Customer Relationship - Home Front Success

The Why (and How) of Using Your Residential Caller’s Name.

KickStart: Call your prospect by name to emphasize a key point.

Ever feel like you’re on a never-ending episode of “The Price is Right”? You know, with “price shoppers” bombarding you with the dreaded, “Uhhhh, I’m just calling around… what’s your rate for this service?” Ugh! I feel your pain!😥

However, quite a few of these so-called “price shoppers” will start out with their name as in, “Hi, this is Sally Smith, and I’m just calling around checking prices…” Now a Post-It note will become your best friend!

That’s right, grab your pen, jot down the caller’s name and use it “selectively” in your conversation. Why? Because behavioral psychologists have discovered that…

The Emotional Dynamics of the Homeowner’s Restroom! 😲

by Steve Toburen

KickStart: Few things are more “intrusive” for a homeowner than a stranger using their restroom. You’ve been warned!

I get it. You went into this business because you like the work. And now you (and your workers) just want to a) do a “good job”, b) get paid and c) move on! Simple, right?👍 Ummmmm, NO…😥

First Impressions Are Lasting Impressions!

by Steve Toburen

KickStart: “You never get a second chance to make a first IMPRESSion.” Will Rogers

Good old Will was correct! One of the best ways to immediately IMPRESS a homeowner is to…

It’s Not ONLY About the Homeowner Client!

by Steve Toburen

KickStart: The homeowner is always watching… everything and everywhere! Behave accordingly!

I’ve taught (pontificated?) extensively on the absolutely essential homeowner/service tech relationship. Basically, everything, including your family’s future financial welfare, comes down to how the client feels about your people involved in their service transaction!

However, emotions (and feelings) can be… complicated.🫢 (“Ya think, Steve?”) I’m reminded of a TV host, Art Linkletter, back in the day. Art was famous for his “Kids Say the Darndest Things!” observation. I would morph this into, “Clients Think (and Feel) the Darndest Things!” This means…

Ban These Items on Residential Jobs!

by Steve Toburen

KickStart: Don’t allow 1) sunglasses, 2) ringing cell phones and/or 3) bad attitudes inside your client’s homes! Read on…

Back in the day, I loved pulling up to a new residential customer. New people, a new job-site, and new challenges. (Say what you will, our home services industry is seldom boring!)👍

Sure, I always had a few butterflies too.🫢 Did the office give me an accurate work order? The right tools and materials? Will I be able to get to my next job on time? And most urgently- will this homeowner be a total idiot?😲

Why (and How to) Focus on Your Last Scene with the Homeowner

by Steve Toburen

KickStart: Before leaving, give clients a “tour” of the job and thank them for their business.💖

I know, you (and your front-line workers) are under a lot of pressure.😲

The phone (hopefully) keeps ringing and every crew needs to “shoehorn in” an extra job or two… every day! So, it’s tempting to bang out this project and ZOOM off to the next Job! Don’t fall into this trap!👎

Service Clients Love It When You Get Their “Permission”!

by Steve Toburen

KickStart: Get more 5-star reviews by asking for the homeowner’s “Permission to Proceed” throughout the project.

Permission to Proceed

Are you happy in our Home Services industry? You reply, “Absolutely, Steve! What’s not to love? I’m blessed with interesting jobs, the money is great and I work with some great customers and employees!” (Of course, these same clients and employees can be a trial sometimes!)

But now look through your first-time customer’s eyeglasses to feel in a very real sense… their pain!😥

Why (and How to) Focus On 3 Essential Business Areas

by Steve Toburen

KickStart: man·age ˈma-nij To direct with a degree of skill.

small business owner focuses on priorities

Finding a balance in business (and life) is an ongoing, moving target for most of us. Our shared Home Service Pro entrepreneurial challenge? Managing our OCD tendencies to not get distracted off into Displacement Activities!🙄 Instead, you must focus ONLY on the high-profit, “important stuff”.

True Confession Time: I still find myself going down obsessive rat holes while wasting enormous time on pursuits that add nothing to my happiness, relationships or even my financial net worth!🤔 (You’d think I would have learned by now!)😲

Remember, your residential services company is an incredibly fragile creature. This means as a service business owner or manager you must…

Core Concepts: “Moments of Truth”

by Steve Toburen

KickStart: “A Moment of Truth is any point when your customer (or a prospect) comes into contact with your company AND subliminally forms an opinion.” Steve Toburen

I recently depressed everyone warning about the hidden “customer minefields” just waiting to explode (without warning😰) on every residential job. Doubt me?

Think how often you’ve left a home feeling great about the fantastic job you did. (And the nice wad of cash in your pocket too!)👍

Then that evening you’re shocked to get a complaining phone call, read your customer’s unhappy text or even worse- get bushwhacked with a nasty “surprise” online review!😲

OBSESS Over (Your Home Service Clients) FEELINGS!

by Steve Toburen

KickStart: “… it’s not what you say or what you do, but how you make people feel that matters the most.” Tony Hsieh, Zappos founder

“Feelings, Steve? Seriously?” As a rugged, profits-obsessed residential services business owner you likely focus ONLY on your bottom line! (I did too!) After all, who had time for a squishy, hard-to-manage word like, “feelings”?

I mean, everyone knows “emotions are for sissies”?💪 Right? WRONG! For far too many agonizing years I struggled before FINALLY learning that…

In a residential service business success is based on building “trusting relationships” (TR’s)!

In fact, Mr. Logical here even reduced this concept into an “Emotional Equation”: Success= (ETR + HTR) x SE= CMB. Say what, Steve?😲