Modifying The Process For Existing Customers

If you do a good job as a technician, you can expect to visit customers more than once. If you have your PRESS PLAY process down, how do you use it on repeat customers?

Introducing Yourself

First impressions are so important, but what happens if you’ve already served that customer? Should you count on the customer remembering you and throw the rest out the window? No! You still use the great introduction you’ve learned, you can just modify it a little bit. 

You already know the customer, so you don’t need to introduce yourself for the first time. However, you can remind them of your name and remind them you’ve been to service their home before.

You should also confirm the reason you are there that day. Even if you’ve been there before, confirm what the problem is on that particular visit. You can use this as a jumping-off point to run through your normal routine of explaining what systems you’re going to check out.

Questions

Some questions never change, like asking what problem is happening, how the system is running before maintenance, etc. With a brand new customer, you might work to get the history of the service that’s been performed on the system or understand the usage of the system. With a repeat customer, you might not need those details, but you can still confirm you have that knowledge. You need to especially note the things you should know and not ask questions you should have the answers to — check the notes from the previous visit!

Let the customer know you remember that either you personally or someone from your company has been to the home before. 

Confirm that knowledge, and keep the door open for new knowledge from the current service call. You express that you know why a technician was at the home before, and then you get to the bottom of the current problem.

Credibility, Agenda, Price

Even if you or your company has been to the home before, you have to establish your credibility every time you visit the home. Your customer needs to know if you can fix the problem they have. It’s your job to convince them you can. Every time. But you can remind the customer that you’ve established this credibility before by treating them familiarly. 

The customer is also going to be thinking about the process of your service call. Remind the customer of the color-coded checklist you use and what it means for their system. Remind them how long it usually takes, how you’re going to report the information to them and reassure them you‘ll confer with them before making any decisions. Even if the customer doesn’t remember the previous visit, they’ll feel like you do and you’re treating them familiarly.

Presenting Recommendations

How do you make recommendations that have been made before in previous visits but have always been rejected? The number one thing to remember is: you still recommend the best option. Many homeowners listen more closely to recommendations that have been made more than once. If you can see that a previous technician has made a recommendation before, express that to the customer as a reference or backup support to your own recommendations.

However, don’t take the previous technician’s word for it. Make sure you do the work to come to your own conclusions. If you are faced with a customer who consistently rejects your recommendations, ask them outright why they always push the service to the next season! Use respect and care when speaking, but make sure you have all the information about your customer and their reasoning — you might be surprised by the answer!

Don’t Skip Steps. Ever.

Existing customers still need the tried and true service that you have established. Work with that process that establishes trust and makes the customer experience better, but learn to use familiarity and good notes to make sure you move forward with the service call. If you have trouble adapting your service process for existing customers, Service Excellence can help you! Check out our online resources, classes and advice. Contact us today if you want to speak to an industry expert!

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