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OK, sales techniques.
My son, who's turning 20 asked for a "suit" for his birthday. I don't even own a suit, so he and I went to "The Men's Wearhouse" to check it out.
The salesman started out fine, showing a basic blue suit, a couple different color and button combinations, discussed the pros and cons of each color and style and Todd went to try one on. No sweat.
By the time he came out of the dressing room, a few other sales people had selected and laid out a couple $50.00 shirts and $40.00 ties that would go nicely with the suit, along with a different colored pair of pants, some $10.00 a pair socks, $80.00 shoes, and asked somewhere in there about suspenders.
My neck started hurting and I lost my peripheral vision and my head started spinning. They recognized easy prey and were like pirahnnas on a pork chop. What had started out as a very enjoyable father/son trip to buy my son his first suit, got nasty real quick, and I couldn't wait to get out of there.
Reflecting on it later that night, I wondered if customers feel that same way when someone sits at their table with a proposal to remodel or add on to their house. Really, they don't know 1/2 of what the job entails and it's common knowledge that remodeling is very hard to estimate.
So my point is, yes we bought a few hundred dollars worth of clothes there, but I know for a fact that they would have said virtually anything, or tried any trick, to increase that sale. And now I don't trust them to give me advice.
And my question is, you guys with sales training, who try to "close the deal at the first meeting" and "maximize sales", do you realize how transparent these techniques are? Even if the customer DOES sign and gives you the deposit, are they really comfortable with you and your methods? Will they reccomend you to their friends and family? Or did you simply apply the right pressure to "close the deal"?
'Cause really, I think that type of sales is really short sighted. You are thinkin' more about making that single sale, than you are about how best to serve the customer and build your reputation.
Now PLEASE, don't get offended. I'm not casting stones or saying you should agree with me. I am just trying to open honest discussion about sales styles.
*Hey Tex,Retail sales is a whole different animal than what we do. The pressure is on to sell the client before he leaves your store, and no, I don't like it or respond to it with my wallet. But lots of people do, that's why you see it in lots of stores. Sales people are taught how to do that. If you are a big retail chain, it's OK to offend a small minority, because you're going to sell the majority. Have you ever walked through the appliance section of a Sears store? The one here at Valley View Mall has a pack of commissioned sales people that hit you from every direction. I just try to go around it these days.So what's with the suit? Do we have a junior account executive on our hands?Ed.
*Jim, I use a hybred method. The first visit, I sit and talk with the homeowners and see what they have in mind. I ask ALOT of questions, trying to get everything clear, and offer as much advice and design suggestions as possible. I have been dealing with over 50 percent referals lately, but try to treat all as friends, keeping the meeting as light as possible. I've probably offended a few people with the wisecracks, but that's just my personality. After we tour the potential job site, I force them to look at my picture portfolio, by saying , I'd like to show you some of my work so you can decide if it's up to the quality level you're expecting. They look, I explain. I take notes and measurements. I then say I can come back in so many days, what's good for BOTH of them......always have ALL DECISION MAKERS in the room, to let them know the price. I never(almost never) give a price at the first meeting. The first is to find out what they want, and more important, make them LIKE me! Remember, you never really sell a product. You sell yourself. Goes for anything bought or sold. The Mens Warehouse confused the situation with too many people. It's after I present the proposal and explain every last detail that I ask for the sale. Usually as simple as "Is this exactly what you had in mind? I'll need your signature here and we can get started." And there is the 3-day right of recision for anything presented and signed in the customers home......and I've got to add that to my proposals. I've just been saying it, need it in writing for an innitial. I don't think asking for a signiture is too pushy. They called me. I am the best for the job.I'm not going to rip them off. We're both sitting at their table for the same reason. Let's do it! Jeff
*I have a real big interest in closing on the first visit. Not so much to make the sale but to save me the estimating time back at the office. Being able to come up with a price in the first visit has been great the few times I've really been able to do it.And I agree. Every sales book I've read, every system I've seen makes it obvious to the client that they're being sold and that they will hear whatever it takes to get them to sign on the line.We've all been sold to and I don't think I've ever not noticed it was going on.
