In Home Sales Question

davinci

lets use the following situation:
1)they like your product and price but they say they have no idea if this is a good price because they have'nt recieved any other estimates,it certianly sounds good but they want to be sure? if you are the first and they never recieved an estiate for your product how do they know your "good price" is'nt a sky high rip off?
any come backs for that sort of response?

pcplumber

giving a bid and the customer tells you he is getting more bids. The thread asks how we get the customer to cancel future bids.

I would assume the customer does not have enough information to tell you what he is willing to pay for the job because you are his first bidder.

I agree with you, it would be great if we could ask a customer how much he is willing to spend, but I am cautious about asking. When a customer calls and asks for a price for a tankless water heater I want to ask the customer, on the phone, if he is willing to pay up to $3600, but I don't ask because the customer may be thinking the water heater cost is only $500, or he may already have five prices for $3400, and I can work around the $3400 price. Suppose, I ask the question, tell the customer the price is about $3600, and the customer hangs up on me. I lost my chance to negotiate and close a sale.

Suppose, a customer wants a room addition. You ask the customer how much he has in his budget. The customer tells you he has $40,000. You laugh and walk out. Another contractor presents the customer with plans and pictures for a beautiful room addition that is so beautiful the customer thinks the price is too low when he hears $70,000, and he signs the contract. We have to be very cautious when asking questions because the answers are seldom accurate and seldom true.

I was remodeling a kitchen and dining room for my ex-wife. We went to Home Expo looking for appliances and the salesman asked what our budget was. I told him is was $35,000. He litterally laughed. I asked him what the average budget was and he said something like $50,000 to $60,000. We did not purchase one item from Home Expo because the sales person was rude and all the other sales people seemed like they were not interested in bums like us, so we purchased the kitchen cabinets from The Kitchen Warehouse for $26,000. We purchased Thermador appliances for $18,000, spent over $20,000 on marble, granite, and tile, windows, doors, electrical, plastering, etc., and structural changes to walls and ceilings (this included a large dining room). The final cost was over $100,000 and I did all the plumbing and structural changes myself.

You have to be tactful regarding asking a customer how much he is willing to spend and you seldom can judge how much a person has in his bank account, or is willing to spend for something he wants. The customer is not always 'in the know'.

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buddy110

yes Sir! Great advice!!

welterweight

Anderson gave you some excellent advice. As for a home owner claiming he has another contractor coming directly after you,well thats a tough one because it would be kind of rude to cancel an appointment when the other guy is on his way. you simply tell the cutomer to make sure they call you that evening or the very next day and you will then go over your best pricing for their solution. if needed,you contact them.

Framer53

This objection means they haven't bought what you are saying. Rewind the script and go back over it with plenty of questions to determine their temperature..

In other words, you haven't sold them enough!

Or it isan excuse to rid themselves of you. More trial closes in the presentqation will smoke out this objection!

pcplumber

Why would it be rude to get a customer to cancel an estimate from another contractor even if he is less than one minute away. We don't invite competition and we want the customer to cancel future estimates. We want to get every job we can get and when a customer cancels 'that is the way the ball bounces'. We have no obligation to make sure customers get more estimates and no obligation to make sure they don't cancel estimates.

This thread is about how to get the job when the customer is getting more estimates. As stated in a previous post, the best two ways are to get the customer to cancel the estimate, and when you are one of the first estimators, to alter your bidding strategy and get yourself back into the customer's house one-on-one after the customer is finished getting estimates.

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Anderson

In your example of being the first one in, it will be almost impossible to close that deal if the Ho is not educated. In that case I would concentrate on selling yourself, and the quality of your work. Try not to get into price at all.
If they have not bought you, then the price will not matter.
If they have and you feel you have a good rapport, then before you leave sow the seed of doubt. That you spend a good 30% of your time on jobs fixing what someone had done for a few dollars less.
Everyone these days has seen holmes or one of those disaster shows. Although they are worried about paying to much they are more worried about having a terrible job done.
If they have bought you and you have with you a portfolio of before and after pictures. Then tell them right up front "Don't get so hung up on the price, and try and focus on getting the work done the way you want it and to the quality you deserve."
Of course everyone is different and every situation. So take what ever pearls of wisdom you can get from here and try and put it into something you are comfortable with.
Then practice, its a little daft to role play with the missus, but go on lots of estimates even if you don't want the job. Just get used to talking with people.

