Are You Making It Easy For Customers To Buy From You? Part II

Today, making the most of every sales opportunity is more important than ever. How easy are you making it for customers to do business with you? Last month we talked about some of the opportunities contractors have prior to the appointment. This month we will discuss the actual appointment. Click here to get a copy of last month’s article.

The Appointment

My wife and I decided it was time to update our window coverings. We just needed to figure out what our budget was and which company was going to do it. Like many homeowners, we wanted to be confident we were making a good financial decision and scheduled three appointments with various companies.

Our schedule only allowed weekday evenings and Saturday mornings. I was surprised to find out less than half of the window covering companies we talked to even had consultants available at those times.

In a recent class poll, only 1 in 4 participants said they ran appointments after 5:00pm or on the weekend. As unemployment rises, and competition increases, our customers may be less willing to take time off to meet with us during normal business hours. If you aren’t closing as many sales, or getting as many appointments as you would like to have, ask yourself two questions:

• Could running evening and weekend appointments help you get more sales opportunities and close more sales by getting both decision makers there?
• Would being available evenings and weekends give you a competitive advantage by taking sales opportunities away from the competition?

We ended up scheduling our appointments with three different contractors, one during the week and two on Saturday morning. On Thursday evening, the first consultant showed up on time. He let us know it was going to take about 90 minutes, then asked some questions about what we were looking for relative to ease of care, sunlight protection, warranty, etc. He went on to measure every window in the home. After taking his measurements, he went through a quick presentation and asked for the sale. At that point we were impressed, but we knew we were going to see two others.

The first contractor we had set up for Saturday morning never bothered to show up or call. The second one arrived on time and simply counted the windows saying he would “come back and measure them if we decided to purchase”. I was curious how he could tell what the project was going to cost if he didn’t measure. If he was just “ballparking” the estimate, I could be sure he wasn’t padding the price in my favor. He actually had the same presentation binder and samples as the consultant we met with on Thursday evening. What he didn’t have, was the same passion/confidence in his company.

As he flipped through his presentation, it was like he was just going through the motions. It almost seemed like he didn’t even believe what he was telling us about his company and product, even though he was offering the same thing as the previous contractor.

I think a lot of us can fall into “ruts”. Even if we are making our 100th presentation, it’s probably the first time the folks across the kitchen table have heard anything about us or our company. It’s important to make sure we speak with the conviction and confidence we have in our ability to do the best job in town.

As you may have guessed, we decided the first contractor was the right one for our project. What was the difference? It came down to a couple of factors. I was impressed that he measured every window, and my wife trusted he was going to do what he said he would.

What are the small things we can do to make a big difference? We never know what will be the thing that gives our customer the confidence to buy. Is it as simple as wiping our feet before we go in, talking about our company with conviction or even just measuring the job when nobody else does? There are hundreds of little things we can do that don’t cost us anything, but add value in our customers’ minds. We never know when not do them may cost us the job.

Next month, after the appointment…