*When I sell, I sell myself and my company - not the job at hand.I have always felt that you should sell the customer on YOU and your company. They already want the job done, and every other contractor paying them a visit is going to try and sell the job. By selling me and my company, I have added something different to the mix. I will be the one that stands out, and the one they think about when everyone else has gone home.I have found that I do much better when I drop off my extensive bid, then leave the bid for them to look over. Without me being there, they are able to discuss the job and bid between themselves without interference or pressure from me. I very rarely lose a bid anymore, and it's not because I am too cheap. In a lot of cases, I am somewhere in the middle. I love showing off my portfolio. I leave it for them to look over, and leave my reference list and advise them to call some of the people and visit some jobs. The fact that I have over 50 references, compared to an average of about 10 for my competitors helps a lot also. I mention this when I give them my reference list. I ask them to compare my list to the competitors lists. I agree with Jim, to a point. I do think that people look differently at you and your company if you use the high pressure tactics. They hire you, and sign all the paperwork, but I think there may be a little anxiety and resentment a little bit down the road. Most people are timid, and an easy pushover when it comes to high pressure salesmen. They sometimes feel a little disappointed with themselves when they agree to something a little too fast. I much prefer to have a product that sells itself. Of course, when times get a little tougher, and work slows down a bit, I will use different techniques. I still don't think I will ever rely on "close the deal now" techniques though.just a thought near the ditch...James DuHamel
*Ryan, I know you bought Rich's book. E-mail me with your thoughts. I looked into it, and had a few questions, which he didn't cover. Is it a sales book, or a pricing book, or a combo system book? You seem happy with it. Could you tell me what it is and why you're happy? I'd appreciate it if you could spend the time. One of the other threads where you said others here haven't had professional sales training actually inspired me to do these threads! Any help so far? I'll keep re-living my 8am sales meetings if it helps generate any good discussions! Jeff.....not gonna cut my hair again though.......
*I agree entirely with the Bocce Ball champ,and James Du Hammel.I am not the least bit interested in anything that vaguely resembles high pressure sales. Even if it doubled my sales it woulddn't be worth it to me.I kind of use a variation of the DuHammel method.In my case I am in the roofing business.Not a terribly complex trade and one with a large number low-lifes involved in it.So I concentrate on selling myself and my operration. Everyone else is selling a roof,a commodity available from many sources. I am selling ME and I controll the sole source of that merchandise.So I carefully explain how I will handle their job,how their property will be protected,how long the job will take,and the extra effort I am gonna put into several problem areas on their roof.Ideally,by the time I am done discussing all of that price is a secondary factor with the homeowner.They want me if there is any way they can come up with the money.They almost always have received lower priced bids,but If I have handled it right and done my job the "prospect "clearly sees that I am the guy they want.I encourage them to get other estimates because I am confident I am gonna stand out in comparison.Before I leave I encourage the prospect to call me with any questions about my proposal or questions about how it differs from the competition. I encourage them to check me out with the BBB etc.And I leave the rest up to them.The best thing about this for me is that about 50% of the time I am able to complete jobs without ever laying eyes on the homeowner.They approach me by phone for an estimate---often as a referall from a neighbor or co-worker.I handle the discussion over the phone in some detail and give a detailed estimate in writing,on location.Often the customer is not at home during the estimate procedure.The customer mails back the signed proposal with a deposit check.I complete the job and the customer mails the balance.All without a face to face meeting.This works for me in roofing,but I doubt skipping face to face meetings would be possible in say a bathroom remodeling job.
*Stephen....The no meetings needed thing is how my tennis maintenance business runs during the spring...We just have to bang it out....New courts are not so, which is what I do this time of year...or construction.Love those mailed in payments, near the stream,aj
*Part of what I'm thinking about here is the "slam, bam, thank you mam" approach to building so prevelent today. Everybody's in a big hurry. Usually the first business dealings you have with someone is this first set of meetings. It seems to me you have a chance to set the tone for the type of work you do right then, by taking your time and going back and considering their objections, and preparing another estimate, if that's what they want. You have a chance to show then that you are prepared to do slow, carefull work, whatever it takes to do the job right, and that you're not in some big hurry. I think there is a certain segment of customers who value that approach and it can be one great way to get the price you need to slow down enough to do your best work. That's what I want to do, my best work. I want to get jobs I'm not sure I can handle and be challenged creatively. I really don't think the folks with the 1/2 million dollar income are as concerned with speed as they are with craftsmanship, or this "WOW" service I keep reading about (of course, both would be best).
*My best work is done fast...I only go slow when I'm not fully capable of going fast...Not going slow near the stream,ajI do like to stop though...sit and read on a beach...a porch in the sun...then I like slow
*Jack,like you I have learned to cash in on the profitability of jobs taking one day or less.Multiple meetings to discuss re-flashing a chimney are simply not needed---in fact no meetings are generally needed.The same technique often works for me on jobs taking several days.I never get over the thrill of getting a check in the mail----that rush never gets old. There is something better though.some of my favorites:"I will leave the check inside the storm door where you left the estimate"" I will leave the check under the potted begonia on the front porch"My all time favorite---" I will leave the check in the garden under the statue of the Virgen Mary"Good Luck All,Stephen
*While this is not anserwing your question of sales techniques, I have to laugh at your expierence at Mens Warehouse. A few years back I went there to by a suit for an upcoming wedding. Now I was after the whole shot - shirt, tie, shoes, etc. They did the same methods with me, suggesting multiple shirts and ties and so forth. I thought I was holding my own with the sales pitches - they even tried to sell me a wallet when I pulled my ratty one out to pay for it. After my purchase, I sat out in the courtyard of the mall waiting for the wife, absoltly amazed that I had just spent over $600 on clothes! I don't think I have ever spent a third of that in a year for clothes in my life.The cincher for me was as I sat there, I realized he sold me suspenders "and" a belt. Damn, he was a good salesmen.
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