Home Improvement Sales: Stop Making This One Call Close Mistake

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Mastering the Art of Closing in Home Sales

Are You Creating Objections That Don’t Exist?

Are your turning objections that don’t really exist when doing home improvement sales? After being in this business for over 35 years one thing that I notice is that salespeople create more work than they have to when closing home improvement sales. They are the reasons sales closing is so hard. They are not the customer, which is the biggest obstacle to them making sales.

The Mistake: Turning Reactions Into Objections

Why Most Closers Struggle with Reactions

One of the biggest mistakes I see salespeople make in closing is that they turn reactions into objections. Most home improvement or in-home sales tend to be a one-call close.  Even if you have to go back you still have to learn to close. Just not as well if you have multiple visits to do that but the more you go back and let them think about it the more of an order taker and the less of a closer you are.

Delaying the Close Costs You Money

Not only that but every time you go back you could be seeing someone else. You are costing yourself money by not learning to close home improvement sales. Regardless of whichever way you do it there comes a point after you’ve done your sales presentation, you price it up, deliver the price, and start the close. Usually, it’s a variation of so it’s 15,555 and if you fill out the credit application we can get started. Or it’s 15,555 and would you prefer to pay cash or finance if you did this? I would pay cash…well the next step would be for you to get your credit card…

Initiating the Close in Home Sales

The point is you deliver the price and start to close by asking for the order. A lot of times the first thing people say is what I call a reaction. For example, they say “Wow that’s a lot of money” or “I didn’t know it was going to be this much. Then the typical salesperson starts to say things like “Don’t you think it’s worth it” or “We can work with the price” Or is that too much for you to spend?

Understanding Reactions vs. Objections

Common Reaction Phrases Misunderstood

They are treating the comment/reaction like it’s an objection. It’s not an objection it’s a reaction. If they say “It’s a lot of money I am not going to do it” then it would be an objection. They are not saying that. They are simply giving you a reaction and by you trying to deal with it or turn it you are actually turning the reaction into an objection. You are creating the objection. Do you know how many checks or credit cards I‘ve handed over while saying “You know that’s a lot of money” or “I didn’t know it was this much.  Common reaction-type statements you hear when you first start to close are:

How You Create the Objection Yourself

That’s a lot of money. I wasn’t planning on doing anything today. I didn’t know it was going to be this much. I thought it was going to be half this much when I called you. Remember they are not objecting here. They are just reacting. The best way to handle a reaction is not to react to it. Definitely don’t question it or try to turn it. Learn the secret power that all great closers learn to use. The power of silence. Learn to be quiet. Most salespeople talk too much in the close. They talk themselves out of the sale. Closing is about asking questions and learning to be quiet.

The Secret Weapon for Closing in Home Sales

Mastering the Power of Silence

You’ve heard people say that the first person who speaks loses. It’s the same thing here. You deliver the price and after you say the next step would be to fill out the credit app or whatever way you ask for the order you then have to be quiet until they respond. When they are reacting, it is like they are not really saying anything, and you need to be quiet until they actually give you a real objection or say no. If you have to say something another option is when they give you the reaction that instead of just being silent just acknowledge that they said something by saying. I understand or ok and then nothing else. Go back to the silence.

How to Use Silence Effectively

Here’s the difference in how it sounds. So the price is 15555. And if you start to fill out the credit app here, we can get everything started. Wow, that's a lot of money. I had no idea it was gonna be this much. Well, what did you think it was gonna cost? Don't you think it's worth it? Ohh I'm not sure you're the first person we talked to. And on and on and on. In this example, they reacted and you created the objection which may or not have been there by responding to it.

Comparing Two Closing Styles

What Not to Do

More often than not, a lot of those would have turned out differently if it went like this. So the price is 15555 and if you start to fill out the credit app we can get everything started. Wow, that's a lot of money. I had no idea it was going to be this much. I understand. I thought it was gonna be half this amount. (silence) And you know, when you first came, I wasn't even planning to do anything tonight.  I understand. (silence) Is there any way I could pay half cash and half finance? Sure here’s the credit app for the part you want to finance.

What to Do Instead

So learn to be quiet or just acknowledge the initial reaction you hear when you first start the close after you have delivered the price.

A Simple Rule to Improve Closing in Home Sales

A rule of thumb for me is that I am quiet at this part of the close until they actually give me an objection. “I’m not going to do anything right now because I have to think about it. Or it starts to shut down …do you have a card? Until I hear these types of things I assume I am still in the reaction phase and don’t try to turn it or say anything.  That way I make sure that what I am hearing is really an objection and not a reaction. Then you are ready to move on to the real closing which means learning to isolate the objection to the money, figuring out whether the money means affordability or value closing the gap, then asking for the order or creating urgency to buy now.

Moving Into the Final Close

There is a lot involved in learning how to one-call close. Start by learning to do this and you will be on your way. For more information on this check out the post on How and Why To Bring It To The Money or the posts on closing home improvement sales.

Happy Selling