Do you Allow your Customer to Profit from your Dreams?

Do not let the past hold you back from your Future

Do you Allow your Customers to Profit from your Dreams?

Why do customers act and react in an unusual or unique way to your proposal and solutions. What turns them off and tunes them out? How can you best understand customer behaviors; expectations, and standards? How you can affect and often times alter the customer’s behavior during the service call. The first thing that is essential is to take responsibility and ownership of the service call. Stop playing the blame game. When you play the blame game nobody wins. This means it is time to stop blaming your customer for your lousy sales skill and ability to pass information that will lead a customer to the best possible choice. That best choice is too use you today and in the future.

I read many sales blogs and articles, visit many internet construction trade sites, plus speak to many professionals in the construction trades. I find construction service technicians, owners, and sales trainers blame customers for their behavior. The trainers seem to perpetuate the myth that customers are liars and have this goal to give a sales service technician a difficult time. It does not surprise me when these same technicians start complaining about all their difficult and demanding customers. I am surprised they have success with any of their customers.

My first question too many of these professionals are: why? Why is the customer so difficult? I will put this disclaimer out there; you will run into a difficult customer from time to time. However the never ending flow of this type customer that you service is a fantastic indication that your philosophy and strategy necessitates critical and fundamental modifications that set customer expectations and standards.

The customer does not and will not trust or respect you and your solutions. Now it is time to take a long intense look at whatever you are delivering to your customer. Discover why they do not respect or trust you. The logical place to start is with the information. Is the information true and believable? You are the professional and the expert and that should lead me to a conclusion that the information is correct. If the information is incorrect and you are manipulating or taking unfair advantage of your customer nothing short of a complete behavior and philosophical transformation will help you overcome this horrible character flaw that you are a dirt bag.

When the information is correct the next hypothesis is it is your personality. Yours and the customer’s personality are not functioning properly together. Remember this, not every customer will like you. Likeability is a factor however trust and respect is a superior factor. It is impossible to be well liked by every person you come in contact with. The service call will become easier when the likability factor is present however it is not necessary. Your professionalism should never be influenced whether a customer likes or dislikes you.

Could the customer be having a bad day? Absolutely they have you visiting their home. They do not want you to be in their home. There are a myriad of unknowns that the customer faces. Many of your customers have never set up a budget for home repairs. No one has ever discussed setting up a repair budget with the homeowner. This places stress towards any expendable money the customer has available to him or her. They may have an idea of what they would like to spend however they do not know exactly how much it will cost.

The second area that is contributing to the bad day is the problem they are experiencing. Typically the problem did not occur that day and often times is a few weeks old or older. This informs you that the customer has someone else on their back to get it taken care of and do it today. Frequently this is more pressing then the actual problem. Add to this that many families have Mom and Dad both working full time jobs to support the family. Someone has to make a choice to disregard their professional duties to wait for you, then wait to get the job taken care of and if time is left get back to work. The customer is losing time and money then on top of that has to pay you.

I have been in plumbing since 1972 and I have never once had a customer call me only to have a plan in place to give me a difficult time and not take care of the issue they are experiencing. I doubt that you can say anything different. You may think the customer is wasting your time however they are just like you when you need something done. They want to take care of some of the uncertainty. Know and understand this and you will be better prepared.

There is one logical reason why the customer is difficult and that is a problem with communication. Perhaps you used technical terminology with the customer and spoke over their head or totally disengaged them from the discussion. The customer can become indifferent due to losing interest with what you have to say. The old adage is very true; it is not what you say but how you say it.

Another colossal area where many service technicians fail within the boundaries of communication is with the presentation. You already know and understand what the issue is and you are excited to take care of that issue. You immediately address the issue and you forget to take the time to talk with your customer. When you fail to talk with the customer you neglect to listen to their questions and concerns. You do not hear the real content and context of the problem the customer is experiencing. A core belief I have is every customer is searching for a different experience. Otherwise the person that serviced them last would be back in their home.

This has a great deal to do with the 3rd area of concern and that is with the customer experience. How do your customers react to your service? Recently I had the opportunity to listen to Tom Connellan a well-respected and trusted authority and advisor advising companies to excel and go above and beyond to deliver exceptional customer experiences. What he stated was do you really want customers to be satisfied? Satisfaction at its basic level is ok you did that ok, nothing special on your end. When you excel in this area you will increase your opportunities for repeat business building relationships that can withstand mistakes. You are human and will make blunders. It is what you do with your slipups that separate you from your competition. Take ownership, do what is right, and do it quickly.

Three areas to research and immediately change within your company and receive amazing results are with communication, presentation and the customer experience. What you will find will be startling. You will experience and discover fantastic customers that will change the way you perceive your job. Your job will shift from a job to a fun fulfilling remarkable adventure that will go far above and beyond satisfaction. It will have you saying glad I did versus ooops with what just happened and dreading your day and customers. Your customers will say glad I did versus I should not have done that.

Set your customer expectation and standards by including your customer in a conversation communicating in terminology that is easily understood and compels the customer to act in their best interest. Incorporate this today as a best practice in your business and look forward to your customer interactions.

Why ask Why?

Why ask Why?

The utmost advantageous method to gain knowledge is to ask, why. Frequently technicians ascertain asking why becomes complicated to ask. The reason it is difficult for so many technicians in the construction service trades to ask why, they cannot understand or know why they should ask why. You do not know what you do not know.

Recently I asked a simple question of both owners and service technicians: what is your biggest fear with sales in the construction service industry. The answers were not surprising at all. The number 1 reason; they fear that the customer will think the plumber, HVAC, or electrical technician is there to make as much money as possible. The technicians fear selling and asking for additional tasks.

