How to Win the Job in 120 Minutes
Without sales a terrible thing happens; nothing. In our corner of the shelter industry the role of ‘salesperson’ is played by; artists, mechanics, craftsmen, diagnosticians or others calling themselves; technicians, designers, estimators or consultants. Very few want to be called salesperson and fewer willingly expose themselves to sales training. The result may be that the public is able to buy our products and services at bargain basement prices--often below cost. Or the public just doesn’t buy. The result is that we have a pool of contractors that appears to be constantly drained by those closing up shop and refilled by others just starting up. And we have frustrated homeowners.
This aversion to the label salesperson is not unique to contractors, but in reality everyone who breathes practices sales techniques in some way. The employee who marches into the boss’s office bent on a raise must sell the boss on his or her capabilities and historical performance to justify the raise. The child following mom through the cashier’s lane in the market clutching a bar of candy indeed knows enough to ask for the order several times before overcoming the objection and closing the deal:
“Mom, can I have this candy bar?”
“No” replies Mom as she begins to unload groceries onto the checkout stand.
“Mom, I really want this candy bar,” insists the child a few moments later.
“Absolutely not! I’m not buying candy!” Mom replies forcefully.
After a few more moments, the insistent child asks again, “Mom, why can’t I have a candy bar?”
“You’ll spoil your dinner!” Mom replies, not realizing that the persistent child has just smoked out the real objection as Mom occupies herself with the duties at hand.
“I’ll save it until after dinner, I promise!” replies the child, eyes gleaming with the knowledge that the objection has been overcome.
“Oh, all right,” replies Mom with a sigh.
The point is that all of us are salespeople, but not many people want to be known as salespeople. Nor is it a title we hope our children would strive for when they grow up.
As a home performance diagnostician I have a unique advantage over a more typical remodeler when it comes to sales. While it’s hard for a remodeler to sell a kitchen remodel that only exists in words and sketches to a skeptical homeowner, I can take a different approach. Remember “show and tell” in pre-school? We all sat in a circle on the floor and showed some personal item to our classmates and told a story around that item. Perhaps “tell and show” would be more accurate for me.
With some training, I have learned to observe and tell the homeowner what’s going on in the home. Then I am able to show how it happens using tools. With a little more training I can create an interaction with the homeowner that feels less like sales and more like education. The customer can feel the air leaking in around the switch place more easily than they can imagine how the new island cabinets will look. The more I can involve the senses in the educational process the easier it is to make the sale. We have five senses to choose from. We can; see, smell, taste, touch and hear. Involving the senses allows me to bypass short-term memory and go directly into long-term memory. That makes for better education.
If I do the best job of educating the customer about what’s going on in the home--and come up with a price for repairs quickly and accurately--I win the job at my price. In reality, this doesn’t happen without specific tools and training directed towards the topics of “tell and show” and “how to determine a fair price” any more than diagnostic expertise could happen without specific tools and training. I carry presentation materials so my future customer can see and touch all the documents related to the process of fixing their home while they hear me describe the process. With my laptop computer and portable printer I can print out a work order with a price specific to their project at the kitchen table. This allows me to get the order signed in just a couple of hours most of the time. I wrote a book about the process.
My book, 280 pages, 8 1/2" x 11:
See the link to order the book with free next-day shipping by priority mail:
Mike Gorman delivers seminars and provides seminars and training with clients ranging from government agencies, to Fortune 500 companies and individual contractors regarding sales, marketing, estimating, Home Performance, as well as systemizing the business. His background as a "Big 50" and "Top 500" remodeler provides his platform. Mike speaks from proven experience, he is not a theorist. Monitor Mike’s speaking and seminar schedule at; http://www.techknowledgeonline.net/.
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