How to Help Customers, Instead of Just Selling to Them
Implementing “good deeds” will make your company stand out and create lasting relationships
I live in an outdated — read: landlord-doesn’t-care-about-the-place — type of house.
And a few months back, I smelled what I thought was rotten eggs. My mind immediately went to gas leak. So, like responsible adults, my roommate and I called Consumers Energy. They told us to leave our house until they could send a technician out. We got in her car, drove down the street, and in our mind, waited for our house to blow up.
Once the technician showed up, he asked about the smell, then started to check inside the house for leaks. Nothing. He just needed to check one more place before giving us the all-clear: the gas meter outside. However, our landscaping was overgrown and blocking the meter. And according to our tech, that was no bueno. It’d have to be trimmed.
We retrieved the hedge trimmers, planning to give the bushes a chop so he could continue his job, but he wouldn’t have it. Not only did he trim around the meter (and go on to determine that there were, in fact, no gas leaks), but he continued trimming all the overgrown landscaping and insisted on cleaning it up
We couldn’t believe the nicety — although we couldn’t help wondering: Had we used and abused the poor guy by letting him do our chores? But then I remembered the industry I work in, and I realized: There actually are technicians out there who care enough about their customers enough to do little things to make their day brighter.
This is what Andy Hobaica of Hobaica Services in Phoenix, Arizona, calls “good deeds.”
Hobaica worked as a technician for 12 years before he moved into sales, and he’s learned a thing or two along the way. One of his favorite sayings is, “People will soon forget about the service you provide or the work you do, but they will long remember how you made them feel.”
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At the last Service World Expo in Orlando, Florida, Hobaica shared more about the types of “good deeds” HVAC contractors can implement into their businesses to stop selling and start helping.
Most contractors or technicians or salespeople call their customers when they are 30 minutes away. Hobaica takes it a step further with something he calls “the drink order.” When he phones that homeowner to inform them of his ETA, he also tells them he’s going to make a quick stop at the gas station for some gas and a cup of coffee. Then he’ll ask the customer if there is anything he can get them. Before a customer even has the chance to decline, Hobaica will say, “Now, before you say no, I’ll be able to turn my receipt in and my boss will pay for it. So, help a brother out and get me a free drink.”
A lot of people might think this corny, but Hobaica said nine times out of ten, customers will say yes.
Another way to help out is something as simple as bringing up the trash can or bringing in the newspaper. Hobaica laid out this scenario: You’re a homeowner and you decide to replace some windows. You get three quotes from random window companies you found on Google. During one of those quotes, a tech walks up to your door, knocks, and says, “Hey, just wanted to make sure I parked my truck in the right location. And by the way, your trash can was there. I don't know where it goes, but I pulled it over by the front gate, and here's your newspaper.”
What would that do? Likely, it’d make you feel a lot closer to that tech, because they took a little bit of extra time to help you out and create a good experience.
Right after mentioning the truck, the technician can also assume the service by saying, “After you purchase the system from me, this is where my install is going to park” — then show the customers where the truck will go, where the crane will go if needed, and ask if that sounds okay, explaining it’s to interrupt their lives as little as possible. Then, the tech should hand them a company brochure and put on a pair of booties, before setting foot in the house.
Every time.
Even if the customer says it’s OK not to.
Another thing Hobaica pointed out was knocking instead of ringing the doorbell. In fact, he would rather call the customer than ring the doorbell, because you never know who’s sleeping.
“Strangers ring the doorbell — friends knock,” he said.
When contractors stop selling and start helping, they’ll organically create the relationships needed to secure service.
“I don't care if you have 15 calls on your schedule that day or three calls,” Hobaica said. “You're going to do your call, but everyone is allowed a 15-minute buffer per call to do a good deed for the customer. If you don't do this, you need to implement it.”
These good deeds often involve the question, “Is there anything else I can do while I am in here?” And if a technician is thoroughly conducting a call — meaning they have the customer take them into their hottest room, their most comfortable room, their coldest room, etc. — there will be a lot of rooms with a lot of opportunities for good deeds.
Other good deeds Hobaica mentioned:
-Changing lightbulbs
-Changing batteries on smoke detectors
-Cleaning leaves from gutters
-Spinning the hose
Now, most people might be uncomfortable accepting help, like me and my roommate, and insist that the technician just sticks to their job description. But Hobaica role-played how to go about a few of these good deeds, and now I’m not sure how customers are telling him no — ever.
Now that I know there are technicians out there who do these kinds of good deeds, that’s who I am setting out to hire. Likely, forever. Not because I want them to do mundane chores around the house, but because that’s how I’ll find a technician who actually cares about helping me, instead of just about the sale.
