This podcast episode elucidates the critical importance of presenting offers in residential HVAC sales with a focus on comprehensive customer education. We delve into the methodologies of effectively communicating the various system options available to homeowners, emphasizing the necessity of showcasing all alternatives rather than limiting choices to premium offerings. The discussion underscores that our primary responsibility is to inform clients of the benefits and features of each system, thereby empowering them to make informed decisions. By employing strategic communication techniques, such as presenting options from the highest to lowest price, we can significantly enhance the client's perception of value and control in the purchasing process. Ultimately, this episode aims to equip HVAC professionals with the tools and insights necessary to improve their sales effectiveness and client satisfaction.

This episode covers the top down presentation style. How are you presenting your solutions? We dive into the take away offer and how powerful it is to tap into FOMO (Fear of missing out).

Make sure to check out www.closeitnow.net to stay up to date with all of the news, events, and promotions!

Also, join our community at www.facebook.com/groups/closeitnow

The dialogue focuses on an essential aspect of HVAC sales: the method of presenting offers to homeowners. The speaker emphasizes that the objective is not merely to push for a sale but to engage in a comprehensive presentation of all available options, thus facilitating an informed decision-making process for the client. This approach shifts the focus from selling specific high-end systems to educating homeowners about the variety of products that meet their needs, thereby fostering a sense of agency in their purchasing decisions. The speaker articulates that by equipping clients with knowledge about the benefits of each system, sales professionals can build trust and rapport, which are vital for successful transactions in the competitive HVAC market. Additionally, the episode delves into the psychological strategies that underpin effective sales presentations. By employing a top-down approach when showcasing options, salespersons can strategically condition a client’s perception of value, which often leads to enhanced acceptance of higher-priced items. The speaker narrates various real-world scenarios that illustrate the pitfalls of presenting a limited selection of products, highlighting that such practices can lead to diminished closing rates and client dissatisfaction. The overarching narrative is one that champions the idea of serving the client’s interests first, ultimately leading to a more sustainable business model. The episode concludes with an invitation for listeners to implement the discussed strategies into their own practices, with the speaker encouraging them to track their progress and observe the positive changes in their sales metrics. This call to action reinforces the episode's core message: by prioritizing client education and empowerment over mere salesmanship, HVAC professionals can elevate their service quality and achieve greater sales success.

Welcome to Close it now, an H Vac sales training podcast with Sam Wakefield.

Here we'll build your reputation in residential H Vac sales to be the expert influencer in your market.

You'll get insight into the top minds in the industry as they share their skills and hacks to help you on your journey.

This podcast isn't just about selling more, it's about understanding your customers needs and building efficiencies behind the scenes so you can sell more but work less while being top of mind when people think H Vac.

Now let's get started with your host of the Close it now podcast.

This is Sam Wakefield.

All right, welcome back, welcome back, welcome back.

My name is Sam Wakefield.

As you just heard today we are covering how you present your offers, how do you go through your system options, how do you go through the different offers that you're going to make to the homeowner when you put together their package.

And we're going to cover some specific verbiage that you can use, some scripting, not necessarily scripting, but just a couple one liners that really turn the key to unlock the customer's mind to being open to seeing all the options.

Because at the end of the day, you know, our goal is not to focus in and try to, you know, cause a homeowner to buy any specific thing.

We're not trying to get them to buy the top of the line system every single time.

Our job, our whole responsibility is to share what's available, share the benefits and let them choose.

Because raise your hand if you're like me.

Wouldn't you always rather have a sell than no cell at all?

And so it happened so many times.

And we know we had a guy on our team here a while back, he didn't last very long because he came from a different industry, tried to step into heating and air cells and with the same mindset that he had from, you know, completely different trade.

And that was he would go into a house and you know, every brand of equipment, you've got what, four, five, six different models, levels of equ.

He would only show the two premium options.

It's the only ones he ever showed to homeowners.

Well, no wonder that his close rate was horrible and no wonder that people felt like he was.

And that's what happens why customers get the sentiment and the feeling that you're trying to manipulate them into buying something if you only show them very limited options.

Unless there's a situation where you explain why the rest don't work in their situation.

But for most of the time with residential, residential H vac, just about everything will fit most of the time.

So you've got to go through the process.

And I've got a great story too.

I walked into a house here a couple weeks ago.

It was a humongous house, you know, couple million dollar house.

Three systems, three or four systems on the house.

I don't remember we were looking at this one specifically.

