Improving sales is just like everything else in your business you want to improve. It goes a whole lot better when you’ve got a plan and you’re prepared. To make quality sales, we need a documented systematic approach and practice to be successful.
I don’t believe in “Born Salesperson.”
The reason is I was terrible at first when I began my selling career and then I got really good. So good in fact, that I learned how to teach my own sales people how to make big ticket sales and how to teach my own techs how to sell repairs and appropriate add on suggestions. They weren’t born salespersons either!
They got better because I share with them the belief that it was in the customer’s best interest that we get better prepared and follow a systematic way to go about selling. It required that we find out what the customer really needed and what they really wanted. We got so good we actually helped customers discover that we had solutions to their nagging problems that they just assumed could not be solved.
The trick to leveraging sales is to be able to make it possible for many sales people and many techs to sell in a consistent way.
To do that, you are well served to train your techs and sales people on how to demystify the sales process for your customer and to build value in all the things you’re company can do for them. This is what separates you from your competition.
A great place to start is by asking good open-ended question that get the customer talking to you about what is going on today, what they see as a successful outcome and what they want in the way of comfort, energy saving and more.
You also need to organize the process of what you’re going to do when and what you will show them to help them make a good buying decision.
Here is a good overview:
- Have 2 to 3 questions you’d have them ask a customer about their existing comfort and efficiency to make sure you know exactly what they desire. This will help you pay special attention to what solutions you can offer in their best interest
Note: Take notes because they words the customer uses are the ones you want to repeat back as you present them with a solution. - If selling a replacement heating and cooling unit, get permission to do an intensive heat loss and heat gain of their home when selling.
- If performing a service call, get permission to do a visual survey so you don’t miss anything that could be problematic now or in the near future. It’s worth their time to make good suggests on what you can do to take care of it now because typically it’ll never be cheaper for you to do it than if they approve it while you’re there.
Note: Doing multiple jobs at the time of service deserves a legitimate discount based on knowing your numbers. - Let them know you’re going to spend some extra time looking at the trouble spots where they said it was either too warm, too hot, too cold or where they’re running out of hot water too fast.
- As a sales person, you need to let them know how long you will spend either onsite creating a customized proposal that you will go through line by line with them so they know exactly what they will be getting for their hard-earned money. And if you can’t do this onsite, let them know when you’ll be back to go through it together.
Note: Don’t kid yourself by thinking emailing it, faxing it or mailing it will result in them magically knowing the value of what you selected and how you do that work. It’s going to have a negative impact on the amount of closed sales you get.
Note: If you absolutely can’t be back, you can setup a GoToMeeting to run through it together or even a phone call where you at least go over it line by line will greatly enhance your chances of making the sale. - As a Tech, you are well served to create a menu of options that address the need today and legitimate recommendations for things that improve comfort, safety, efficiency and more.
Finally, selling the right way is a skill like all other skills and that means it requires practice. If you have a training center, you’re already ahead of the game. If you don’t, use your home or your office to simulate tech selling and sales person selling and watch the money roll in!