To understand the great question of “why” you will need to ask; why would the customer have that thought or idea? What led the customer to consider that you the service technician were there primarily to get money verse helping them live a better life? Why would the customer have this impression of the technician? What happened that gave the customer that motion?

The primary thing to learn is you are not there to get the customer. Know and understand that you are there for the customer. There is a huge difference between being there for your customer and getting the customer. There are unethical people that are of low character that will get the customer and everybody in the industry must weed them out and get rid of these type crooks. The method in which this type person works is not relevant, whatever employment they would choose to do they would do it with low integrity. Chances are they would still be in the industry at a different company stealing from customers in a different way. Whether it is stealing time, materials for side jobs, or monetary possessions the customer possesses. The manner in which a person conducts business is the vessel and not the means.

The solitary reason for any customer to have an impression and conception that you are out to get money verse helping them resolve issues is you have led them to that point of view. Reaching for sales or trying to sell things that are not necessary will lead the customer to that kind of conclusion. When you try to convince and persuade a customer against their will is a sure fire way to inform the customer you are there for yourself and not him or her. Selling products just to sell the product will never satisfy a customer. Selling a product that will enhance their way of life is of interest to many customers.

A sale requires a purpose. When a purpose does not exist then a sale should not be made. Frequently in the construction service trade a customer will get used to the way a product works even though it is not working properly. It is your duty to inform the customer that it is not working the way it should and then propose solutions that the customer can accept and acknowledge. Your purpose should not be hidden from your customer. Smoking mirrors and trickery is not the way to communicate a desire to help the customer. Attacking the low hanging fruit and hanging on every word waiting for the chance to jump on a customer’s fears is taking unfair advantage of the customer.

I worked with an unethical person that would wait for the customer to talk about the fear of a possible flood that would create property damage and stress. He would then jump on that band wagon using the fear as motivation to create a higher job ticket. I do not have an issue with the higher job tickets or the job itself, where I draw the line is with the means to get to an end. The old adage of it is not what is said it is how it is said that creates issues. Playing on the customers fears without the customer understanding all of the facts is a definite no and there should be zero tolerance for this type behavior. Giving all the pros and cons for any and all tasks will allow the customer the right information to make the right choice. Using words to confuse and manipulate the customer to your desired more expensive solution is not playing on a level playing field with the customer.

Why would the customer think you are only after money? This is relatively simple to answer. The customer does not trust you, does not respect you or they do not trust and respect you. It is essential that you take your time and discover what your customer wants, why they want it, and how they want it done. These 3 items then need aligned to the 3 ways people make decisions. These 3 things are ,what the customer has heard in the past, what the customer has seen in the past, what the customer has done in the past.

Your up-front time with the customer is considered information gathering time. This is where you discover what the customer’s motives are to get things accomplished today. This is also the time to discover how the customer feels about preventive measures. Your questions should permit the customer to answer freely and honestly. The customer should be comfortable with you. The more comfortable the customer feels the more information they will give you freely. The customer knows and understands you are there to help him or her. They know you genuinely care about them.

It is essential the customer feels as if they are contributing to the solution and problem solving. Including the customer in the conversation concerning their habits and the way the product has worked for them in the past and how they would like it to work in the future will give you a positive reaction towards your permanent solution. Once you understand how the customer has been using the product you can now propose a different solution that may fit their lifestyle. Your solution is geared towards making their life easier and better for him or her. Your solution must be understood and the customer must realize the necessity to move forward.

Include additional tasks that you discovered in the customer’s home during your presentation. You will need to determine why the customer decided to live with the deficiencies and your solution must include a reason for the customer to move on these additional tasks. You must enlighten and educate the customer on why would they make the repair or replacement, why they should move towards a repair or replacement, what benefits will they receive by moving forward, and how will it affect them. The explanations and incentives to move forward should be the customer’s reasons to take care of these things and not your idea of what you think are good reasons.

Whenever you place your reasons above the customer’s reasons you will miss the most important and vital piece of information the customer has given you. This information is why the customer wants to get it taken care of today.

Why ask why? It will enable you to give the customer what they want, need, and deserve.

Standing on the Corner Watching the Sale go From Bad to Best

 

Standing on the Corner Watching the Sale go From Bad to Best

 

Frequently people in the sales profession debate whether sales are an art or a science. Isn’t this like lyrics in a song compared to poetry? The answer is they are both a science and an art form. Observing a salesperson that understands his client is pure magic. It is amazing to watch the emotional involvement a customer will have when a salesperson paints a perfect picture of ownership to that customer.

 

When a salesperson asks the right questions she will receive truthful answers. There is high probability that the sale will be final. In order for the right questions to be available there must be a precondition that exists. The precondition is an issue, question, and/or concern about a product or service that is providing a discomfort to the customer.

 

Understanding the customer’s answers and then providing a new set of questions that allows the customer to make new decisions will allow you to get to a solution that best fits the customer’s budget and lifestyle. Frequently salespeople seem to disregard lifestyle as an important factor and this can stall many sales. Lifestyle can be defined by the ease of use, quality, or cosmetics of the product. Typically lifestyle will include the customer’s perceived value. This is sometimes a problem for the salesperson as they may believe the company’s perceived value is the same as the customer’s perceived value. More often than not the 2 do not match. Our job is to discover the customer’s perceived value and make it true value. You do this by aligning your solution to the customer’s reasons and they are part of their perceived value. This is where the science is involved with sales. You must discover motive, mood, and personality of your customer and move this sale along. Will a sale happen if you do not discover motives, moods, and personality, of course it will. However, it will make your job much easier when you discover those three things.