And from the get go, he says, okay, I've talked to a couple other companies and I've decided I just want to go with a basic single stage equipment.

Okay?

Yes, sir, no problem.

I said, well, first let's go through the, you know, tell me about what you're experiencing, what your concerns are.

So I went through my questionnaire with the homeowner, talked about indoor air quality, etc.

He tells me, well, I'm only going to be here another couple, two to three years and that's it.

Okay, great, no problem.

I'm sure we've got a system that will fit your needs.

A cool catchphrase or kind of turnip phrase that you can, you could totally have is I told him, I said, perfect, that's great.

We try to have a saddle for every seat, meaning we've got a fit for you.

Let's just, you know, let's figure it out and work together to come up with, you know, the right combination of things to put together for your proposal so it's something you'll accept.

And he's like, okay, great, sounds good.

So we go through the, and then how you present your equipment and not talking in terms of the features, but talking in terms of the benefits from each one is so wildly important because this guy had already talked to two or three companies and gotten other bids, which is what they were.

They were bids, people just dropping stuff off.

So I get there and I go through the process.

You know, I've evaluated the area, looked at the current equipment, you know, all that kind of stuff.

And then I sit down with him once we've done my manual j and calculated what size system he needed.

Okay, well, here are the different models and here's what they do and here's the problems they overcome with the comfort of your home.

And so at each step of the way, you've got your single stage equipment, you've got your two stage equipment, then you get into what we call our adaptive cooling equipment and really talked about the benefits of humidity control and limiting the on and off times and that kind of thing.

We'll go through the whole process and he says, well, that's interesting.

Nobody else explained any of that equipment.

All they ever showed me was the single stage stuff.

I didn't even know this other stuff existed.

Which was one my clue that you've got to show everything.

You've got to show all of the systems.

Because when I started showing him the equipment and talking about the features and benefits of each one, and here's another phrase for you use this.

And it's super, super powerful.

Because our job is just to see if they're open to hearing about all of the options.

I said, okay, cool.

I know you mentioned.

And here's exactly what I told them.

I said, I know you mentioned that you wanted the single stage equipment, but if you don't mind, I would like to take you through everything that's available so you can know what you're saying.

So powerful.

He said, sure, okay.

I said, because it's our job to really educate you so you know everything that's out there.

And then proceeded to take him through all the different levels of equipment all the way through to the truly variable speed.

And then kind of then when it's time to open up and you don't show pricing at this point, all you're talking about is the just simple high level feature features of each system and the problem it overcomes of why it was developed.

Right.

And so get all the way through that.

And then when we show pricing, you price from the other, they turn around and go backwards.

Always show pricing from the top down because you're accomplishing a handful of things when you do this.

This is psychology.

This is deep, deep psychology of sales with this process.

And this has nothing to do with manipulation, but it has everything to do with the way buy one.

You've already told them that you want them to know everything that's available so they can make a great decision.

Awesome.

So that's good.

The next thing you told them is, you know, you're not telling, you're communicating that you're going to show them everything that's available and then it's up to them to choose what best fits their project.

Which is great because you've given them the sense that they are in control of the buying process.

So in fact, here's the exact verbiage that I use.

Okay.

What we're going to do is go through all the models available, I'll show you everything that has to do with each one and why it may or may not be a fit for you.

And then at the end of the day, there's no right or wrong answer.

It's up to you to decide what the best fit for your house and the way you live here is.

And that totally gives them back control of the buying process.

Even though you're in control of the presentation, you're leading the call, you're showing them, but they have that feeling that they now have the power, which is exactly where you want them to have.

You want them to have that feeling.

That way they can totally, you know, when you get through the process, they can say yes to something.

Because we don't want them to say no or I'll think about it, we want them to say yes to something.

So you present your systems from bottom up.

That way you can build on each one and explain the differ.

And then when you're going through pricing, and this is the important part, start at the top down.

So turn around and you start with the highest end product, you know, highest end package.

You have whatever it is.

The other thing that you're doing with this is your price conditioning.

Because once they see, you know, if it's sticker shock for the client, they're going to have it on the first one.

Once they see your top end equipment and the pricing for it, everything, everything else seems like a smaller number.

Whereas if you start on the bottom, everything seems to get bigger and bigger, bigger and grow.

So that's also why you want to go from the top down.

So you present your top package first and then you.

And once you go through all the features that each of those include, then when you go to the next one, well, first they ask the question, does this seem like a good fit for you?

