The first phone call-for contractors.

It’s simple. You’re having the first phone conversation with a prospect. What are you trying to figure out?

1.      If you can help the prospect.

2.      If they’re ready, willing and able to pay for your services.

You will lead the conversation in such a way to gain that information so you’re not wasting your time going to the home of a bad lead. You’re working to QUALIFY the prospect. Are they QUALIFIED for your service?

Have questions memorized to get from A to Z. You’re leading the conversation. This isn’t necessarily a symmetrical conversation. You’re leading the dance. We really don’t have time to allow the homeowner to dictate the conversation. They will think they’re interviewing you, but it’s subtly the other way around.

I recommend managing your prospects from a voice mail account. Make your first customer qualification---Will they leave a voice mail? If they won’t leave a voice mail, they weren’t your customer anyway!

Listen to the voice mail, memorize the name and call them back in a comfortable, quiet place; when you feel your BEST. I cannot stress this enough! Don’t call back with tools going off in the background or kids screaming.

“Hello Ms. Prospect, this is Bill from Bill’s remodeling…received your message, HOW CAN I HELP YOU TODAY?” I love asking “how can I help you” because this sets the tone that you’re trying to assist them.

Memorize your initial greeting and say it in the mirror. You’ve heard this before, but SMILE when you’re on the phone. They’ll FEEL the smile through the phone. Be friendly, charismatic…SLOW DOWN when you speak, annunciate your words.

“Yes, Bill…I’m calling because I’m interested in getting some remodeling done.”

Here we go!! It’s go time!

“Great, I can help you with that…do you have a few minutes so I can ask you a few questions to see if we’re a good fit for your needs?”

Notice, we asked for PERMISSION to ask questions! Always ask permission! If you don’t, they’ll think they’re being interrogated and that will be extremely awkward for you.

When they say “yes” start into your line of questioning remembering you’re trying to find out if this is a viable client and if they’re ready, willing and able to pay for your services.

First question:

“What part of the process are you? Have you thought about what you want the finished product to look like? Have you thought of when you’d like to start work?”

This first question gets the prospect talking. Listen carefully and “mirror” back to them a couple things the said. Mirroring is when you repeat a couple key things the person you’re talking to has said. It will help them feel “listened to”. In sales, you should be listening more than talking. It’s a key to making your prospect feel comfortable. LISTEN to what they say!

They also tell you when they want to start work. It’s usually ASAP…but if it’s not and they’re in the planning stages or they’re just trying to figure out what something will cost…well, that prospect becomes a lower value lead. Take note of that. If you’re busy, you’ll have to advise them that you have a “waiting list”. That’s okay, just tell them WHY you have a waiting list…You’re good at what you do and you’re an owner/operator…you take one job at a time and there is a lot of value in that!

Explain things! Give people a “because” and you’ll be surprised that they’ll be OKAY with it!

Next question…

“What city is your home located?”

This question gets asked EARLY because if a prospect’s home is 100 miles away…YOU’RE PROBABLY NOT DOING THAT JOB! Early on, I’ve had a long conversation with prospects only to find out their house is 3 hours away. WHAT A WASTE. Don’t let it be you!

Next question…

“How did you find us?”

Find out if they found you on Google, if they’re a referral, etc. You want to know this information so you know where your leads are coming from. ALSO, you’ll know to treat a referral from a past customer that you loved different than a stranger from the internet. You might bend your rules a little bit easier for a referral from a customer that sends you many leads! If the prospect says they found you on Google…take note of that, your internet marketing is working!

Next Question:

Are we the first company you’ve called for this project?

Find out if you’re competing against other companies and WHO they are. Don’t be afraid to ask specifically who you’re competing against as this is important intelligence information. If they mention getting “three other bids” understand you’re in a competitive bidding situation and WHO you’re bidding against is very valuable information. You can help the prospect make the right decision, the right decision being your company, of course!

“Have you researched my company at all? Watched any of my content online?

Ask this question to find out if you’re just another number in their pocket! Ask that question to find out if they’ve viewed your online content so they know WHO and WHAT you’re about. These people are better leads because they’ve done some research and they like what they see.

Next question

“What qualities do you like to see in the people that work in your home?”

