In an ideal world, every customer who reaches out to you for an estimate would move forward and hire your company to complete their home improvement project. However, sales fall through all the time. Some customers are “just looking” at their options. Others are working on building up their funds to complete the project or simply stop responding to your messages and phone calls. Sometimes your competitors can offer a better price, quicker turnaround time or a more compelling sales pitch.
Following up with customers, setting expectations and other techniques can help you reach some of these customers, but even those you don’t close offer valuable lessons to help you improve your close rate in the future.
Find the Right Customers.
Have you ever met someone whose expectations were completely out of line with what you provide? A customer expecting a budget roof when you specialize in upscale options may not be the right customer for your business. Similarly, if a customer expects to see you at their door and ready to work when you’re booking customers six months out, you can avoid a lot of wasted time and negative reviews by suggesting they look elsewhere for their home improvement needs.
Some Sales Won’t Happen Right Away.
Choosing to go from thinking about a project to actually doing a project is a big step for a lot of homeowners. The time and money investment can be daunting. That’s why you probably hear a lot of price-related objections and have customers who want to wait a few months or spend some more time building up their savings. Implement a good lead nurturing program to capture some of these delayed sales in the future.
Ask What Went Wrong.
Customers who don’t end up working with you know better than anyone why they chose to cancel their project or work with a competitor. Don’t be afraid to ask them what they chose to do and why. Questions like why they chose a competitor or what made them change their mind can help you avoid similar obstacles in the future. Take their feedback and look for options that could have saved your sale.
Offer Financing Early.
Many home improvement sales fall through due to budget concerns; that’s why bringing up the option to finance their project early is such an effective tool to keep a sale on track. Foundation Finance offers dealers a payment estimator so you can show customer what their project cost could look like if broken down into monthly payments. Pair the payment estimator with customer prequalification during your project estimate visit to satisfy your budget-conscious customers.
Not already a Foundation Finance dealer? Applying is quick, easy and free.
