KickStart: Convert an angry residential client into a Cheerleader by 1) saying “Thank you”, 2) apologizing, and 3) reassuring them. Shocked? Then read on…
You’ve started making the Immediate Quality Check Calls I recently suggested? I’m honored! (And always a bit surprised when clients actually implement what I recommend!) But wait!
UH-OH! You’ve dug up an unhappy customer.😲 However, instead of panicking I want you first to say…
KickStart: When booking their work give your residential customer options on how you should contact them.
All of us (including you, me AND your residential clients) are more stressed (and OUT of control) than ever before!😲 This is why you must help your customers FEEL ‘in control’. (Including on their first nervous phone call inquiring about your services.)
But remember, no customer wants to completely control your work on their home. If they did, the home owner wouldn’t be calling your company. They’d just do the work themselves!
KickStart: ‘Charging more’ let’s you pay more to attract better applicants! (And keep the great team you’ve already built.)
I’ve always pushed my students to “charge more”! Why? After almost 50 years in this industry (I started young!) I’m convinced the vast majority of residential service contractors do not remotely understand the TRUE COST of daily business.
But hey, I’m not really a ‘number crunching accountant’ type of guy! So instead, I just preach to my students:
1) “All other things being equal… its better to have LOTS of money instead of having NO money!!”
KickStart: Quickly involve your texting prospects when you interview them using ‘Valid Business Questions’!
Sigh…!👎 Thanks to smartphones the venerable over-the-phone text question “How much do you charge?” can be texted to you… 24-7!🙄 GRRRR!😡
So, ya suck it up, carefully text back with an estimated price and… NO REPLY!😖 So, how can you convert this potentially great lead that texted you? (Without being ‘ghosted’ once you quote a price!)
IMPORTANT: Please do not assume that a “How much…? text means they are a dirty, rotten ‘Price Shopper’! Instead, many wealthy homeowners simply don’t know what else to ask! So they fall back to asking about your pricing!
KickStart: IF you get called out on higher pricing don’t justify. Simply reply, ‘we were forced’ to raise our prices. (And always raise prices by an ‘odd %’!)
CONGRATULATIONS! You’ve sucked it up and raised your prices! (Hopefully after using my ‘Two-Tier Trial Pricing’ to test the waters.)
Want more help? In my 3 hour, online SFS: Winning over your caller! LIVE seminar I share a complete Phone Format(script) that re-books every previous client after a price increase- GUARANTEED!👍👍 HERE are my upcoming class dates…
Remember: Don’t call out your (higher) pricing when quoting and re-booking previous customers. Why not? Because 95% of your clients don’t remember what you charged them last time! WOO-HOO!
KickStart: ‘Focus on the pain’ of a first time caller and you’ll dramatically increase your ‘booking ratio’!
All business is based on relationships.💖 But even more so for residential service providers. (That would be… YOU!) But the plot thickens with my ‘80% Principle’…
80% of how a residential customer decides if you did a ‘good job’ or a ‘bad job’ is based on how they FEEL about the people involved in the transaction!😍
Your challenge? This all-important relationship with a new prospect ‘just calling around’ (searching for a home service professional) will struggle right from the git-go! Here’s why…
Kick START: Nudge your caller to ‘invest time’ with you by interviewing them about their home. (Your ‘booking ratio’ will skyrocket!)
Most Home Service Professional’s leads (potential customers) contact them in ever-so-many ways. (Texts, emails, Facebook Messenger, Yelp, website chats, Angies, Whatsapp, etc.) But nothing got my blood racing faster than my business phone ringing! You too?🤔 GREAT!👍
BUT a warning! Fail to ‘convert’ this nervous and skeptical first-time caller into a booked job? Your ‘downstream income’ loss will be HUGE!😥 Plus even more urgently? You need to cover payroll THIS Friday!😲
KickStart: Instead of calling it a ‘script’ give your staff a proactive ‘Phone Format’. (You’ll hit less employee resistance!)
Your business phone rings, you (timidly) answer and yet once again you hear the question you dread…
“Yeah, ummm… I was just calling around to see how much you charge…?” And panic strikes!
Seriously? I mean, how many times have you heard this query over the years? And yet you and/or your staff STILL don’t have a ‘phone script’? If so, I SAY GREAT!👍👍 Here’s why…
Smart people make life work balance a priority. Where is the sweet spot? Home services contractors use these tips to have a career while still enjoying life.