Be more then you can be

 

Be more then you can be

As plumbers, electricians, HVAC, appliance repair and other construction service industry tradespeople, we see a multitude of people on a daily basis. Our main goal has always been to satisfy the immediate goal of fixing a problem. This problem is the reason why the customer called in the first place. Stop right here. We have thought of ourselves for to long as just being the specialized repairperson closing our eyes to our real purpose. It is time for a revolution to the changing of the industries attitude.

We now must wear many hats during the day .We are a counselor, friend, psychologist, banker and many more. Sometimes allowing some clients to cry on our shoulder as their world is falling apart.

With today’s economic climate it is essential and necessary that we wear one additional hat, the hat of a salesperson. This hat combines all of the other hats into one precise package. A salesperson will be ethical, show empathy, and provide solutions, honest, trustworthiness. A salesperson will make available the best possible solution to the client. When the opposite occurs, they are not a salesperson but a criminal.

Your job becomes more; you no longer can leave repairing just the one immediate problem. You now must be concerned for your client. Eliminate future service calls that may happen within a short period and limit the number of visits since your last visit. It is our duty to try to eliminate premature failures and inform the customer with important knowledge to prevent the failures from reoccurring.

One day while doing a ride along for the day a technician kept asking

me why I did this. Then he would ask why you said that to the client. I was happy they wanted to learn. What better way to learn then hands on and into the belly of the beast? This day was eye opening for him. Here is what happened during the service call.

We went to a client’s home to repair a lavatory faucet. We did our greeting. We gathered information concerning the customer and the issue at hand. I could not help notice the man walked with a limp. On our way to the bathroom to look at the faucet, we found out why he was limping. He recently had surgery and we discovered who the surgeon that did the knee surgery was. We found out how long ago the surgery happened. During the discovery period we were informed the surgery was a life altering and will affect him for the rest of his life.

While looking at the faucet, saying I can take care of that. I asked about the plunger by the water closet. Our client began speaking of the many times he has had to plunge this water closet since the surgery. His voice informed us clearly that he was fed up and tired. Knowing and understanding the medication was the primary cause of the diet problems creating unusually large amounts of fecal material and understanding the medication will be taken for the rest of his life. This situation will increase the likelihood that more stoppages will happen in the future and the need for the plunger will increase. By asking the right questions we found out several medications that he would have to take for the rest of his life.

This led me to ask; how he felt about his on going difficulties with this particular water closet. You can imagine his responses, all negative on the existing water closet. His tone of voice expressed his displeasure.

Working on the paperwork that will guide our presentation it was natural

for us to price up the faucet repair and ADA comfort height water closet for his master bath and then a standard water closet for the guest bathroom. Both toilets were the same and gave him the same service and that service was horrible. The ownership exchange was never in doubt. The sale instantly enhanced, as we were concerned for the ease of life for the client. I was concerned with making his life more convenient for him. The ease of life did not just stand alone with fewer stoppages, the higher water closet made it easier for him to get up and off it. He was now a proud owner of beautiful new fixtures that will not give him a problem for a long time.

It is time to put your experience and skill to work for you and discover a sensible solution for your client that will make all parties involved more than satisfied. Address their living condition, then concern yourself with helping a person, and doing what is best for your client that is rewarding to all involved. I hope you can see by just fixing the faucet we would have left the client in a losing situation. We would have left the customer with a need and possibly a very embarrassing situation when he entertained guests. With a few simple questions we were able to take care of a serious issue he was facing alone.

When you are more than what you can be, the client’s issues become the focus. Servicing the client’s needs wants and desires will be the goal. You will have developed a long-term relationship with the client. A relationship built with you being more then you could be.

Chapter 5 Steps for Success

 

Chapter 5 Steps for Success

Why do the Inspection?

 

Why do the inspection? This is a very good question. A quick easy answer is why not. However that answer really has no back bone nor does it give you a solid reason to do the inspection. This is a typical answer to a customer from a construction trade service person concerning a problem or issue. You are not buying the answer so why would a customer buy that same answer.

 

We are experts in our profession. We want our customer to know and believe that we are the expert and that is the reason he or she called us in the first place. The customer is hoping we are the expert however they do not know at this time if they have an expert or just a body representing a professional.

 

We can tell or inform a customer with words that we are an expert again these are only words. Of course what we wear is an indicator that we are an expert and as soon as we speak it will be confirmed or the customer will understand they are in deep trouble. The trade’s person can show a card that states they are a master or a journeyman. Then again many people carry cards that represent very little concerning qualifications.

