Home Improvement Sales Training: Four One-Call Close Mistakes

Summary:

• Don’t trigger urgency before they’re sold.
• Solve the real problem before asking to buy.
• Practice closes; treat “one call” as situational reality.

The Reality of One-Call Close Selling

If you are selling home improvements like windows, hvac, roofs, bathrooms or any other type of in home sales chances are that it is a one call close. Not a high pressure no integrity one call close but a professional sales call where you create value and need and desire for what you do and are able to consummate the order the first time you are there.

This is the business we are in. It’s funny because the way I used to describe the job to friends is that you go to a total strangers home and after 2 hours get them to spend thousands of dollars the first time you meet them. For this they pay you high 6 figures a year. The products may change but the selling strategies don’t and if you want to have a career and make a lot of money in this business you need the skills to one call close. 

After being in this business for 35 years and personally being in over 16,000 homes here are four mistakes I see people make when they are trying to do a one call close that hurts them and the customer. Hurts the customer because due to your lack of skill they don’t get to enjoy what your product has to offer.

Mistake #1: Creating Urgency Too Soon

The first mistake is where I see sales people who try to create urgency too soon. In the warm up they are trying to create urgency by asking questions like “what’s your budget” “are you planning on paying cash or finance”  or even probing questions like “how soon would you like to get this done?”  Even if you wanted the windows asap would you tell a sales person that or tell them you were in the researching phase. Smart customers see right through this and even the ones who aren’t as savvy sense that you are trying to sell them something right now.

You are trying to sell them something now but the idea is that if they feel that they won’t let themselves be sold or will hide any buying signs because they are afraid that you will  try to pressure them to doing it now. The key is this. First you have to sell them then you can create urgency to buy it now in your closing process.

You can’t try to create urgency before they are sold. It will hinder you selling them. That’s why even though I want to sell them the first visit they don’t know or sense that yet. In fact one of the things I do to lower their guard in the beginning is to tell them that the estimate is good for 3 months so that they will have time to think about it. This is the opposite of what a lot of sales people try to do at the start of their sales call. I always equate sales to a seduction. Even if you wanted to would your chances be better or worse if they sensed that you wanted them to come home with you from the beginning of your date? Or would it be better not to bring it up then have fun on your date and only at the end figure where to go from there? Same thing here.

Mistake #2: Asking to Buy Before They’re Ready

The second thing that will hurt you in a one call close is asking them to buy when they are not ready and asking to buy too soon in the close. When I say not ready the first thing you have to do before the close even starts is that you should have sold them properly. As a professional sales person you have no right to ask them to buy unless they want it and can afford it. The want it part is done in the sale presentation which happens before the close. Then the affordability part is handled in the close.

So the first part of them being ready is that they have to be properly sold. The other part of being ready happens is in the close where you have to solve the problem before you ask them to buy. For example they say they aren’t sure if they can afford it and you ask for the order or explain how if they buy today they can save more money. I’m not sure we can afford it right now Ron…..well if we could make it affordable would you buy right now?”  Or we have a today discount blah blah blah. There are two things wrong with this.

The first is that you are asking for the order ie creating urgency before the problem is solved. The problem is that they don’t think they can afford it yet. The biggest issue in closing is that sometimes people are afraid to give you the real objection because they know you being the great salesperson that you are will turn the objection then they will be put on the spot and pressured to buy. That’s why a lot of times the close starts with them giving you smoke screen objections like I want to think about it or I never make snap decisions.

So when you ask them to buy now this will bring up the guard even higher and make them more resistant to you trying to help them. Why would they help you in making it affordable to them when they know if you do that they will be put on the spot to buy. That’s why  you ask people to buy after you have solved the problem not before. If someone says that they can’t afford it the problem you have to solve is to make it affordbable to them which you do in most cases by finding ways to lower the payment.

Until you make it affordable to them you haven’t solved the problem. Once you solve the problem then you can ask them to buy or explain your urgency discount. Not the other way around. Make sure all the doors have been closed except for the urgency then you can ask for the order or do your today discount. 

Mistake #3: Not Being Prepared or Proficient

The third mistake in being able to one call close is you not being prepared and proficient.  There is no excuse for this because the reality is that you already know what you are going to hear. Everyday you are going to hear “I need to think about it, it’s too much money and I always get three estimates.

The point is that since you already know what they are going to say you should be practiced and ready to handle these. If you’re ready I should be able to say I need to think about it go….. I always get three estimates go…. And it’s too  much money go….and you know exactly how to handle it and can respond instantly with a systematic plan to  overcome these and close the sale. If not you should be roleplaying with your peers, studying and taking courses to learn how. If you are interested  I created a full program called The Art of Selling Home Improvements.

It covers everything from A to Z—not just the one-call close, but every skill you need to succeed in home improvement sales. Regardless of how you learn it you should be practiced and ready for the close. The practice and studying should be done outside of the home not in your sale call. Say you drive to ten homes to do 8 presentations for a couple of hours each and finally to get the end and can loose it in the close in 10 minutes after all of that work. You can practice the close ten times in an hour and get the same experience and not at the cost of losing thousands of dollars in commissions because you don’t know what you are doing. 

Mistake #4: Forgetting Why it’s a One-Call Close

The fourth mistake  and the easiest fix you can make when doing a one call close is not really understanding that it is a one call close. That it is more a reflection of situation not what the company wants you to do. That means that regardless of what you think the reality is that if they don’t do it while you are there that they probably won’t’ do it at all. In certain situations this may not apply. One example being that your company has the lowest price so after they shop around and don’t meet any real salespeople that they will call you back based on price alone. Unfortunately most of you who sell home improvements on a one call close generally have a higher value proposition and therefore a higher price.

Them shopping around after you leave will not help you because they will see lower prices and after you leave they forget all the reasons of why your price is worth it because of the value you offer. The other reason it is a one call close is that while you are there if you have done your job you should have brought them to the maximum point of need and desire for your product. If they don’t do it then chances are that they will never do it because after you leave the emotion and desire drops not gets higher.

If they didn’t do it at the highest point of desire why would the do it later at a lower point of desire. Until you understand in your heart that if they don’t do it while you are there that they will never do it you are losing money. Like everyone else everybody told me when I first started that it was a one call close but I didn’t internalize and believe it. Like me you will find this out eventually but until you do it will cost you money. Once you realize like I do that it is now or never  you’ll be stronger in the close and pull out all the stops. That’s  the situation that gives you the best chance of making the sale and makes you the strongest. When you know for a fact that if you don’t get them to do it now that they will never do it. 

Home Improvement Sales Training: Mastering the One-Call Close

I hope you realize that selling on a one call close is an art. When done right it is professional, has integrity and never makes the customer feel pressured. Not a lot of people can do that and when you can it will put you in the income range not a lot of people have. Now if you like these type of articles and want a deeper dive check out the video on “My #1 one call secret” or the posts on Home Improvement Closing.

Happy Selling!