Distributor FAQ. What to Know Before You Stock Permanent Lighting

These answers are kept short on purpose. Each one states how the program works today. If you are new to the category itself, start with permanent lighting for building supply distributors and come back here.

How does the channel work?

BNLT makes the product and sells it only through distribution. There is no direct sale to contractors and no direct sale to homeowners. Distributors stock the line. Contractors order through a stocking distributor.

The channel is nationwide. Florida is where the line was proven, and distributors across the country can stock it. One exception applies to marketing. The pool enclosure and lanai system is marketed in Florida, Alabama and the Southeast. The other systems are national.

When a contractor comes to BNLT first, the contractor fills out a form and BNLT connects that contractor with a stocking distributor. The order still goes through the branch.

Who is the end installer?

An independent contractor. BNLT does not install. The people putting this product on houses are the same trades that already buy from supply branches, such as roofers, gutter contractors, screen enclosure builders, landscapers, electricians and Christmas light installers.

There is no buy-in for a contractor to get started. An independent contractor can buy anything in the line through BNLT distributors. For your counter that means any qualified account can become a lighting account.

Contractors may also name Brighter Nights Lighting Technologies as the manufacturer and publish BNLT product specifications on their own websites. That helps the contractors you supply market the work they do with product from your shelf.

How do contractors get trained?

Through the Masters of Lighting Academy. The Academy is the umbrella for BNLT training and tools. Inside it, the course for contractors is the Contractor Mastery Series. The Academy also holds the calculators and tools a contractor uses to plan a job and the Light Genie assistant.

Your part is simple. When a contractor at the counter asks how to get started, point them to the Academy and to the installer program page. Encourage every new lighting contractor to train before the first job.

How do homeowner leads flow?

A homeowner fills out one form on the BNLT site. BNLT matches that homeowner with a certified installer and an estimate. The installer sells and installs the job, and buys the product through a stocking distributor.

So the homeowner lead goes to an installer, and that installer buys the product through a stocking distributor. The branch does not have to quote homeowners or run installs. If a homeowner walks up to your counter and asks about lighting, the right move is to send them to the design request form, or to introduce them to a lighting contractor you already supply.

What sales support does the manufacturer give?

Here is what is in place and what is not, so you can plan with clear expectations.

The practical takeaway is that the branch owns the counter relationship. Guides such as training counter staff on permanent lighting and hosting a contractor demo night are written to help your team do that part well.

What is the lead time?

Lead time depends on which order you mean.

• Contractor orders. A contractor orders through a stocking distributor, out of the stock that distributor carries.
• Distributor orders. Lead time on an order from the distributor to BNLT varies by payment method. Prepaid orders move fastest. Ask about the current lead time when you place the order.

Contractors sell a job and then need the material, so the stock has to be on your shelf before they sell it. The branch that reorders early is the one that has product on the shelf when its contractors need it.

What is in the line, and how is it covered?

BNLT manufactures systems for the roofline, the soffit, wall sconces, the landscape, decks and docks, and pool enclosures and lanais. You can see each one on the lighting systems page. Control is Bluetooth mesh, so a system runs without Wi-Fi. An optional Wi-Fi Gateway adds remote access. The homeowner runs everything from the app.

Warranty is stated by component, because the terms differ by part.

• Lighting strand and track. 10 years.
• Bulbs. 3 years.
• Controllers, including the Wi-Fi Gateway. 3 years.
• An optional upgrade to 5 years is available on the 3 year items.
• Registration is required within 60 days.

Counter staff should be able to tell a contractor about the 60 day registration window, since the contractor is the one who reminds the homeowner. Full terms are on the warranty page.