they think you are good. However none of this is short term. It takes a lot of time. One of the things you can do is actually BRING your customers / clients to the showroom and introduce them to the sales people in the hope of getting them some sales.
It all works two ways. If you show the staff that you can help them sell more and reach thier targets by briging them clients then they will reward with discounts, free addy, etc etc. I have been into tile shops for over 5 years now and what I can say is that it all takes time.
On a bit of a downer one thing the tile shops DONT like is if you flit in with buisness cards and ask them to hand them out or if you "pop in" to see if they have any work. Take it easy. Take your clients to the shops and get a few tile sales under your belt.
What does a tile shop salesman want to hear?
a) My name is X and I am the tiler for Mr & Mrs Y. They havent chosen tiles yet so I am bringing them to you to see if you have something.
b) My name is X and I am a tiler. Do you have any work for me? Can I leave my cards here? What discount do I get here?
a) is the way you will get the BIGGEST discounts and loyalty. If you dont put the time in then you will either get standard discount or you will have to divorce yourself from the materials buying aspect and just quote a day rate to fit tiles. In other words the client has to buy their own tiles and haggle their own discounts. You just come along and fix them on a day rate.
