Chris Withers, owner with Cress Carter of Old Greenwich Builders, in Denver, also turns to the Internet to research clients and find possible commonalities. What industry do they work in? Are they involved in the arts or in other areas? “There is a certain amount of a sales call that’s not business,” Withers says. “We try to get to more of a personal level.”
Old Greenwich Builders has a system calculated to establish the company’s credibility and professionalism with the goal, Withers says, of “going out on a second date.” To show that the company is better organized than other builders, the salesperson takes customers through a detailed job binder that shows how process-oriented Old Greenwich Builders is. “This puts [customers] at ease,” Withers says, “and they realize that they’re talking to professionals.”
Depending on what was discovered in the Internet search, salespeople will stress different topics. When the meeting is over, Withers leaves behind brochures and directs prospects to the company’s Web site.
“We conclude our initial sales call by inviting [the customer] to join us for a ‘job tour,’ and we try to get a time scheduled before we leave the meeting.” The tour starts at the Old Greenwich Builders office, “to show them that we do, in fact, work in a professional office environment,” Withers says.
Then the prospects are taken to see two or three projects similar in scope to their own. “This point shouldn’t be underrated,” he says. “We don’t want to take a $200,000 potential client through three, million-dollar remodels; it would only scare them away. We conclude the tour by letting them know we are interested in their project and would love to be their builder. We offer to present them with a ‘soft’ bid and 90% say ‘yes’ at this point. Then we start to build financial rapport.”
SAME IS GOOD Once you’ve learned the techniques for drawing people out and making them feel comfortable, train your staff to do the same. “Most successful businesses make sure everyone is on the same page,” Naik says. “It’s a crucial step in going from good to great.”
At Synergy Builders, in West Chicago, owner John Habermeier, who uses the Sandler sales system because, he says, “it’s a defined process,” has his staff role-play various parts of the remodeling process at what he calls “Synergy University.” “We meet every three weeks — from newbies to managers. We rehearse the customer experience, and we get 360-degree feedback [from the staff participants].” Sales and design people practice answering tough questions without getting defensive. “They try to understand a client’s pain by asking more questions about their situation,” he says.
To ease clients’ fears, Habermeier relies on systemization and updated technology. One place he looks to for business inspiration is McDonald’s. “No matter where you are around the world, [McDonald’s] is consistent,” he says. “You can anticipate a product and it will be delivered exactly as you anticipated it.”
Habermeier, whose business focuses on high-end basement remodels, strives for a consistent sales process. “When we set up an appointment with a client, we have the goal of measuring their basement on the first visit. We always set up a second appointment at the same time we’re setting up the first appointment,” he says. The first appointment is done at the customer’s home and takes about an hour.
“About 15 minutes into the visit a [prospect usually] asks if [we] had a chance to read their wish list,” says Habermeier, who explains to the customer that the first visit is mainly to look around, take measurements, and allow the customers to describe their lifestyle.
Habermeier and his staff visit the basement on their own. Using a [Leica] laser distance meter and Bluetooth technology, they can transfer accurate measurements into Chief Architect on a tablet PC within 15 minutes. Then they give the homeowners a 30-second overview of their basement on the tablet PC. “They usually go, ‘Wow, how’d you do that?’ This builds the anticipation level, and they get excited about the second appointment,” Habermeier says.