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BRCbuilders e-zine
Dear Reader,
My profound question of the day -
No matter if you're owner/operator or multi-truck operation, which job
position is the most overlooked yet arguably most important?
You, the owner/op cleaner? Nope.
You the excellent cleaner or your star technician
Sorry, nope.
Your Marketing/Accounts Manager?
Again, no.
The person who answers the phones? YEP!
This critical job function is the most underappreciated, misunderstood, and
overlooked in the dozens of case studies we've reviewed.
Good Phone, Bad Phone
Consider this. You, as the owner, merely assemble thoughts and execute
decisions. You or a star technician merely deliver expectations. The person
or people who answer your phone, though, is/are the main communication
between your company and the prospect and client. They are your "Directors
of First Impressions"
Talk about important! As the old cliche' goes, "First Impressions Are
Lasting Impressions"
With the wrong things said on the phone, you risk losing all that hard work
and marketing money, not to mention energy spent on getting people to call
you in the first place.
Here's a typical phone call conversation to a carpet cleaning company. This
is the predominant answer heard time and again through "mystery calls". You
know - those are the calls where you hit *67 and dial your competitor for
some "basic info". (read: espionage!)
Carpet Cleaning Company: "XYZ Carpet Care, how can I help you?"
Me...ahem potential client: "Hi, how much do you charge for 2 rooms and a
hall?"
Company: "$99 for 5 rooms" (or whatever their price is)
Me: "Do you use that steam thing or dry clean?"
Company: "We use expensive truckmounted equipment that cost a lot of money"
(NOTE: I am not kidding you, I hear this more often than you could
imagine)
Me: "Wow, $99 for 5 rooms, huh? The other guys are only charging $12.95 a
room and that's what I wanted"
Company: "Yeah, well like I said, our equipment is really expensive and we
have to pay for it somehow."
Me: "Ok, well the last cleaners I had out soaked the carpet"
Company: "Yeah, we don't do that"
Me: (struggling not to laugh) "So how can I be assured you're not going to
soak my carpet like the last guys?"
Company: "Our expensive equipment dries it quick."
Me: "Ok, well when can I book?"
Company: "Hang on, let me get a pen and write your information down."
A minute goes by, hearing rustling of papers and muffled cuss words...<br>
Company: "Ok, I got my pen".
Me: "Ok, well, I will call you back. I need to check with my wife"
Company: Click
This is just one example of "Bad Phone" and is some of the most common
garbage I hear when doing Mystery Calls. Let's review a successful phone
interaction.
Company: "Hello, XYZ Carpet, how can I assist you today?"
Me: "Yeah, I need 2 rooms and a hall cleaned. How much is it?"
Company: "Thanks again for calling. Can I ask how you heard about us?"
Me: "I got your name from the Yellow Pages"
Company: "Thank you. May I ask a couple of questions about your needs
first?"
Me: "Sure"
Company: "Ok, first have you had your carpets cleaned in the past?"
Me: "Yes, but they were horrible. They soaked the carpet"
Company: "Fair enough, we'll guarantee that will never happen. Do you have a
particular time frame you're looking for?"
Me: "Sometime next week"
Company: "Ok sir, so if I understand correctly you have 2 rooms and a hall
that need to be cleaned next week and you've had a poor carpet cleaner there
in the past who soaked your carpet. Is there anything else I should know
about?"
Me: "Well, there is dog urine in all 3 areas"
Company: "Ok sir, I've got to let you know two things right up front. First,
we're not the cheapest but we back up every job with our owner's personal
guarantee that you'll be thrilled. Second, we can use several different
decontamination strategies from the top side of the carpet, but without
knowing the extent of the contamination, we may have to use restorative
steps to correct the situation. When we look at it we'll advise you exactly
what the best course of action is to take then. Is this something you would
be interested in?"
Me: "Yeah, hmmmm...well, how much more expensive than the competition are
you?"
Company: "A bit more. We charge .40 per square foot for cleaning and we
price restoration by the job. We'll always get your full authorization
before we start. In other words, sir, there will be no surprises with us.
