When Should You Demo?????

wpc07834

If I am able to set appointment for a free estimate with a homeowner that needs my product (replacement windows, siding,roof) but they say they are not doing the work this year but maybe next year, should you demo this lead?

My belief is to demo all the time. i have sold many jobs when they said that to me. I talk to some people and find out that they don't even try, they say call us back next year. Do you think this is right?

I belive if they are willing to have you come out and deo and give them a esstimate then you should every time.

Carport King

YES, YES always demo. Why not if you have spent money on the lead with time and gas you may be the only one that does demo. Who will they remember? You.

Plus now you have opened the door for continued contact. Newsletter,mailings etc. invite them to an open house.

We have so many clients that may just want gutter but once we are there we pitch all our products and show our magazine and they will most always get additional work.

Always be selling!

Skydawggy

We never demo anyone who isn't ready to do the work within the next 90 days on a window, siding or roofing job. We simply explain to them that with rising material, labor and overhead costs that the estimate would be meaningless next year. We then suggest that if they are looking for the best price on quality work, that now would be the time to act. We also let them know we currently have some great payment options we can offer for more immediate business.

If they still insist they cannot do the job in the next 90 days, we ask for their permission to call them back when they are ready, make a quick little pitch about the company and thank them for talking to us. We have made plenty of sales just by being consistent by folowing up later.

vinylguy

i say always demo
hey if you offer financing tell them during the demo that they can get the work done now at this years prices and have 12 mnths S A C before they even start paying for the project. think about it if they are going to do the job anyways in a year they would be stupid to not take advantage of todays pricing right?
and beside alot of people just say this so you don't put pressure on them anyways . for us we sell a ton of work all the time when were told " we don't want to have it done tell next year, but was just looking to see how much it's gonna cost." well i hate to tell ya this guys but noone on here knows how much something is going to cost next year. and also to just give them a price now is just plain suicide cause they will not remember to call you again but they will remember to use your price to shop around for a cheaper price.
most of what we tell customers now is forgotten as soon as we leave the home.
well there is my 2 cents worth ! take it or leave it but it pretty much comes from 20 + years in the biz

stoner

Yes! always I get calls from jobs that I bid last year and sometimes it's because I was the only one that show up, ( on all my written estimates there's a note on the bottom part noting that prices are good for 30 days from date of estimate ) when I'm called back later I just adjust the final price if necesary.

wpc07834

Don't miss the boat. Just demo the lead. If you do not demo I think the customer closed you.

genecarp

i though this thread was about, ripping 5hit out

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wpc07834

Demo= short for Demonstration, sales term

LNG24

So did I, but good thread just the same.

I agree. Always Demo! The reason I am thinking of doing something next year as opposed to this year is usually money. People remember faces and contact, not phone calls and flyer's.

Here is some advice also. Not sure how this can be applied to Windows and such, but it works for most salesmen. Always try to sit down with them in the kitchens, at the kitchen table.

Here is why: Guests sit in the living room and dining room. Family sits at the kitchen table. You don;t want to be a guest, aka outside, you want to ear their trust. That trust is made at the kitchen table. Also, never refuse anything to drink. If they offer you alcohol, just explain that you can not drink on the job and you don;t want to risk drinking and driving. Otherwise, accept anything they offer you.

Skydawggy

To clarify a little, we generate about about 65 to 85 qualified presentations per week through various aggressive marketing such as canvas, telemarketing and media. By qualified presentations I mean that:

1. We made the initial contact with them. They did not contact us, except thru media sources.
2. They agreed to an appointment to view a specific product.
3. They agreed to a specific day and time.
4. Both homeowners agreed to meet with our Rep.
5. They agreed that if they liked what we had to show them and felt the pricing was reasonable, this is something they would like to get started on within the next 90 days.

We obviously generate many, many more raw leads but since we prefer to meet with both homeowners, most leads are run between 4pm and 7pm. Our time is much too limited to spend a lot of time quoting jobs that we made the initial contact on, that the homeowner, for whatever the reason, isn't willing to commit to do in the next 90 days. I haven't check lately, but our raw lead count is over 200 per week. We just don't have the time or personel to see that many people per week when the closing ratio on those wanting to wait a year is so low.