And usually what they say is, well, let's go ahead and look at all the, okay, great, that's perfectly fine.

So when you go to one step down from the top one, you say, okay, so here are the things that you're not going to get with this system, that the next, the higher one included.

And that's really important verbiage here are the things that are not going to be included.

Because what you're doing right there is you're tapping into fear of missing out.

Have you ever had fomo?

Everybody has fomo.

That's exactly why people do the things they do do and buy the things they buy and go the places they go.

Because so many times it's driven by fomo, it's driven by fear of missing out, it's driven by that comparison syndrome, which that's not our fault that people have that.

And there's a really fun tip too.

If you've done several projects for either the same family or the same associates or business partners or maybe even on the same block or the same street, I love what when that happens because I could totally step in and be like, oh, okay, great, your neighbor down the street and the other one this way.

They did these systems.

And very, very, very seldom does that next person pick anything below what those other people chose.

Because they can't be missing out.

They say, well, if they picked it, then surely we need to do that too.

So.

But as you present your top levels o next one, does this seem like a fit for you?

Well, let's see some other options.

Okay, great, no problem.

You step into the next one.

Okay, here's what you're not going to get with this system.

And then as you step through and then ask the same question, does this seem like a good fit for you?

Well, let's see the rest of the options.

Okay, no problem.

And then every single one that you go through again, you keep repeating the same thing over and over.

And it's not going to feel weird or anything.

You're just gonna be very matter of fact.

Here's what you're not gonna get with this system.

Here's what you're not gonna get at this next step.

Here's what you're not gonna get at this last step.

And then of course, anytime, if I make it all the way to the very rock bottom basic, you know, 14 seer single stage builder grade equipment.

That's how exactly how I describe it is, okay, well this last system is really our typical builder grade kind of the basic system.

It's the, the lowest, you know, just kind of the lowest thing we have.

We do these on a lot of land, you know, landlord tenant type of situations.

Apartment complexes use these units.

The way you describe it means everything.

And so many times before I even get to single stage equipment, the homeowner already says, well, I don't want any of that last century stuff.

I don't want any of that old technology the way you described everything.

Got to at least stay in the top three options.

Okay, great, no problem.

We won't even look at the single stage.

And so as you go through and are explaining how to this is not what you're going to get.

This is not what you're going to get.

This is not what you're going to get.

There will come a point where they say, okay, well let's not go any further because I've already.

You've already taken away more than I want More than I wanted you to.

I want to keep these features because that, that comfort and that energy savings is what I'm after.

And so that.

That exactly how that conversation happens.

And that's what they'll tell you.

So don't go any further.

I don't even want to see those last couple.

I don't even want to see those last bottom systems because I don't want to go there.

This is what I've lived with for this many years.

And everything you described as all of the uncomfortableness of that system, I don't want to do that again now that I have the choice to pick something that I want.

And here's another line that you can use, and it's so.

So once you ask them how long they've lived in the house, they'll tell you however many years they've been there.

They say, well, great, now is the chance for you to choose what you want in your home and how comfortable you get to choose the ability to control your comfort instead of just taking what somebody else picked for you.

That really taps into some psychology there too is they realize, yeah, somebody else picked this for me and I haven't liked it.

I get to pick what I want now.

And so there's definitely a way to also all of these little things build together the compound effect to just lead the choice that you're leading their buying decision.

And are some of them going to pick a basic system?

Absolutely.

I mean, there's always other things going on.

That's something you have to always remember.

No matter what your conversation has been, how well you've gone through your investigation phase, there's always something else going on.

There's always another element to their.

In their mind that they're not letting on.

It could be, you know, maybe it could be a medical thing.

I mean, who knows?

Maybe grandpa in another state has cancer.

And in the back of their mind, they're like, hey, if we have to move, we're going to sell the house, so we don't want to invest.

It could be maybe they're thinking about, you know, the opposite way.

Like, oh, okay, maybe we're going to have to move them in with us.

So we want to choose something that's going to be the most comfortable for them.

But these are not typically, typically things that come up in the initial questions, no matter how thorough you are, if they're not forthcoming with certain situations.

So there's always something else going on, which is perfectly fine.

But remember that, because sometimes their choices will surprise you.

Sometimes it's less than you expected.

Sometimes it's higher than you expected.

But the end of the end goal, even if it is a very basic system, but they still said, yes, let's do it.

Celebrate it as if, because it.

Don't get connected, emotionally connected to the sale price on the, on the, on the sale.

