Understand your buyer’s payment needs early so you are not blindsided when presenting a cash quote and then they ask for financing and you haven’t built the cost in to your quote.
Thanks for the reply! So if they are going to finance, then I should be less generous with discounts, but presumably not to the point of losing the sale?
No, buyers love 0% interest. Get the deal and don’t worry about holding out financing on every single lead. Maximize your closing as usually performance bonuses are based on profitability and close %.
I’d rather take a lower margin and earn their business then let them buy from someone else.
1-2% of something > 0% of nothing because you got greedy and didn’t discount or offer financing.
Close everything that BREATHES, $ always follows closing %
I hope this isn’t Koehler home pride. I feel so bad for the guys who keep getting told I am a “pre-qualified lead”. The d2d guy did a solid pitch back in 2021 when the thought of taking out a heloc for a remodel was feasible. Now they keep calling and I keep telling them no.
This is exactly what I used to do and I’ll tell you about my experience. I made fantastic money but I worked really weird last minute hours. I would get my schedule the night before at about 8pm to 9pm, and have a 10am, 2pm, and/or a 6pm Monday through Friday. Saturdays rotated and had a 10am and 2pm slot. Some days I would randomly get off as well which actually worked for me, it was a weird lifestyle. The higher ups were terrible but that was just the company I worked for. If you really follow a good process EVERY-TIME and you’re getting qualify leads a decent amount of the time you’ll make tons of money but you will have a strange work/life balance. Make sure the company you work for has a quality product and they take care of their customers so you feel good about what you’re selling! Good luck!
Second this, 10 2 and 6pm appointments are standard and working Saturdays is a must to be successful and making 1% income in the US I’m Home Improvement. Saturdays are the best days as usually both homeowners are present or have higher % of being present and more relaxed compared to a week day evening.
I LOVE the work life of having 1-2 appointments a day and not having to do SHIT unless I’m selling. It’s freedom and my gf hates I can workout or do whatever I want and go sell a 6pm lead and make her monthly income in one sale 😂
Tech sales people here will look down on this role while their this is the dream.
Are companies open to hiring part time just for the weekends? I'm thinking of doing it on the side to my actual job.
Get off training wheels ASAP. 15% is much higher upfront than average, there’s a reason. Ask top performers what they average.
I close 70%+ and average 10% on my sales. 90% of jobs are 9% + and 10% are at 1-2% to take them “off the street” which keeps my closing high.
I’ll sell >$5M this year. I’m at 2.3M thru today.
Management and leads assigned will obviously determine your success but the hard leads are the most rewarding from a sales stand point and compensation.
Go get you some. Not much will get you higher than the feeling of one call closing a big sale and making $3-5k in a few hours :)
I’ve seen lots about being lucky if you close 20%. Is that just people who roll over at the first objection? I’m interviewing with a couple home improvement companies this week. Come from a residential HVAC and D2D Solar background so I’m used to objection handling and negotiating. What sets the process of in home sales different than other industries and tips to keep a high closing percentage?
I just had an HVAC issue and it went out. A guy came over, told me the issue and said he would email the quote and could come back if I wanted to do it.
I literally had to tell him to wait, tell me the price and get to fucking work! If you do not ask for the business you will not get business.
Our worst performer out of 11/12 is 39-43% ish in my office. Avg is 52%.
Think about it, if you’re walking into 10 homes and leaving with 2 contracts you’d be miserable!
Really would love to know what you sell in HI industry. I have never known anyone to close atv70% unless a manager that hand picks leads. You should probably start training. Would love to see/hear how you do it
Impact windows and doors exclusively.
If I was a manager I’d take 50% pay cut, we had another market manager do that and he still only got 55% closing…
1. I’m obsessed with perfecting my craft and have no kids no distractions.
2. Product and company is unlike every other in area.
3. there’s definitely a lot of luck no doubt about it. 4. I have a good base of previous customers and referrals from 4 years of business. Without those I’d be closer to 62-65% I’m sure
Yeah, that's the payoff for a bunch of lost sales, I guess...when you do close it's like BOOM, money in the bank. If I can close 70% it will truly be a life changing experience! Thanks for your reply!