 

Many sales people make the mistake of offering 1 solution to the customer. This one offering really has a second and that option is to decline the product and service. The first option is accepting the proposal. By offering one solution it often will open up a debate in the customer’s mind to their comfort level concerning budget and time. The customer does not have enough information or knowledge to make a basic decision and then make a right choice especially when the customer is not sure about the 1 solution. Your job is to design several options that are viable solutions that are spread over different budget constraints the customer may be experiencing.

 

You may have the best thing since sliced bread. However if you’re not giving the customer the proper information or educating him or her, a knowledgeable decision cannot be reached.  What is important information and how do you deliver it to the customer? Typically the salesperson will give information that they deem important. Without understanding what the customer wants and why they want it; what you believe is important is not relevant. The conversation you have with the customer will give you the insight into what the customer wants and their reason why they want it. The customer will have an idea of what they want and when you discover why they want it, you now have a multitude of products that will do what your customer desires and then provide the product for her.

 

As an example a kitchen faucet; a kitchen faucet needs to
have hot and cold water to fill the sink, wash dishes, rinse dishes, and possibly to fill a glass or cooking pot. The faucet the customer has is not working properly. The first known fact is the faucet is not acting correctly. Everything else is a secret at this time and the customer is holding the keys. You will need to know the secret and the secret is what else will your customer use the kitchen faucet for; this will give you information on her lifestyle.

 

Imagine for a second the customer washes her hair at the kitchen sink. What if she works on her plants and uses this area for starter plants? What if this home has a small dog and she washes this dog at the kitchen sink? Imagine that the customer cooks for a lot of people and has large pans. The only way to discover these things is to ask questions? A standard kitchen faucet will have a very short  slight rise and a limits the distance for these other activities and the faucet that exists may not fit her lifestyle. This will take you from a standard kitchen faucet to either a pullout spray kitchen faucet, or a high arching faucet. Do you think if you made the customer’s life easier that she would hold it against you that you asked those questions to give her a better result? Do you believe she would get angry with you for increasing her budget or what she thought she may want to spend for something that will make her life easier? The obvious answer is not at all, and I guarantee you that she will thank you for making the suggestions.

 

This is not limited to, kitchen faucets only it is magnificent for any and all products or services that you have to give to your customers. Start today and use the art and science of sales to enhance your customer’s experience with you while you give your customer the bus that he or she deserves. Decide today to stop thinking for your customer and allow your customer the opportunity to tell you what they want and why they want it. Decide today to include your customer with the diagnostics and then to help you provide the proper solution.

 

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You Don’t Know What You Don’t Know

 

 

You Don’t Know What You Don’t Know

 

 

6 months ago a local plumbing company went into a customer’s home and installed an electric tank less water heater. They promised the customer that it would take care of all their needs. The company returned shortly after installing this heater to install a 6 gallon water heater for the shower and told the customer it should take care of their problem. This past week the same company returned to the customers home for the 3^rd time and told them they would need  to add a  2^nd tank less water heater to deliver enough hot water to run 2 fixtures. The customer found it odd and decided to give us a call.

 

Here is what we discovered; the tank less water heater will deliver less than 3 gallons a minute at a 40 degree temperature rise. If the water temperature is at  60 degrees the heater will heat up to 100 degrees. 100 degrees is considered hot water. However we all know 100 degrees is not very hot and will not clean dishes nor does it feel hot enough while bathing.

 

When you run 2 fixtures with each drawing equal amount of water the temperature will drop well below 90 degrees. There is no math that will support the first company’s claims. It is impossible and they knew it. I wish I could say that it was a case of an unethical person selling something just to sell it. This particular company is not on the high end of the scale and devalues the plumbing professionalism with their cheapness. They have no sales skills and it is all about an unethical company that has very low integrity that allows them to mislead and tell outright lies to customers.

 

The tank less water heater has installation guides and there is also the internet website that explains temperature rise and will give you the exact flow rate to operate efficiently. In the literature it specifically states that it will have enough flow for 1 fixture at a time. There is no excuse to sell this unit as a whole house unit that will take care of 3 full bathrooms, kitchen, and laundry.

 

Why is this important? This past week we were called into a restaurant that was experiencing fluctuating hot water and in a couple of sinks no hot water at all.3 plumbing companies had an opportunity to take care of the problem. All 3 of them decided the flash gas tank less water heater was at fault and all 3 low balled the replacement price of the tank less heater.

 

Within 20 minutes of arriving at the restaurant I was able to diagnose the problem and it is a very simple. First the mop sink that has a hot and cold faucet with a hose connected were left wide open and the shut off was a wand at the end of the hose. This allowed for a cross connection of hot and cold water. Turn on any faucet in the kitchen and hot water would be drawn into the cold and vice versa. Add to this a prep sink hot and cold faucet left wide open controlled by a shutoff on the spout a second cross connection of hot and cold water. No wonder the hot water was chilly.

 

The bar area had no hot water. The original installer installed too small of an electric tank less heater  hidden by a wash sink. This tank less will supply 1 gallon a minute. There was a small dishwasher; triple bowl bar sink and 2 hand wash sinks, the demand for hot water is too much for this small tank less heater to supply. The 3 other companies never saw this tank less heater and assumed the large gas tank less heater supplied this area.

 

Wait there is 1 more sink that lacked hot water. This was another hand wash sink and again a small electric tank less heater that delivered 1 gallon a minute was expected to heat water for a sink faucet that delivers 2.2 gallons a minute. Once again the math does not add up. If that was not enough a 4^th sink that did not have water to the hot side at all was missed. However there was a stainless steel line that dispersed water into an indirect drain line. Every time the faucet was turned on water flowed freely into the drain. Why? There was a broken line and someone had turned off a main line shutoff underneath some equipment in the kitchen and the supply, line from the faucet fell into the indirect drain..

