Top-notch salespeople make Ultra Design Center thrive, says lighting exec
An ARTS Award winner in lighting, the Denver-business invests in its sales team as a customer-centric move.
DENVER — Family-owned Ultra Design Center has been in business for more than 20 years, but its lighting division is relatively new. It entered the category in 2019 and approached the business as a blank slate that could be presented in a compelling way with dedicated and committed salespeople, said managing partner Kevin Castelo.
That led them to do something different, and is probably one of the reasons why Ultra Design Center was a lighting showroom winner at the ARTS Awards in January.
Ultra Design Center started out as a door and cabinet hardware company, and later expanded into plumbing, bath furniture and home accessories. It serves mostly builders and designers, but is also very engaged with homeowners, Castelo told Home Accents Today. Castelo, who is not a family member and said he joined the business as an “outsider,” figured, “Why not sell to homeowners?” It could match whatever they saw online but beat its e-commerce competition through top-notch service and a great showroom experience.
The key was how to organize the sales team, Castelo said.
“For years, we criticized Ferguson and its model as jack-of-all-trades salespeople. As experts in our verticals, I can tell you that plumbing, hardware and lighting are complicated. The fundamental decision in adding a third category [was] having a separate sales team. You don’t want to force hardware and plumbing people to learn lighting.”
“That is really customer-centric,” he said.
It leans on its strong reputation to attract the best salespeople. “You need to have the best showroom, compensation and benefits. We want to be the place where the best salespeople monetize their skills the best,” Castelo said. Lesa Martin, who accepted the ARTS award on stage with Castelo in Dallas, is lighting project manager.
It takes time to train salespeople and help them understand the business. For example, it holds a “shadow day” so that people can get a sense of the Ultra Design Center culture before joining. You are never going to have 100% retention, Castelo acknowledged. “The most important thing is that the right people stay.”
“We are proud of our team of professionals, and their hard work for making Ultra Design Center a showroom worthy of such an award,” Martin told Home Accents Today after receiving the award.
It worked with a showroom designer to create custom furniture for the lighting showroom — and although it carries brands such as Allegri, Allora, Kuzco, Eurofase, Currey & Co., David Trubridge, Elk, Hinkley and Visual Comfort, among many more — it has very few branded spaces, choosing instead to organize the lighting showroom primarily by function and style.
“That makes the showroom a better selling tool for the salespeople,” Castelo said.
Its Denver store is part of a collection of businesses that sell to the residential construction industry, and its prototypical customer comes in with a set of drawings and a budget. It is a compelling destination in the area that jointly drives traffic, Castelo said.
Having that many construction-related showrooms around it presents an opportunity to showcase Ultra’s lighting pieces in adjacent businesses. The elevator lobbies have massive installations, Castelo said, and the stairwell has an amazing custom fixture.
2025 outlook
Looking ahead, Castelo said, “I see a bifurcation in our economy. A lot of people are struggling to get into housing. The catchup gap has gotten bigger. Mortgage rates make it tough.
“For Ultra, the bigger dynamic is the high-end customer who own[ed] assets over the last 10 years. [That demographic] is impacted by the stock market more than interest rates. We are fortunate to work with people who are taking that wealth and putting that into housing. We are a little more insulated.”
See also:
Award winner Magnolia Lighting plans to ‘stay the course’ in 2025
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