Tag: Sales Coaching

There is no way to sugar coat it… if you do not have confidence, you will not succeed in sales and should find another career immediately. Throughout the years, I have made this bold declaration to numerous individuals and groups. I have said it to rookies and seasoned veterans alike. Confidence is not optional, it is required.

If you read my last article titled Fact or Fiction? You Should Expect to Close the Deal on the First Visit, you are probably wondering why I am now writing another article about following up. So, which one is it; should I be closing on the first visit or making follow up calls? The best answer is both! As much as I am a believer in the one-call-close, I am also a realist and know that not every potential customer can be made a client on the first call. There are some that require time and nurturing before they are ready to hire you.

The contracting business is highly competitive when it comes to winning new customers. We have all experienced our fair share of winning and often, and equal or greater share of losing. My goal in this article is to share some personal experiences and offer suggestions that will prove that the answer to the question above is not only FACT, but we can remove the “should expect” and focus on “You should close the deal on the first visit.”

Sales makes the (business) world go-round. Every business relies on sales to drive revenue and growth. Regardless of your personal level of affinity towards sales, to every home improvement pro, it is the lifeblood of your business. In this article, I will share a plan that will turn yourself (or your sales team) into a well-oiled, deal closing, revenue generating machine.

If you have seen the recent Taraji P. Henson movie, What Men Want (2019), or the Mel Gibson movie What Women Want (2000), then you know the game changing advantage one gains by knowing what someone else is thinking. Although we do not have the magic formula that will allow you to literally read your customers minds, this article will offer up some powerful insights that will certainly help you feel like you know exactly what your customers want.

If you did not grow up in the 80’s, you may not be so familiar with the television show, The A-Team. The leader of this group of outlaw former soldiers (“wanted for a crime they did not commit”), Hannibal Smith had a line that he said at the conclusion of every episode and successful “mission”. With cigar in hand, he would smilingly state “I love it when a plan comes together”. Well, who doesn’t love it when their plan comes to fruition and success is achieved? The important take away here is that to achieve success, one must first have a plan.

As a business owner, what would your response be if you were informed that in the next year you could increase the productivity of your sales team by as much as 88%, and receive a return of 7x on the investment to do so? To make the scenario more intriguing, consider that your current sales management currently dedicates only 5% of their time and resources towards what is necessary to achieve these tremendous results. Would you hesitate to ask the obvious question, HOW??? Of course, you would, because the numbers just laid out for you are as real as death and taxes. The secret to growing your bottom line is typically already within your organization, it only needs to be uncovered and nurtured.

Before launching conXpros, I was an executive with a larger home improvement lead generation company. Often, I would use the service to find contractors for different projects/needs around my own home. In addition to meeting my own needs, I would gain a firsthand glimpse at the selling processes and approach of our clients as they contacted me and tried to secure my business. The information I gained was invaluable and many aspects of the what to do and not to do are shared with our clients here at conXpros through the blog or individual account managers directly. The following real-life experience will help you to better understand a critical error made by many in home sales “pros” and stop costing your company the profits you deserve.

What percentage of leads do you make contact with? If you are like the majority of home improvement pros, one of the most frustrating and bewildering parts of online lead generation is making initial contact with the home owner that just submitted their request to be contacted. This common challenge is what leads many pros throw their hands in the air and outright give up on lead gen as a source of new business. Whether you are at this level of frustration or are just looking to improve your contact ratio, this article will provide you the tools, insights and evidence to help you overcome this massive hurdle.