3 Steps to Win More In-Home Sales
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3 Steps to Win More In-Home Sales
Tim Reed
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When sales are soft, most companies in our industry have one lever that they pull to try and bring revenue back up: more advertising. But this is a double-edged sword because, yes, advertising can bring more people into contact with your business, yet these people come at great cost and effort—and they still need to be worked all the way through your sales funnel before they make a purchase.
And while advertising itself isn’t bad, it’s the last lever that should be pulled when revenue is down.
And while advertising itself isn’t bad, it’s the last lever that should be pulled when revenue is down.
Instead, we should look at where our existing sales funnel is leaking and throw everything we have into patching it. Like my old boss, Jeff Melberg, used to say, “There’s no point trying to get more raspberries in your bucket if it has a hole in it to begin with.”
In our industry, one of the most critical points where I see leaks in the sales funnel is at the in-home appointment. This is true for retailers who provide a free service to look at the job before a customer purchases, and for chimney service companies who offer inspections. In both cases, these companies leave incredible amounts of money on the table by not intentionally thinking about the steps they follow to build momentum in a customer’s home toward the sale.
Sales is a game of momentum, and while it needs to be built gradually, it should never stall. But classic blunders like rushing through one appointment to get to the next, overwhelming the customer with technical jargon, and “going back to the office to crunch the numbers” kill the momentum of a sale and leave you to work twice as hard for twice as long to close it—if it ever closes at all.
The good news is that all of this can be avoided by following three simple steps to harness customer momentum and win more sales.
- Step 1: Finalize the quote on site.
- Step 2: Check for the next available installation date.
- Step 3: Ask if the customer would like to get on the schedule.
Now, these steps sound incredibly simple—maybe even pedantic—but the truth is that most companies don’t do them. And to be sure, there are details for each step that can’t be missed. But by following these three steps every single time, in this specific order, you’ll find that close rates drastically increase and revenue problems often go away.
But by following these three steps every single time, in this specific order, you’ll find that close rates drastically increase and revenue problems often go away.
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Here’s how it works.
Step 1: Finalize the Quote on Site
This step is the hardest step out of the three, but if we aren’t writing up the final quote on site, we’re doing our customers a horrible disservice and setting ourselves up for failure. Alan Rush says that 50% of sales that will close will do so within 48 hours of the in-home appointment—and from my experience, he’s exactly right. If you’re leaving an appointment or inspection without finalizing the quote on-site, you’re doing 95% of the work for someone else to close the sale (or even worse, for the customer to spend that money on something else).
Now, our industry makes all kinds of excuses about why this can’t be done: too many brands, vent pipe complexity, not enough time, no internet, etc. But as Brian Candless says, “Don’t make your problem the customer’s problem.” Think about it from your perspective: If you had a plumber come out to give you a quote on some repair work that needed to be done in your bathroom, would you prefer to receive that quote during the appointment, or would you rather have it emailed to you 3-5 days later when you’re in the chaotic whirlwind of day-to-day life? There’s no question that all of us would want the quote while the plumber is on-site—and the same is true with our customers.
To finalize the quote on-site, you have to show up prepared. This means having all of your price books, manuals, and brochures on hand (preferably you have a tablet with all of this), as well as your estimating software (bonus points if you have a mobile printer). For myself, I also like to keep carbon copy paper on hand, just in case I run into a situation where I don’t have internet access and need to hand-write the final quote. The point is to ensure you have what you need to find pricing and write an estimate—whether you have internet access or not. It’s also important to set the expectation with the customer up front that you’ll be going to the truck to finalize the quote (I like to give myself about 20 minutes to do this). The best time to do this is when you first arrive at the house and are explaining what you will be doing for the appointment, let the customer know that—before you leave—you’ll go out to the truck to put the final quote together, and that this takes about 20 minutes. Don’t ask them if they would like a quote today—simply tell them that after you’ve performed the inspection, and discussed the solution that’s going to be best, you’ll put together the final quote before you leave.
The point is to make sure that you have what it takes to find pricing and write an estimate.
Use your time in the truck to write the final quote—and if that seems impossible, I would just encourage you that it’s amazing what can be accomplished in 20 minutes when you’re uninterrupted and have the ability to call other people in your company for help. After that, email it to the customer, have it ready to present on your tablet, head back to the front door, and ask the customer if there is a good spot to sit down to review it.
