Whole House Sales Strategies That Work. Ed Thomas and Eric Howarth, EGIA

Transcription

1 Whole House Sales Strategies That Work Ed Thomas and Eric Howarth, EGIA

2 Today s Sales and Customer Service Course Why having a sales process is important. Pre qualifying customer In home sales routine Closing techniques Follow up and referrals Ensuring customer service

3 Definitions Salesmanship: Skill in selling; skill in persuading people to buy Customer Service: Is the provision of service to customers, before, during, and after the purchase Quality: Meeting or exceeding customer expectations

4 Your Competition Isn t Who You Think It Is Granite Counter Tops BMW s Pools and Spas Big Screen TV s Landscaping Tile & Hardwood Floors Investments and Savings

5 Why Do I Need to Sell? I Install Quality Work and That Should Speak For Itself! To increase your margin dollars so that you have the money for: 1. Marketing to reach more potential customers 2. Business expansion and upgrades 3. Not having to worry about next weeks payroll!

6 It s a Price War Out There! Really? The value provider CAN afford to: The low cost provider CAN T afford to: 1. Hire and keep the best personnel. 2. Use the best equipment 3. Have the best tools 4. Take the time to do a good job 5. Provide good customer service as they grow 1. Hire and keep the best personnel. 2. Use the best equipment 3. Have the best tools 4. Take the time to do a good job 5. Provide good customer service as they grow Think of the largest most successful contractor in your area. Are they the low cost provider? Yet they are successfully out selling you everyday!

7 Prequalifying Leads Can Increase Your Closing Ratio You spent advertising and marketing dollars to get that call to come in. Make the most of each and every one! Have your operator prepared with a series of important questions: What prompted you to call? Do you own the home? Approximate age of the home? Is there any other decision maker I should put on the account file? Have you previously looked into or recently done any other energy efficient upgrades to your home?

8 Ensure Sales Consistency With An In Home Presentation System 1. In home questionnaire 2. Company introduction / About Us Paint the picture as to why you re the company to do business with! 3. Company certifications / awards 4. Independent third party validation 5. Manufacturer product information/warranty 6. Photos of products & previous jobs 7. Description of installation process 8. Pricing options worksheet 9. Financing information and forms A presentation system helps you stay on track and not forget vital selling points and helps uncover hidden objections.

9 Tell Them Proudly Who You Are! Home Energy Services Inc. is North America's leading Home Performance Company, specializing in making your home a more energy efficient, comfortable and healthier place to live. Every product and service is backed by our exclusive Installation Standards of Excellence and a written 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. No other contracting company serving the region has more home performance experience. With over 40 employees Home Energy Services Inc. has been proudly serving the Sacramento area for over 35 years. Brag About Your Company Tell Them Who They Are Doing Business With and Why It Matters!

10 Brag About Your Credentials Home Energy Services technicians are highly-qualified Building Performance Institute Certified. (visit for more information) We have also all been background checked and highly screened to be apart of the PG&E Whole House Program. This special training certifies that our team of experts will look at your house as a system and give you the right recommendations to ensure that your home is energy efficient, comfortable and healthy. Brag About Certifications and Awards

11 Explain Why Your Company Takes A Whole House Approach Home Energy Services uses state of the art equipment to test for what your home needs and test out to ensure we have done our job right! We will also do a whole home assessment to show you other ways to increase the efficiency of your home. Make sure you explain the extra steps you take to ensure quality installations and above all get the homeowner involved in the process.

12 Display Recognition and Awards Ask our representative to see our brag book of awards we have accumulated over the years! Brag About Awards If You Have Them Flaunt Them

13 Brag About Your In Depth Screening Satisfactory Licensing Satisfactory BBB Satisfactory Insurance Satisfactory Trade References Homeowner Client References Background Checks on all our staff that will be in the home. Use Independent Third Party Verification

14 Why You Chose The Products We are Installing In Their Home The nations' leading consumer products magazine recently reported that tens of thousands of homeowners have found that Ruud central air conditioners are the most reliable based on low incidence of repairs. On parts and labor on all our systems! Give the homeowner the reasons you picked your product line. Also simply and clearly define the product warranty. Customers want to know you have pride in what you sell.

