Have you ever eaten an entire meal only to find that once the last bite has been taken you are still hungry? Selling accounts and not getting paid because your customer didn’t follow through on their commitment is a similar feeling.
You generate interest with a carefully crafted initial approach, you thoughtfully customize an explanation of your service to perfectly fit the customer’s needs, and then painstakingly go through each detail of the service agreement only to find out that when services are to be performed your customer has changed their mind despite all of your best efforts and there is nothing you can do or say that will change their mind.
For a salesperson, this has to be the worst feeling EVER! You are helpless, hopeless and you’ve wasted time that could have been spent with more promising prospects. The thought of my customers changing their minds used to keep me up at nights during my first summer as a door-to-door salesman. Through trial and error I found 3 techniques that helped me to solidify my sales and limited my cancellations.
- Talk with both spouses. Unless I had no doubt that the spouse I was talking to was the ultimate decision maker, I would make a return appointment to meet with the other spouse to ensure both decision makers were on board. I was certain that I would make a far better sales pitch to the other spouse than their counterpart would.
- Forecast the forecast. Make a habit of knowing the weather forecast for the coming days so you can explain to your customers the challenges that the weather could create. For example, “Because my service technician will be installing equipment on the exterior of your home and there is rain in the forecast, understand that unless it is an absolute downpour, he will be able to install all of your equipment tomorrow as planned.” Or, “As I’m sure you are aware there have been some high wind warnings for tomorrow so I want you to know that if the winds are extremely gusty during the time of your appointment we will just focus on servicing the interior of your home and then make arrangements to take care of the exterior service another day.”
- Encourage your customer by reminding them of the great deal they are getting. While wrapping up a sale you could simply state, “I appreciate your time and know you will be pleased with our services, especially with the fantastic offer you are taking advantage of today.” By concluding your conversation the same way you started it…think Black Friday…you will tie a nice bow on the entire experience for the customer making them less likely to change their mind.
By implementing these 3 techniques during my 3rd summer as a door-to-door salesman I was able to sell 674 accounts and 668 of them were serviced. That’s less than a 1% cancel rate! These techniques assisted me in minimizing cancels and maximizing earnings. Just as it makes no sense to eat and not get full, it makes no sense to sell and not get paid. Make each sale count!
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Lenny Gray
Facebook: www.facebook.com/D2DMillionaire
Email: lennyg@D2DMillionaire.com
P.S. If you are thinking about starting a Door-to-Door Sales Program, or looking to improve your current program, be sure to check out my FREE Video Training – How to Run an Effective Door-to-Door Sales Training Camp for your Sales Team by clicking HERE.
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