 

These are the same companies that stand up and try to convince people that we charge too much. They say we do too much for our customers. They say we are into sales as if that is a dirty word. They try condemning us for taking care of our customers plumbing issues that they are experiencing but have learned to live with due to other companies not caring about their customer’s way of life. From the 2 real stories between Feb. 4^th and Feb. 8 who are the real rip offs?

 

Decide today to start educating your customers and presenting information giving true facts to make informed decisions that are the right choice. Decide right now to trust the customer enough to make the right decision based on the right information. Respect the customer enough to ask the proper questions to make the right diagnostics and then present the right solution. You do this even if it does not benefit the company it is the right thing to do.

 

Sales and selling is not a dirty word nor will it cheapen your effect with customers. When honesty, integrity, and high ethical standards are applied how can anybody stand against you? When you have the professional skill and ability combined with a sales will and skill that  includes amazing communication proficiencies that conveys an idea  the truth will never stop you from doing the right thing for your customers. It is not a 1 night stand with your customers it is a long term longtime relationship that is built for the long haul verses getting mine right now.

 

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Rejecting the Repetition Ruling Service Calls

 

Rejecting the Repetition Ruling Service Calls

 

You’re making your way and for that I’m glad. Are you fulfilling your dreams? Do you struggle one day and the next is okay? Do you have hills and valleys that you face daily? How many service calls must you run and a day to reach your goal? How many service calls would you like to run in a day to reach this goal? How many service calls should you run in order to make your goal? Is it more profitable to run job to job, then to service 2-4 a day and spend a couple of hours with each customer?

 

To run eight to 12 service calls in a day adds wear and tear to your vehicle? The miles you drive will affect your insurance. A lot of miles on your vehicle will force you to change your vehicles more rapidly than you should. The more miles you drive the more gas it takes. The more miles you drive, the higher the chance of accidents.

 

The more service calls you run in the day, the more likely you are to be tired. When you get tired, the more likely it is that you make a mistake. The more tired you are the more stress will affect you and the ability to deal with obstacles is lessened. The more tired you get the more your mind will forget some things. The things that are forgotten are; billing out all the materials, forgetting tools, and forgetting to complete all the tasks that you have promised. This leads to an unsatisfied customer that is left wanting more than what you have given them.

 

The more service calls you run in a day. The more likelihood it is that you will need to move quickly through jobs and while driving. The frustration of keeping up with the day’s activities seems to mount and grow, making the most simple task difficult. Do not let time knock you down and keep you from your goals. Allowing time to distract you will defeat you.

How can you keep control of the amount of service calls that you run in a day? The first thing I must ask is why do you believe you need to run every service call today? Service companies have this wild idea that every customer that calls today must have the work completed today. This idea is relayed by the way you answer your phone and talk to the customer. Simple question asking when you would like service or set it tomorrow as opposed to do you want service today would greatly reduce the number of calls you run today. A great way to answer the phone is to let the customer, speak and after they are done get the contact information. The contact information would be name, address, phone numbers (cell and home), and email address. Next confirm the issue the customer is having then let them know what day and time is available. State, tomorrow at 10 is open will that work for you? Allow the customer to stop you and ask for service today.

 

How do you determine which service call to run today as opposed to setting them up later during the week? The customer that you give priority service to is a previous customer. Second will be those customers with obvious emergencies. Third will be new customers to your company. Fourth are those customers that want a quote. Every customer that calls will fit into those for groups. Schedule your quotes for the end of the day and service the customers that are paying customers first. The customers wanting a quote let them know that they may be rescheduled. If the day does not progress as you expect. Customers that want a quote are customers that have called multiple people. Always ask the customer that wants a quote why they are seeking a quote. This will clarify their objective and it will give you a purpose. You will be able to decide if this is a job that interests you.

 

The best customer to service is a repeat customer. This customer already understands what you do and why you do it. This customer is less likely to give you difficulty with your presentation and solution and in most cases will accept your proposal immediately. They will do it just because you have stated it needs to be completed. This customer also understands your value to him or her and by having you return they like your service that you have given them. The greatest compliment a company can receive is a customer calling back again, and requesting service. This customer also will pass your name to family and friends.

 

The customer that has an emergency is a no brainer and no explanation of service is necessary. The new customer, you want to service as quickly as possible. You have spent a lot of money and advertising to gain the new customer. This indicates you need to get to them fast and take care of their issues. You will discover a new customer will take more time than an existing customer for the simple reason you must explain to the customer how you operate, why you do what you do, and finally what you do. Give them the time they deserve.

 

It is highly recommended when you visit any customer whether they are new or existing do a walk-through inspection of their home. The reason you do a walk-through is to become familiar with the customers home. Remember you have become their trusted advisor and you will want to be able to give them information about their home. Every customer is looking for a different experience with you than they have ever had with any other service technician. Your job is to give them that different experience.

 

Another reason to do the walk-through it will give you the opportunity to speak to your customer about preventative measures. These preventative measures will ensure that the customer can set up a budget to take care of any issues that will happen in the future. You will be able to prevent premature product failure that may happen at an inopportune time. Any product failure in a customer’s home will delay or add stress to the customer’s lifestyle. When you can help prevent this from happening you have served your customer well.

 

Having the ability to communicate effectively to the customer concerning any products that may fail in the next 12 months is highly beneficial to the customer. You will discover there are very few people who budget for product failure in their home. When products fail it is always a surprise to a customer and money has not been budgeted for the repairs. What this means is the customer’s extra cash known as expendable income must be spent for something they do not want to spend it on. It is your job and responsibility to prepare the customer for unexpected expenditures in their home. Make this a customer expectation, and you will discover more satisfied customers in your client base.

