Nearly always overlooked, confirming customer needs is an important step that re-establishes the customers’ spoken needs and wants in a system and assures them that the salesperson has been listening to them. This rapport-building confirmation justifies and supports the salesperson’s presentation of the “best” or top of-the-line system solution at proposal time.
Why should you have to review what your customers tell you?
For the past half hour you have been busy at the kitchen table running your load calculation, estimating energy savings, preparing a “choices” proposal and getting organized to make your company presentation. In most cases the customer will leave you alone, especially if they are looking at the photo-testimonial book you’ve given them. So in a sense, you have “disengaged” with them a bit.
By reviewing what they said was important to them and their family, you are bringing back the awareness and possible emotional connection they have with their problems. You are essentially affirming that you understood what is important to them and, as their trusted advisor, are working toward providing solutions that they will want. From a sales-process and sales-technique perspective, you are also setting the stage for showing them how your proposal choices match up with their stated needs and desires. Don’t skip this! Remember that you are there in a consultative role to help them make the best choice, you are not there to make the choice for them.
Why should you ask permission to review those things, and also ask permission to present your company story before going to the proposal?
To begin with, asking permission is a polite thing to do. And if they tell you “yes,” it gives you a small affirmation that you are on the right track. Any “yes” you receive is a good one.
Getting permission to take time to present your company story takes the pressure off of you to rush through telling them about all the benefits of doing business with your company. These benefits, in the end, will cause many customers to buy from you at a premium over the competition. Most people have been educated by their life’s experiences to know that “whom” they buy from is often more important than “what” they buy.
During the review, why do you want to be as specific as possible about the customers’ issues?
Being specific tells the customers that you have been carefully listening and that you care about their problems. This is one of the most important ways that you can build personal connection, rapport and trust. I have suggested that this also sets the stage for presenting the topof- the-line system choice because most customers’ issues are best addressed with your best products and services. You are simply showing them a solution to the problems they told you they had. In this sense they created the proposal.
Why wouldn’t you want to bring up any product-specific information at this time?
For many homeowners, the product itself and how it works is not an important factor in making their purchasing decision. They want it to deliver the benefits they are seeking, but few will be curious about the composition of the heat exchanger or the life-cycle testing of the compressor. If they ask, by all means tell them—but wait until they ask.
Need another reason to hold back on product information? If you do a really good job convincing them that your brand of product is what they need, they just might decide to go get other bids.
On the other hand, if you spend your time convincing them that you are the best person and your company is the best company to buy from, you have created something that they can’t get anywhere else.
Why ask if you have covered everything before moving on to presenting your company?
It’s simple. First, to make sure you have answered all of their questions. Answering their questions, even responding to early objections, is best prior to asking for the sale. And second, as I’ve said, to get them to say “yes!” Every “yes” is a trial close. Think of it as a baby step that inches you toward the sale. The more trial close “yes” answers you get, the closer you are to making the sale. I like to also refer to this as “permission selling.” In this context, every “yes” is giving you permission to take the next step.
Essentially, it’s all about creating value. Consumers don’t know much about heating and air conditioning, they usually don’t have thousands of dollars just lying around waiting to be spent, they generally don’t trust salespeople and most don’t have a prior relationship with an hvacr contractor they can trust. All these being true, you must: 1. establish rapport 2. build trust in yourself and 3. differentiate and build trust in your company. At this point in the System Selling sales process, you’ve been in the home for nearly an hour building toward presenting why they should do business with you and your company. This is showtime. Get their attention before you present your company and your proposal by affirming that you were listening and that you care about them. It’s a four-minute investment that will reap big rewards.
Tom Piscitelli is president of T.R.U.S.T.® Training and Consulting. For more information on how his System Selling In-Home Sales Call Training DVD, CD and Self-Study Workbook can help you sell more jobs at higher margins and higher prices go to www.sellingtrust.com.
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