When To Bury The Sale

Burying the sale means letting go of an opportunity. Remember, often success comes from when you say no.

From my experience.

A client who I work with in Connecticut has two components to their business: oil and HVAC. The client has poor results because they view the heating and air part as a commodity, like the oil side, and this is a mistake.

What does this look like?

Anyone who requests a quote from my client for heating and air services receives a quote by email, and this is a huge mistake. Heating and air sales are relational. Without rapport, you can’t establish a loop of communication, and so, you risk wasting your resources and time. If you want to make double-digit net profits - 15% to 20% - you’ll be the most expensive company, but with strong relationships, you’ll be the most trustworthy, too.

Back in Connecticut

I attended an appointment the company in Connecticut had organized, and this appointment was with a gentleman who found us online and called us directly - an inbound appointment. He had approached us and invited us to the property.

In a previous post, here, we saw an example with Dr. Wilson, where we contacted the prospect directly - an outbound call.

In Connecticut, I asked the service manager to let me run the call, and he could watch to learn.

As you read the call dialogue, focus on the pattern about how to start a successful meeting - those of you who have read The Service Call Blueprint will have seen this pattern in action when greeting the customer.

As a reminder, follow these steps.

• Show sincere gratitude for being called out.
• Get their agenda.
• Express our agenda.
• Agree on a reasonable amount of time.

At the property, we walked up to the porch and knocked on the door. The homeowner came to the door, and I greeted him with the following.

“Thanks for having us out; we really appreciate it. I understand you found us online, and we know that you have many choices online, so we appreciate you calling us. How can I best help you today?”

In his living room, we discussed the problems further.

He said, “I need a price on an air conditioner.”.

I responded, “Anything else?”

The homeowner said, “No!”

I added, “Okay, may I share with you how I like to do things and then you tell me if you're comfortable with it?” He agreed.

My response went something like this.

“Thanks. I appreciate that. What I would like to do is sit down and talk about your wants, needs, and frustration because the air conditioner is currently broken. Then, I would like to talk about your budget or how much you might be hoping to spend. After, I would like to talk about your decision-making process: I want to know what it looks like and who else is involved in the decision. If it makes sense, we can go over some service options.

Usually, one of two things might happen here. Either, you’ll be comfortable with what you have seen and heard or you won’t - it is as simple as that.

I added, “If you don’t like what you have seen or heard just tell me and we forget it. It’s no big deal. Is that okay?”

The homeowner responded, “Yes.”

“Great!”, I said. “On the other hand, if you are comfortable, we can decide together on the next steps.” It might involve another meeting. You’ll decide. Sounds good?” He nodded, and said “Yes!”

Then, I asked “Great! How much time do you have?”

The homeowner said “Ten minutes. I need a quote, and everyone else managed to give me a quote in ten minutes. I’ve had four people come out already.

I prompted the homeowner to tell me “What were you hoping I could do differently?”

His response: He wanted a cheaper quote; the cheapest quote.

In this case, I couldn’t help the homeowner. I was honest, and I told him we’d likely be the most expensive, but for the price, you’d be working with a company that increases its customer base year after year. In ten minutes, a customer doesn’t have enough time to explore the compelling reasons to go with the most expensive option. This customer didn’t want to spend an hour discovering more about our service options, so we left the property after five minutes; I didn’t want to waste my time.

A Turnover Appointment

After leaving the property, we attended a turnover appointment with a client. A turnover is an appointment set by a technician who has previously visited the property on an emergency or maintenance call.

This was a different situation with no resistance. We sat in the kitchen and built rapport. We had a conversation for about an hour, and we walked outside to look at the property while discussing the client’s pain.

After we’d established rapport, the service manager went through a presentation and gave her four options that were within her budget and met her expectations. After she spoke with her husband, who was also involved in the decision-making, she called, and they purchased a $13,000 system.

I had no idea that either situation ws going to happen on that day, but I wasn’t surprised by either.

Rule: Spend time with people who are likely to buy. I chose to let go of the first appointment for one simple reason: I am the owner of the sales process, not the client. I have a system that I work through because it works for me, and I never allow the customer to dictate the process to me - I always set boundaries as I am the process boss. The prospect, customer or client is the content boss. He can tell me yes, no, or outline the next steps.

What is the bottom line?

What you allow will continue. Don’t be afraid of getting kicked out. Always be loving toward others, but stay firm with your process.

When I was new to sales, I was frustrated with the process. I felt that the prospect controlled me. To learn how to control the sales process, book a free appointment here. Understand the problems and learn how to change them.

This blog post is part of the upcoming book in the Blueprint Series by Roger Daviston. Check www.rogerdaviston.com for further details. 

