WHAT OPPORTUNITIES ARE AVAILABLE
To Franchisees & Members
Whether you are a franchisee of Big Bob’s Flooring Outlet or a Floor to Ceiling member, the opportunities available to you are equally exciting!
Conventions
Floors & More hosts an exceptional convention each year. Your attendance is included! We will give you a venue to learn, to socialize and to enjoy yourself. You will dine on us at our catered events. All meals from breakfast, to lunch, to dinner (and snacks in between) are on us. We always kick off our event with a cocktail reception! You will network with other independent retailers and our vendors. Round table discussions will give you the chance to leverage best practices from your contemporaries, while working through common challenges. Exhibit halls will allow you to see new product introductions, program opportunities and explore opportunities with our vendor partners. You will get be thrilled at our memorable evening events: special entertainment activities you would not be able to do on your own. We have had front row seats to David Copperfield, and the chance to meet with this world class magician after the show. We have competed head to head on the set of a game show, going head to head in popular games you’ve seen on TV. We have raced Ferraris, Lamborghinis, Porsches and McLarens in the desert. We have taken a booze cruise on a yacht down the Mississippi while solving a murder mystery. Wait until you see what we have planned next!
Education
You will have access to our extensive education portals, which host nearly 400 training modules. Leveraging our partnership with the World Floor Covering Association we bring to you and your staff free access to their Knowledge University. Covering everything from product knowledge, to sales training, to merchandising, this unbiased educational portal was built by those in industry to help teach anyone how to be a successful part of the flooring industry. Updated annually, it features a combination of written, video and interactive content.
For kitchen and bath cabinetry, industry leader MasterBrand has allowed us to share their training videos and webinars with your teams. A comprehensive collection covering measuring, designing, cleaning and more these videos will help equally someone experience or new to cabinetry
For Window Treatments, our partners at Graber have helped us to provide an extensive library of written and video lessons. This content is great to refine your skills or to introduce you to the category for those interested in expanding their offering.
Finally, we have worked with Synchrony Financial to bring their guides to leveraging financing. From how to get set up, to how to promote it, to how to sell it, these lessons help you to leverage consumer financing for more sales and higher average tickets.
Between these four core partners we have created a diverse and in depth education destination to help you and your staff learn everything you need to be successful in these key areas.
Consultation
Our CEO and founder, Vinnie Virga Sr. is also personally available to provide your business with a consultation. Having visited and worked with over 1000 different independent retailers through out his long running career in the flooring industry; He has firsthand experience seeing what works well and doesn't. Consultations, Offered both virtually and in person, Vinnie Sr. will dive into your businesses details to assist you in improving your business. Common questions that we have consulted on include:
- How can I grow my volume?
- Is my profitability any good? How do I increase my gross profit margin?
- How good is my location? How do I buy my location?
- What structure works best for liability?
- How do we structure the business for my children or another key person to take over?
- How do we improve operations?
- What is the fair value for our business?
From noon to noon when in person, this 24 hour consultation is included in your membership. We only ask you schedule 30 days or more in advance, and cover the cost of travel for us to come to you. Those who have taken advantage of our consultations have seen significant improvements to their business following our consultations.
How does floors & More Support it's
Franchisees & Members?
Constant communication! All members will receive a call from our corporate team, at least once each month. We check in with you to see how business is doing this month, how our programs you are using are working for you, and will take time to update you on any upcoming opportunities. We also love to see how your spouse, parents and kids are doing. We think of our franchisee and members as extended family. When the COVID-19 pandemic was at its worst in 2020, we called to check in on every one of franchisees and members WEEKLY from the start of April through the end of May.
