Best Selling Techniques

It's nearly my whole picth Tico. I let my site do the sale. If they come from there, the only thing left for me to do is measure for materials, and give a price. :)

I try and do my selling long before I make it to the residense!

Do any of you guys do 100% of your own work that you sell or do you get work through other companies?

being a tradesman means selling your work for yourself and doing the work your self at least on the job 90% of the time -- How many of you sell work for crews that you do not work on -- Selling a service your company provides that you do not work on - is a salesman - So then the question becomes how can you keep 2 crews busy you would need to run 1-3 leads per day - plus all the other BS - scheduling materials, calls, appointment setting, etc.

I have no doubt most of you guys do excellent work and probably can keep yourself and maybee 1 or 2 guys busy just on your selling as a tradesman on the job Installer. Most of you are happy with where you are at that is totally understandable.

But what about you guys that get work from other companies to supplement your lack of selling? And selling your work to a homeowner vs selling your work to another contractor are 2 separate animals -- The other companies are expecting a tradsman where as most homeowners could care less and will go with the one they feel most comfortable with.

I do 99-1/2% of my own work. Once in a while, I get a second pair of hands to help. The site does my selling before I get to the residence. Sometimes, I get the client to send pics and I price the job by e-mail. It sure beats meeting and greeting, and selling.

tradesman.roofer/top notch carpenter,now at 50 I sell,when I work :laugh:

quote/]tinner666 Said: Its nearly my whole picth Tico. I let my site do the sale. If they come from there, the only let for me to do is measure for materials, and give a price. :)

Hi Tinner I like the way you think. After seeing the kind of quality work we have done for their family and or friends many of our potential customers do not even get a second proposal. I agree with you on pricing also.

Confucious say: He who kisses Azz the best always wins! lol Yes Mam! Yes Sir! So on and so forth! lol

Willie thats a good one -- My one salesman i got i give him crap sometimes hes out there rakeing/mowing lawns -- cleaning gutters -- pulling snow / shoveling etc.. kissing azz for a few bucks here and there then comes in with a whole roof , window, or siding sale from these same people -- I told him it was time to restock our KY supply since we are so used to bending over to earn the business :woohoo:

Once me and him were sitting at a customers table in the middle of a sale - The customer an older lady say 70's or so had her daughter with her -- My salesman was cracking jokes left and right making funny faces acting stupid we were all laughing - then out of the blue the daughter asks me if he is serious i cannot remember about what but i said he must have left his medication at home or something we laughed some more as i slid the contract to her and asked her to sign here she did without even reading it - I asked Mrs so and so if she had any questions and the daughter said Mom Mom oh she cant hear a word we are saying her hearing aid is turned off -- We laughed even harder the whole time while the mother was as well even though she did not hear a single word we said. I am still somewhat confused on that sale one of the easiest sales ever.

My salesman told me before we went in to just keep my mouth shut he knew how to handle this all i need to do is write the contract for xx number of dollars half down same color etc..Slide it to the daughter and say sign here -- i'll have them all warmed up by the time you are done writing.

We were doing the neighbors roof next door he must have been warming her up all day -- when i got there at the end of the day he says come on over here i want to show you how its done.

Aferwards he says all customers were this easy in the 80's - Knowadays it aint so easy -- and its all guys like you who are to blame owner/operators for telling them how to roof there own house how many nails in a shingle Ice and water vents BS what do they need to know any of that for they will forget it all by the time you get in your truck and want to call another company out just so they are not as confused get 10 bids before they finally know how to roof their own house and are no longer confused hell by the time you guys are done they could get their own roofing license and roof their own damn house. Some spiel he went on and on -- i hear something of the sort at least once a week. You'd be better off just staying on the roof and letting me do my job selling he says.

Humor hasn't worked that well for me. A guy called me saying he had two leaking skylights one time saying one of them was leaking onto the sunroom and he wasn't all that concerned about that one because he put a potted plant that was already close by underneath it to catch the water. I said yeah thats a very good idea. That way you dont have to worry about watering the plant. He didn't laugh. But i tickled myself with my own comment and could hardly stop. lol Amazingly enough however i landed the job. lol

It`s not what you say to the customer that gets the job,More that you listen to what they want from their job,and you can explain how you meet all their requirements--Don`t get so caught up in what you are going to say,that you forget to listen--Rarely does the homeowner want to feel like he knows nothing,and that We will handle the stuff that`s too complicated for them to understand,Rather they like to feel that they are a vital part of the process,If you can make them feel that you are working WITHthem,rather than bypassing their opinions,etc.-You can usually get the job

They buy you first.......then the product. If you look like most people think roofers should "look" they probably will get you out the door to get more estimates. You have to look clean, polished and like you really don't need their business. I like to give details of their job from other jobs we've done in the area. When you tell REAL stories of actual installations they quickly drop their guard because they feel you're sharing "inside" information that customers never hear about. I also use the "take away" close from time to time if I get a hard azz engineer type. I'll let him play his game for a few minutes and then start putting stuff away and telling him it looks like we can't do business. Nothing gets a customer like that because it's so opposite to what they're used to in a sales situation. If they one leg you just walk from the get-go. Tell him/her you'll be back when both can be there to hear the details. Never pitch a one leg call........

JET

I have no "selling" techniques. I don't even go there....We're typically referred....You get a top-notch job for a fair price; That's it. No "wow"/BS factor....Sure, the shysters out-sell us from time to time, at higher prices at times!....It never ceases to amaze me at how stupid/gullable people can be.... that's just the way it goes.

.........WTF's a "one leg"?

Jed Said: .........WTFs a one leg?

Half of a couple... Common method to avoid making a decision by having only one of the decision-makers present. Then "one-leg" has to consult with the "other leg", who isn't there...

When it comes to best selling techniques, I think Darryl said it best - you have to get them to WANT to buy from you.