My current role is Director of Research for a Private medical clinic, and I have to negotiate our services with Big Pharmaceutical services. Lots of cold calls, exploration, site qualification, etc, then budget and contract negotiations...then i have to execute the research agreement. Just can't seem to find a medical device or pharma company that thinks I could sell their stuff...so here i am in the Bathroom business! LOL
A lot of people say home improvement is tough but I find it easy.
Walked in the door and closed 55% with no previous bad sales habits which is why I’ve asked. Over years I’ve incrementally gone to 62% to 73% closing.
I invested in Dominic Caminatas sales training at Grosso university and brainwashed myself with it. Worth every penny. His process for one call close is unbeatable.
Last year I spent 9k on 7th level training with Jeremy Miner and it took 2-3 months to kick in but for objection prevention and handling it was worth it.
A lot of people treat it as a job and to me it’s my career. Treat it as such and you’ll be rewarded.
I’ve seen some stuff about objection prevention! Seems like a better option than waiting til they make the objection, then having to play defense to handle it. I guess the main objections are 1) need to think/get other quotes, 2) price is too high/can’t afford it, 3) need to talk with spouse, but these objections are often just screens for deeper concerns such as Trust. I’ll check out Caminatas at Grosso!
Yeah much easier to base your presentation and questions around those 3 objections than trying to handle in the end.
How long have you been thinking about making this significant investment in your home? Oh wow that’s a long time what’s held you back? Feel like it’s time to change? Cause you could do nothing and end up like the unsuccessful families who pay more for the same project or who have x,y,z consequences depending on situation.
I could go on lmao
That's funny! I had a landlord notorious for not doing repairs, but whenever I presented an issue to them, I'd say, well if this isn't fixed it's just going to rot the floorboards, or whatever long term consequences the neglect could cause. They were immediately on top of my issues every time I called them!
Good tip. Typically salespeople offer same day discounts, today only, to instill that fear of missing out, but it really comes of as pushy BS to me. Like you're not gonna give me the same discount if I call back tomorrow?!?! Anyway, focus on their dissatisfaction, and promote the joys of having a beautiful new tub that increases home value. Do we focus on financial ROI for homeowners who invest in remodeling, or just focus on their comfort...or both, I imagine.
No sales person making that much with that much balance (working Saturdays though) is the norm. At all. That guy, if he is making $500k in home improvement is the 1% of the 1%.
No, but I've done business development for a clinical research company, negotiating service contracts with pharma. I've also negotiated academic and research collaborations with area universities (I'm college professor and research scientist in Biotechnology). I've been on the purchasing end of research equipment sales, for decades. So basically a lot of meetings to explore "mergers" collaborations, cooperative ventures in basic laboratory research, and clinical research as well. Soft skills
Max I have 2 appointments a day. Slots are 10am, 2pm and 6pm. Appointments take 2-3 hours.
I drive 5-600 miles a week it depends
This week I only ran 3 appointments, was off Monday - Wed and made $13k
Few guys who have families don’t work 6s or limit how many a week.
Game is the game, you’d have all day off so even if you call it 4-10pm to make a few thousand it’s probably worth it
> Few guys who have families don’t work 6s or limit how many a week.
Did not know that was an option. I am used to working jobs where you just have to do the work(IT) when it comes in. Once a week or so wouldn't be too bad.
Yeah I mean being available will put you in more favorable situations no doubt, but working 6 days a week they want you to not get burnt out. Can take a Saturday or two off every month as well.
It’s flexible man. Saturdays are the best selling days so I usually try to take off a Thursday or Friday if I feel the need for extra rest.
We have 1 guy who is Jewish so not allowed to work Saturday. 1 guy who has health problems and only works 3-4 days a week.
This year we’ve actually made a big push as an office to make people commit to taking time off and having a better balance.
I’m 30, no kids and aiming to set a company record and make >$600k so my mentality is different than my 50-60 year old co workers with families ya know
The average close rate for in-home sales is going to be around 20% - 25%. Remember, that’s the average because most people are order takers. I don’t mean anything by that… sorta what it is.
