I recently chatted with my good friends over at Field Nimble and shared some ideas on ways in which residential Plumbing, HVAC, and Electrical Service Contractors could overcome their “Slow Season” by tracking and periodically following-up on their unsold work quotes and unsold tasks.
Field Nimble offers a very competent and affordable Field Management software program for Residential Service Contractors which is uniquely positioned to track and record unsold tasks because they actually prompt homeowners to actively select “Decline Work” from within their software interface at the point of sale with the service professional.
Recently, Gregory Dooley (@gjdooley) posted on their blog the 3 Benefits of Requiring Customers To Decline Work. One of the benefits he listed of having customers actively “decline” work is that their software will then track and provide a record of “declined” work which becomes a list of qualified leads you can follow-up with, offer a discount, and ask if they would like to go ahead with the quoted work. This is all in an effort to help supplement a typically lean work schedule during the contractor’s “Slow Season.”
How To Obliterate “The Slow Season” In Service Contracting
There are a couple of ways in which Residential Plumbing, HVAC, and Electrical Service Contractors can beat the slow season and achieve a consistent revenue stream throughout the year.
Follow-Up On Unsold Tasks/Work
While I agree and support the idea for residential service contractors to follow-up on unsold work and unsold tasks as a general best practice to overcome the “Slow Season” I disagree with using the language “Decline Work” while with the homeowner for a couple reasons:
- By presenting the homeowner with the option to “Decline” the work, we are undermining the expertise (and the ethics) of the technician who recommends the task/work. I.e. “If they’re giving me the option to ‘Decline’ this recommendation, then it must not be something I REALLY need to do.”
- The word, “Decline” has permanence which then undermines our efforts to later follow up on the unsold work. Again, the thought is, “If they gave me the option to ‘Decline’ this recommendation, then it must not be something I REALLY need to do.”
My recommendation(s) instead:
- Allow homeowners to select which tasks/repairs/options they would like to proceed with and record unselected tasks/repairs as unsold items which can be followed up on. I.e. Provide them with a list which they can checkmark, circle, or initial next to tasks/repairs which they would like to go ahead with. Almost like a shopping or grocery list!
- Use the terminology “Postpone Work” instead of “Decline Work.” This way we still leave ourselves the opportunity to follow-up on the unsold repair/task without coming across as a pushy, aggressive, badger-like sales person. We can confirm the homeowner’s choice at the point of sale by asking, “So, you’d like to refrain from doing these items now and instead you’re choosing to postpone doing these until later then?”
- Have a disclaimer. Field Nimble’s article said that by “asking a customer to actively decline work means you are asking them to acknowledge your expertise and their decision to ignore it. It also affords you the opportunity to emphasize the importance of the issue and may get the homeowner to think about the bigger picture.” The article also says that tracking unsold work acts “as a insurance policy in the event of customer dissatisfaction” or a customer who may “try and take advantage of (you) when something goes wrong.”
Having a disclaimer would: validate the expert opinion of the service professional, expose the possible disadvantages to the homeowner for ignoring their recommendation(s), and would provide insurance against a dissatisfied homeowner who may try to take advantage of you when something goes wrong later.
Have the homeowner initial/sign off on a disclaimer acknowledging that they understand portions of their mechanical system may be negatively affected by work/repairs which they decided to “postpone” and that these parts/components cannot be covered by any of the company’s service warranties or guarantees.
Develop A Customer Loyalty/Retention Program
These programs are most commonly referred to as “Service Agreements, Maintenance Plans, Memberships, Advantage Plans, Preferred Customer Programs,” etc. and can take on many different forms and variations depending on your trade, company goals, etc.
The benefits for service contractors to develop and implement one of these programs (or contact BizPAL and have us do it for you) are:
- Customer loyalty/retention
- Consistent revenue stream throughout the year
- A more consistent work schedule even during the slow season
- Being pre-scheduled to be in the customer’s home during the slow season where you can recommend additional repairs/work
We can help you develop an effective customer retention/loyalty program. Click contact BizPAL and let’s discuss solutions for your service contracting business!
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About The Author:
Patrick is a Husband, a Father, a Modern Entrepreneur, the Founder of BizPAL.org, and the Creator of BizPAL’s Automated Recruiting Program.
He holds certifications in Social Media Marketing, Facebook Advertising, Inbound Marketing, Business Automation, and more!
Fun Fact:
Patrick was born and raised in a predominantly Amish community in Northern Indiana.
Got questions about the Amish? Ask Patrick!
Patrick is the son of a Career Tradesman and is extremely passionate about helping the Contracting industry grow and advance.
He has over 10+ years of experience in Customer Service, B2C Sales, Social Media Marketing, Sales Training and Coaching, Business Consulting, etc.
He has spent the past 7+ years working with Service Contractors from coast to coast to increase their Sales, boost their Profits, increase Customer Satisfaction and Brand Loyalty, and improve their Operational efficiency by Building Creative Solutions and Implementing Innovative Ideas!
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