Climbing the Sales Ladder inside an Independent Contracting Company

Growing sales inside of every independent contracting company starts with the attitude of the company team.  In order to appeal to potential clients, it is vital that each team member commit to achieving standards of superior quality during every call thus working to create expectations of excellence.  In our post today, we are going to look at three ways in which companies can work towards creating standards and expectations of HVAC industry excellence:

Make the sales experience about relating to your client

In order to jumpstart your company’s sales success, it is important to build rapport with clients from “square one.”  Interested and prospective clients are building their opinion and perspective of your company from the moment that a technician pulls into their driveway.  Thus it is important that all members of the company team focus on finding common ground and discovering conversational topics that interest the client in order to create a positive first impression and begin the relationship-building process.  In order for this process to effectively work, each member of the company team (especially technicians) must build his or her observational skills.  Observational skills allow a tech to seamlessly comment on obvious areas of client interest such as complementing a flower garden or commenting on a trip to a destination that is displayed in a photograph.

When a sales technician reaches the presentation portion of the call, it is important that he tie the significance of the client’s purchase to an emotion that appeals to the client’s personality type.  For example, a person with an ‘amiable’ personality type wants to know that they are taking care of their family so it is important to explain how a product or system would effectively meet family needs.  Building rapport and building positive company-client relationships help to begin the process of growing sales inside of a HVAC service company.

Adhere to the non-negotiable action steps that work to increase service excellence

Along with building strong initial relationships with clients, it is also important that all company team members adhere to the non-negotiable action steps that contribute to service excellence.  All of these steps inside of a company stem from the goals and mission statement that is set in place by leaders from within the company.  These steps should be explained, explored, and established during the initial training of every new company employee as well as periodically in team training sessions.  These steps make up the systems and processes that should occur from the initial call into the CSR all the way to the final installation process with an installation technician.  These action steps are made up of phone answering etiquette, paperwork procedures, sales presentation, home visitation procedures, all the way down to the “happy call” at the end of the process.  When every employee is clear on these company steps and committed to following through then it creates an expectation of excellence that the client looks for and expects every time he or she calls into your service company.  These high expectations help create a strong company reputation that is passed on from happy client to happy client.

Close at the rate that is comfortable for your client

Both building relationships with potential clients and performing all non-negotiable action steps works to grow company sales, but it is also important that HVAC company team members learn to close sales at the rate that is comfortable for their client.  The first step in the process is understanding that everyone has a different way in which they express that they are ready for a close.  People tend to close at different rates due to their personality types.  Those that possess an ‘analytical’ personality type may need more time to think over the numbers and research the options that would best suit their need.  ‘Expressive’ and ‘driver’ personality types may be quicker to make a final decision and want a more direct close.  Those with ‘amiable’ personality types may want to discuss their options with their spouse before saying the big “yes.”  But no matter what type of client you are working with, it is always important to ask for the close.  Most clients won’t find interest in closing if they are not asked directly to make a closing decision.  But it is important that technicians close in a way that makes each client feel comfortable, in-control, and taken care of. When your company is known for their eloquent and comfortable closing techniques then it is another way in which your company sets wonderful expectations of excellence.

Jumpstarting success in sales inside independent contracting companies begins with the company team’s outlook on several important issues.  In order to help your team climb the sales ladder by exceeding client expectations, it is important that companies: focus on building relationships, follow action steps driven by service excellence, and close at the client’s preferred speed. Thank you for following our weekly posts.  Here at Service Excellence Training, we turn learning into earning!

-Resource curated by Whitney Stewart of Service Excellence Training