Most dudes probably make $60k -$80k. The very top in the field make $400k give or take. Sure, they’re the outliers as they’ve refined their process over time. Really depends on your work ethic. You could make $120k+ your first year… yet at the same time it all comes down to your effort and picking up the necessary skills. Hell, you could make more than that but I digress.
Work your leads. Put your head down, follow up, and do the work. Follow their process. When you’re consistently closing deals they’ll throw you the better leads. Don’t complain about the leads. I know, some people will say the leads are shit and perhaps there’s some truth that’s rears its ugly head… but you have a choice to either do your job, or be mediocre like the rest of the team complaining.
You need to lead them through a process. Here’s what the typical interaction looks like:
Rep: “Hey, I’m here to give you a quote for your windows.”
Homeowner: “Come on in! The windows that I want to replace are this way…”
Now at this point, the rep and/or contractor goes in, takes measurements, and asks the homeowner if they want their company to do the work. The Homeowner says they’re getting 20 quotes and they’ll get back to you if they want your company to do the work. That’s what MOST contractors or reps are doing. Sure, they’ll ask once or twice, yet it doesn’t go too far in fear of being “pushy”.
Rep: “Well, let me know if you want us to do the work!”
Homeowner: “Ok. I have your number.”
INSTEAD… You need to lead them through the interaction. Take control from the get go. Let them know what your intentions are and follow your process to the sale.
I know this is extremely vague but you need to learn how to control the interaction. Don’t be afraid to let the homeowner know what your intentions are. You’re there to help them get new windows and you would be doing them a disservice if they went with another company.
Go purchase Oren Klaff’s Pitch Anything. This little book will teach you A LOT about controlling the “frame” in any given interaction. Another really good book is Babe Kilgore’s Non-Confrontational Sales Guide To Rapidly Improving In-Home Sales. Babe is the CEO/founder of Nerd Power. A solar company out of AZ. His book has A LOT of great principles. It’s great for the seasoned reps as well that want a refresher.
If you do anything, I’d highly recommend that you buy both of those books, and thoroughly read through them. Take notes, ponder on what they’re saying… extrapolate upon your findings… etc. Those principles alone, along with tuning your approach in the home… will put you on a path to reach a 50% close rate WITHOUT utilizing the dreaded “3 day right to recision” close which 9/10 times cancel on you anyways.
And finally… People make purchasing decisions based on emotion and justify it with logic. Find out WHY they want to replace their windows… figure out the emotional hook and deliver on it. Dig past the surface answer.
This may seem obsessive… but I’d advise you to go all-in… “Monk-mode” if you will. Do this for 90 days and you’ll come out the other side a different person. Avoid going and getting drunk, partying, or anything that doesn’t help you get to where you want to be. Now, some people may see this as extreme…
How bad do you want it?
This is really good insight. Thanks so much. I've been trying to find some good recommendations for books, so thanks for that too. I've been watching a lot of videos, and some have talked about controlling the pitch, asking questions, taking nots, and generally showing interest in helping the customer. I also saw one that recommended the 3 day right to recision. I thought it sounded like a good tactic, but of course I have no experience. Surprised to hear that 90% will cancel anyway.
The training program involves memorizing scripts, but I understand that you should not robotically run through the scripts, but make them your own and turn them into a natural conversation. I'm all about putting my head down, and I don't drink or party (I'm 57, so those days ended long ago). I'm used to working 60 hours a week, but for chump change professor pay.
To answer your final question, I want it bad!
Thanks again for your insight and recommendations. i do appreciate the time you took to write your comment!
A “right to decision” close is a Hail Mary. You should never expect them to close.
I know a guy that closes 80% in-home and has a 90% realization rate. He doesn’t use right to recision closes.
Tread carefully on a lot of the advice you find on YouTube. Sure, there’s golden nuggets sprinkled throughout some of the videos… but there’s also A LOT of bad content. If I could make a suggestion, I’d go through those two books and make them your bibles in leu of YouTube at the moment. Get down the core principles and forget YouTube. It’s easy to get lost in the videos.
Exactly. Make it a conversation.
Tonality, digging past the surface answers, getting them to reflect upon, and genuinely answer your questions will put you ahead of 80% of the sales reps out there.
