| Every
contractor wants to have enough profit to afford the things
in life that make a difference. There are very little
secrets in the world of business, small business or large
corporations. The first thing every contractor needs to know
is how to establish a profit for their company. You need to
understand overhead and how to price a job.
It is amazing to me how
often I see a group of contractors who are given the same
scenario and asked to price up a quote, they come up with
vastly different prices. Why? Understanding how to run a
small business is not simple and requires time and effort.
If the HVACR contractor spent as much time learning how to
run a business as they do on learning the technical and
manual skills there would be bigger profit margins. There is
very little planning beyond the current year. Not having a
business plan is like planning a trip without knowing where
you are going. It is a great time to sit down and think
about your business compared to the competition in your
market, and the things you need to do to gain a bigger share
of the market. “A business owner, who fails to plan, plans
to fail.”
Those contractors who are
successful have a presentation book that is designed for
your company. It enables everyone selling for your company
to be on the same page when they sell. It makes it easy for
all sales people to develop their own style of selling while
assuring the company its covering all the bases needed to
get the customers on board. The presentation folder or book
also contains the pricing established by the company. Many
companies now are using pricing that suits their company and
the profit they need rather than what cuts the ice in a
competitive market. In this book are the warranties and
guarantees offered by the company and a copy of our selling
statement or Responsibility to the Customer statement.
These statements make a
real impression on the buyer and are well worth the effort.
If all the above has been done then selling it to the public
is the last step. This step is perhaps the most important
step of all because unless you can sell it, it’s all
academic. Having trained sales people is the difference
between profit and loss. Learning how to sell can’t be
done solely by on-the job training. There are skills that
must be learned just like you had to learn how to size a
system.
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Here are some
sales ideas that have worked in the past and maybe they can
work for you:
1. Instead of
offering jobs you have completed take the prospect to the
job. Let them see for themselves. It gives you a chance to
get to know the prospect and for you to begin building a
relationship.
2. Always talk
about something new on every call.
3. Have a list
of satisfied users available on every call. Cull the list so
those whose job is closest to the one you are going on is up
front.
4. Always sell
yourself first on the products and services you are selling.
Without you being sold how can you convince someone of its
value.
5. On
industrial calls, ask the purchasing agent to have the plant
engineer and the maintenance person sit in on the
presentation, so they can all hear the story at the same
time.
6. Prepare
your presentation to fit the person you are trying to sell.
Don’t offer a “cookie cutter” presentation for
all.
7. Be the
expert and work as the buyer’s agent having them make the
decision.
8. Get
testimonial letters from all satisfied customers, and use
them.
9. If you don’t
get the order don’t leave anything except your calling
card.
10. Sell the
benefits not the price. Reducing your price makes your job
look cheaper.
To sum this
all up if you want to be profitable you need to take time to
learn the skills needed to make a business work for you. You
need to: a. Learn how to determine your overhead costs b.
Learn how to price to cover your overhead and make a
reasonable profit. c. Learn how to write a business plan,
and do it. d. Develop a presentation book for all sales
people. e. Write “Our responsibility to the customer”
statement. f. Develop a market and advertising program based
on your business plan. g. Develop a flat rate pricing system
for your service department. h. Develop Service contracts
and maintenance agreements and push them. i. Continue to
increase your ability to sell and close jobs at a
profit.
If you
accomplish all nine of the above items and work on them year
after year you will be successful and profitable. Dave
Gleason has been in the HVAC/R/P industry for more than 40
years, as a contractor, wholesaler and working for a
manufacturer. He has put these experiences into the
comprehensive consultation and training company called
Systematic Selling Inc. that offers sales seminars and
workshops, customer-designed to meet each company’s needs.
Dave can be reached at 1165 Antioch Campground Road,
Gainesville, GA 30506 or 800-447-7355 or e-mail at: systsell@netcom.com.
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