The weird thing is he doesn’t have any technical knowledge. He wouldn’t know a dual-heat exchanger if it fell from the sky. Yet, he’s still selling like mad.
How is that possible? Don’t the best salespeople need to know all of the ins and outs of an HVAC system?
Not really. The fact is that homeowners don’t buy knowledge or technical expertise. Homeowners buy enthusiasm. A consumer will be more moved by your salesperson’s belief, confidence, and enthusiasm than by anything else.
That’s right. Enthusiasm beats SEER rating, price, brand, or any other factor you throw at it. It’s the enthusiasm and confidence of your salesperson that makes the difference.
Now, after several months of selling like crazy, your new salesperson has gone to training and studied on their own. Now, they’ve accumulated a ton of HVAC knowledge, and they can talk shop with the best of them. They can spout all of the technical jargon of the HVAC world like SEER, Btu, cfm, IAQ, and more.
KEEP THE ENTHUSIASM
With their newfound knowledge, they charge into sales calls ready to tell homeowners all about the specs of their systems and how powerful it will be. You may see where this is going.After a few “I’m getting three bids,” a couple of “It costs too much,” and a credit reject or two, you can guess what starts to diminish. His enthusiasm takes a hit. He has gathered up all of this technical know-how and starts telling homeowners all about how technically smart he is and his expertise is why they should buy from him.
But it wasn’t the technical aspects the homeowners cared about in the first place. It was the enthusiasm. As a result, his closing ratio has taken a hit and customers just aren’t buying like they once were.
Now, not only has he lost enthusiasm, but he has lost his confidence, too. That can be a one-two knockout punch to your sales champion. And if you see this happening to your sales champions, it’s your mission to help them get their sales mojo back.
Start out by hopping in the car or truck with your sales champ and heading out on their next sales call. See for yourself where they might be tripping up. See if they have the same kind of enthusiasm they had in those first record-breaking weeks.
The important aspect for your sales champ to recognize is that each sales appointment is a unique performance. They might run call after call each day, but this is the only time that this homeowner will be involved in a sales call with you. It’s unique for them, and your champ needs to deliver the best presentation they can on that call.
Think about going to see a Broadway musical. Those actors rehearse the same thing day in and day out for months. Then, they perform several times a day for audiences. But when you sit down in your seat, you expect the best whether they did it twice today already or not.
Your job is to get your champ to embrace the opportunity of each call and instill that enthusiasm and confidence that he can do the job. Here’s the scary part. Just be aware that he may never be able to reach his record-breaking status again. Technical knowledge is something that you can teach your salesman, but enthusiasm and confidence must come from within.
Rick Ankiel of the St. Louis Cardinals lost his confidence when he went through a tough stretch a few years ago as a pitcher. He couldn’t throw strikes, and after awhile he cracked under the pressure. He was ready to hang it up and retire at an early age. Fortunately for him and the Cardinals, he went to the minors and applied himself to becoming a superstar in the outfield. Now, he’s back in the big leagues and having a huge impact.
If you’ve had a sales champion that’s become a chump, you need to step in before he cracks under the pressure. Help him get his confidence back so he can close sales and perform at a higher level. That increased confidence will feed his enthusiasm. And that enthusiasm will feed his sales.
Keep your champ confident and enthused about making sales, and I’m confident that you’ll be making money every day.
Publication Date:11/12/2007
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