2024 requires a look back

You remember “Back to the Future,” a great series of movies starring Michael J Fox, where his character, Marty McFly, gets sent back in time in a DeLorean.

There, he has to make sure his parents meet and fall in love, so he can get back to the future.

My title is not so much a shoutout to the movie, while it is a great movie, but more a declaration that we need to do some things differently this year, rather than what we have been doing the last few years.

In my opinion we got lazy during the pandemic.  Some companies were working remotely, and techs had control over going to a call or not.  It’s understandable since we were facing a global disease that was not only deadly, but highly communicable.

Still, many companies decided to eliminate some of the services they offered, in many cases not going out on calls at all.  Compounding the opportunity was the fact that we were spending a lot more time at home. Some states made it mandatory, as shops and restaurants were closed.

When a problem was discovered, if you were the company that made a decision to serve your customers, both in service and installs, you may not have had a lot of competition. Then, by the second year of the pandemic, we find that one component was essential to almost all electrical appliances and anything we used on a daily basis — the computer chip.

Scarcity fostered bad sales habits

How we discovered that was when we did not have them and production ceased.  Lead times on some manufactured products went from days to weeks to months. Our sales reps got into the habit of calling to see what was in stock before even quoting a project.  It became easy, if you had something in stock, no matter what efficiency, the chances of a sale were excellent.

Flash forward a couple of years. Several things have changed. First, we now have inventory. The barns are full.  Second, the economy has taken a turn and is not nearly as robust as it was last year.  People are worried about jobs, careers, and even their family-owned businesses, which means it is not business as usual.

What we had to do five years ago is true today. Spend some time with the customer to find out where they are in the process. Run loads. Look at the home as part of the system, duct work and registers need to be considered, everything.

Explain why rather than what

Here is what I would suggest doing today to improve your closing ratio and profitability. First, be sure the customer knows your “Why.”  Simon Sinek wrote an amazing book in 2009, “Start with Why.”  His famous quote is: “People don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it.”

When you share why you are in business, both employees and customers connect with you on an emotional level, which is how people buy.  Some of the best in the industry (Andy Hobaica, who sold over $5 million last year in residential replacement sales) shares the “why” in the first few minutes to launch emotional connections early.

The next thing we need to do is discover the problem. Wanting a new system is not the problem.  That is a request for a proposal. The problem may be high utility bills, loud systems, uneven temperature, lack of humidity or too much humidity, indoor air-quality issues (the opportunity of this decade!), or any other discomfort that the customer feels.

Once you understand the problem they are facing, then you can ask a key question: What if you don’t do anything? What if you don’t take action, what will be the end result? How will you feel later if nothing changes? The fear of that problem not going away, still bothering them next week, month, year is the perfect motivator for change.

Know the value of a solution

We are not selling boxes in the back yard. We are selling solutions that are much more valuable than boxes.

Now you have to do a complete home inspection.  Like Andy, go into the attic or crawl space, take a quick video (they take videos on every service call, install proposal, every time in a home).  That will be valuable when you are sharing your solution.  Show what you found in your walk through.  That is what your doctor does when you have an annual physical, he does the blood work, then gives you a report on what he found.

Then you are ready to present your solution, or solutions.  I am a fan of giving options, maybe 3, best/better/good. Have a pricing system that allows you to put together a solution while on site, including options and financing. While in the financing neighborhood, get a plan that goes out at least 10 years. Fifteen is optimal. At 15 years, at 7 percent the payment is approximately 1%. So, a $15,000 system can be installed for $150/month. After some energy savings, that payment may be $120 out of pocket. Less than a Starbucks per day. What price can you put on comfort and health?  Those are truly priceless!

Here are a couple of other ideas. Get some testimonials from happy customers. If you don’t have them yet, call up a customer you installed a year or two ago. Start with: I was thinking of you. People like to be thought of. How has that system performed? How are the energy savings? Are the rooms comfortable?

Then ask if they could put that in an email or letter to use in your advertising. A letter from a happy customer is so much more valuable than you saying that they could save $280 per year in utility bills.

So, there are some thoughts on going back to the future. The easy days are over. We have to do more today than ever.

And by the way, the holiday season is almost here. Think of those who are having a tough time. Reach out to your customer base or neighborhood. Find ways to be a blessing to those around you.

If you ask your customers to be on the lookout for families in need, they will do that and think highly of your company. It is a good business decision, as well as the right thing to do as a human.