{"id":11309,"date":"2015-12-02T17:35:35","date_gmt":"2015-12-02T17:35:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sandler.dsstaging2.com\/case-study\/selling-homeowners-quote-or-not-quote\/"},"modified":"2022-10-18T16:02:37","modified_gmt":"2022-10-18T16:02:37","slug":"selling-homeowners-quote-or-not-quote","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sandler.com\/blog\/selling-homeowners-quote-or-not-quote\/","title":{"rendered":"Selling to Homeowners: To Quote or Not to Quote?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

As salespeople who work with homeowners, we sometimes fall into the trap of thinking that our most important job is to create quotes. We may decide to do as many quotes as possible, email those quotes and leave lots and lots of messages\u2014all in the hope that prospects will hunt us down and tell us they\u2019ve decided to buy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Instead, our job is to start conversations that generate decisions\u2014small decisions at first, and bigger decisions as the sales process moves forward. That\u2019s the objective of effective follow through: to create more conversations that lead to a clear decision.<\/em> If you can do that consistently, and monitor your progress toward your income goals as you do, then your numbers will be on track. If you don\u2019t, they won\u2019t be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bottlenecks and Short Sales Cycles<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most manufacturers know about bottlenecks. Those are the places in the manufacturing process that are slower than the rest. Bottlenecks constrain manufacturers\u2019 ability to make products. Rather than worry about the entire manufacturing process, they focus on removing bottlenecks to increase capacity and decrease costs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Selling to homeowners is a process as well. Bottlenecks can plague salespeople and reduce their effectiveness. For example, consider follow-up calls. If a salesperson could close all his sales in one appointment rather than two, his sales capacity would double. Simple math, right? Yet this kind of math is not at all obvious to most sales teams selling to homeowners. They think they should invest extra effort tracking down prospects hoping to get a sale.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Look more closely at your own process. Identify the good prospects so you can focus your efforts on them and shorten your sales cycle. Which is easier: to make your sales process twice as efficient, or to double the number of estimates you provide? We say it\u2019s shortening your cycle! Even if you don\u2019t have many leads, you can free yourself up to do more prospecting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sometimes bottlenecks are not that obvious. For instance, many sales processes are stalled by the estimating process. Salespeople think they have to go back to the office and work up complex calculations. Designers or engineers think they have to create drawings or conduct analysis. While these actions may not always be within the control of the salesperson, they can and do slow down the selling process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Time Kills Deals<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s the point: If the client says he wants to buy, make it easy for him to do so \u2013 now! Many salespeople choose the more time-consuming, deal-killing option of accepting a verbal agreement \u2026 and then setting up another meeting. They go back to the office, retrieve an agreement and then bring it back to the homeowner to sign. They are adding unnecessary steps to their own sales process\u2014and losing sales! Use whatever technology you can to obtain the formal agreement on the spot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Occasionally we hear salespeople say, \u201cI lost the deal for reasons out of my control.\u201d They explain that the homeowner lost their job, or someone got sick, or the competition came out with a new product.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It doesn\u2019t really matter. Time was under their control.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The longer the sales cycle, the greater the likelihood that these \u201cuncontrollable\u201d events will occur. That\u2019s today\u2019s world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The more efficient you are with your time, the more money you make. You have control over your schedule, and your pay is a function of your success at consistently exerting that control.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not all prospects will cooperate. Some will refuse any aspect of your attempts to set the agenda; some will push back when you outline the steps of your sales process. Some will refuse to cooperate with you even though it is clearly in their best interests to do so. While all this may be frustrating, you can still learn from the situation. Begin to notice, learn, rank, and prioritize the prospect\u2019s willingness to cooperate!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Four Levels of Prospect Cooperation<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n