BUSINESS AND TRAINING
49
<< Continued from page 47
Stop trying to sell. Instead, simply approach every sales
interaction as a conversation between you and the
customer to help them decide whether or not to make a
purchase. All you are doing is leading the conversation
and helping them decide. You are serving your customer.
That’s it. Don’t overthink it.
2. STOP LIMITING YOURSELF
When you go into a sales conversation with a customer,
it can be tempting to gather only the resources that you
think you need and then say, “This should be enough.”
When you think that way, you do not bring all of your
testimonials or all of your sales brochures or all of the
tools you sell.
Stop limiting yourself. Bring everything each time.
Become adept at jumping from one to the next naturally.
What you want to do is have an overwhelming amount of
information at the ready (but still only use what you need)
because many customers need more information than
you are bringing to the conversation.
3. STOP FOCUSING ON PRICE
How often have you sized up a customer and thought,
“They won’t like the price I’m going to quote?” Or
maybe you get to the price quote portion of the
sales conversation and wince at what you expect the
customer’s reaction will be.
Stop focusing on price. When you focus on price in your
own head, you actually make the customer focus on
price too because your words and actions unconsciously
focus on price. Instead, focus on value and on everything
that the customer will get out of the service you are
selling. Make price just one part of the conversation
when you talk about exchanging value — the small
amount of value of their money for the massive value
they will receive when they hire your company for their
next plumbing job. It is a simple mindset shift, but it is
very powerful.
4. STOP THINKING ABOUT SELLING AS
A ONE-TIME EVENT
When does the sales conversation happen with a
customer? Most plumbers probably think that it happens
when you are face to face with the customer and you are
spelling out their options and giving them an estimate.
Then waiting to see if they accept it or not. But this is not
true. When you approach selling like this, you put a lot of
pressure on this one interaction.
Stop thinking about selling as a one-time event. Instead,
remember that selling starts when the customer is just
a lead and gets one of your marketing products or a
www.plumbingafrica.co.za
referral. You are selling them on why they should hire
you. Then the selling conversation continues when they
call your office or click on your website. Then the selling
conversation continues when you are with them face to
face. It is a process that builds on itself.
5. STOP SELLING JUST ONE-TIME SERVICE
When you sell plumbing, what are you selling? You are
probably selling the solution to a one-time problem that
the customer pays for once and your company delivers
the service once. Then the next time they need services
— assuming the customer remembers to call you
instead of your competitor — you have to sell them all
over again on the next service.
Stop selling just one-time services. Consider selling
other services like recurring services, memberships,
maintenance check-ups, seasonal services, and more.
Even if the customer thinks they only need a one-time
solution for a one-time problem, they probably are not
thinking about the many great ways that you can help
them on an ongoing basis. Show them how you help and
sell them on your ongoing services to stay in front of
them and to create recurring revenue for your business.
A FINAL WORD
As a plumber, you want to focus on your plumbing work.
But sales is a necessary part of the effort to ensure you
keep getting work. Many people may think that sales
can be slimy and inauthentic, but there are powerful
ways that you can make selling more enjoyable and
more effective. By avoiding these five things, you will be
surprised at how much more you can sell and how much
more work you will get. PA
About the author
Mike Agugliaro is the business warrior and founder
of CEO Warrior, a business consulting, training,
and mentoring firm, providing tested and proven
methods to defeat the roadblocks that prevent small
to mid-sized businesses from achieving their ultimate
success.
Unfortunately,
sales is often
considered to be
an annoyance, an
inconvenience, a
hassle, or even an
afterthought.
April 2018 Volume 24 I Number 2