15 Selling Service Can Get You A Customer For Life Selling service is a great way to keep customers and get referrals!

16 Tell Them the Steps You Will Take To Take Care Of Their Home WE PROMISE TO: To wear blue booties to ensure we don t track dirt into your home. To cover any exposed furniture in the work area. To take special care of plants and shrubs. To patch, fill, seal and paint as needed. To vacuum and wipe down any surfaces that are effected.

17 The Jones Family Our House is a different place, its actually comfortable. Home Energy Services sure does it right. They were so professional and our energy bills have dropped $90 per month! Emily Jones Showing pictures of previous work is a great way to display you know what you re doing! Gotham City

18 Use Google Maps To Display all The Jobs You Have Done In The Area This shows you not only have done this before, but you have done it in their back yard!

19 Time To Share Audit Results & Make Recommendations The home energy specialist will now share the results of your home analysis and make recommendations to lower your energy bills and enhance home comfort and safety. Showing the data from your audit is a powerful tool and makes the sale a more consultative type approach. But the key is to break it down in an understandable way.

20 Present Multiple Options In A Simple Format GOOD Better Best Programmable thermostat 20 year heat exchanger Ducts Sealed Energy Audit Programmable thermostat Limited Lifetime on heat exchanger Media filter & UV light Ducts Sealed Weatherization Air Sealed Attic & Crawl Space Programmable Thermostat UV light & electronic air cleaner 2 stage programmable thermostat Outdoor unit & temperature sensor Furnace & High Efficient Coil Weatherization Ducts Sealed Insulation Air sealed Attic and Crawl Space Total: $7,200 Total: $14,200 Total: $17,200 Monthly: $90 On Typical revolving Loan Energy Savings Average Per Month: - $ 20 Monthly: $ On Power Saver Loan Energy Savings Average Per Month: - $ 50 Monthly: $ on Power Saver Loan Energy Savings Average Per Month: - $ 90 Net Monthly:$70 Net Monthly:$66.00 Net Monthly:$51 Always give the homeowner a choice that leads them towards a whole house solution!

21 Closing Best Practices 1. Reference back to the questionnaire and ask the customer if your proposal has addressed all the needs they had outlined. 2. If they say yes, ask which project scope they would like to go forward with. 3. Give them a contract and a pen. 4. Then sit back and wait for the answer. You wont get the sale if you do not ask for it!

22 Example Closing Statement Using Financing The System Investment That Best Fits Your Needs Could Cost You As Little As $116 A Month, thats approximately $50 per month After Your Energy Bill Savings. That s Only $1.66 A Day. We Also Have A Financing Special Available Where We Are Offering 12 Months With No Payments And No Interest. When Would You Like To Have Us Begin Installation? Statistics Show That The Most Productive Contractors Leverage Financing On Every Sales Call, Offering A Choice Of Long Term Financing With Low Monthly Payments And Same As Cash Options To Cover Both The Cash And Payment Buyer.

23 Why Should I Offer Financing? Sales people who consistently offer financing : Increase closing ratio 40%+ Have 20% larger projects Make greater margin per job Most Importantly, financing helps overcome cash separation anxiety!

24 The Average Homeowner Has Less Then $5000 In Their Savings Account Never prejudge your customer! Perhaps they don t have $8,000 dollars on hand. However they might have $100 per month discretionary income!

25 Our Conclusions Case Study New Reality in 2012, consumers are looking for promotions for terms longer than 12 months. Contractors that offer those are reaping the rewards HVAC Contractor July- August (60 month 0%) 72% approval rate Volume Before $275,000 Volume after $610,000 Contractors who used the 5 year deferred interest /equal payments option had a higher approval rate and doubled their volume!

