Idea for the Sales Section that might help us all - Contractor Talk - Professional Construction and Remodeling Forum

dirt diggler · 03-17-2007, 07:49 PM

just an idea ...

alright ... go find a buddy

(stop - come back --- i mean on here, dummy)

you and your buddy would make an appointment - yep, a scheduled one to where both of you could meet on here - but on a chat-like or Instant Message (IM)-type format.

The point would be to give your buddy your sales presentation

think of it like role playing ---- only you don't have to wear black leather and carry a whip

in essence, you sell your buddy your service/product. Buddy plays a consumer. Buddy plays like consumer all the way till the time you're done.

And then Buddy critiques your presentation

then you switch

(gross ... but you get the point)

now, just an idea. Seems like it'd be a nice addition to this site. I have no idea how to make it a reality -- im all brains; no brawn here. Heck, im not even brains haha

there's a couple glitches to this idea ... but let's run it through the gauntlet first.

Good, Bad, Sucks, Possibly Sucks ??

Have at it and don't say I can't make positive contributions around here

PressurePros · 03-17-2007, 08:05 PM

There is no bad side to it. Christine is almost ready to shoot me if she has to listen again but practice is the key to good sales. When an objection comes up, I don't get rattled. I keep dialogue open and keep customer at ease because my style of speaking does not sound canned.

Grumpy · 03-17-2007, 08:32 PM

I do alot of role playing with my sales reps. It truly does help. I like to throw them alot of curve balls and make them think before they answer.

RobertCDF · 03-17-2007, 11:01 PM

Sales pitch?? What the crap is that? I just go in and talk to the customer like I know them. Works great we talk mostly about the project but we also talk about various other things. Seems to work good for me.

But to be honest I have been putting stuff together to make more of a presentation but it might be a little bit before I have anything "real"

Danahy · 03-18-2007, 12:29 AM

I think the practice could be of benefit to me. Currently, I have this method, of completely blocking any thought about the estimate, almost holding everything I might think about the customer or job, til the second I get past the "hello's, how are ya's" at the door. Then with an absolutely clear head, with 0 expectations, I unlease my gut instinct, and react/listen/sell with whatever comes out.

This method, inspired after reading the book "blink" (recommended by a past client) has proven successful for me thus far.

Three things I notice;
1) I retain more percentage of the job/conversations, even after a couple of months have passed.
2) I carry with me, no stress, no bias, no regrets about anything I've said, since I let my gut do the talking for me.
3) As mentioned on some other thread, I'm enjoying the pregnant pause. Using my quick responses, and then wait... It's the waiting that kills any HO's brickwall or poker face techniques they might try making you feel like you need to drop your price...

Kinda feels like I sit back and watch it happen.

How would this work in role play with a 'buddy'? It'd be interesting to find out.