Contact With Potential Customers

AHS

When I recieve a request for an estimate & set up an appointment with the potential customer, I usually only contact them one more time before I meet with them & thats to let them know I am 20- 30 minutes away from their house. I meet with them give'em my sales presentation ( usually don't sign on the spot) And then do a follow up call if necessary a couple day's after our meeting. So on average I have 3-4 contacts with my potential customers.

1) Initial phone call requesting estimate
2) Phone call 1/2 hour before arrival
3) Meet with potential customer & give sales presentation
4) Follow up phone call few days after meeting if necessary

I'm wondering if it would be benificial to add 1-2 more contacts or if that would be to much. I'm thinking about doing this in the form of a letter. Maybe right after I meet them send them a letter that recap's everything we talked about. Or if the estimate is scheduled 3 days or more after the initial phone call, Send them a letter that confirms the appointment time & a tid-bit about what to expect when we meet. Keep in mind this is reguarding residential customers only.

Thanks
-Tom

noreast05

From what you listed you will need 1-2 more contacts to close the deal. Just curious why wouldn't you ask for the sale and have them sign on the first visit. You pitched your sales presentation, if you hooked them you should rail them in. If you sold them on why they called you in the first place and they feel good about it ask for the sale. Your closing ratio dramatically drops if you give them a chance to think it over, or talk to others. You convinced them why they called you, don't let someone else talk them out of it. Just my two cents I don't know anything about your business.

ProWallGuy

Ditto.

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AHS

I usually make an ASK out of myself when doing my presentation & my overall closing ratio is good. I still seem to sale the majority of my job's on the follow up though.
So 1-2 more contacts sounds about right to me. Do you have a certain system to achieve this.

Oregon_Rob

Get yourself a good book on how to close a sale and practice.

AHS

Are you guy's signing like 75% of your sold jobs on the spot or what? For every 10 jobs I sign, 6-7 are signed after initial meeting & 3-4 on the spot. But the original reason for the post was not so much about my ability to sale a job on the spot but more about how many times & in what way's do you contact the customer before the initial meeting & IF NECESSARY after the initial meeting.

Say you do 100 estimates, your closing ratio is 50% (50 job's) of those 50 job's you sold let's say, Zig Ziggler & Brian Tracy had a baby & your it & you sell 40 of those 50 job's on the spot. That still leaves 60% of your estimates that need some sort of follow up. So no matter what their should be a follow up system in place Wether it's a phone call or two, e-mails ,letters or what ever.

go dart

your closing ratio will only go up when you ask for the order first time out. be willing to field a few objections then ask for the order. if your running even 5 leads a week most can be sold on the first stop. jobs that require an extensive workup can still close by expaining the need for a plan or design fee which motivates the salesperson and should stop the shopping. prepare simple plans ,gather samples, check code requirments and close

slickshift

I think that's the point
Not that you should close 75% (or 50%, or 10%) at the first meeting, but that you never will close anything at the first meeting if you never ask for the sale at the first meeting
It is truly the best time to ask
Don't use your sales skills to sell a job for someone else to do

And those "steps to selling" books are helpful
Some of the stuff in them sounds silly, but good salesman (and you are wearing the salesman hat at this point) do follow those rules/systems

Grumpy

I think you've got it fine but should follow up until the day you die, they die or they sign the contract. When ever I have a moment to spare I am calling past estimates who have not said Yes or No.

Paul Staub

In these days of caller ID and people not answering the phone a little card can go a long way. The night that you get home from your estimate write them a thank you note on an invitation sized card and send it to them. Just make sure at the very least the envelope is hand written (preferably the note would be too), and it gets to them within 5 days of the estimate.

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-Paul

Grumpy

In regards to follow-up I will mass mail coupons to my customers who have not said yet signed up... in an effort to fill my spring schedule. I am probably going to do that next month.

AHS

Good idea Grumpy

Are you going to offer like a 5% discount off the quoted price if they sign by March 31st or did you have something else in mind.

Scottsdale

The first mistake is calling before you arrive. It makes you look to eager and gives the prospect another chance to say no or opt. for a way out of the appointment. The first appointment is the first PROMISE to the customer you will keep. This is very important! If for some reason you do not close on the first call set a second appointment BEFORE you leave, no later than 7 days away. Strike while the iron is hot and before they shop someone else. There are many forms of contact. Phone, Face and written. Do not spend alot of time on the phone with them. The salesman in you will want to spill out everything you know as soon as possible. Spend more face to face time with them. each appointment should be no longer than 60 minutes. If you have more to talk about schedule another appointment. each appointment you keep fullfills another promise you have made to the prospect. This builds credibility and trust. Take extensive notes during each interaction. That night synthesize those notes (type them) Then mail a thank you note to the prospect the very next day and include what you heard them say during the interaction. If you care to see an example let me know. Phone, Face to Face, written thank you note, repeat.DO NOT LEAVE WITHOUT A SECOND APPOINTMENT.

slickshift

I think that's good advice Scottsdale
But I would respectfully dis-agree with one point
I dis-agree on principle, because I don't care for the "don't look to eager" facade

And I dis-agree in a more real-world sense

Around here contractors are famous (and deservedly so around here) for not calling back or showing up when they said they would
As the exception to the rule, I have had the opposite happen to me often
I would show up on time with no homeowner to be found, leave a message/note, and continue on my way
Invariably the no-show would call back with the words "Oh. I didn't think you'd reeeaaallly be here at 2, I took-the-dog-for-a-walk/went-to-the-store/just-stepped-out-for-a-moment
I figured 2 meant 3 or 4...you know how it is..."

When you have 6 appointments and 3 of them go like this...somethings got to change

Regardless of whether they were really trying to figure out "contractor time" or simply didn't have a consideration for my time, I found the best way around that is a call before I show up
I may appear too eager to some, but at least I won't waste time/gas and can move on to the next one

That having been said, I can see the point of not giving the customer a chance to "opt-out", and could see how this could be an issue
Sort of the opposite of what I had happening, but I can see it

I haven't noticed anyone opting-out with my pre-appointment calls, but thanks to your reply I'll be keeping an eye on that for sure

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