This question is a DOOZY. It gives us so much insight into who we’re talking to and the MENTALITY of the person on the other end.

“I like to see the people in my home be fast and cheap!”

Okay, that person eliminated themselves with that answer.

“I have breathing problems, and I want someone who respects my home.”

Okay, we can work with that. That information tells us a lot about the person we’re talking to.

This is a great question because it gets people talking. It continues the conversation and shows you care about the prospects wants and needs.

TONS of valuable information comes from asking that question!

At this point you have multiple places you can go.

If you’ve had a good conversation with the prospect and they live close by, you can offer an in-home consultation at a time that works best for you. I always recommend the morning. This will allow you to have the day for work or other things. I tell the homeowner this too. It’s the “because”. “We do it this way because…” Get the address make an appointment and go see the job.

OR

You can ask them to send some photos of the project for you to review and give them a call back. Maybe try to get the pictures sent WHILE you’re on the phone with them. That’s the best way. Often you can come up with some rough numbers for them if they’re doing “price discovery” or if it’s not that great of a lead.

OR

Tell them you have a small consultation fee for pre construction services. This is the ultimate qualifier! If they’ll pay you to work up an estimate, they’re potentially a great customer. To do this you have to have your business together and have work in the pipeline because EVERYONE ELSE offers “free estimates”. In fact the prospect may be INSULTED you want to charge them for an in home estimate. Just be friendly and give them the “we do this because.”

OR

You can ask about their budget. “What’s the budget for this project?”

“Oh, I have no idea.”

“Based on what you say you want, I estimate it’d be from $45k-50, what would you think about that?”

Give them a range and don’t respond.

“I thought it would be $15k.”

Do you want to try to sell that project? With that large of a gap in numbers? You may save yourself some time and effort by letting that one pass!

Ask them permission and say, “May I shoot straight with you?”

They always say “yes”.

At this point you could say ANYTHING. You’ve hopefully earned their trust. You ask this question any time you have to say something that may ruffle some feathers!

“I think your estimate is a bit too low”

At this point we’re getting into “price objections” and these can be overcome, but that’s not what this article is about today. I’m giving you a basic template for your phone conversations. We’ll get more into dealing with objections in the future.

Remember, this first phone conversation is a discovery process. You’re attempting to find out if you and the prospect are a good fit. You find out if they’re ready, willing and able to use your services. Be friendly, be a trusted advisor.

 If they don’t want to talk on the phone for a few minutes before meeting… they’re not your customer and you don’t want to work for them anyway.

The first part of your process is speaking on the telephone.

 Don’t be someone that runs out to every prospect off the internet! You’ll waste so much time and money doing that. Most of the heavy lifting can be done over the phone and through the internet if you’re website and internet presence is dialed in.

If they’re not YOUR customer, let them go! You’ve spent far too much time and effort building your business to RISK it with bad people. You find out on the first phone call.

BUT if they want to do business with you and you’re hitting it off…Don’t talk them out of it! Go and meet them and sell the job! Sometimes it comes down to a gut feeling.

Stay polite, eat shit on the phone if you must. At least you didn’t waste time driving out to someone’s house you weren’t going to work for!

Working the phone is one of the top skills you need to learn as a businessman. This is a TOP SKILL that you need to develop. You must be good at this because you’re representing your business when you talk to the public on the phone. They can leave bad reviews on the internet, for example…SO ALWAYS STAY FRIENDLY. NO MATTER WHAT. STAY FRIENDLY and POSITIVE!

Always end the conversation with “Thank you so much for calling, we appreciate you calling.”

If you made an appointment, say something like “I look forward to meeting you.”

Ask them to text their name, home address and email address and that you’ll text them to confirm the appointment the day before the meeting.

Do sales role playing! Ask someone to play the role of a prospect and work on these questions. MEMORIZE these questions in order until you have them down and can make them your own.

You are a master on the phone now. You have to be if you want to have a successful contracting business. It’s non-negotiable.

We’re figuring out if we can help the prospect, we’re figuring out if they’re ready, willing and able to pay for our services.

STOP running out to see a stranger’s work. Do the work on the phone and save yourself some major time and money!

YOU ARE A MASTER ON THE PHONE!