 

You will be pleasantly surprised at the many customers that will want to take care of this immediately verse waiting for it to break down. The person that will have an issue with what you’re doing is you the service technician. For some reason the service technician and company have this thought pattern that the customer would have called us if they wanted it completed. The customer is not the professional you are. You have spent many years in school and most likely will have many years’ experience in your profession. How can you possibly expect your customer to have the professional knowledge that is taking you used to acquire? How can you expect the customer to know and understand their products in their home when no one has taken the time to explain their products and fixtures in their home?

 

This leads us to the next item that is diagnosing the issue. Ask for the customers knowledge of what is going on and what they did that may have contributed to the issue. Stop right here. Once you receive this knowledge then put your experience and knowledge together and discover what the root cause of their problem is. The information the customer is giving you is the symptom, not the cause and you are the expert and must get rid of the cause’s that have contributed to their issue. It is not the customer’s duty or responsibility to diagnose the problem for you.

 

Give yourself the proper time that is necessary to service your customer. Start managing your time so that it is profitable to you and is meaningful to your customer. Gather information about your customer and  enter this into the database to give you history of every customer. Decide today to limit the number of service calls that you run so that you can be effective with all customers. Allow yourself to only work a certain amount of hours in a day so that Friday you’re as strong as you were on Monday. Give your customers the benefit of doubt that they will be your customer if you service them tomorrow. Start living your dreams while improving the way that you’re making your way. Become a force in your community.

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It Sounds like a Good Idea

 

It Sounds like a Good Idea

 

Hmm at times I wonder why people think sales is any different than how you live your life. Why would your actions or reactions selling be any different than how you normally treat people daily in or out of work? It amazes me how people have this projected idea that you must do things differently than you normally do. You will treat your customers exactly the same way you treat friends, family or people.

 

Why in the world would you treat your customers different than the people you call friends, or even those you just meet? When you have a notion that you must treat customers definitely gives the impression that you are using tricks and smoking mirrors in order to make a sale. When a friend debates you on your sports teams you answer them honestly and give your opinion. When you are discussing cooking food you give good information that includes the spices that you put onto the food. When a friend asks you if you have ever done something and you say yes you then give information that surrounds your experience with that something.

 

When a customer asks you a question, why not answer truthfully? Give the information that you have and then allow your customer to make a choice. When you ask a customer a question allow the customer to answer truthfully. Trust your customer to make the right choice. This is called life and doing what comes naturally. Frequently sales are made more difficult than it really is. The salesperson makes the sale difficult with their thoughts and fears.

 

When I do ride a long’s the person that I am riding with  often times will ask me  how I knew what to say whatever it is I said. Preparation is the key and understanding why and what a customer will say is essential. It does not take a brain surgeon to understand why a customer states, what they do and for some strange reason the sales person takes it personal and allows it to affect their reaction. Put yourself in place of the customer and understand why things are said. When you cannot wear their shoes ask for clarification so that you do understand where the idea is generated. When you do this, you now have a different point of view and that leads to different results and rewards.

 

Holding a conversation will allow the customer and you to become comfortable. When everyone is comfortable the conversation seems to flow willingly and each of you will gather important information. The customer will receive information that builds on report, trust, and respect and a natural conclusion to use you. They will be able to decide if you are a person they want to exchange with and put their faith in that you will give them the proper information. You will gain information that gives you trust and respect for the customer that they will pay your price for your product and services.

 

It is pretty cut and dry. However, when the salesperson makes it more difficult than it is trouble ensues. This trouble is defined and determine by a thought pattern that has the customer making trouble. The definition of trouble in this case will be objections, reluctance, and off-the-wall comments. The salesperson misconstrues the objection, reluctance, and off-the-wall comments as degrading, attacking and will become defensive. Now this can and often will cause a combative atmosphere where nobody will win and each will lose. The salesperson believes they must defend their position and price. When you are defending your position on price, you now have lost the conversation and no longer are you engaging the customer. It becomes a debate with winners and losers. The salesperson is trying to convince and persuade the customer into thinking a different way a forced perception. It is extremely difficult to persuade and convince a person against their will. When you persuade a person against their will; they will revert back to their original thought once you’re gone. It is the nature of the beast. Sales should not be won by the last man standing. A sale is won with both parties embracing and rejoicing.

 

All completed sales should give mutual benefits to both buyer and seller. When only one benefits, the sale is incomplete and unsatisfying. In reality, the buyer receives more than what the seller receives. The buyer not only receives the product and services they receive their perceived value and in their mind that is equal to or of more value than the dollars spent.

 

Decide today to start having the right conversation that will engage the customer. Right now start giving the customer what they deserve. Right now let the customer take a chance with you and deliver on the goods and services. Make the choice to help and serve the customer in their best interests. Greet your customer with open arms and invite them in and start having an enjoyable ownership exchange. Start treating your customers like you treat people, and soon you will see your sales explode and have a brand new day.

Practicebetterbusiness

 

 

 

 

 

 

What do you want to get out of sales?

 

What do you want to get out of sales?

 

It is apparent after having many discussions with people in the construction trades. This is one question that has never been given much consideration. To expect success with any venture you must have a goal and purpose. You must have a goal and purpose with sales. Without a purpose and a goal you will wander aimlessly without hitting your target. Why there is no target to hit.

 

A substantial part of sales is with building a relationship and you must decide what type relationship you want with each customer. Do you strictly want a business relationship that is straightforward with each customer and set client expectations that you are all business? With this relationship what kind of discoveries do you want to make. You must learn what makes the customer tic, motives, and their attitude. You must choose how you will make those discoveries. You will want to determine what it is they would like from you, and you will discern if this is a customer for you.