When you’ve sat down with the customer (preferably at the kitchen table), walk through the entire quote from start to finish—explaining any complexities about the work. Then, read the total price at the bottom and move to step two by asking the magic question: “So, based on these numbers, would you like me to call the office and check our next available installation date?”
Step 2: Check for the Next Available Installation Date
Asking the customer if they’d like you to call the office and check the next available date may not seem like the first question you would want to ask, but this step can’t be missed.
In the sales process, a customer’s momentum must be built slowly—and coming right out of the gates and saying, “Do you want to buy it?” pushes that momentum way too fast and leaves the customer in fight-or-flight mode. Sure, a person might buy every once in a while, but fear takes over in most cases, and things stall.
Asking the magic question allows you to subtly take the temperature of how the customer feels about your price without the awkwardness of asking, “Can you afford this?” Think about it: If a customer has gone to all of the trouble of inviting you out to the house (in most cases after already visiting your business in person), has hung out for an hour and a half while you perform the inspection, and is sitting down with you at their kitchen table to make sure they understand the details of your quote, why would they not want to check how far out you are on installations?
Because they don’t like your price.
If customers say “no thanks” after you ask the magic question, it’s a sign that they have a problem with the price of the job; and this is the perfect time to talk about their expectations for what the project would cost and pivot accordingly.
But you’ll be amazed how many of your customers say, “Yes, please call the office—I’d love to know when this could be installed.” And if a customer says this, what they’ve just told you is that they accept your price and would like to buy. Because people don’t waste time checking the installation dates of projects they can’t afford.
This is incredibly powerful, and you won’t believe how many people right then and there will say “yes.” The reason is because it’s clear and transparent—not clunky and awkward. In a service-based business, the installation schedule is one of the most compelling tools you have to close sales—so make sure that you leverage it.
In a service-based business, the installation schedule is one of the most compelling tools you have to close sales—so make sure that you leverage it.
So, at this point, right there at the table, pick up your phone, call the office (make sure your phone isn’t on speaker), explain the parameters of the job, and ask when the next available installation date would be. Listen for the answer, thank the office, and hang up the phone. Then, simply say to the customer, “Well, I just checked with the office and it looks like we could install this on June 15” (or whatever the date is).
Pause for a moment or two and then simply ask, “Based on that, would you like to schedule this date for your project?”
Step 3: Ask if the Customer Would Like to Get on the Schedule
This goes without saying, but if the customer has just asked you to call the office and check the next available installation date, it would be flat-out rude not to offer them that spot on the schedule. And many customers will say “yes” right then and there.
Offering the schedule date closes the loop in the customer’s mind where there are no more unknowns—they understand the project, the price, and when the work can be done. At this point, the solution to the customer’s problem is so close they can practically taste it, and this often removes the final bit of fear that’s preventing them from taking action.
When you offer the customer an installation date on-site, many of them will say “yes.”
As Donald Miller brilliantly discusses in Building a StoryBrand, when you clarify the path that customers need to take in order to solve their problems, it’s incredible how often they follow it—but if you don’t define the path, they spiral into indecision. We can audit our own behavior to prove this. If a contractor came out to your house to give you a bid on a small remodel project and wasn’t able to let you know when they could get started, it would be very difficult to make a purchasing decision—because a critical piece of information is missing from the equation.
When you clarify the path that customers need to take in order to solve their problems, it’s incredible how often they follow it—but if you don’t define the path, they spiral into indecision.
So close the loop by providing the next available installation date and ask the customer if they would like to reserve it for their project. You won’t believe how many get out their checkbooks right there.
But this isn’t true for everyone.
If you’re like me, it doesn’t matter how compelling the salesperson is, I have to check with my wife. As a side note, many of the “sharks” in our industry ask awkward questions up front about if everyone is present who’s needed to make a decision, but that’s a level of manipulation and pressure that customers can smell from a mile away. Instead, the best way to deal with this is to honor it, respect it, and offer the 24-hour installation hold.
If a customer asks you to call the office but isn’t ready to get on the schedule (say because the husband needs to check with his wife), simply reply with this: “Well, that’s no problem at all—I totally understand. And we can actually hold that installation date for 24 hours so that way you and your wife can chat about it and you can sleep on it before making a decision. So, if it’s okay, I’ll circle back with you tomorrow to make sure you don’t want this spot on the schedule before we have to give it to someone else.”