 

Everything circles back to past experiences that the customer has had in their life. They have heard from other people or they have seen and experienced it themselves. The trade’s person must be able to show the customer they are an expert not only in their profession but with the clients home or business. How can you be an expert in the customer’s home about their home when you are not familiar with the products in the home? A customer may call and tell you they do not have hot water and you ask them to check the breaker. They say I have gas you dumb ass. You were here, how did you not now I had gas. Do I have the right company to help me? YOU did not pay attention.

 

The biggest and best reason is you become familiar with the home and how it operates. You know the stress the products are placed under and how abused or used they are at this time. Filling out an inspection form allows your company to stay on top of the kind of products a home owner has in their home. It can be placed under the name in the computer data base.

 

Hi Bob, glad you called. May I help you? Well my faucet is leaking. Bob which faucet is leaking? The sink in the master bathroom. Bob is that still a Delta faucet? Well I do not know I have not changed it though. I’ll make sure Don has Delta faucet repair parts on his truck for you. Bob is now impressed that you remembered him and he is feeling ultra-important. What a great way to start the service call out.

 

So we have just named two more reasons to do the inspection. It helps the client be remembered and get a good feeling before you arrive and then it also informs your service guys what products are in the customer’s home. He or she can stop prior to arriving on the job for parts or make sure the parts are on the truck. It also confirms that the customer has not replaced the faucet and informs you to make sure you have faucets on your truck.  At the very least you will receive the repair and possibly upsell the job to 2 new master bath faucets.

 

By asking and receiving the inspection it automatically gives you permission to speak to the home owner concerning preventive measures in the home. As we discussed in prior chapters the vast majority of home owners will point out to you the defective products in their home. As you are walking from product to product they will say by the way in this other room I have always had to do this and I have meant to talk to you about it in the past.

 

Discussing preventive measures will help you start a discussion concerning budgeting for future repairs or replacements. Being the expert that you are you will know the life expectancy of certain products. In the plumbing profession a typical ½ horse power disposal has 5-6 life expectancy. You discover the customer is in year 4; you can set the budget and allow the home owner to be proactive. The customer can start setting money aside now to replace it in 1-2 years or save money to replace it now.  By being proactive the home owner may change it in 3 months. They can still be reactive and wait for it to fail however you have given them the information and now it becomes an expected failure.

 

There have been many times I have informed a customer that a product will fail within 12 months and it does fail. The customer calls and schedules an appointment and informs me they wished they would have listened. This builds to more credibility and increases trust over time. You must be extremely honest and only speak concerning  products that will fail in 12 months. And you are proving you are the expert by showing the customer your knowledge and experience.

 

The inspection will allow you the service trade technician the ability to discover more information about the customer. How they live, how they treat their products, their pride, their tastes in different products. It will also produce a natural conversation time. You get to receive information about the customers past, present and future that can be entered into the company data. How cool is it to send a card to celebrate a birthday, vacation, or wedding anniversary? How important would it be to the customer to send them a card or flowers if they were to have surgery in a few months? The customer is important enough for you to remember to send a card, book of interest, or a trinket that he or she may just love and admire.

 

I was in a home looking at a water closet. This bathroom was a ½ bath which means a lavatory and a sink. I was ready to give the home owner a price on the new water closet and stopped myself. I did the inspection and discovered in 2 of the 3 bathrooms they have already replaced the water closets. They replaced the water closets with a nice upgrade water closet that was double or more the price than the water closet I was prepared to give them. The key is I was going to give them a price on what I wanted to give and now a price on a product they already liked and would like again was prepared. We all have been in many homes that had multiple manufacturers’ products in the home. Typically when a home is built similar products are purchased from one manufacturer. They may have 7 faucets in the home however all 7 are Moen. To see 5 different faucets made by 5 different manufacturers informs us no one has cared or paid attention to details and they are not an expert.

 

Imagine for a few seconds that you did an inspection, you took the time to explain preventive maintenance to the customer and she decides to take care of 4 other items in the home for an additional 300-500 dollars?  Would this help the customer out by taking care of it today or doing each job separately in the future? Would the additional revenue help your company today?

 

The inspection will inform you how many different service representatives they have had in their home. This also informs you they have been disappointed several times or they have not liked what they have received. It is a perfect opportunity to discover how many others have been here before and what they did. Then ask what would you like done today differently.

 

Do you need or require more reasons to start providing a free home inspection with every customer? If you do I suggest that you take a deep hard look at why you are in business and decide to work for someone else. It is time today to make your customers first and commit to help guide the customer to fantastic decision with ownership. Show them that you are a true expert in every phase of the service industry from product knowledge, trade skill, and increase your ability to communicate with rock solid conversations’ understanding your customers wants needs, and desires.

 

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