Its been a good day at your business. Your team is busy, some of the techs are back from the days job site, and the sales team is bantering about the need for a cool new product that does something better and faster. Then, a prospective client calls in and asks for one of your salespeople. They recognize the name as a long-standing prospect, one that everyone expects will roll into a big system when and if someone could just close them. So, someone hushes the ribbing and takes the call.
Closing sales makes things happen and selling motivates everyone, even the customer, because they have something to look forward to. It takes real skill to sell the fun stuff we deal with. After all, were talking about peoples homes, personal entertainment choices, their lifestyles, their families, and their money. Use that skill to attach some new ideas to the system.
What if you took the opportunity to talk to that prospective customer about something new, exciting, and different? Im talking about something that hasnt been part of the potential bid in the conversations so far. Are you going to just get into the file and go for the close on the system as is?
The good salesperson does just that. He or she gives the customer what he wants, expects, and has agreed to previously. The savvy salesperson approaches it differently. Every conversation with a prospective customer is a chance to start the chat with a new selling idea. It means being more creative and confident. Attaching value and products to whats already been sold is what a savvy custom salesperson is all about.
Lets start with the finite. The customers home, family members and their habits are pretty much what they are. But what about those rooms in the home that have been specified for integration, speakers, lighting control, and an intercom? What can you recommend to your customer that will enhance their experience in that room? They came to you in the first place because they wanted to enjoy their home life even more, and they trust you to be their guru. You have the advantage here because not only are you confidently aware of their preferences and budget tolerances, but they have already committed to a project that they like.
Attachment selling begins with an idea to enhance an experience. Start with some careful consideration of what you have in the spec for your prospective client. For example, the plasma in the casual dining area is flush on the wall. What about changing the mount to an articulating model so that the customer can have flexibility in placing their family dining table? There are speakers in the backyard and on the master bedroom deck. You know that your client has a couple of cool motorcycles that he likes to tinker with in the garage. How about adding a pair of speakers and a modest LCD in a corner of the garage? Sell them a subscription to their local cable provider and program their garage keypad default to tune into SpeedVision.
Another technique is to ask your customer a leading, thought-provoking question to which you already know the answer. For instance, Do you have an iPod or do you know anyone who has an iPod? Something tells me the answers here are no less than one yes, which means there is an opportunity to offer your customer one, too. Maybe they just havent had time to go buy one or they think its harder to set up than it is. You are their go-to person for this kind of stuff so play it up. You will go buy one for them, you wont mark it up and youll teach them how to use it. There are a few in-home iPod solutions that you can teach your customer about. Then sell them one…or several! Thats your edge.
Another good question is, Have you thought about any new technologies for your home since we last reviewed your project? More often than not, the answer will be yes. Maybe they are avid online surfers for techno gadgets or they read the personal technology section of the Wall Street Journal or have gotten into the websites of your vendors. You want to know this and if they have, then you can ask, suggest, sell, and close. You can attach.
What if they answer no? Well, the savvy salesperson will be ready with at least a couple of ideas. Tell them about something that you are specifying in another job that is not included in this system. Tell them how this design feature or product is making that customers system a better experience. Tell them how they will use it and who in their family gets the most out of it.
One great place in the home to introduce add-ons is the outdoor space.
Recently, a client of a deck builder in the east had completed a nice deck with a grill, wet bar, and some lighting. When the client told the builder that they looked forward to using the deck a lot in the spring time, the builder wanted to speed that process up. He bought them a couple of gas heaters so they could use the deck in the colder weather. The customer appreciated this so much that they not only accepted the heaters, they also added a spa and speakers using the builder as their contractor. This is a great example of enhancing the experience for a customer. Give them something really cool and then let them think about making it a better experience.
Remember that when selling the experience, its not about the money. Never sell with price. Sell the value. Sell the experience. Sell the fun. Salespeople always think about selling more, but the savvy salesperson will think about how they will sell more and correlate it to their customers experience.