Are there any other questions I can assist you with sir or are you ready to
schedule?"
Me: "Ahh..well, it is a bit more expensive than I was used to paying, but
you did say you guarantee it won't be wet and I'll be thrilled. Ok, I'll
call you right back to schedule after I review my schedule."
Company: "Sir, can we pencil you in for next Tuesday @ 9:30 and then you can
call back to change it if it doesn't fit your schedule?"
Me: "Well, I better check just to be sure. I'll call right back."
Company: "Sir, in case you get busy, can I get your name and phone number
and if I don't hear from you within an hour I will gladly call you back?"
Me: "No, that's ok...I'll call"
Company: "Thanks, sir, I look forward to hearing from you in a few minutes."
Me: "Thank you" Click
I could analyze this series until the cows came home, but basically the
second company gets it. They aren't pushy, but they know 5 things their
competition doesn't:
1) Prospects lie - that's right, they out and out lie. They'll promise to
call you back, and then never do. I'm still waiting on hundreds of promised
return calls that never came. In the above exchange, you'll note the
customer care coordinator (fancy name for a phone answering person)
tactfully tried to nail me down to a date. When I wouldn't commit, they did
something very smart - they offered to call me, the prospect, back if I
forgot or got tied up. This company is also smart in knowing that since I
didn't commit and didn't give my name and phone number, that I'm probably
not going to call back. The odds are definitely against you if they won't at
least give your their name and or phone number.
2) Carpet cleaning is a hassle and easy to forget - yep, it happens. The
last thing they want to do is get their carpet cleaned. Cleaning isn't sexy
nor ever looked forward to. I've yet to hear one housewife or facilities
manager ever say, "Gosh Scott, I just can't wait for you guys to come back
out - that was so much fun I can hardly wait to do it again soon!"
3) Prospect's needs HAVE to be of top concern - notice in the top scenario,
the phone answerer didn't ask even the most basic of questions as to the
prospect's needs. The person in the second scenario did a pretty decent job
of being the "banana" amongst the "oranges". (Scottism: "orange, orange,
orange - BANANA!" and you always want to be Top Banana)
4) Prospects don't really know what to ask - I hate to break it to you, but
they don't sit around at a social and bring up the virtues of HWE vs VLM,
the best presprays on the market, the validity of the IICRC, nor even the
differences between carpet cleaners. In most of your prospects' minds, they
think carpet cleaning is a commodity. They believe that company A=company
B=company C and it's your job, my Top Banana friend, to show them the
differences. Note in the second scenario how the phone answerer tactfully
used the other cleaners' incompetence to their sales advantage without
bashing. That's a line of beauty right there!
5) Prospects aren't all the same - Thank God for that, huh? Look, we
business owners, managers, techs, and yes, even Customer Care Coordinators
and Secretaries have rights too. We have the right to spend time with
qualified prospects and also have the right to quickly get off the phone
with those who aren't qualified. Would you rather spend your time trying to
convince a price shopper that your prices aren't high and potentially miss
the call from a truly qualified potential client because you were on the
phone with the time-waster? It just doesn't make sense.
As soon as we instituted the "tell them we're not cheap" policy in my
cleaning company, it opened many doors for us and also helped us get off the
phone with those who would never do business with us due to the price. We
like to get that out of the way fairly early in the conversation, especially
when the red flag, "Yellow Page shopper" pops up.
Giving "Good Phone" is so critical, but so often overlooked. This week I
want you to place yourself in your customer's shoes and walk around a
little. Hear what you and those who answer your phones are saying to
prospects and clients. Have a friend Mystery Call your own company and, if
possible, record it. Don't smack your phone people over the head with the
incriminating evidence, simply show them the proper way to answer the phone
and enjoy the increased sales.
Oops, I've got to run, my phone is ringing..."Hello, this is Scott @ BRC
Systems Solutions, How can I help you?"
So you want to take your business to the next level - REAL QUICK - and
you're tired of making the same mistakes over and over again?