Soak it Up: Selling Sponges

Sponges are often overlooked by retailers and customers, yet these products are crucial to the success of projects both DIYers and contractors are tackling. Discover sponge products and best practices to add to your operation to capitalize on this revenue stream. 

Lullingworth^® is a small family-owned business that offers both synthetic and natural sponges. Their Natural Sea Wool Art Sponge is unbleached, durable, reusable, economical and has consistent texture, making it perfect for decorating and artistic effects including faux finishes, marbleizing, texturing, sponge painting, staining, stippling and more. Their Premium Synthetic Art Crafts Sponges are high density and include a hydrophiliated design which enhances the circulation of water and results in sponges with tremendous water-holding capacity.

Heirloom Traditions’ True Applicator Sponge has a unique built-in handle, making it ideal for streak-free applications. It can be used for stippling after applying paint to achieve a brush stroke-free, sprayed-on-looking, professional finish.

While stocking the right products is half of the battle, sponges are often an afterthought; utilize these best practices to increase your sales in this category.

Listen. Understand the customer’s project. Even if they’ve done the project before, you may have new information that can help them.

Make a list. Review the customer’s list to make sure they didn’t forget anything. If they don’t have a list, help them make one.

Anticipate needs. Think about all phases of the project, from preparation to cleanup. Suggest products they may not have considered yet.

Focus on savings. Remind customers they are saving money by doing a project themselves, which might justify the purchase of a more expensive product.