26 Customer Service Survey Show the homeowner customer service is important to you! Customer Name Address City, State, Zip Phone Was our team professional and helpful? Was the installation to your satisfaction? Would you recommend us to others? Thank You For Your Help. Your input is important to us. I hope that Home Energy Services can become your source for all your home improvement needs. The customer service survey is a great way to get customer referrals and testimonials before you leave the home. Also, take the time to take pictures of the job to attach to the testimonials. It s also an important tool for driving consistency and professionalism within your company.

27 Thank Your Customer For Choosing You Follow up with a thank you card to your customer as well as a leave behind. A framed before and after shot is a great way to give them something to show off and reaffirm the quality of your work! Before After Installed measure by Home Energy Services

28 Handling Customer Complaints Listen to the homeowner Seek to understand where they are coming from Repeat back what you heard them say Sympathize their frustration / issue Seek to find a solution A customer complaint can often be made into a success story!

29 Build A Sales Organization With Consistency Weekly Sales Meeting Focus: For each sales person 1. Gross Sales (total contracts) 2. Net Sales ( Total Installed) 3. Closing Average 4. Gross Income $ 5. Self Generated Leads 6. Sales / service wins / losses 7. Marketing updates (like pitch book updates/additions, advertisements etc.) 8. Regular sales training & overcoming objections (role playing) 9. Referrals & self generated leads

30 Demand Customer Service & Sales Consistency The way you and your sales staff presents yourselves in the home is key to the overall perception of your company. There needs to be a consistent brand image that puts the customer at ease knowing that they are in good hands. Professional dress Business cards Clean vehicle and tools Home safe guards (Booties etc..) Branded consistent presentation BE ON TIME!

31 Sales Alignment to Strategy What is typical customer? Typical sale? What is best type of customer? Best type of sale? How many sales last year? What do you want to sell more of? What don t you want to sell? Does your sales presentation match what you said above?

32 Cialdini's 6 Types of Influence 1. Reciprocation I am obligated to give back to you the form of behavior that you have first given to me 2. Scarcity people want more of those things they can have less of 3. Authority perceived expert people want to follow the authority because authorities usually are right. Appear like an authority, offer credentials. 4. Liking People prefer to say yes to those individuals they know and like. We like the people who are similar to us. Before you ask someone to behave, show how you are similar. 5. Social proof People look around to see what others around them have been doing, in order to take a shortcut to make their own choice. Say what's "Most Popular." 6. Consistency First ask you to take a small step that is logically consistent with what I am going to ask you to take later Video at Summary Cialdinis 6 Types S ?view=&srchtype=discussedNews&gid= &item= &typ e=member&trk=eml anet_dig b_pd ttl cn&ut=3ndjxwvecgmb81

33 Better Margins and Higher Job Size

34 More Than Energy Savings Poor indoor air quality Comfort Lack of durability Safety High energy use Environment

35 Know Your Sales Pipeline Generation Qualification Visit Proposal Conversion Analysis Adjust

36 Always Strive To Improve Your Sales Process 1. Set up Credit Card Merchant Account and Loan Relationship Resolve to no longer rely only on cash sales in order to increase your kitchen table closes rate immediately. 2. Mention We Can Finance BEFORE you begin your presentation, mention I can help you finance the improvements so they pay for themselves. This way people won t worry if they don t have the cash. 3. Present As Monthly Savings Present your work scope as a pay as you save investment rather than lump sum cost. 4. Build Financing Cost into Your Proposal Offer a cash discount if customers ask rather than extra charge to take a credit card. 5. Uniform Sales Process and ongoing Training 6. Weekly sales meetings Talk about the numbers and role play wins and lost opportunities.

37 Thought To Leave You With Managing Their Perception Of You Is Key!

38 Conducting Your Whole House Business Tune Up Friday, June 12, 2012 at 10:00 a.m. Ed Thomas and Eric Howarth, EGIA