In Part 1 of this series, I discussed how you can increase your closed sales ratio simply by maximizing your repeat and referred customers. In this installment, I’m going to explain why having a selling system will also help you increase your closed sales.
“We now have a 70% close rate,” Rob, a dealer from Utah told me. “And our margins are over 40%.”
Rob had recently implemented a selling system, and he was excited not only because of the increased close rates but because his margins were so much higher. Plus, it gave him a way to train up new sales people more quickly than before. Here’s what his salesperson told me:
“I started only six months ago in the flooring business, so I’m pretty green. For months my residential margins were 30%-35%. It was extremely stressful. I’d end the day, be totally exhausted, and realize I hadn’t closed any sales. It was discouraging!
“We’re right down the street from two home stores. People would come in and say, ‘Lowe’s quoted me this price,’ or ‘Home Depot quoted me such and such.’ I constantly had to compete on price. A few months ago Rob implemented a sales system and training program. Since then my overall close ratio has been over 70%, and my margins are averaging 40%.”
Admittedly, not every dealer will get results that quickly and dramatically by implementing a selling system, but that’s not the point. The point is that by going from no selling system to actually having one, it will improve your results, often dramatically.
If it’s not written down, it’s not a system.
Every step of Rob’s selling system is in writing. For example, he has scripts for greeting walk-ins, for taking control of the sales process, and for getting prospects to sit down for a consultation. His sales team is trained on using a printed questionnaire during consultations. Having a written system makes it much easier for Rob to train his team, and to troubleshoot problems that come up with individual team members.
Scripts are important at the very beginning and the very end of the sales process. That is because greeting prospects and closing are the two most critical times of the sale. It’s also where most sales people mess things up.
Rob’s script for greeting walk-ins does several things:
- makes the prospect feel welcome,
- differentiates him from competitors,
- takes control of the sales process, and
- “sells” prospects on the benefits of sitting down for a consultation.
Your closing script should include a reminder of your unique selling propositions, a discussion of your guarantee/warranty information, and how the prospect benefits from these. Instead of giving one quote, give prospects quotes for three different flooring packages: low, medium and high. That way, instead of choosing between you and a competitor, they can choose between you, you and you.
Your selling system should feel like a visit to a trusted physician. When a physician meets with a patient, he doesn’t burst into the exam room and say, “What kind of pills did you have in mind?” Instead, he sits down, asks questions, writes down the answers, diagnoses the problem, then prescribes. Your selling system should do the same thing. Sit down with your prospects, ask questions, and write down the answers using a printed questionnaire. Then, and only then, prescribe the flooring options that best fit their taste and lifestyle.
If you would like me to evaluate your current sales process and identify ways you can close more sales, I’d be happy to give you a complimentary Dealership Diagnostic. Email me, and a member of my team will schedule a time to meet.
To Tons Of Customers!
Jim Augustus Armstrong is The “Coach”
Jim Augustus Armstrong is the President of Flooring Success Systems, a program that equips dealers to double their profits, cut their work hours in half and beat the boxes! Many dealers have totally transformed their businesses and their lives for the better after joining Flooring Success Systems.
See what real, live dealers are saying!
Free book! For a complimentary copy of Jim’s book, “How Floor Dealers Can Beat the Boxes and Escape the Cheap-Price Rat-Race of Doom Forever,” visit BeatTheBoxesToday.com.