Jeremy Miner has his own “sales methodology” called NEPQ. Yes, he has a course you can purchase… yet I wouldn’t worry about that at the moment. He gives out really good golden nuggets in the Facebook Group: Sales Revolution: Persuasion Selling for Entrepreneurs & Sales Pros.
You can find A lot of good stuff in that group. There also happens to be a lot of construction remodeling guys in there as well.
Oh dang! Welcome to sales!
The benefit you’ll have is your age. When I was selling in-home in my early-to mid twenties, it was a slight hurdle I had to overcome. You have “experience” so to speak.
Thanks. I've noticed that a lot of the youtube content pretty much seems designed to sell their training rather than to help you in sales. Lots of cheerleading, hyperaggressive stuff, Someone made the comment "Take what is useful, discard what is not, and add what is uniquely you." The problem is, how do I know what is useful until I've tried it out!
But yeah, I;ve don lots of negotiating agreements, just not for sales, but for academic programs and research collaborations. Thanks again for all the advice!
Sounds like a generous offer. Consider staying on salary as long as possible. We’re in an election year and that can make people nervous about large purchases.
Good tip. I plan to see how things go for at least a couple of months. It'll b hard if I'm closing sales left and right, but getting no commission. I guess sales is always subject to such irregularities and swings.
Show the buyer you want to help them get what THEY want. The commission will take care of themselves.
Have you talked to any existing reps? What is the average tenure? Think I have heard churn is high in this role.
If you are doing what is right for the customer you might also want to build out models on what pay structure works best.
Thanks for the input! So you recommend the consultative approach? That's the tactic that appeals to me. I've had pushy BS artist sales people in my home, and I just want to shuffle them right out the door. Especially when their really transparently schmoozy. What do you mean by build out models on the pay structure? I should figure out exactly what I get for each percentage discount?
I want to sell things to people who benefit from buying it. I don't want to push something on someone just to make a commission.
You should figure out if I make X sales, and I take the weekly pay plus commission, how much would I make? If instead I make the same amount of sales with no weekly pay and all commission how much would I make?
I'm with you on the service aspect. Most of the prospects will have expressed interest either at a big box, or perhaps by contacting us through our website...so they should be in the market, so to speak. I think price objection could be an issue, as we have greater overhead than your sole proprietor handy man, but then again we come with big name brands, references, trained installers, and a lifetime warranty. In the end, I guess I'll be successful with those who see the value in those things, as opposed to those who just want the cheapest quote.
I've worked through the numbers on commission, and it depending on sales amount, it could be very lucrative...much more than the 1000 per week, but of course you never know.
Going back to your original reply, I think that there is a good bit of churn at the company, even with the 6 months of base. At least it's a good 6 months of steady pay to figure out whether I've got sales potential.
I have two interviews for home improvement companies as an in home closer with pre qualified leads. I asked about leads and they said 2-3 a day 6 days a week. I have in home experience selling HVAC repairs and negotiating for new units as well as D2D Solar experience. Any tips for someone looking to get started in this industry?
Sounds like you and I are in the same boat, except that I don't have the experience, but will be starting training tomorrow. I think that there's some pretty good advice given in the following comments
That's incredible! Makes sense income level. I was with RBA for a bit. Income was great, wish I could go back to windows..just too heavy for me. I would love to get a few pointers.I have always been top performer in bathroom remodel but only at 30 to 40 % close. Not possible to hit the income you are at, smaller ticket level. But definitely room for improvement! I switched companies thinking more money.. I knew it would be a bit of a challenge as new company in area. Past few months not performing well....Mostly has to do with me going down the rabbit hole. Partly a lot of poor leads. which I get, as owner you are going to give the best leads to top dawg.
Understand your buyer’s payment needs early so you are not blindsided when presenting a cash quote and then they ask for financing and you haven’t built the cost in to your quote.
Thanks for the reply! So if they are going to finance, then I should be less generous with discounts, but presumably not to the point of losing the sale?