 

You may want to develop a relationship that mixes both personal and a professional relationship. This is a relationship where you allow the customer to get to know you and you to get to know him or her. When you have a personal mixed with a professional relationship comfort is easily obtained and enjoyed by all. When a customer becomes comfortable with you they will offer to give truthful information that is; important to the solution, and sale. When you have a strict professional relationship it is more difficult to gain this comfortable valuable information as swiftly.

 

There is a difference between a business-to-business and business to consumer relationship. Quite often in a business to business sale you are working with a corporation and multiple layers in order to finalize a sale. This means more people are involved in the decision-making process. It  also means more people  with different thought patterns will decide whether the solution is proper and if the price is what they want. With a business to consumer sale typically you are working with one to three decision-makers. There can be more, but is not typical. A personal relationship is more conducive to the business to consumer sale.

 

Will you be using sales to increase your profitability? Using sales to increase profitability you will be seeking additional tasks. These extra tasks are items that will require the buyer to invest more money. Are you prepared to answer questions that ask why should I do this. As always, you never sell items that are not necessary.

 

This is the difficult part and that is determining what is necessary and what is not necessary. I was just discussing this with one of my sales staff this morning concerning what is necessary. We were talking about and tub and shower valve that rotates and he stated the valve was starting to become stiff. Next; the valve is still working and he did not deem it as a necessary repair. Another person may review the same situation and decide to suggest a repair in order for that faucet to rotate with the ease. I explained to him that it would be an individual preference with this situation. In his own words it was stiff and working less than intended. What this brings to the table is each person must work within their own ethical boundaries. Each of us will have a sense of what is right and what is wrong and this brings in a gray area that is speculative and opinion based.

 

Having a sales goal that allows you to sell the single task that you visited a customer for is not necessarily wrong or improper. Increasing your ability to help serve your customers with every opportunity is still being fulfilled. Sometimes we handcuff our hands and we do not allow our customers to receive the full benefit and value that we have to offer. If we were to ask our customers what they prefer you would discover they would want you to take care of all their issues while you are there. Of course you will have some customers that will refuse to make the necessary repairs in their home and will just want the one item repaired or replaced. You must respect their choice and decision as final. It does not have to prevent you from talking about preventative measures that in all likelihood will avert premature failure or possible property damage.

 

A sale is about serving your customer in their best interest. Zig Ziglar has a quote or statement that passes along this idea; a sale is what you do for the customer and not to the customer. What this means is it is in the best interest of your customer and it may not be in your best interest as a company. In the construction service trades this may mean a repair of a product versus replacement of that same product. We must trust the customer will make the best decision when we give them the proper information.

 

What is it that you want to accomplish with your sales effort? Decide this and start enjoying an enjoyable ownership exchange today with your customers. What is meant by enjoyable ownership exchange? The short definition is having a conversation with your customer and giving him or her all the information necessary to make the proper choice. The customer comes to a natural conclusion that  they must use you ,your product, and services. Frequently a salesperson will hold an advantage over their customer and hold back information that is highly important to the decision. This is not by design or done on purpose by many people in sales. This is a mistake that happens when there is a lack of training with sales. By holding back information the customer is left with two choices. Those two choices are; to accept the proposal or to decline the proposal. Typically when these two choices are the only choices you have a 50% to 70% chance that the sale will move forward. This means you have a 30 to 50% chance of losing that sale and customer. When you lose a customer it will take a monumental effort to gain that customer back. When you decide what you want to accomplish with your sales efforts decide to invest in sales training.

 

What is it you want from your sales efforts? What is it you hope to accomplish with your sales efforts? How will you help serve your customers? Will your customer be there for you tomorrow? What information will you give your customer in order for him or her to make the best possible choice? Will you provide an action or a reaction?

Practicebetterbusiness.com

 

 

 

 

Set the Tone of your Service Call

 

Set the Tone of your Service Call

What constitutes a good customer? What boundaries are set for a bad customer? What separates the two from one another? Who gets to set the tone the customer or the sales person? Is the sale made or is it found? Do you suppose a customer states that was a lousy sales person when the sales person states that is a horrible customer? Is it possible the sales person believes the customer is a cheap son of a gun and the customer believes the sales person is way over the top? Ever wonder who is right and who is wrong? Ever wonder who the real tire kicker is or time waster?

Visiting construction trade internet sites it is amazing how frequent the tradespeople believe it is the fault of the customer that a sale will travel south. A person must realize that professional trade internet sites tend to be a venting place to let out frustration however it is amazing just how many terrible consumers are out there ready to ambush the hard working contractor. I do not believe the consumer is out to get the contractor as true and write it sarcastically.

It is your duty as a company to set customer expectations, you’re marketing sets the branding. The marketing sets in motion the strategy that is best suited to accomplish this feat. Watch how you brand your company especially on the World Wide Web. Quality work at a fair price suggests that great service and workmanship is cheap. When you advertise that you are fair on price you suggest to the consumer they can negotiate your price. No overtime charges inform the customer that you are available day or night to do minor repairs that are not emergencies. You won’t be beat on price suggest that you are cheap and again the consumer can negotiate the price.

Use compelling engaging verbiage on your web page that entices the consumer to call you. Post a video of certain aspects of your service call and set the client expectation. The copywriting on your web page should draw consumers to the page and the content then should set standards and expectations. Once the consumer gets to your web page the hot spots will require emotion driven concepts. These are drivers before you see a consumer to turn them into a customer and then transform them into your clients.

The arrival stage is the sales step where the majority of fatalities occur. The construction service industry shoots them in the foot right here and sets the tone for the service call. The fatal blow is made without a warning shot and is self- inflicted. It is the greeting and the hurry to get to the problem. The

greeting is superficial small talk that informs the customer they are just a number. Hi I’m so and so from ABC Company how you are, customer says something that is disregarded by the service person. I understand you have such and such not working, let me look at it. Bang the company and the service person is more important than the customer.

