Pull Your Head Out of the Plant

Pull Your Head Out of the Plant Growth Isn’t in Production. It’s in Your Top 20%. Or

Pull Your Head Out of the Plant Growth Isn’t in Production. It’s in Your Top 20% of Dealers.

Two people are walking through the desert when they see something shimmering ahead.

“Water,” says the first guy, already smiling.

“Road,” says the second. “Heat shimmer.”

They keep walking. The first guy speeds up. He’s confident. He’s been here before. He reaches the surface, bends down, touches it.

Hot. Hard. Asphalt.

He stands up, brushes off his hands, turns around, and says:

“See? Water.”

That’s denial.

And right now, parts of the cabinet manufacturing world are standing on asphalt and calling it a lake.

Manufacturers are doing what they always do when markets are tightening. They look inward. Throughput. Plant utilization. SKU rationalization. Freight efficiency. Staffing levels. internal improvements everywhere.

All necessary.

None of it creates growth.

Meanwhile, the KCMA January numbers landed like a folding chair to the ribs. Ouch!

Sales down 11.7%

Units down 16.3%

The difference. Price increases and less lower end for new construction. But look at that unit count. Holy smokes Bambi!! Run for the hills!

So where should manufacturers look? (I am roughing the numbers for clarity)

There are three primary channels:

Dealers: ~60% Builder direct: ~20% Home centers: ~20%

Start with builders. Tough sledding near term. And with the 10-year Treasury now hovering around 4.4%, mortgage rates aren’t likely to rescue anyone this year. New construction is going to be constricted before it expands. Betting growth there, is like installing dial up to scale your business. Go AOL! Hhhhmmm

Home centers? Expensive shelf space. slow resets. thin differentiation. long payoff cycles. The cheddar isn’t hiding here.

That leaves the biggest channel sitting right in front of everyone:

Dealers.

To be clear, manufacturers should absolutely continue recruiting new dealers. Fresh relationships matter. Coverage matters. Visibility matters.

But recruitment is slow growth.

Dealer productivity is fast growth.

Roughly 20% of dealers generate 80% of manufacturer volume.

If you’re a $180 million manufacturer working with 600 dealers, about 120 of them are carrying the load. Those dealers already:

sold your product show your displays train their designers sell it to the trades tell your story know your service teams and processes

They are not just customers.

They are infrastructure.

Instead of asking:

“How do we add 50 dealers this year?”

Ask:

“How do we help our top 120 dealers grow 10%?”

If those dealers control $144 million of your $180 million business, a 10% lift produces $14.4 million in growth without recruiting a single new account. Push closer to 15% and that becomes $21.6 million.

Same dealers. Same footprint. Different support strategy.

Now here’s where things get interesting.

Manufacturers already have a field force whose job is to support those dealers.

Reps.

Ask almost any rep what they’re trained to do and the list looks familiar:

handle problems check orders explain programs introduce new products support displays train on the products

All important.

Almost none have been instructed on how to help dealers grow.

Dealers don’t call reps and ask:

“How do I increase my remodeler business?”

Because they already know the answer they’re going to get.

Years ago, I asked a rep that exact question.

“How would you help a dealer grow their remodeler channel?”

His answer?

“Drop prices and give them rebates.”

Somewhere, there must be a committee still meeting about that strategy.

Price cuts aren’t growth strategy. They’re margin erosion with a motivational speech.

Meanwhile, the real opportunity is sitting untouched.

Recently, I spoke with one of the largest cabinet manufacturers in the country about loading their digital spec books and price books into an AI environment so dealers could

instantly check rules, verify details, and get answers faster. Information already distributed everywhere. Information dealers already depend on daily.

The answer was nada. No explanation. No reason. Just no. “The f-ing kiss of death.”

At the same time, many rep networks supporting those dealers haven’t been exposed to practical AI workflows at all. No training. No playbooks. No guidance on how to help dealers design faster, quote faster, or sell more confidently.

So the very people expected to create growth are still carrying binders and door samples.

Imagine a different approach.

Help top dealers quote faster. Design more accurately. reduce mistakes. Huge time waste. shorten sales cycles. attract stronger designers. increase referral ratios.

Do that, and something interesting happens.

Designers migrate toward those dealers. Builders consolidate around those dealers. Showroom space shifts toward your line.

Market share moves sideways before it moves forward.

Manufacturers often assume growth comes from plant strength.

In a slow market, channel strength beats plant strength every time.

Efficiency protects margins.

Dealer capability creates growth. They are the Golden Ring.

Right now, too many companies are standing on asphalt insisting they’ve found water.

The smarter move?

Help your top dealers improve and let the market come to you.

Manufactures- if you believe in collaboration, integration, and kicking ass… please give me a call! thad 571.399.8993

Checkout KABS your Kitchen and Bath software: https://calendly.com/kabs-demo/kabs-demo-1