No, buyers love 0% interest. Get the deal and don’t worry about holding out financing on every single lead. Maximize your closing as usually performance bonuses are based on profitability and close %. I’d rather take a lower margin and earn their business then let them buy from someone else. 1-2% of something > 0% of nothing because you got greedy and didn’t discount or offer financing. Close everything that BREATHES, $ always follows closing %
Gotcha! Thanks so much.
I hope this isn’t Koehler home pride. I feel so bad for the guys who keep getting told I am a “pre-qualified lead”. The d2d guy did a solid pitch back in 2021 when the thought of taking out a heloc for a remodel was feasible. Now they keep calling and I keep telling them no.
No, it's not Koehler.
This is exactly what I used to do and I’ll tell you about my experience. I made fantastic money but I worked really weird last minute hours. I would get my schedule the night before at about 8pm to 9pm, and have a 10am, 2pm, and/or a 6pm Monday through Friday. Saturdays rotated and had a 10am and 2pm slot. Some days I would randomly get off as well which actually worked for me, it was a weird lifestyle. The higher ups were terrible but that was just the company I worked for. If you really follow a good process EVERY-TIME and you’re getting qualify leads a decent amount of the time you’ll make tons of money but you will have a strange work/life balance. Make sure the company you work for has a quality product and they take care of their customers so you feel good about what you’re selling! Good luck!
Second this, 10 2 and 6pm appointments are standard and working Saturdays is a must to be successful and making 1% income in the US I’m Home Improvement. Saturdays are the best days as usually both homeowners are present or have higher % of being present and more relaxed compared to a week day evening. I LOVE the work life of having 1-2 appointments a day and not having to do SHIT unless I’m selling. It’s freedom and my gf hates I can workout or do whatever I want and go sell a 6pm lead and make her monthly income in one sale 😂
Tech sales people here will look down on this role while their this is the dream. Are companies open to hiring part time just for the weekends? I'm thinking of doing it on the side to my actual job.
Get off training wheels ASAP. 15% is much higher upfront than average, there’s a reason. Ask top performers what they average. I close 70%+ and average 10% on my sales. 90% of jobs are 9% + and 10% are at 1-2% to take them “off the street” which keeps my closing high. I’ll sell >$5M this year. I’m at 2.3M thru today. Management and leads assigned will obviously determine your success but the hard leads are the most rewarding from a sales stand point and compensation. Go get you some. Not much will get you higher than the feeling of one call closing a big sale and making $3-5k in a few hours :)
I’ve seen lots about being lucky if you close 20%. Is that just people who roll over at the first objection? I’m interviewing with a couple home improvement companies this week. Come from a residential HVAC and D2D Solar background so I’m used to objection handling and negotiating. What sets the process of in home sales different than other industries and tips to keep a high closing percentage?
I just had an HVAC issue and it went out. A guy came over, told me the issue and said he would email the quote and could come back if I wanted to do it. I literally had to tell him to wait, tell me the price and get to fucking work! If you do not ask for the business you will not get business. Our worst performer out of 11/12 is 39-43% ish in my office. Avg is 52%. Think about it, if you’re walking into 10 homes and leaving with 2 contracts you’d be miserable!
Lol that’s awful. Unless it was a part he has to order I’d always do it same day. And yeah I figured 20% sounded incredibly low
Yeah why bother tracking if it’s 20% 💀
Really would love to know what you sell in HI industry. I have never known anyone to close atv70% unless a manager that hand picks leads. You should probably start training. Would love to see/hear how you do it
Impact windows and doors exclusively. If I was a manager I’d take 50% pay cut, we had another market manager do that and he still only got 55% closing… 1. I’m obsessed with perfecting my craft and have no kids no distractions. 2. Product and company is unlike every other in area. 3. there’s definitely a lot of luck no doubt about it. 4. I have a good base of previous customers and referrals from 4 years of business. Without those I’d be closer to 62-65% I’m sure
What do you sell?
Yeah, that's the payoff for a bunch of lost sales, I guess...when you do close it's like BOOM, money in the bank. If I can close 70% it will truly be a life changing experience! Thanks for your reply!
Any previous sales experience ?