Burying the sale means letting go of an opportunity. Remember, often success comes from when you say no.

From my experience.

A client who I work with in Connecticut has two components to their business: oil and HVAC. The client has poor results because they view the heating and air part as a commodity, like the oil side, and this is a mistake.

What does this look like?

Anyone who requests a quote from my client for heating and air services receives a quote by email, and this is a huge mistake. Heating and air sales are relational. Without rapport, you can’t establish a loop of communication, and so, you risk wasting your resources and time. If you want to make double-digit net profits - 15% to 20% - you’ll be the most expensive company, but with strong relationships, you’ll be the most trustworthy, too.

Back in Connecticut

I attended an appointment the company in Connecticut had organized, and this appointment was with a gentleman who found us online and called us directly - an inbound appointment. He had approached us and invited us to the property.

In a previous post, [Add link here when we have it online], we saw an example with Dr. Wilson, where we contacted the prospect directly - an outbound call.

In Connecticut, I asked the service manager to let me run the call, and he could watch to learn.

As you read the call dialogue, focus on the pattern about how to start a successful meeting - those of you who have read The Service Call Blueprint will have seen this pattern in action when greeting the customer.

As a reminder, follow these steps.

• Show sincere gratitude for being called out.
• Get their agenda.
• Express our agenda.
• Agree on a reasonable amount of time.

At the property, we walked up to the porch and knocked on the door. The homeowner came to the door, and I greeted him with the following.

“Thanks for having us out; we really appreciate it. I understand you found us online, and we know that you have many choices online, so we appreciate you calling us. How can I best help you today?”

In his living room, we discussed the problems further.

He said, “I need a price on an air conditioner.”.

I responded, “Anything else?”

The homeowner said, “No!”

I added, “Okay, may I share with you how I like to do things and then you tell me if you're comfortable with it?” He agreed.

My response went something like this.

“Thanks. I appreciate that. What I would like to do is sit down and talk about your wants, needs, and frustration because the air conditioner is currently broken. Then, I would like to talk about your budget or how much you might be hoping to spend. After, I would like to talk about your decision-making process: I want to know what it looks like and who else is involved in the decision. If it makes sense, we can go over some service options.

Usually, one of two things might happen here. Either, you’ll be comfortable with what you have seen and heard or you won’t - it is as simple as that.

I added, “If you don’t like what you have seen or heard just tell me and we forget it. It’s no big deal. Is that okay?”

The homeowner responded, “Yes.”

“Great!”, I said. “On the other hand, if you are comfortable, we can decide together on the next steps.” It might involve another meeting. You’ll decide. Sounds good?” He nodded, and said “Yes!”

Then, I asked “Great! How much time do you have?”

The homeowner said “Ten minutes. I need a quote, and everyone else managed to give me a quote in ten minutes. I’ve had four people come out already.

I prompted the homeowner to tell me “What were you hoping I could do differently?”

His response: He wanted a cheaper quote; the cheapest quote.

In this case, I couldn’t help the homeowner. I was honest, and I told him we’d likely be the most expensive, but for the price, you’d be working with a company that increases its customer base year after year. In ten minutes, a customer doesn’t have enough time to explore the compelling reasons to go with the most expensive option. This customer didn’t want to spend an hour discovering more about our service options, so we left the property after five minutes; I didn’t want to waste my time.

A Turnover Appointment

After leaving the property, we attended a turnover appointment with a client. A turnover is an appointment set by a technician who has previously visited the property on an emergency or maintenance call.

This was a different situation with no resistance. We sat in the kitchen and built rapport. We had a conversation for about an hour, and we walked outside to look at the property while discussing the client’s pain.

After we’d established rapport, the service manager went through a presentation and gave her four options that were within her budget and met her expectations. After she spoke with her husband, who was also involved in the decision-making, she called, and they purchased a $13,000 system.

I had no idea that either situation ws going to happen on that day, but I wasn’t surprised by either.

Rule: Spend time with people who are likely to buy. I chose to let go of the first appointment for one simple reason: I am the owner of the sales process, not the client. I have a system that I work through because it works for me, and I never allow the customer to dictate the process to me - I always set boundaries as I am the process boss. The prospect, customer or client is the content boss. He can tell me yes, no, or outline the next steps.

What is the bottom line?

What you allow will continue. Don’t be afraid of getting kicked out. Always be loving toward others, but stay firm with your process.

When I was new to sales, I was frustrated with the process. I felt that the prospect controlled me. To learn how to control the sales process, book a free appointment here. Understand the problems and learn how to change them.

This blog post is part of the upcoming book in the Blueprint Series by Roger Daviston. Check www.rogerdaviston.com for further details.