Selling Power Archives - The 7-Power Contractor

Selling Power

Read More About Selling Power

Things Slowing Down? Great Testimonials are What’s Needed!

By Al Levi |

I was doing an onsite meeting with Mike, the owner of a family run 100-year-old plumbing, heating, and cooling business on the East Coast. Around 3 PM I insisted we stop and take a coffee break.

At the coffee shop, Mike expressed to me how relieved he was that what we were doing was working so well, and that things were finally starting to turn around for the better.

I sipped some coffee and then looked up at him and asked, “So, what do you want this business to look like when you’re done building it?”

Mike replied, “I have to admit, I’m not sure what you mean.”

I said, “What do you want this company to be when you’re all done? What is your vision for what happens next?”

Read More

Can I Really Expect Techs to Ethically Sell a Lot?

By Al Levi |

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.

Read More

What is your Contracting Business’ “Unfair Advantage”?

By Al Levi |

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.

Read More

Creating an Effective Referral Network

By Al Levi |

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.

Read More

Marketing Needs Great Testimonials

By Al Levi |

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!

Read More

Driving Phenomenal Sales With Sales Coaching

By Al Levi |

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:

  1. Open the Call the Right Way
  2. Gain Permission to Survey the Premises So Nothing is Missed
  3. Price the Work That You’re Recommending Correctly
  4. Present the Menu With What Must Be Done and Extras Worth Considering
  5. 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 |

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!

What’s a Commercial Sales Agent?

By Al Levi |

A Commercial Sales Agent is the person at your company who would be tasked with generating new commercial accounts that provide sales for commercial install, […]

Sales Acronyms That Boost Sales

By Al Levi |

What is a sales acronym? It’s a shortcut to remembering the key steps your Service Techs must follow to have a repeatable sales approach to […]

Connect With Us