Looking at 2022 in the rearview mirror afforded me the opportunity to reflect on the columns I wrote in 2022, and pick out a few of my favorite messages for the remodeling community.
Challenge Question – What Do You Do?
The following situation is a common occurrence in our busy lives. While at your kid’s school event, a friend’s backyard cook-out, or sporting event – you meet somebody new. You make introductions, and if the conversation lasts long enough, they may ask “What do you do?” How do you respond? Do you say something like “I’m Joe Smith, and I sell for XYZ Remodeling.” Or perhaps “I’m in sales for XYZ Home Improvement.” The crux of the story should not be on what you do, but why you do it. This forces you to incorporate in your messaging a deeper level of value for the customer, making your presentation more memorable and increasing the customer’s perceived value in the offering. An example might be “I help homeowners, just like you increase the energy efficiency of their homes, keeping more of their hard-earned money in their pockets, which also helps, in a small way, global warming. Another one might be “Helping homeowners increase the beauty of their homes and elevating their pride of ownership is one of the greatest rewards of my job.”
Can You Talk Yourself Out of a Sale?
During a sales training presentation a few years ago a sales manager for the group I was working with asked me a question. “How much time, is too much time spent in the home building rapport with the customer?” My answer surprised him a little. I replied that weaker, less confident salespeople spend too much time building rapport and strong, confident salespeople spend less time building rapport. That answer may seem contradictory to what most sales trainings would say, so allow me to explain. It's easy to have these “chit-chat” conversations with people. It’s easy to talk about their kid’s ballgames, which sports teams they like, their pets, hunting, fishing etc. If you’re not focused on the task at hand, it’s easy to go down one of these “rapport building rabbit holes.” You’re talking because their talking and they’re talking because you’re talking. It feels polite, nice, productive, and like you are really building a great connection. And you might be – you also might be talking yourself out of a sale. Strive to build rapport and trust, but don’t stay in that part of your sales call too long. The homeowner is busy, and you are busy. Learn to move the call process along to the reason they have you there in first place.
Remodeling Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt
Although your prospective customers may appear very calm and confident on the outside, just underneath the surface lies a deep state of fear, uncertainty, and doubt with the project, and how to go about selecting a company to complete the work. This fear, uncertainty and doubt clouds the picture, making it harder for them to decide which direction to go in. Many times, when you hear “We want to get other quotes” or “We want to think it over” after asking for the sale, it is a result of their fear, uncertainty, and doubt. There is a psychological component to this as well. Fear, uncertainty, and doubt are powerful emotional triggers. The concept of Herd Behavior can help salespeople have a positive effect on these negative emotional triggers. From the beginning of humankind, we have banded together and ran in packs. When every day was a fight for survival, this was a defense mechanism against predators, and was used to hunt more effectively, and just exist. In today’s modern world we still want to belong to groups, be around people socially, and seek the safety of other’s opinions, especially when making large purchase decisions. This creates a deeper level of trust and feeling of safety in our decisions. If it’s good enough for my neighbor, friend, family member, or co-worker, then it’s good enough for me. Testimonials, Referrals & being active on Facebook help overcome Fear, Uncertainty & Doubt.
What is the Lifetime of a Lifetime Warranty?
Lifetime warranties are prevalent in the home improvement industry. Many product categories come with lifetime product warranties of varying degrees and some home improvement companies add lifetime labor warranties as well. How long is a lifetime warranty good for?” The lifetime warranty of any product is only valid if the company remains in business. Companies that have been around for a long time are good at one thing – not going out of business. Profitability is required to keep a business going. Make sure you are pricing your products and services in a way that brings this needed profit into your business. Take the time to explain to a homeowner what a lifetime warranty means, and why the companies you have chosen to align with will provide more protection to them in terms of the warranty on the products for their project.