Take the foot off the gas and back that truck up. It is at the greeting that you gather information about the customer. Take your time, ask what is going on? Allow the customer to tell you anything and everything they wish to discuss. Open up the dialogue for a conversation. You do not need to see the task before you gather information. What you must know before you see anything is why the customer called you. What is driving the customer to take care of it today? How long has this been going on, has it happened before and if so what did you do? By the way how do you like your product or how do you feel about the product you have now? What would you like to accomplish today? Traditionally this is commonly referred to as small talk and it is essential to build credibility, rapport that constructs a fast track to mutual trust and respect.

Start to take your time with this critical phase that determines the outcome of your scheduled appointment with your customer and turn them into a client right here. This is where you set the tempo with the client. Your client can now take measure of your ability to communicate and express ideas that are important to them. It is at this interval the client decides to use you and your solution. This is the time where the client decides if he or she will have reluctance or outright object to your proposal. This is the moment the customer becomes a lousy customer or you stumbled back into the role of a lousy sales person. This is the point it becomes a price only presentation or a well-planned well thought out presentation that answers the clients questions and concerns. This is where the client knows you either understood or you completely turned and tuned them out.

What will you do? What will you be? Will you be the hero or the bum? Will you allow your customer to be a great cheerleader for you and your company or will you burn out in a blaze of destruction. Decide to start today to give your customer more to think about then a price. You are way more than a price, you are a valuable asset to your client.

Maximize Your Service for Your Customer

 

Maximize Your Service for Your Customer

 

There are many ways to increase your service with customers. One method to facilitate your service and help your organization grow is to provide home inspections. A home inspection will give more information to your customer with up keep and to verify the system is working properly. It also will allow the service technician to become familiar with the customers home. The more information a home owner has concerning their products will assist in keeping breakdowns to a minimum and from happening at the worst possible time.

 

The inspection can be as detailed as you want it or as general an inspection as necessary to perform effortless tasks that indicates the system is working appropriately. The inspection can take as little time as necessary from ten minutes up to thirty minutes depending on the scale of the inspection. When you do the inspection for free you will generate more good will with your customer.

 

Electrical inspection should contain; checking the main box, verify receptacles and light switches are working properly especially the receptacles that work refrigerators, ground fault receptacles near water, outside lights, automatic timers. You may wish to install new switch plate and receptacle covers for free that are dirty or cracked  in kitchens or bathrooms unless they are decorative covers. Check any and all wiring that is exposed. Add as many items to the list as you wish to inspect  however you must make it a relevant item that can affect the system and prevent the system from working properly.

 

HVAC companies should check; air filters, amperage of the compressor motor that can affect the capacitor, Freon, and Freon filter, heating element, cold air registers, heat vents, a- coil, and condensate drain line. To name a few items again add as much as necessary to provide the utmost efficiency to your customers.

 

Plumbing companies should verify; all drains for each fixture draining efficiently, toilets flushing capability, tank parts to the toilet, faucets and handles, emergency shutoffs and supply lines, washing machine hoses, aerators, disposal and water heater to name a few items.

 

All service companies should do a visual inspection for their customer that will enhance the technicians visit and provide value to the customer. The items you can fix for free would be items that you do not want to warranty or are items the customer has learned to live with that are minor. Included in the free items would be items or tasks that are so minor and a trip to repair those items is not worth the time or effort to complete on their own and an item the customer would not want to pay your service to install such as electrical switch plate, aerator on a faucet, or a fiberglass filter in the air handler cold air return. Charging for these items can create a negative discussion and limit the task to a price only issue. Taking care of these items while you are visiting the home is thanking the customer for calling you and giving you the opportunity to serve and service him or her.

 

The inspection will automatically give permission to the service technician to discuss preventive measures with the customer. The inspection will ensure the home is working in the proper way and most efficient way to maintain the home. If the home is not in tip top shape the service technician can talk intelligently to the home owner about their concerns. The service technician can now offer options to the customer and make repairs or replace faulty equipment.

 

Sometimes the service technician discovers the customer will not allow the inspection. Why? The inspection is free. Many inspections are lost or not given due to the technician’s explanation to the customer. Frequently the inspection is given as a choice or an offer that can be refused by the customer. The customer has a feeling that the technician sometimes, usually, most times does the inspection. I do or I give an inspection implies to the customer that this is something they receive and every customer receives the inspection. I give an inspection is a best practice to ask or state that you do the inspection. Using the plumbing trades as an example; what I do is tighten loose toilet seats, loose faucet handles, change aerators in common faucets and clean polished brass aerators. These are items you have learned to live with and I really do not want to charge you to fix.  Mr. or Mrs. Customer how about I get started right here and take care of some items for free.

 

Indecisiveness by the service technician is a killer of the inspection and gives the impression that the organization and you are doing it to the customer and for you. Often the service technician will inform the customer that they want to do the inspection to make sure everything is working right or ok. The service technician has just informed the customer that they are searching for work in their home. You will discover the  majority of customers already know and understand the products in their home that are not working properly.

 

Typically the customer that approves the inspection will follow you into the different rooms in their home. The magic words accompany the inspection oh yeah by the way I noticed I have this occurring when I do this or that to a certain fixture.  When the service technician hears those words the customer has just informed you that they believe and know that you will do a great job for him or her. They trust that you are and were going to do a thorough job and discover that issue for him or her. Keep in mind many customers will call you to service an immediate problem that has made them call your organization and forget the other miscellaneous issues that have plaque them. Those issues have not affected their daily routine yet however they are annoying them.

