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Have you ever been to a seminar or purchased a marketing system and heard the speaker say, “What you need to do is develop a sales system that consistently brings in new business?”
You go through the material or presentation, only to finish with a bunch of great marketing ideas and really no idea of how things fit together.
There are so many things you can do to sell your business, things that are good, but sometimes not effective when used alone.
Many people are looking for that one silver bullet. They are searching for that one flyer, postcard, ad, or Internet trick that will make their company explode with growth.
The truth is, the silver bullet is to become a better salesman. Sales are about planning and structure. When done right, selling feels natural, it feels honest and it leaves both your customer and yourself satisfied with the interaction.
The sales success of your technician is largely going to depend on your ability to give them a structure that will be easy to remember and natural to implement.
If your company is like most, 80 percent of the time when you go into a home, you are going to clean carpet. If all you ever do is show up at Mrs. Jones house with the plan that you are going to clean four rooms, a set of stairs and a hallway, get a check and leave, you are doomed.
There are five steps to your sales/service call:
1. Arrive and connect
This is where the professional look of your van, uniforms and materials come into play.
It is about a good smile and smooth tone to your voice. You are letting the customer feel in control of the process. You are setting yourself up as a guest in their home, asking for permission to serve them.
2. Set expectations
You are going over the services to be performed. Your knowledge of your services will begin to bring confidence that they have made the right choice. They should become aware of your expertise and knowledge of the cleaning process.
3. Perform the service
This is why they called you. You are working quickly, respectfully and quietly as you take the greatest care of their possessions.
4. Confirm satisfaction
You are looking for agreement. Did you meet the expectations? Are they completely satisfied? Did they enjoy their interaction with you and your company?
5. Plan for the future
You are expressing your appreciation for their business and a concern for future needs that may arise. You are leaving tools that will help them care for their possessions in the future and continue to call you for service.
These five steps are not a list, but a circular process for serving your clients time and time again.
The core resource you need is a sales folder to give your technicians the tools to walk through the five steps of a service visit. In the folder is the key resources they are going to need to completely satisfy the customer and in a natural way introduce them to more of your core services.
The tech sales folder includes:
1. Core service and warranty sales aid
2. Service work order
3. After-care and safety sales aid
4. Referral connection card
5. Service review card
6. Emergency water damage instructions
7. Social media connection card
The service and warranty sales aid should have several things on it, including your core services, your levels of cleaning, your certifications, etc.
This sheet allows the tech to start off his service visit by saying something like this.
“Mrs. Jones, I am here today to perform a standard cleaning, which includes…” — Point to list of included services and read.
“You are also getting our 10-day spot warranty…” — Point to warranty card. Turn card over.
“My work order showed me that we will be cleaning both carpet and upholstery today…” — Point to services on the core services sheet.
“Here is my contact information…” — Point to business card attached to sales aid. Hand sheet to customer.
“If you would be so kind as to show me around the house and point out any concerns you might have…” — Move to the work order and do the walk-through.
Here is what just happened with this simple sales aid: You clearly established what furniture will be moved, what optional services will be used, you told her you stand behind your work and in going over the services you will be performing, you handed her a pictorial list of all the other services you offer.
She is now holding and looking at those services. She has every opportunity to ask you about other services as you walk through the house. When you are gone, she will have a full color sales aid that she can refer to or a friend or relative can possible see lying on the counter in the kitchen.
After-care and safety
Another tool we use is our after-care and safety sales aid. This sheet contains four elements: After-care information for cleaning services, referral program details, commercial services you offer and the CRI info for proper care of carpet and rugs.
So when the tech is done doing the walk-through, he would present the after-care sheet like this:
“Mrs. Jones, this is a reminder about care and safety in the next few hours to get the best results from your cleaning service. I also would like to thank you again for using our services. One of the ways customers hear about us is through satisfied clients like you. These friendship cards allow you to give your friends and family a savings on our services. Make sure you sign your name on it and our office will send you a certificate for a free cleaning when they are used. We also clean offices, churches and restaurants. If we can help you in your business, please let us know.”
Getting a customer review can be a daunting task. You will be able to do this on the majority of your sales visits. The tech simply says something like this, “Mrs. Jones I am so glad you are happy with our service today. Would you mind filling out this customer satisfaction survey and placing it this envelope? It allows my supervisor to get feedback on my performance and the performance of our company. I sure would appreciate it. I am going to step out to the truck and put away a few things. I will come back and get that in a moment.”
When the tech returns for the review, he has two final items to give the customer.
“Mrs. Jones, I have two items to leave with you before I go. We like to provide our customers with these emergency water damage check lists. They are made to tie on your water heater and the main shut off valve of your home water supply. I also have our social media connection card. This is our Facebook and Twitter information. It’s a way for you to get information on specials we run and when we have an opening in your community, we sometimes offer amazing discounts to help fill our schedule. Thanks so much for choosing our company. My information is on your service sheet. If you need anything, please contact our office.”
Create results
Great sales professionals in any industry create a pre-call plan before they make a sales call.
If you are going to have fantastic results in your company, you and your employees must not only become great at performing your cleaning services, you must become great at delivering your sales message to your clients in a natural and non-offensive way.
You must create a pre-call plan for the service call. It does not happen the same way each time, but having a plan and a scripted message that has been memorized will make things seem natural.
Make the interaction between you and your customer enjoyable.
Tom King, along with his wife, Karen, own Sani-Bright Carpet Cleaning in Indianapolis, IN. Together they have grown the business to include four full-time certified technicians and four part-time production employees, along with two customer service representatives. In addition to running the business, they engage in small business coaching. They can be reached at (317) 334-1900.
