Category Archives: Sales
4 Steps to Closing More Sales With Questions
Whether you conduct your sales pitches over the phone or in person, one thing that rings true in either case is that asking questions – preferably the right ones – will help turn more of those leads into customers. One of the single most powerful aspects in the process of selling is actually the asking. The more questions you present to a prospective customer, the more insight you will gain into their needs and objections while simultaneously presenting a more trustworthy presence in their eyes. Salespeople often spend too much time delivering their pitch and not enough time asking questions, uncovering those important elements the homeowner is looking for and the factors that will guide them toward hiring a contractor. Here are 4 simple steps to closing more sales calls with questions.
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How Mnemonic Devices Can Help Your Sales Process
My father, who was in the insurance sales business for 30+ years, used to have this incredible trick he used in sales. Ever since I can remember, he always wore a watch on his wrist. Nothing overly fancy, but a nice watch. And on the crystal face of his watch there was always a very small neon green dot sticker. Now, my father, being the quintessential sales personality that he was, would always address one’s curiosity the same way when asked about the presence of the green dot. It would go something like this:
Client: What is that green dot on your watch?
Dad: Do you have any friends or coworkers in need of long-term disability insurance?
A Homeowner’s Perspective on Choosing a Contractor
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- Topic: Data & Case Studies, Sales
I had an interesting experience this past week that gave me a new perspective on the process homeowners go through when using our service. Ever since moving into our most recent office space this past summer just north of Chicago, we’ve had some phone jack wiring issues that had affected a good portion of the work stations. When we first moved in, more than half of the phone jacks didn’t work. A problem that needed to be solved immediately, as all our phone and internet are connected and we are a 100% online digital communications business.
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6 Steps to Closing More Jobs With Better Emails
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- Topic: Presentation, Sales
Contractors often mistakenly send me emails that were intended for homeowners. Unfortunately, a fair amount of them read like a greeting card my four-year-old composed at day care. If your follow-up email to a prospective customer sounds like it was written one-handed on your iPhone while stopped at a red light having a side conversation with your buddy in the car, there’s a good chance you will lose out on a lot of potential jobs. Here are six easy tips to help you improve your emails to homeowners.
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6 Things Clint Eastwood Movies Can Teach Contractors About Sales
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- Topic: Marketing & Social Media, Sales
As the Winter comes into focus, many home improvement companies see a dip in sales, which is to be expected. Here at CraftJack we tend to see a significant drop off in leads and advertising traffic beginning the week before Thanksgiving that extends beyond the New Years holiday. This too is to be expected as many homeowners will likely want to have small projects completed earlier in anticipation of the arrival of Thanksgiving guests in their home, the desire to spend extra cash on holiday gifts, and/or travel. As this is something that occurs annually, it’s a great time to get your ducks in line for the new season that’s just around the bend. This can mean wrapping up and filing recent paperwork, sending out your holiday greeting cards to past customers (see past Toolbox article), or actually cleaning and tiding up your office. Another great opportunity for this down time is to reevaluate your sales pitch and process. Here are some tough guidelines to revising your sales pitch that Clint Eastwood‘s characters could have followed. After all, he called ‘em as he saw ‘em:
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5 Signs It’s Time to Hire a Salesperson
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- Topic: Lead Generation, Sales
One topic that seems to pop up often is whether or not contractors should hire salespeople to handle their leads. Contractors often ask themselves if they really need one or can afford one? Sometimes the answers to these questions are sitting right in front of you. If you are unsure when you should hire a salesperson, ask yourself these 5 questions:
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First Come, First Serve
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- Topic: Lead Generation, Sales
I know I’ve had prior posts all about calling leads asap and the importance of having a standard follow-up schedule in place, but I think it bears repeating. Calling a lead minutes after receiving the notification, even if you are in the field, gives you the absolute best opportunity to speak with that homeowner while hoping to be the first to call. The contractor who establishes contact first has a real head start on building a relationship with the homeowner while reserving the opportunity to make the first impression.
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It’s the Small Things: How to stand out to homeowners
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- Topic: Sales
So, you set an appointment to estimate a project and are planning to go bid the work. Trouble is, so are other contractors on the very same job. What makes you different from the others? You do good work, use top-of-the-line materials, regularly maintain your equipment. But the homeowner doesn’t know that. You have great hair, they’ll probably see that but it’s not always a selling point.
Here are some ideas that will win you Brownie Points helping you stand out from the others and put some extra clams in your pocket:
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Four ways to improve your follow-up process
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- Topic: Sales
Let’s face it, when it comes to following up with leads, not all contractors are as diligent as they should be. Often times contractors loose jobs to other contractors with stronger follow-up processes, throwing away thousands of dollars of potential revenue.
Here are four ways contractors can improve their follow-up process to schedule more estimates and close more leads:
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