When you arrive at a client’s home, they are entrusting you with a very important task – improving their lives and protecting their home and family.
Often, that mission takes the form of fixing a leaky pipe or repairing a clogged toilet, but to go beyond the realm of the ordinary technician, you have to go beyond providing ordinary service. You’re out there in their home to improve their life and safety. Don’t you have more than a few items in your truck that would help you do just that?
The only problem is that the homeowner often doesn’t know they exist or that you offer them. And they usually never will know. Why? It’s because most technicians don’t want to be perceived as pushy salespeople. In fact, in the minds of your team members the words technician and salesman should probably never cross.
I can appreciate that feeling but is it really being pushy if you’re asking your clients what else you can do for them? That’s a simple way to approach the subject. Ask the client if there are any other problems they’ve been having with their home that you can help them with while you’re there today. Ask them if there is anything they would like to change about their plumbing system. That question can open up the door to all types of service opportunities to improve their comfort and safety.
However, as the old adage goes, “You’ll never know unless you ask.” When you do ask, that homeowner may be glad that you did, or your question may prompt them to remember the slow draining toilet in the basement they keep meaning to call you about.
So, that’s the first step to providing service that goes beyond the ordinary. Ask how you can improve their home. Those simple questions are your entry into the world of “add-on”. When you can enter a client’s home and add on a product or service they didn’t initially request, you’re enhancing both their comfort and your revenue.
And it can add up fast. Just think, if you added on a $49 product or service to every service call. If you ran four calls a day, that would be an extra $200 a day. That’s an extra $1,000 a week.
The best part is that not only have you boosted your revenue totals dramatically, but your clients are more satisfied too!
So, what are some of the products you have available to you that the average homeowner may not know are available? Here are a few simple ones that quickly come to mind:
- Instant Hot Water Heater – With gas prices rising, your clients may be thrilled to find an alternative to continually paying to keep gallons of water hot when they just need a cup. Plus, some people will like the instant aspect to it and will be excited that you shared it with them.
- Bust-proof washing machine hoses – Most homeowners don’t ever realize the dangers of traditional washing machine hoses until it’s too late and their home is flooded. By informing them early, you’ll be providing a great service for protecting their home.
- Smoke detectors – It’s a simple item, but it’s one that homeowners can easily forget about. Be sure to check on every call that they have a properly functioning one.
Those are three simple items you can offer to boost your client’s comfort and your revenue but there are so many more. The trick now is to have them on your truck at all times so that when a homeowner is interested in one, you have it available right there for them.
Plus, since many of your clients may be interested in these types of products, it might make sense to let them know about them even when you aren’t in their home. It’s fairly simple to develop a postcard series highlighting one of these products and its benefits. You could also develop a weekly special that your technicians offer on any calls they run that week. The marketing options are limitless.
Be sure to offer additional products and services to your clients that will boost their comfort and your revenue, and remember to ask, “Is there anything you would change about your plumbing system?”