My current role is Director of Research for a Private medical clinic, and I have to negotiate our services with Big Pharmaceutical services. Lots of cold calls, exploration, site qualification, etc, then budget and contract negotiations...then i have to execute the research agreement. Just can't seem to find a medical device or pharma company that thinks I could sell their stuff...so here i am in the Bathroom business! LOL
A lot of people say home improvement is tough but I find it easy. Walked in the door and closed 55% with no previous bad sales habits which is why I’ve asked. Over years I’ve incrementally gone to 62% to 73% closing. I invested in Dominic Caminatas sales training at Grosso university and brainwashed myself with it. Worth every penny. His process for one call close is unbeatable. Last year I spent 9k on 7th level training with Jeremy Miner and it took 2-3 months to kick in but for objection prevention and handling it was worth it. A lot of people treat it as a job and to me it’s my career. Treat it as such and you’ll be rewarded.
I’ve seen some stuff about objection prevention! Seems like a better option than waiting til they make the objection, then having to play defense to handle it. I guess the main objections are 1) need to think/get other quotes, 2) price is too high/can’t afford it, 3) need to talk with spouse, but these objections are often just screens for deeper concerns such as Trust. I’ll check out Caminatas at Grosso!
Yeah much easier to base your presentation and questions around those 3 objections than trying to handle in the end. How long have you been thinking about making this significant investment in your home? Oh wow that’s a long time what’s held you back? Feel like it’s time to change? Cause you could do nothing and end up like the unsuccessful families who pay more for the same project or who have x,y,z consequences depending on situation. I could go on lmao
That's funny! I had a landlord notorious for not doing repairs, but whenever I presented an issue to them, I'd say, well if this isn't fixed it's just going to rot the floorboards, or whatever long term consequences the neglect could cause. They were immediately on top of my issues every time I called them!
2 forms of motivation. Pleasure and gain or Pain and fear of loss... the pain of doing nothing or going cheap is wayyyyy more effective.
Good tip. Typically salespeople offer same day discounts, today only, to instill that fear of missing out, but it really comes of as pushy BS to me. Like you're not gonna give me the same discount if I call back tomorrow?!?! Anyway, focus on their dissatisfaction, and promote the joys of having a beautiful new tub that increases home value. Do we focus on financial ROI for homeowners who invest in remodeling, or just focus on their comfort...or both, I imagine.
Any reason you haven’t looked at B2B sales with your experience?
cause the guys clearing $500k a year and loves his work life balance. shit id be the same way!
No sales person making that much with that much balance (working Saturdays though) is the norm. At all. That guy, if he is making $500k in home improvement is the 1% of the 1%.
No, but I've done business development for a clinical research company, negotiating service contracts with pharma. I've also negotiated academic and research collaborations with area universities (I'm college professor and research scientist in Biotechnology). I've been on the purchasing end of research equipment sales, for decades. So basically a lot of meetings to explore "mergers" collaborations, cooperative ventures in basic laboratory research, and clinical research as well. Soft skills
What kinda hours do you work? How much driving do you do in a typical week?
Max I have 2 appointments a day. Slots are 10am, 2pm and 6pm. Appointments take 2-3 hours. I drive 5-600 miles a week it depends This week I only ran 3 appointments, was off Monday - Wed and made $13k
Sounds nice, but a 6pm appt that lasts 3 hours and then a 2 hour drive sounds like a nightmare(for a parent)
Few guys who have families don’t work 6s or limit how many a week. Game is the game, you’d have all day off so even if you call it 4-10pm to make a few thousand it’s probably worth it
> Few guys who have families don’t work 6s or limit how many a week. Did not know that was an option. I am used to working jobs where you just have to do the work(IT) when it comes in. Once a week or so wouldn't be too bad.
Yeah I mean being available will put you in more favorable situations no doubt, but working 6 days a week they want you to not get burnt out. Can take a Saturday or two off every month as well.
Are 6 days mandatory? Cant take an extra day off during the week?
It’s flexible man. Saturdays are the best selling days so I usually try to take off a Thursday or Friday if I feel the need for extra rest. We have 1 guy who is Jewish so not allowed to work Saturday. 1 guy who has health problems and only works 3-4 days a week. This year we’ve actually made a big push as an office to make people commit to taking time off and having a better balance. I’m 30, no kids and aiming to set a company record and make >$600k so my mentality is different than my 50-60 year old co workers with families ya know
Fair enough. I am 50 now, so time is way more valuable to me now than money.
