Selling Power Archives - The 7-Power Contractor

Can I Really Expect Techs to Ethically Sell a Lot?

By Al Levi | April 4, 2023March 30, 2023

Are you old enough to remember when the only thing you expected your Techs to do was show up to a customer’s house, do only the work requested, and then let you know what that was so you could send the customer a bill in the mail at the end of the month?

Ah, the bad old days…

Why bad? Because the customer doesn’t know the systems in their home the way your Techs do.

The good news is Tech’s don’t really have to “sell,” at least not in the stereotypical way. All they really need to do is communicate what they know and practice ethical selling principles. If they do that, the sales will follow naturally and will be a win for the customer first, a win for the company second, and thirdly a win for the Tech.

What is your Contracting Business’ “Unfair Advantage”?

By Al Levi | March 7, 2023March 13, 2023

Imagine you get in an elevator on a high floor of a building dressed in khakis and your logo shirt. There’s one other person in the elevator. They then turn to you and ask, “Why should I use your company at my home?”

You’ve got that 90-second elevator ride to give them at least three great reasons they should give you a try. Go!

A good starting place is to look at your positive Google reviews. Those reviews might get people to pick up the phone, but once you are at their house, they still need a reason to feel confident in choosing you to do the work!

The 10 reasons below not only can be used to get people to call… they also can help them feel more confident in buying from you.

Creating an Effective Referral Network

By Al Levi | September 6, 2022August 30, 2022

I was waiting to meet my new client, the owner of a Chicago plumbing company. And I just happened to be standing in the CSR area on a freezing cold day. This is what I overheard one of them saying: “I’m sorry, we don’t do heating work, just call XYZ Company.”

Know that when I was doing 1-1 consulting work I’d make it a point to be as “invisible” as I could so I could look and listen to better observe what was really going on.

Anyway, I got to meet my new client in his office and I said, “Just curious. I overheard your CSRs fielding calls from what I presume were your customers as well as prospective customers. When asked about doing heating work as today is super cold outside, they recommended XYZ Company. Do they also do plumbing?”

His face became filled with horror and anger. The company they were suggesting also did plumbing! The CSR had just unwittingly put his competition in their customer’s basement.

I explained how to better handle this situations moving forward.

Marketing Needs Great Testimonials

By Al Levi | April 6, 2021April 5, 2021

It’s not that potential customers don’t trust what you’re saying about yourself in your marketing. It’s just that… they don’t!

That’s because they figure you’re just saying what you’re saying to sell them something. You do want to sell them something, and that’s OK because you’re typically there because they have a problem or a need they want addressed. The thing is, the saying “Perception is reality!” holds true here.

They need to trust you first, and to do that they need more than the words you’re saying.

Think about it. When you go shopping for a car or need some kind of work or service at your home or office for something you don’t do, don’t you ask your friends, family members if they know someone good?

We’d rather not be a guinea pig, or worse, be taken advantage of!

Driving Phenomenal Sales With Sales Coaching

By Al Levi | September 19, 2016September 7, 2022

When it comes to your contracting business, sales coaching is the key to driving phenomenal sales.

But, how can you effectively coach sales without a repeatable-documented selling system to train Techs how to do sales the right way? The answer is you can’t.

The Tech selling system I teach has five steps. Each step needs to be taught and demonstrated in a certain order because one step builds on the other. If you skip steps, the system falls apart and sales suffer, as does customer satisfaction, a lose-lose scenario that can be avoided!

The five steps are:

Open the Call the Right Way
Gain Permission to Survey the Premises So Nothing is Missed
Price the Work That You’re Recommending Correctly
Present the Menu With What Must Be Done and Extras Worth Considering
Write the Kind of Work Order that Gets Signed

Documenting this sales system has been documented and training your techs on it is only half the battle, however. To gain traction and build a good sales culture over time you will also need to provide never-ending sales coaching for it.

Why Buy Another Contracting Business Book?

By Al Levi | March 17, 2016September 7, 2022

Good question!

Is there a shortage of business books out there or business information out there on how to be successful in the contracting business? Nope!

Can trying to figure out what to do with all that information be overwhelming and confusing? Yes!

Selling Power

Read More About Selling Power

Can I Really Expect Techs to Ethically Sell a Lot?

What is your Contracting Business’ “Unfair Advantage”?

Creating an Effective Referral Network

Marketing Needs Great Testimonials

Driving Phenomenal Sales With Sales Coaching

Why Buy Another Contracting Business Book?

Selling Quality Assurance Standards

What’s a Commercial Sales Agent?

Sales Acronyms That Boost Sales

IT’S A DRUG AND WE’RE HOOKED!