We have a very professionally run call center that tracks each and every raw lead by computer from the initial contact, all the way through to the point where the customer either agrees to meet with us, purchases, or tells us they aren't interested any more. I have literally made sales when the initial contact was as long as 8 years ago. Most of those people are very easy sales because they are very impressed with our professionalism and persistence. Many of them tell us they appreciate the fact we didn't rush them when they weren't ready to do the work.

OTOH if a potential client makes the initial contact through media, refferal, or previous client, we treat them differently because we already know they were motivated to take the first step and that their interest and commitment level is higher. Many of these people tell us they aren't going to be ready for 6 months to a year but we will still agree to meet with them.

MGSProperties

I think you nailed it. Depending on how the lead comes in is how a lead should be confirmed on the phone. If they called you, you know they are much more interested in the product then when you called them. Have a different confirmation script for different lead sources.

There is also another factor; i used to wake up every morning with 50+ leads per day. You bet your little buns that i was much tougher on confirmation then when you have 1-2 leads per day available to you.

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wpc07834

well done.

vinylguy

ageed, i thought it was obvious not to run or demo a lead unless all decision makers were present.
however we do not qualify to the next level of 90 days.
its the saleperson job to show why they benifit from today not 90 days!

Carport King

Great feed back and fantastic post! Thanks

wpc07834

could it be possible that a customer tells you they are not doing the work until next year or so, just so the won't get presured into anything. I think it is like someone who says" I am just looking"

Skydawggy

I don't doubt we occasionally miss one. But the few we miss is small compared to the volume we do on the ones who are ready now. Most of the time when they tell us they aren't ready to do the work till next year we find it's because they have another project they want to do first such as a kitchen or bath remodel. As I said before we continiously follow up with them. We might ask if we can call back in 2 months and if the customer agrees, we call back in exactly 60 days and touch base with them again.

I can't tell you how many sales we get when the customer has had 6 estimates over the last 2 years but wasn't ready to move forward until now. Most of the time they can't even remember the name of the company that quoted them

And as I said the closing % is so high on the ones that commit to less than 90 days as compared to those who want to wait that we just can't afford the time to see them until they are ready

DoorMat

I have been in the home improvement marketing field for 12+ years. If I have learned anything, it is always demo...

Very quick example, tre story from just last night!

Last week, sent an ouside sales rep to an appointment. Rep couldnt get his car down the driveway for some reason. He parked on the street and walked down. The customer wasn't home (hey I'm great, not perfect). The rep reported we were wasting our time with this lead, said the house was abandoned, no electrcity, etc. We rescheduled the lead for last night. This time one of our senior guys ran the lead (original rep wanted nothing to do with this waste of time lead) Our senior guy got to the house a few minutes early (ho was not there yet) and called the call center and told my assistant manager that the original rep was right, waste of time, blah blah blah. To make a long story short, rep, even though he pre judged, demoed it, wrote the contract in his car (no electricity). $33,000 job, CASH deal, 10% deposit. Demo the lead.....

mdshunk

Maybe it boils down to this... do you have something else you must do at the same time that you know is more profitable? If not, demo the lead.

wpc07834

If you can tell who is going to buy without doing a product demo, get out of the of the biz and just goto vegas. I have sold alot of jobs that I thought I was waisting my time but I did what I was trained too and the customer bought.

True story: I ran a lead for windows, when I got there I saw a school bus attached to a trailer for a room addition. I could not believe the lead the company sent me too. I called my sales manager before I went inside. He told me to just go in and do what I was supposed to,Demo.
Well I did exactly that with a little attitude. I really thought I was waisting my time and was a little pisssed for being there.
When I finished the product demo, I asked them what they thought. They said they liked it and wanted to go ahead with the project. Wow, I made a sale I was going to walk away from .
Always Demo. You Don't get the dough without the show.

kirbymurphy

I think that is the case with most people. Like I said in another thread, they are so use to getting steamrolled by Sears and Home Depot types that they think you won't apply pressure--and you shouldn't. I've heard so many horror stories from people, and then they usually are my best friend and customers after I make the demo.

Like someone else mentioned, you gently remind them that prices will only go up, and they realize you are telling the truth. If they are truly not buying now, find out when and give them today's price and explain the value in using you instead of the low-ball they might get later. I generally honor last month's price if I only lose a point or so. And call them once a month, get their E-mail and use it!