welterweight

Anderseon made great points but would I like best is what he said about establishing a good rapport with the home owner,thats so important. Let the home owner know you really went out of your way to explain your product: "i know its alot of boring stuff but its important to know what you are getting and how it actually works". with the good rapport,make sure they know you will maintain close contact and you will be given a chance to give them your pricing once they saw a few other companies.
as another guy eluded too earlier,its very hard to close when you are the first one in the door and they have nothing to compare.

pcplumber

giving an estimate and the customer tells you he is going to get another estimate. The question is how do you increase your chances to land the job after the customer gets more estimates. We should assume every estimate is similar. The words each estimator spoke are similar. All prices and work are similar. Customers have no loyalty and the customer will not call the first contractor back when every estimate is similar and even if the first contractor's price was slightly less.

The trick to landing this job is tell the customer you are going to edit, adjust, and type the estimate, and ask the customer to wait until after you deliver your final proposal before making a decision. When all prices are close the last person to speak with the customer has the best chance of getting the job, even when he delivers the worse presentation.

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airxprt

The advice you have gotten thus far is all based around what to do after you have quoted and the prospect wants to get other quotes.

The problem is that you are working on the wrong end of the problem and now you are overcoming objections (impossible to do since they aree the prospect's objections and only they can overcome them) and some of the advice you have gotten can create an adversarial situation.

The real solution is to avoid getting to this situation to begin with and gain a prospect's agreement to give you a decision once you finish sharing your recommendations, expertise and investment figures.

I teach in-home sales to contractors and have attached a script (not a big fan of scripts since I teach concepts in which the words are yours) that will illustrate how you can secure this commitment. It's a little long for training purposes and wee shorten it up in practice, but you'll get the idea.

I always tell my trainees, while you do offer a "free estimate" there is a price to pay by the homeowner..."that is the professional courtesy of a simple yes or no based upon what we have discussed once I share my expertise. If you want to move forward that's great, and if not, that's okay too. All I ask is that you let me know either way once I share my recommendations."

You can't control whether or not a sale takes place, but you can control the flow of information and your actions.

Feel free to call or email if I may be of further assistance.

Attached Files

Upfront Commitment to Mutual Expectations.pdf (76.2 KB, 61 views)

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buddy110

I think, no I know I'm gonna disagree with this. I control it about 45% of the time. Now I'm sure I can do much worse by being a lousy salesman, and I'll bet I can do better. I'll never sell all of them but I can control the %

pcplumber

for this specific scenario you cannot start your presentation by asking the customer for a committment to make a decision when your presentation is finished. The customer will tell you he has to wait until after he is finished with his future estimates. It is possible to do a great presentation and get the customer to cancel his estimates, but what can you do when the customer will not cancel his future estimate.

A lot of professional sales people, such as insurance salesmen, like your method of starting a presentation with a close.

In this scenario, when the customer insists on getting more estimates, you need to get the customer to cancel his future estimate, or let the customer get his last estimate, and set yourself up so you can go back to the customer's house when he is finished getting all estimates. Regardless, of how great your presentation is, I see no other way.

I don't understand your part about giving a free estimate and asking the customer for a decision. You automatically expect one of three decisions from a customer such as, "yes, no, and I will let you know".

Be cautious about asking questions other than what the customer wants and the scope of the work. When giving an estimate you want to assume you are the best in the world and the customer would not think of calling another contractor. You should not ask the customer if he will give you a decision because you should work with the premise the customer is going to give you the job. Asking for a committment, for a decision, at the beginning of the presentation is belittling yourself and setting yourself up.

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buddy110

Yes and no. If you give him a good enough reason to buy now, he'll cancel his future estimates.

dougchips

Don't pressure them into closing or you will not be invited back (unless you are really cheap). Some/most people like to get 2-3 bids/estimates and do a little research before they make a buying decision.

Would you make a $10,000 decision without getting a few bids, checking references and farting around for a few weeks? <--I think that's a rhetorical question

Try this: build trust, do your warm up, build trust, walk around, demo, build trust, and if they are not fighting over who is going to write you a check just tell them not to rush into a buying decision tonight You will be the only company that did not pressure them. You see, they can feel you wanting them to buy tonight, instead go with their feelings to make a well thought out buying decision.

It works for me but then again I've been having to drive out to almost every estimate a second time to sign a contract....not a bad problem to have.

