Difficult objection

Skip - If I could get to every prospects home that would be ideal and it would probably increase my sales. However, I don't believe customers would appreciate not being able to get pricing while they were at my store.

But you are absolutely right about building sale momentum. I am having difficulty with that. A well-designed process may be the key. I have tried to develope one many times, but when I actually attempt to put it into practice I can't keep on track because customers come up with questions that take me off track.

I used to be pretty good at selling this product, but for some reason I just can't get it together now.

Houston - The standard procedure in this industry is to give pricing at the sales lot rather than the home.

jsherwood,

What do you do to quantify the price of the problem they experience without the shed?

In my experience when prospects are facing the dollar figure it's costing them to live without the benefits your stuff, price objections and "I think about it" are less likely.

Thoughts?

BD

In a similar situation, I just got off the phone with a woman who is committed to our products but was having a buying indecision. All I did was factor out what the cost would be if she did A and what the cost would be if she did B. Based on her previous commitment, she looked at A and B and made the decision to do A which was buy.

It was a simple: I want it, what is the cost factor if I do or don't, she looked at the numbers and bought. She looked directly on the cost factor if she didn't buy and the value if she did.

How you translate this thread so far into what you do jsherwood I don't know but you are getting some important things to think about.

The best to you.

MitchM

Brilliant MitchM.

I'm just thinking...

A => Not acting.

1. Cost of the status quo: Loss
2. Saving the cost of action: Gain
3. Cost of the long-term benefit

B => Acting.

1. Eliminating the status quo: Gain
2. Investing in the action: "Loss"
3. Value of the long-term benefit: Gain

In a way I think this is what you did. And the numbers speak pretty loudly.

Great stuff, folks.

BD

jsherwood,

One more thought. This Borat movie is inspiring, so I have to stop it again...

Ask prospects what they want to store in the shed and what's the value of that stuff.

Get a residential burglary report from the police for the area where the prospect lives, so you can show how much probability the prospect has for a break-in.

This could be a starting point to determine the value of the "protectable"... well... shedable stuff.

Back to Borat...

BD

You've got some good stuff to think about here, jsherwood - Bald Dog makes it clear with his A Acting B Not Acting post after mine. Keep deleting the distractions and useless information and sharpen your focus taking in this information - add it all up.

Then put it to work.

MitchM

Originally Posted by jsherwood Skip - If I could get to every prospects home that would be ideal and it would probably increase my sales. However, I don't believe customers would appreciate not being able to get pricing while they were at my store.

I understand - if prospects want pricing, you need to give them what they want.

And, I also believe you can define your process so that you close more sales. I've worked with companies that use their retail store/showroom primarily as lead-generating devices for in-home selling opportunities. Now, I'm not familiar with the "storage shed industry" in particular, and I don't know how you're scheduled in your store, but if you're really facing challenges with prospects buying, you might want to try to get to the prospect's home as part of your process. In other words, your selling activities when someone comes into your store are focused on getting the in-home appointment rather than trying to sell them a shed on the spot.

Having said that, if your conversion rate of prospects at your store is good, then you don't want to screw everything up by doing what I just suggested!

If you like the home appointment idea, you can find out where your prospect lives and say something like: "I'll be out visiting customers in your part of town next week on Tuesday and Thursday - I could swing by your place and do a free site evaluation for you so you can use that information in your decision process. I would measure your site and compare it to the size of shed you're interested in, and I would analyze all the details of your site for you so you can get a shed that will really work for you. Should I swing by next week?"

You could even do what people in the custom closet industry and garage storage industry do: offer to take an inventory of their items and measure them to make sure they're selecting a size of shed that will accommodate all of their stuff.

Please understand that I wrote the "script" above quickly and without complete knowledge of your situation, so it may not be exactly perfect, but I'm just trying to brainstorm some possible solutions with you.

Originally Posted by jsherwood But you are absolutely right about building sale momentum. I am having difficulty with that. A well-designed process may be the key. I have tried to develope one many times, but when I actually attempt to put it into practice I can't keep on track because customers come up with questions that take me off track. I used to be pretty good at selling this product, but for some reason I just can't get it together now.

Fwiw, here are some suggestions:

1. Identify exactly what prospects will put in their sheds. Write a list with the prospect. The more specifically you can get them to verbalize this, the more likely they are to purchase. You want to prompt them to imagine them owning your shed in their mind's eye - what it would look like and what it would feel like to have a place for their lawnmower, their firewood, their wheelbarrow (or whatever they would put in there). As a side benefit, you and your prospect working on this together develops a "we" dynamic rather than a "salesperson vs. customer" dynamic.

2. In your sales conversation, ask them when they would like to have this installed "if my price quote meets with your approval." By asking this question, you can get an idea of the prospect's time frame, and phrasing the question this way is much more effective than merely saying "when are you thinking of having this done?"

3. Ask "based upon what you know write now, what is the size of shed that you think will best fit on your lot." Then listen to their answer. If you want an in-home appointment with the prospect, say: "would it be helpful to have that size measured out on your lot so you could see if that size would work?" If they say "yes", then go into your appointment-setting mode for an appointment at their home.

Those are just some ideas for you to ponder.

Originally Posted by jsherwood Houston - The standard procedure in this industry is to give pricing at the sales lot rather than the home.

Your customers may prefer to shop the way (getting a price at your sales lot). But if you can position your "in-home" visit as a positive benefit that your competitors don't offer, why wouldn't they take you up on it? Nobody likes to pay for a shed or garage on their lot and then afterwards conclude that it's too big or too small or the wrong style. If you can help them make that decision, my gut tells me that they'll probably reward you for it by buying from you instead of the competitor.

I don't know if my rant is helpful or not, but I'm hoping it is.

Cheers...