Don't get emotionally connected to which model of equipment that they choose.

Your goal is to take care of the client.

And that means finding the best fit for their situation because they all are going to cool the air, they're all going to heat the air.

They're all going to be cheaper to do it than what they currently have have.

So if you need to reframe the entire visit, if they, if it seems like they're starting to get overwhelmed with the choices, because remember, the confused mind says no.

So if they're starting to get overwhelmed with the choices, stop and put everything aside for a minute and just say, listen, there's a lot of choices here, but every single one of them is going to cool when you want it to cool.

It's going to heat when you want it to heat.

And it's going to be cheaper to do it than what you have now.

So no matter what we do, it's going to be a wild improvement over what you currently have.

So that's our goal, is to just come up with the right combination of things that's going to work, that's going to work for you.

Now remember, there's no right or wrong answer here as far as which system is the right one for you.

It's kind of like putting up a jigsaw puzzle.

You've got what you're wanting to accomplish.

Comfort wise, you've got what your savings you want to see, efficiency wise, you've got how long you're going to be in the house, you've got the total price, we've got the financing option.

All of these things are putting together a jigsaw puzzle.

And I'm not here to tell you which pieces are going to fit your puzzle.

I'm helping you figure that out.

And when you explain it that way and you really take the pressure off, normally at that point, every time they'll go ahead and say, well, you know what?

This one really sounds good to me.

What do you think, honey?

Or they're talking to their partner, or if they're just by themselves, usually at that point, it clarifies it enough in their mind that they'll go ahead and just pick one, which is great.

And then your answer is, of Course, excellent choice.

That's a great system.

Once they decide on a system, even if it's the very basic one, your answer is instantly, excellent choice.

Choice, That's a great system.

We do a lot of those and move on.

Say, great, okay, the next steps are, let's pick an installation date because they've already said yes to you, they've said yes to which system they want and then the rest is just details.

There's no more choosing.

The rest is just, okay, I've got Tuesday and Thursday open.

Which day works better?

Okay, great.

Are you planning on paying by check, by credit card or by financing?

Okay, great.

Or any combination of those and okay, perfect.

The next step are, let's go ahead and knock out this paperwork.

And so it's just boom, boom, boom, move through the details after that.

But does this make any sense to you?

Is this valuable?

And thank you, Tim, for that conversation we had that sparked this idea because it's really important to when you're presenting your options, start at the top down and talk about what they're not going to get at each step of the way.

And that will change everything in your numbers.

And you'll find that if you've been going from the bottom up, try this method for a month and then track your numbers and compare it to where they have been and I guarantee you you're going to see a huge shift in your close ratio, a huge shift in your average dollar per sale, average dollar per lead.

Everything is going to go up for you because of this one simple sh in your numbers, everything in your bottom line, everything in your pocket.

Who doesn't want more net, net net dollars in your pocket at the end of the day.

And this is how you serve your client better because you educate first and then let them choose.

And when you take that approach and really spend the time and focus on what their concerns are and you've educated them enough to choose the right thing, man, the world opens up to you.

My I sell about usually 52 to 55% of my projects are the top two highest end premium product in our offering line, fully communicating variable speed equipment because of this approach.

And when you approach it this way, that is, you know in our entire company that we're 50% plus with between five people in the sales team, 50% plus highest in communicating equipment because I've trained them, every single one of them to make the offer this way and then step it back.

And people will choose the better equipment because they want more comfort and more energy savings.

So try this for a month.

I challenge you to change it to this.

If you haven't done it this way and keep track of it.

You've got to measure what you can.

You can't manage it if you don't measure it.

So keep track of your numbers and join our Facebook community because I'd love to hear how this changes your numbers for you.

So thank you for listening.

If you got some value from this, share it with somebody.

We've got a coaching program that we're rolling out really, really soon which is going to be in depth on all of these things that we're talking about.

But if you got some value from this, share with somebody.

Sharing is caring.

So this is the fastest growing H Vac residential sales community online podcast online and we're the only one right now, which is awesome and I love it.

So thank you for joining the Close now community and I will talk to you guys again soon.

Thanks for listening to Close it now with Sam Wakefield.

Subscribe to the podcast now so you're first to hear new episodes jam packed with actionable tools and tips to make you the top H Vac professional in your market.

If you have friends and colleagues who would like this show, share it with them and send them to our Facebook community for more in depth discussion about the challenges we all face and how to overcome them on the Close it now podcast.