Out of interest and feel free to PM me if you don't want to share the info on the open forum;

1. What percentage of your demos are you closing on the same night?

2. What percentage of the ones that you did not close on the first night are calling you back to sign a contract?

3. What percentage of the ones that did not sign are you following up with?

4. How often are you following up with them?

5. When you track your demos to jobs sold over 3-6-8-12 months what percentage are you closing?

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TileArt

I think it would be counter-productive to give a potential customer an ultimatum. I'll give you a free estimate if you give me . . . ?!?!? I sure as hell wouldn't start a proposal with it.

A LOT of sales literature, suggestions, etc. sound to me as if they equate to holding a customer hostage until you get a yes or no. In some trades that may work, it won't work in mine. Nobody's house is gonna fall down or blow up if I don't install tile in it tomorrow.

I try to make my potential customers feel at ease - UNpressured. As stated, if I were going to shell out ten grand on something (unless it's a tool ) I'm going to research, think, weigh my options, and sure as hell get another opinion/bid or two. Especially if it's something I don't know a lot about.

If it WERE a tool I was shelling out ten grand for, I would do more. If a tool salesman told you over the phone "sure, you can come try it out. You need to promise to tell me if you're gonna buy it or not though."

Personally when I need a contractor for something in my home the more pressured you make me feel the more inclined I am to show you the door. If you don't sell used cars don't act like you do. Don't get me wrong, if it works for you great, my way works very well for me.

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buddy110

The sales process starts long before you get to the house and meet the customers. Its starts the minute you answer the phone. The first impression is everything, if you do it right it will lead you to the next step, if you screw it up you may never get the appointment. If you want to close the first night you need to set it up properly

First, qualify them. Make sure they're your kind of customer. Ask them "How did you hear about us?" "Have you seen our work?" "Have you had other estimates" If yes, "What stopped you from moving forward" If they tell you they've had 4 estimates and are getting three more you better be the lowest price guy around. If not you're wasting your time.

Next set the appointment when all decision makers will be present. Try to position yourself last in, if possible. It's not necessary but you have a better shot than if your first. You can definitely close people who have appointments with other companies. We do it all the time, but your chances go up if your not the first in.

Now after the appointment is set, let them know that you will be emailing them a confirmation letter along with a few hundred references ,some credentials, awards etc, and a link to the product they're interested in. Let them know you'll be calling the the day before just to make sure it's still a good time.Now they can do that precious research by calling your refs and checking out your credentials... next.... BE ON TIME!!!! 5 minutes late is a death sentence

Then you must do a masterful presentation, asking pre close questions and doing tie downs. The demo is designed to get ALL objections out prior to the close. The only thing standing between you and the sale is must be money. Money is the easiest obstacle to overcome, trust is impossible. If you set it up right in the initial conversation and confirmation your more than half way past the trust issue.

There's more to it than this but that's the nickel tour

Tom Struble

i used the thanks button but that post deserves alittle more buddy

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pcplumber

It would be nice to hear how you handle the question that started this thread. The question is not about how you close sales. It is not about how well you give your presentation.

You are at the end of your presentation and you here:

Customer: "Gee Bob, I really like your presentation. Your price is exactly what I was expecting to spend, and I like everything you said, and I will probably give you the job, but my neighbor told me to call his friend for an estimate, and he is coming in one hour. I'm sorry, but I will not make a decision right now because my neighbor will never talk to me again, and my wife will beat me to a pulp."

The neighbor's friend is going to get this job even when he charges 30% more than you.

Okay, so you did everything perfect. Now, what do you say or do?

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buddy110

That's precisely the answer to the question that was really posed is. If you do your demo right that objection will never come up in the close. It will be taken care of in the demo
That's a smoke screen for we don't think your the best guy for the job. You have not gained there trust. The fact that they fu]luffed you with" and I like everything you said, and I will probably give you the job", They really meant we didin't like your presentation.

Edit: the close IS your demonstration. Closing is the natural conclucion to the set up and demo. At this point you have to go back into the demo and ferret out the REAL objection. That's not easy to do and your chances of closing go down exponentially

welterweight

"First, qualify them. Make sure they're your kind of customer. Ask them "How did you hear about us?" "Have you seen our work?" "Have you had other estimates" If yes, "What stopped you from moving forward" If they tell you they've had 4 estimates and are getting three more you better be the lowest price guy around. If not you're wasting your time."

THATS NOT ASKING FOR TOO MUCH INFO(OVERKILL) before you ever get inside the home? why would'nt you wait until you were inside the home to do that? it obviously works for you but i am curious.