7. Ask the tough questions. Knowing your prospect’s budget is vital to creating a winning proposal. Yet many salespeople and contractors find it difficult to ask how much the homeowner is willing to spend.
Sales reps waste a lot of time creating proposals that their prospects can’t afford, Rea says. And presenting these to homeowners can kill the sale. “[Homeowners are thinking,] ‘Don’t sell me something I can’t afford — because I’m going to want it,’” he says. “It’s critical to find out what kind of investment people want to make.” The question Rea trains reps to ask is: “You’ve obviously given this a lot of thought, what are you comfortable investing?”
8. Physically inspect. The physical inspection and measurement for the job should be as comprehensive as your interview with the prospect. That means going well beyond what appear to be the narrow confines of the project. Climb the roof, if possible. Check the attic and basement for moisture and evidence of other problems.
The point of the needs assessment is to build customer solutions. Find the hidden damage before you tear out the old windows or rip off old shingles. By doing so, you do the prospect a service and you enlarge the scope of the project — and its price tag.
For example, Kearns Brothers does a 20-point roofing inspection that includes the shingles, specific trouble spots, and ventilation needs, Kearns says. Sales consultants routinely climb onto the roof and inspect attics, and the company has a similar procedure for siding and window jobs.
Feurer always checks attics when assessing a replacement window project. Finding out that the house lacks sufficient insulation is a customer service, and it allows Feurer to include another service — additional insulation — in his proposal.
9. Make it visual. Digital photographs provide instant documentation and are ideal for needs assessment, contractors say. Photos also enhance your position as a professional.
Feurer takes many detailed photographs during his needs assessment, then brings color enlargements, made in-house at his company, when he returns with his proposal. “If I just tell the homeowner [about some problem I’ve uncovered], then I’m a salesman and they question whether I am credible or not,” Feurer explains. Photos, on the other hand, “dramatically increase the probability of getting the job,” he says.
10. Pace yourself. Don’t rush into the sale or into making a proposal. Do the needs assessment first. “Salespeople are so charged up, but the needs assessment isn’t the time to sell, it’s the time to ask questions and listen,” Feurer says. “If I’m doing window measurements as I’m talking with the homeowners and doing the needs assessment, I’m doing a poor job of both,” he says. “If I sit down with the homeowners in the kitchen or living room, then I can totally focus on them.”
11. Give it a rest. One key to making the needs assessment work is to grab some time to think about what you learned, before continuing with the sales process.
Dunbar takes a break during the needs assessment, does measurements, and comes back to continue the conversation. “That gives me time to go through their answers and figure out which ones I need to probe more and which I haven’t yet asked,” he says. His inspection often leads to more questions. For example: “I noticed that the chimney cap was cracked. How would you like me to handle that?”
This process works just as well for a one-call or a two-call close, contractors say. If you aren’t coming back on a second call to present price, but intend to close that night, go out to your truck and take time to review and analyze what you know before putting your proposal together.
“If you don’t sit down with the homeowner and you just mail the proposal, the chances of getting the job are very slight,” Dunbar says. “The needs assessment is where [you build rapport, helping] you make the sale.”
—Jay Holtzman is a freelance writer in Jamestown, R.I.