The Real Reason You Can't Close Home Improvement Sales (It's Not Your Close)
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TLDR:
Closing issues come from weak selling, not weak closes.
Use a pre-close commitment to confirm desire before price.
Check price conditioning by testing what buyers expect.
Success in selling home improvements depends on you, not the customer.
Selling Home Improvements: How to Overcome the Real Objections
Why Closing Isn’t Your Problem in Selling Home Improvements
Commission sales only pays for results. Are you doing in home sales like selling home improvements and consistently hearing and not being able to overcome things like we need time to think about it, we’re still just looking around, we want to see what else is out there and things like that? You keep working on your close but it’s not working. That may be because you are missing the biggest objection of all.
The Importance of Building Value Before the Close
One reason you can’t turn them is that the real objection is that they are just not sold. Sold meaning that they want your product and think it’s worth it. What you are really hearing at the end is just a polite blowoff. You are not losing it in the close and should stop looking for closing training. What you should be looking for is ways to get better at selling. In this video I will go over two ways you can use to check that you are properly selling them and have built the value you need to close them. This will help you know if you need more closing training or more selling and building value training.
Using the Pre-Close Commitment in Selling Home Improvements
If they are not sold you need to work on building desire and value. Translation how you sell them and how you price condition. Remember that the close won’t work unless they want it and think it’s worth it. There are two simple ways to double check this and they both happen at the same point. The pre close commitment. They can have different names depending on who you work for but they accomplish the same thing. You need to make sure they want it or are sold before you get into pricing.
Normally this happens when after you have shown them everything and are ready to deliver the price The most common thing is just to say “ If this is affordable is this definitely the window you want put in your home? Sometimes it’s more aggressive and sounds like “other than price and affordability is there any other reason we couldn’t earn your business today?” What you are really doing is to see if the customer wants your product. I prefer the first way because it is to the point. Do you want this? Yes they have to pay for it but the price doesn’t matter unless they want and are sold on what you have.
If they don’t give you a firm commitment immediately with no hesitation, meaning they are in love with your product then they are not sold . You should be able to get a firm commitment if you have sold them properly. I always say is this what you definitely want. Then make sure it’s a firm commitment by asking them why? “Is this the roof you definitely want to put on your home?” Yes.. and why would that be? Because I like the quality of the roof and your company and I like the detail you put into installing it…something to that effect.
By saying this they reinforce the commitment, and the answer should tell you how real and firm the commitment is. If you can’t get a firm commitment here than you need to work on your sales presentation not the close. The answer to this question will tell you that you have done your job. Just make sure the commitment is real and your’re not making them say yes. There is a big difference between them looking you in the eye and saying “I definitely want this vs yea it seems okay.”
Double-Checking Price Conditioning
Now this is also the spot that I can double check that I am building the value and properly price conditioning them. You may think you are doing a good job price conditioning them but it’s not what you think it’s what the customer thinks. Lots of times I may be talking to a sales rep and they tell me that the customer was sticker shocked or that they thought it was going to be or worth half of what we were charging. Then when I ask if they price conditioned them the rep says “yes I did.” The point is that if the rep properly price conditioned and built the value then they would not be hearing this.
Now what I am explaining here is not done all of the time and will do nothing to help you make the sale but it is something I occasionally do to double check that I was effective at price conditioning them. Once I get the commitment that they want it I then say. “Well just give me a few minutes to get your price together but if you don’t mind would you do me a favor?” sure “ write down on a piece of paper how much you think this is going to be. We are not negotiating the price and you don’t even have to show me until I’m leaving but I’m dying to know what you think so far…is that ok” sure.
Do it in a light hearted way and you have to have great rapport to do this but it is very helpful to me. Just don’t come across like you are negotiating. If I have done my job right and I am selling something for $20,000 the least they should be writing down is $18,000. You might still have a chance at selling if you get that close. Ideally though if you have done your job price conditioning they should be writing down $22000-$25,000 so that when they see the price not only will they think it’s worth it but that they are getting a deal.
Creating Perceived Value in Selling Home Improvements
Remember you are the one who creates the perception of value in the home. If they think it’s worth $10,000 then you did a $10,000 presentation. If they think it’s worth $20,000 then you did a $20,000 presentation and you did your job. So by doing these two things, checking to you are getting a firm commitment that they want it and by occasionally testing what they think the price is going to be helps me analyze whether I am loosing it before the price or after the price. Before the price means I am not selling them or building the value by price conditioning correctly. If I have done both of those right then I know I am loosing them after the price or in the close. Then I know what to work and practice on.
Home improvement sales is really a lot more controllable then you think. When you first start off and are new you are nowhere good enough to consistently do these things. Your first calls they are literally blowing you of the house and you aren’t close at all. Well like we said we aren’t doing anything for a couple of years and are just in the research stage. Thanks for you time. As you get better and better you will notice that even the ones you miss you are really close. This is a function of you not the customer.
The Real Variable: You, Not the Customer
So much of your success has nothing to do with the customer but everything to do with you. Customers don’t change. It’s the salesperson who gets better or worse. If you have two reps at the same company and one makes twice as much money. They have the same training, the same leads and the same prices and manager. What’s the only difference? It’s the sales person. That’s the only variable and the good part is that it is 100% in your control. Accepting that it’s you is the biggest thing you can do to insure your sales and financial success.
Keep Learning About Selling Home Improvements
Now if you want to dig deeper into this topic please see the post on “The Secret To Closing The Sale” or the posts on closing techniques.
Happy Selling