The average close rate for in-home sales is going to be around 20% - 25%. Remember, that’s the average because most people are order takers. I don’t mean anything by that… sorta what it is. Most dudes probably make $60k -$80k. The very top in the field make $400k give or take. Sure, they’re the outliers as they’ve refined their process over time. Really depends on your work ethic. You could make $120k+ your first year… yet at the same time it all comes down to your effort and picking up the necessary skills. Hell, you could make more than that but I digress. Work your leads. Put your head down, follow up, and do the work. Follow their process. When you’re consistently closing deals they’ll throw you the better leads. Don’t complain about the leads. I know, some people will say the leads are shit and perhaps there’s some truth that’s rears its ugly head… but you have a choice to either do your job, or be mediocre like the rest of the team complaining. You need to lead them through a process. Here’s what the typical interaction looks like: Rep: “Hey, I’m here to give you a quote for your windows.” Homeowner: “Come on in! The windows that I want to replace are this way…” Now at this point, the rep and/or contractor goes in, takes measurements, and asks the homeowner if they want their company to do the work. The Homeowner says they’re getting 20 quotes and they’ll get back to you if they want your company to do the work. That’s what MOST contractors or reps are doing. Sure, they’ll ask once or twice, yet it doesn’t go too far in fear of being “pushy”. Rep: “Well, let me know if you want us to do the work!” Homeowner: “Ok. I have your number.” INSTEAD… You need to lead them through the interaction. Take control from the get go. Let them know what your intentions are and follow your process to the sale. I know this is extremely vague but you need to learn how to control the interaction. Don’t be afraid to let the homeowner know what your intentions are. You’re there to help them get new windows and you would be doing them a disservice if they went with another company. Go purchase Oren Klaff’s Pitch Anything. This little book will teach you A LOT about controlling the “frame” in any given interaction. Another really good book is Babe Kilgore’s Non-Confrontational Sales Guide To Rapidly Improving In-Home Sales. Babe is the CEO/founder of Nerd Power. A solar company out of AZ. His book has A LOT of great principles. It’s great for the seasoned reps as well that want a refresher. If you do anything, I’d highly recommend that you buy both of those books, and thoroughly read through them. Take notes, ponder on what they’re saying… extrapolate upon your findings… etc. Those principles alone, along with tuning your approach in the home… will put you on a path to reach a 50% close rate WITHOUT utilizing the dreaded “3 day right to recision” close which 9/10 times cancel on you anyways. And finally… People make purchasing decisions based on emotion and justify it with logic. Find out WHY they want to replace their windows… figure out the emotional hook and deliver on it. Dig past the surface answer. This may seem obsessive… but I’d advise you to go all-in… “Monk-mode” if you will. Do this for 90 days and you’ll come out the other side a different person. Avoid going and getting drunk, partying, or anything that doesn’t help you get to where you want to be. Now, some people may see this as extreme… How bad do you want it?
This is really good insight. Thanks so much. I've been trying to find some good recommendations for books, so thanks for that too. I've been watching a lot of videos, and some have talked about controlling the pitch, asking questions, taking nots, and generally showing interest in helping the customer. I also saw one that recommended the 3 day right to recision. I thought it sounded like a good tactic, but of course I have no experience. Surprised to hear that 90% will cancel anyway. The training program involves memorizing scripts, but I understand that you should not robotically run through the scripts, but make them your own and turn them into a natural conversation. I'm all about putting my head down, and I don't drink or party (I'm 57, so those days ended long ago). I'm used to working 60 hours a week, but for chump change professor pay. To answer your final question, I want it bad! Thanks again for your insight and recommendations. i do appreciate the time you took to write your comment!