The 24-hour installation hold has incredible power—because it’s clear, it’s sensitive, and it’s time-bound. Rather than go for the hard close when someone isn’t quite ready (as many “experts” will teach you to do) this treats customers with dignity and respect—and allows the sale to proceed at their pace. But the urgency of the 24 hours often drives a decision by the time of your follow-up call the next day.
The 24-hour installation hold has incredible power—because it’s clear, it’s sensitive, and it’s time-bound.
Now, using the example above of a husband chatting with his wife when she gets home from work, imagine the difference between these two conversations:
- “Hey honey, we had the fireplace guy out today. He measured everything up, but he didn’t know what the price would be. He said he wanted to go back to the office to look things over and make sure it would work. After that, he’ll send us a quote—sometime in the next three to four days. I’m not sure when he could install it, but I guess we’ll just wait for the quote to come in.”
- “Hey honey, we had the fireplace guy out today. He measured everything up and spent some extra time to make sure that the wood stove we want will work—and it looks like it will! I’ve got the quote right here, and it’s right in the range we talked about when we visited the store. I had him check with the office, and they can install it on June 15. I didn’t want to say ‘yes’ until I’d talked to you, but he can hold that installation date for us for 24 hours if we want to go ahead with it.”
The difference between those two conversations is stark. One of them does the bare minimum and leaves the customer to clean up the mess, while the other removes all of the roadblocks in the way—and sets the husband up to look like a hero in front of his wife.
There’s no question which of those conversations leads to a sale.
Putting It All Together
These steps only work when they’re used sequentially. And I would suggest adopting phraseology that’s natural for your personality to initiate each step. Here’s what that looks like for me:
- Step 1 (After Performing the Inspection and Discussing the Solution to the Problem With the Customer): “Well Jim, it looks like this gas fireplace we discussed is going to be a great fit for your home! And, based on that, I’d love to explain the way that all of our jobs work at Bridgetown Fireplaces—because people don’t get this kind of work done very often. Step one: Before I leave today, I’ll go out to the truck and write up the final quote for you—it usually just takes 15-20 minutes—so that way you’ll know exactly what this project is going to cost.”
- Step 2 (After Reviewing the Quote with the Customer at the Kitchen Table): “So Jim, it looks like the total project is going to run $10,751 for the fireplace, vent pipe, and all of the installation work listed here. Based on that, would you like me to call the office and check when our next available installation date is?”
- Step 3a (After Calling the Office to Check the Next Available Date): “Well Jim, it looks like our next available installation date is June 15. [Pause.] Based on that, would you like to reserve that for your project?”
- Step 3b (If the Customer Isn’t Ready to Commit to the Installation Date): “That’s no problem at all, I totally understand. You know, we can actually hold that installation date for 24 hours so you can chat with your wife about it tonight and sleep on it. If it’s okay though, I’ll circle back with you tomorrow to make sure you don’t want this spot on the schedule before we have to give it to someone else.”
Adopting these three steps at every in-home appointment—and practicing them repeatedly on your own—will transform the results that you’re seeing.
Adopting these three steps at every in-home appointment—and practicing them repeatedly on your own—will transform the results that you’re seeing.
Last year, after going through this same content with a chimney company in the Eastern United States, I received a call from one of their technicians about a week later. He told me that he was shocked at the number of customers who were calling him back to place deposits so they didn’t lose their spot on the installation schedule before the date expired.
And you can see the same thing in your company.
When sales are soft, most companies chase the advertising silver bullet—pouring money into company after company and trend after trend—hoping that the slot machine comes up big for them.
But wise companies grow revenue—even in the midst of a slow economy—by tightening up their sales funnel to make the most of the opportunities that are already in front of them.
You can use these three steps to harness customer momentum at your in-home appointments, transform your effectiveness, and turn more customers into a marketing machine that advertises your company for you.
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Tim Reed
Tim Reed is the President of WhyFire, where he helps business leaders in the hearth industry take control of their companies by providing them with sales tools to save time and make money. He's also the host of The Fire Time Podcast, which is actively helping thousands of people grow themselves—and their companies.