Beyond conversation, we also keep in touch of our members through email regularly. Published and released the first Monday of each month, our Monthly Newsletter encompasses everything relevant to the program upon its release. This includes new merchandising opportunities, new marketing initiatives, convention details, new additions to our network, tips & tricks, vendor specials and more. Each newsletter also features two special segments: Member Moments and V Squared. Each month’s member moment features a different franchisee or member, in a short 5-10 minute best practices discussion where they share the secret to their success in a particular aspect of their business. V Squared featured our CEO and Vice President, Vinnie Virga Sr and Vinnie Virga Jr respectively, exploring a popular topic based on member conversations they have had in the month leading up to the release. These 30-45 minute discourses provide two perspective of how to approach common challenges faced by independent retailers.
Floors & More also hosts a monthly webinar featuring a corporate team member or one of our aligned vendors. Our corporate webinars tend to discuss tips, tricks, and program opportunities to highlight how to best leverage being a part of our program. Our vendor webinars emphasize their products, how they differentiate from other vendors, and what they can do to help you make more money. All of our webinars are recorded and can be watched the day after in our online member portal. A select group of owners are also invited to our bimonthly advisory council conferences. With franchisees of Big Bob’s Flooring and Floor to Ceiling members each holding seats, our council deliberates and guides corporate directives across all aspects of our program. Our franchisees and members have an active voice in deciding how we better support their businesses and continue to improve our program.
We work for you
We also love to support our franchisees and members with whatever projects they are working on individually! From helping with hiring, to customized business cards, to setting commission structures, to designer flyers, to whatever you ask for next. Our team is an extension of yours. With our CEO and Vice President having experience running retail flooring stores, we understand the challenges of independent business owners. Both are available for consultation, and to share their experiences with you. Our team also includes an on staff graphic designer, who can create whatever physical or digital graphic you need. We have access to a videographer, who helps us to create customized videos for promotions for our franchisees and members. We an administrative assistant, who can help you connect with vendors and get setup with any program opportunities. We have a business coach, who will work with you on reaching your personal best. We have a finance director who can help you with your operations and book keeping. Unlike many programs, our staff works for you! We can do the things you do not have time to do.
WHERE CAN I ACCESS ALL OF MY
Group Opportunities?
All of the opportunities available to you can be found in our online member portal: INFLO. This comprehensive website has everything you need to take full advantage of your membership, acting a s a reference guide to all aspects of our program. Our site features individual sections dedicated to Marketing, Merchandising, Networking, and Rebates. Our member portal is constantly evolving as we expand and update our program to always showcase our latest benefits.
WE LET OUR OWNERS SPEAK FOR THEMSELVES
WE ALSO LET THEM SPEAK FOR US
"Vinnie’s visit with us here in Anchorage, Alaska last November was very fruitful. Just by being present in our store for a day, he was able to identify and help with some of the issues that we were facing. For example, Vinnie called DalTile and strengthened our Pre-paid and Add shipping program so that we can better cost our freight and thereby be more comfortable buying from DalTile. He talked to Patrick Ferries from Textile Management Systems aka Rollmaster so that we can have improved efficiency with our Proposal and Order processes. Moreover, Vinnie gave sound advice regarding a potential partnership with a local distributor. He also gave recommendations on sources of LVP and solid hardwood. He accomplished all these, and that’s not bad for a day’s work"
Pat Bell, Owner
Big Bob’s Alaska
"When I reached out to Vinnie and requested a business consultation one on one it was the best thing I could have done. Vinnie Sr. travelled here to Lubbock, TX with one goal in mind. That goal was to help not only the business with many things but he also worked with my staff. There are so many things to list that I’m simply going to say, “If you have not taken advantage of the Floors and More Business Consultation you need to act NOW”.The tools and information Vinnie Sr. has to offer will really help your business. After Vinnie’s visit we made quite a few changes, good changes I may add, that boosted our profit margins and even uplifted my staff morale. We now had some goals to reach and without Vinnie Sr. guiding us in the right direction we would have been stuck doing the same old thing. I want to thank the Floors and More Team and Vinnie Virga Sr. for offering the Business Consultation to all members! We could not be more successful and continue to grow like we are without the Floors and More Team and the Business Consultation. I will be requesting a Business Consultation each and every year. I recommend you do the same thing Today!"