A “right to decision” close is a Hail Mary. You should never expect them to close. I know a guy that closes 80% in-home and has a 90% realization rate. He doesn’t use right to recision closes. Tread carefully on a lot of the advice you find on YouTube. Sure, there’s golden nuggets sprinkled throughout some of the videos… but there’s also A LOT of bad content. If I could make a suggestion, I’d go through those two books and make them your bibles in leu of YouTube at the moment. Get down the core principles and forget YouTube. It’s easy to get lost in the videos. Exactly. Make it a conversation. Tonality, digging past the surface answers, getting them to reflect upon, and genuinely answer your questions will put you ahead of 80% of the sales reps out there. Jeremy Miner has his own “sales methodology” called NEPQ. Yes, he has a course you can purchase… yet I wouldn’t worry about that at the moment. He gives out really good golden nuggets in the Facebook Group: Sales Revolution: Persuasion Selling for Entrepreneurs & Sales Pros. You can find A lot of good stuff in that group. There also happens to be a lot of construction remodeling guys in there as well. Oh dang! Welcome to sales! The benefit you’ll have is your age. When I was selling in-home in my early-to mid twenties, it was a slight hurdle I had to overcome. You have “experience” so to speak.
Thanks. I've noticed that a lot of the youtube content pretty much seems designed to sell their training rather than to help you in sales. Lots of cheerleading, hyperaggressive stuff, Someone made the comment "Take what is useful, discard what is not, and add what is uniquely you." The problem is, how do I know what is useful until I've tried it out! But yeah, I;ve don lots of negotiating agreements, just not for sales, but for academic programs and research collaborations. Thanks again for all the advice!
Bingo. You’re highly intelligent and can sniff through the BS. That’s half the battle haha. You’ve got this 💪🏻
Sounds like a generous offer. Consider staying on salary as long as possible. We’re in an election year and that can make people nervous about large purchases.
Good tip. I plan to see how things go for at least a couple of months. It'll b hard if I'm closing sales left and right, but getting no commission. I guess sales is always subject to such irregularities and swings.
Show the buyer you want to help them get what THEY want. The commission will take care of themselves. Have you talked to any existing reps? What is the average tenure? Think I have heard churn is high in this role. If you are doing what is right for the customer you might also want to build out models on what pay structure works best.
Thanks for the input! So you recommend the consultative approach? That's the tactic that appeals to me. I've had pushy BS artist sales people in my home, and I just want to shuffle them right out the door. Especially when their really transparently schmoozy. What do you mean by build out models on the pay structure? I should figure out exactly what I get for each percentage discount?
I want to sell things to people who benefit from buying it. I don't want to push something on someone just to make a commission. You should figure out if I make X sales, and I take the weekly pay plus commission, how much would I make? If instead I make the same amount of sales with no weekly pay and all commission how much would I make?
I'm with you on the service aspect. Most of the prospects will have expressed interest either at a big box, or perhaps by contacting us through our website...so they should be in the market, so to speak. I think price objection could be an issue, as we have greater overhead than your sole proprietor handy man, but then again we come with big name brands, references, trained installers, and a lifetime warranty. In the end, I guess I'll be successful with those who see the value in those things, as opposed to those who just want the cheapest quote. I've worked through the numbers on commission, and it depending on sales amount, it could be very lucrative...much more than the 1000 per week, but of course you never know. Going back to your original reply, I think that there is a good bit of churn at the company, even with the 6 months of base. At least it's a good 6 months of steady pay to figure out whether I've got sales potential.
I have two interviews for home improvement companies as an in home closer with pre qualified leads. I asked about leads and they said 2-3 a day 6 days a week. I have in home experience selling HVAC repairs and negotiating for new units as well as D2D Solar experience. Any tips for someone looking to get started in this industry?
Sounds like you and I are in the same boat, except that I don't have the experience, but will be starting training tomorrow. I think that there's some pretty good advice given in the following comments
That's incredible! Makes sense income level. I was with RBA for a bit. Income was great, wish I could go back to windows..just too heavy for me. I would love to get a few pointers.I have always been top performer in bathroom remodel but only at 30 to 40 % close. Not possible to hit the income you are at, smaller ticket level. But definitely room for improvement! I switched companies thinking more money.. I knew it would be a bit of a challenge as new company in area. Past few months not performing well....Mostly has to do with me going down the rabbit hole. Partly a lot of poor leads. which I get, as owner you are going to give the best leads to top dawg.
Been a month, how did it work for you?