 

A common distraction for most service technicians prohibiting the tech from asking for the inspection is a belief that the customer does not want him or her to do the inspection. The thought process is they are infringing on the rights of the customer or the customer called to have a specific problem taken care of and the other things are an invasion of the customer’s privacy. They are merely an excuse to not perform the inspection and this is relayed to the customer with body language and facial expressions by the tech. It is time to stop thinking this way and start helping your customers enjoy a home free of dysfunctional products and give the customer the best service available.

 

Another problem area a service technician may find difficulty with asking for an inspection; a belief that the customer would call and inform the organization to the problems in their home and only want this specific item repaired or replaced. This is an amazing statement and one of the most ignorant statements that can be made. The same technician or owner that makes this statement is the same one that complains when a home owner tries to make their own repair. The expectation is a non professional in that trade is suppose to wait until a problem occurs and causes the customer to feel discomfort to discover the problem and call to have it fixed. It is your duty and responsibility to inform the client there is a problem in waiting. Give the customer information that will allow him or her to make a decision to take care of the problem before it causes discomfort, pain or possible damage to the property.

 

Today is the day to start increasing the ability to service your customer and give the customer the best service that is available to him or her. The customer deserves the best that you can offer increasing their awareness of potential problems down the road. At the very least the customer can budget for the upcoming project without having it become a surprise or emergency. You will be thanked for discussing the issues by the customer.

 

 

Chapter Steps for Success

 

Chapter 2

Steps for Success  for Plumbing,HVAC,Electrical,Service Industry

 

In The first steps for success we discussed getting history and or researching to retrieve information about your customer. Today we will discuss arrival, the greeting, conversation time and looking at the initial issue the customer is facing.

 

Frequently the step that is neglected is paying attention to details with the arrival time. Some companies will narrow arrival time to 2 hours others will inform the customer they will arrive between eh hours of 8:00 AM and 5:00 PM. The CSR will inform the customer the technician will arrive between 10 and 12 however the customer hears and understands he or she will arrive at 10 and be done at 12.

 

Whenever the technician will not arrive at the early time given a phone call should be given out of courtesy to the customer. By calling the customer could run an errand, possibly relax a little as a lot of customers have anxiety having someone visit their home. To force a custo0mer to stay at home between the hours of 8:00 AM and 5:00 PM is just plain ridiculous and out of line. How do you feel when you must sit at home waiting for cable for 8 hours? Stop turning your back on your customer. They are the life blood of your company. Always, always, always keep the customer informed of the day’s progress.

 

It is a best practice to park in the street. Parking in the street accomplishes more than you think. The first thing it does is it announces you are there. The customer has already looked out the window numerous times to see if you have arrived. Licensed companies have their name on al side of their vehicles. This allows the vehicle to be a billboard and advertise while you are parked in a neighborhood. Parking in front of their window allows the customer to take notice that you are there.

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Your name, phone number and website should be clearly visible along with your construction license identification number. You want this available to any and all of the members of the community to know who you are and where you are working. Keep all doors closed; open doors hinder reading the billboard.

 

Vehicles leak fluids, it is a fact and it really does not matter how often a vehicle is serviced. Murphy’s Law states if something can go wrong it will. There is no reason to take unnecessary risks dripping automobile fluids on the customer’s driveway.

 

Once you have arrived now it is time to exit the vehicle quickly and walk like you have a place to go. You want to walk like you want to be there and have confidence. Often times the customer is watching you walk to their home. During this time they make a minor decision to listen to you or tune you off. Taking your time to get out of the vehicle and then walking slowly to the door will give you reluctance.

 

You will hear aims that you should not ring the doorbell. Some will even cite studies stating to knock verse ring the doorbell. On a couple of occasions I have asked for these studies and no one can reproduce the studies. The claim is a doorbell will shock, surprise the customer. I claim the customer is called before you are scheduled to arrive so how can there be a surprise? Show me the study where the customer has been called and the technician rings the doorbell and the client is surprised they are there today. You can ring the doorbell, knock on the door or knock on the door frame. When I have ever knocked the customer has asked if I rang the doorbell as they did not hear it and they assume it is broken.

 

Once the customer has opened the door and invited you it is now time to start a conversation. Talk about things that you are comfortable speaking on and it must be sincere. To chat about chandeliers is not a sincere form of conversation and the customer will know this right away. The conversation can be about the issue the customer is facing or you may want to make it about something personal. If there is writing on their shirt or blouse, perhaps a college, pictures of people.  Try to keep the conversation moving forward. Asking 1 question about something and then dropping the subject will make that conversation insincere.

 

Hi how are you can be brilliant or it can be blah blah blah. When hi how are you is left alone standing by itself again it is insincere. However if you ask questions about their answer and truly want to know why the day is amazing it is a brilliant conversation piece. People are not prepared to answer a 2^nd and 3^rd question concerning how they are and will be turned on and tuning in to what you will say next.

 

Once this information gathering time is over, it is now time to take a look at their initial problem. Here is another area where most technicians put themselves into a box. A few words are spoken that limits the possibilities of your solution. At times the few words spoken will turn off the customer and they no longer want to listen to you. Those words are; I can repair that or I can fix that. These words inform the customer that you can indeed repair the product however if they are tired of repairing this product you have lost the sale of a new product in its place. You want to repair it verse replace. Try this simple yet effective 6 word sentence I can take care of that.

 

That 6 word sentence will allow you to give multiple options to your customer. These options are; the basic repair of the product that will take care of the problem and make it a thing of the past.  The 2^nd option is a more extensive repair that can replace every piece in the product as preventive measures and finally a total replacement of the product. With a total replacement you may have a good, better, and best option to propose.

 

Watch your words. Words determine the outcome. They are a tool and everyone can use them. Words can limit your opportunities or they can fully engage in endless opportunities for you and your customer. Start engaging your customers that open possibilities verse closing doors.