I’ve just spent the last two years telling you how I run replacement sales calls — my step-by-step procedure, my closing techniques, and how I handle objections. These are my final words on the topic.
• You can’t make people buy, you can’t talk them into buying, and you can’t pressure them into buying. People buy of their own free will.
• You don’t “sell.” People “buy.” People have to want what you’re selling. If they want it, they’ll buy it. So stop trying to figure out how to sell what you want to sell and start trying to figure out what they want to buy.
You don’t “sell.” People “buy.” People have to want what you’re selling. If they want it, they’ll buy it. So stop trying to figure out how to sell what you want to sell and start trying to figure out what they want to buy.
• A positive level of expectation is contagious and inspires confidence, and confidence sells. From the moment they greet you over the phone or at the door, it must be clearly apparent that you expect to get along with them, that you expect them to cooperate, that you expect them to listen, that you expect them to believe you, that you expect them to want their problems resolved, that you expect them to be decisive, and that you expect them to buy from you.
Find Charlie Greer's HVAC Hall of Fame Acceptance Speech HERE
• Salesmanship is not “personality-driven”. If you know what you’re doing and are sincere, you can be utterly devoid of personality and still make it in sales. You do not have to be an extrovert to make it in sales. Extroverts often talk too much.
• You don’t talk people into buying. You listen people into buying. We talk ourselves out of more sales than we talk ourselves into. You could probably eliminate most of what you say during your calls and still sell as much, if not more.
• Be acutely aware of your tone of voice and the rate at which you speak. Force yourself to speak slower and in a lower pitch than you normally would.
• Make sure you pronounce well. People often cut off the ends of words when they speak, and it makes it difficult for them to buy from you when they can’t understand you.
The most important thing to stress when you’re in a selling situation is that accepting your recommendations is the way to spend the least amount of money possible.
• Making good eye contact is the one thing everyone can do to increase their sales with no additional effort, and may well be the most important thing a sales professional can do.
• Your drive time can be your most productive time of the day. Listen to audio books on salesmanship while driving between calls. This means you’ll always be learning new techniques. Break in new techniques on calls that appear to be “unsellable”. Sometimes it “backfires” on you and they buy anyway.
• The most important thing to stress when you’re in a selling situation is that accepting your recommendations is the way to spend the least amount of money possible.
• You should be able to recite at least two dozen general reasons why people should choose your company and at least two dozen things that your company does on your installations, that your competition does not do, and why they are important.
• Don’t quote what everyone else has quoted. Make your quote entirely different. If they’re getting quotes on a specific make and model, enlighten them as to why the make and model you’re recommending is a better fit for them.
• Quoting more than the bare minimum can actually make the job easier to sell. Nearly every home is short on return, so most of your calls should include duct modifications. This means your conversations will change from talking about boxes, to talking about how you’ll get them a cooler bedroom so they sleep better on hot nights, more airflow in general, helping to reduce their utility bills further, and possibly making their new equipment last longer with fewer breakdowns.
• Everyone needs cleaner air, so every one of your quotes should include Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) products, and IAQ should be a major topic of conversation. Most people aren’t that interested in hearing about scroll compressors and different types of refrigerant, but they are interested in their own health and well-being.
Charlie Greer was recently inducted into the HVAC Hall of Fame. He’s also been voted “Favorite Industry Sales Trainer” and “HVAC Consultant of the Year.” He’s recently released the pocket book, “Greer-isms”, which is an extended version of this article. To order “Greer-isms”, or other Charlie Greer products, go to www.hvacprofitboosters.com or call 1-800-963-HVAC (4822). Email sales questions to Charlie at [email protected].