We all hate to hear whatever form it comes in - but essentially they are saying “No”.
Saw this quote (anonymous author) -
“Sell the problem you solve, not the product.”
Now dissect that just a wee bit for what you offer. If you are selling your services based on what you do - Window cleaning, gutter cleaning, power washing, etc. - that’s all well and good, but the potential customer really needs to know what you will solve for them as to why they should go from nay to yay, and why your services hold the value that they do.
Some elements of job description -
Window Cleaning/Gutters/Siding and Surfaces:
Assist in curb appeal of the home or place of business; promotes a clean environment to live and work in; maintains the physical qualities of materials that make up the window/gutter/surface.
Value:
Why go to the expense of thousands of dollars on windows (or whatever else) only to let it deteriorate under the harsh elements of the environment?
It should be widely known that maintenance is cheaper than replacement, so if you think about it what we are, actually, is Maintenance Engineers. Our service is the difference between a short term investment then replace, and a long term investment to stretch the dollar price of the product the customer needs maintained.
As a sales guru… i used to teach sales seminars to corporate entities, sales processes, , sales training , sales management etc… i will say (and used to teach) that effective sales ppl (the top tier) find the emotional attatchment the customer has to the product or service they are offering.
Average sales ppl sell a product or service- by describing the features and/or benefits of that product or service, great sales ppl actually do very little of that and instead offer a solution with value that has an emotional connection with the customer.
Without going into a seminar (and believe me, i could!) I would instruct new and even seasoned sales ppl to quickly identify what that emotional attachment is that the customer has and then “sell” based on that. Moreover, i believe and would teach, that ppl buy (anything) for two very basic reasons: fear and/or hope. The sales person’s duty was to discover this basic reason and then demonstrate through their pitch how the product or service would either aid or eliminate that basic reason… if u get a no, then chances are u got the underlying reason wrong and/or did not find the emotional attachment, or did not convey a strong enough pitch to convince the customer that their emotional attachment will be met with your product or service.
With that said… clean gutters also reduces potential water damage to roof or walls which could also (depending on where u live) invite termites which could then destroy ur house.
Not in business yet so everything I am going to say is in sense theory or what I have heard other very successful entrepreneurs say.
Sell yourself rather than the product or service, many people WANT to buy. It’s human nature. If someone contacts you about your services they are wanting to buy if they didn’t they wouldn’t be wasting their time calling or emailing you. People are also more likely to actually buy when you sell yourself rather than your service. There are plenty of other people to clean their windows but what will differentiate you from them is that you connecting and creating a bond with them. Just picked that up through many YouTube videos.
Same guy that came up with the above idea also talked about getting “No’s” while trying to sell. He went in way more in depth but in essence he said that the more “No’s” you get, the more “yes’s” you will get. Pretty much just saying the more you try the more successes you will get. Also talked about learning from the “no” clients and helping to get more “yes’s”. Sounds kind of obvious when I explain it, there was more to it though when he said it.
Valutainment is his YouTube. Successful guy, great life story and awesome instructional vids. Some of his videos are really long but nevertheless interesting and easy to stay focused on.
Just my 2 cents
If you are making your pitch well enough, then if they are still saying no, it’s likely just a price objection. Personally, I don’t want customers/clients that are price shoppers.
And yes, a luxury service that we offer, is an emotional purchase. It’s all about how they “feel” about it.
Not at all… I have found, seen, managed, and experienced many sales ppl who were average, and most average or below average sales ppl always had the same excuse for their sub par performance, “our price is too high”… but after consultation, sometimes a bit of training and re-focus, those sales ppl were able to see that they were using that as an excuse and fixed their process which resulted in better sales and even less discounts.
Sure, sometimes price is a legitimate obstacle… but if most of a sales persons "no"s are due to price point- then re training is needed. That sales person needs to up their game.
