Don't Ride the Heatwave
There is no doubt that hot temperatures (especially in the upper 90s) are a welcome boost to an air conditioning contractor’s business. The phone rings off the hook, service calls are plentiful, and equipment sales close easier - but below are several questions to consider if you’re a sales professional or business owner in this industry:
• If your service technicians weren’t trained properly prior to the heat wave on increasing average tickets, converting service calls into maintenance plans, and generating leads, what’s going to happen when the heat wave ends? Can you imagine what the revenue, profits, and sales volume should or could have been if they were trained properly?
• How about your salespeople, are they trained well? Can you imagine the sales volume if your sales staff can actually show a customer the difference between cheapest price versus lowest investment? What if your salespeople understood how to use interest-free payment plans as a closing tool? Imagine if your salespeople knew how to build on the relationships they just made and could generate lifetime referrals from them.
1. Practice sales fundamentals. Train your sales staff and service technicians properly on basic sales techniques for increasing average tickets, generating leads, building relationships, and into converting service calls into maintenance plans. Being great at these fundamentals in the heat of the moment is what separates the best from the average.
2. Make sure you’re having your weekly service meetings. Make sure to talk about who’s leading the pack in spiffs, converting calls into service agreements, and average tickets.
3. Schedule ride-alongs. Pairing the top-performing leaders with some of the low performers on ride-alongs will make a difference.
4. Don’t forget about residential equipment sales. On the residential equipment sales side, the suggestions apply. Don’t miss your sales meetings just because you’re busy. Make sure you’re talking about average sales, closing rates, and referral generation. I also encourage ride-alongs with some of the leaders in these categories with some of the low performers.
It’s easy to get complacent when it’s hot and busy - because we’re hot and busy. It’s easy to forget about the basics.
John Wooden who set national collegiate basketball records for consecutive titles passed away in June. What made coach Wooden great was his ability to convey the importance of fundamentals. He would take the greatest athlete and get him to practice fundamentals so that in the key/pressure moments of a game, he could execute the fundamentals consistently.
Business owners and managers, don’t just ride the heat wave. When you train your sales staff exceptionally well and incorporate sales fundamentals in their sales day, you’ll see sales volume and profits soar well beyond the wave.
Publication date: 09/27/2010
• If your service technicians weren’t trained properly prior to the heat wave on increasing average tickets, converting service calls into maintenance plans, and generating leads, what’s going to happen when the heat wave ends? Can you imagine what the revenue, profits, and sales volume should or could have been if they were trained properly?
• How about your salespeople, are they trained well? Can you imagine the sales volume if your sales staff can actually show a customer the difference between cheapest price versus lowest investment? What if your salespeople understood how to use interest-free payment plans as a closing tool? Imagine if your salespeople knew how to build on the relationships they just made and could generate lifetime referrals from them.
BACK TO BASICS
It’s critical to not let time get away from you. Before you know it, it will be too late and cash flow will not be flowing as easily. Below are some tips on what to do in some of these areas during a heat wave:1. Practice sales fundamentals. Train your sales staff and service technicians properly on basic sales techniques for increasing average tickets, generating leads, building relationships, and into converting service calls into maintenance plans. Being great at these fundamentals in the heat of the moment is what separates the best from the average.
2. Make sure you’re having your weekly service meetings. Make sure to talk about who’s leading the pack in spiffs, converting calls into service agreements, and average tickets.
3. Schedule ride-alongs. Pairing the top-performing leaders with some of the low performers on ride-alongs will make a difference.
4. Don’t forget about residential equipment sales. On the residential equipment sales side, the suggestions apply. Don’t miss your sales meetings just because you’re busy. Make sure you’re talking about average sales, closing rates, and referral generation. I also encourage ride-alongs with some of the leaders in these categories with some of the low performers.
It’s easy to get complacent when it’s hot and busy - because we’re hot and busy. It’s easy to forget about the basics.
John Wooden who set national collegiate basketball records for consecutive titles passed away in June. What made coach Wooden great was his ability to convey the importance of fundamentals. He would take the greatest athlete and get him to practice fundamentals so that in the key/pressure moments of a game, he could execute the fundamentals consistently.
Business owners and managers, don’t just ride the heat wave. When you train your sales staff exceptionally well and incorporate sales fundamentals in their sales day, you’ll see sales volume and profits soar well beyond the wave.
Publication date: 09/27/2010
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