This episode elucidates the paramount importance of establishing a well-structured introduction during HVAC sales appointments, a crucial factor in securing customer confidence. We delve into the nuanced art of controlling the flow of information in a manner that empowers homeowners rather than alienates them, thereby facilitating a more effective sales process. By emphasizing the significance of credibility—both of the company and the individual representative—we provide listeners with actionable strategies to enhance their professional rapport with clients. Furthermore, we outline the necessity of setting a clear agenda for the appointment, ensuring that the homeowner is not only informed but also engaged throughout the process. Ultimately, this episode serves as a vital resource for HVAC professionals seeking to refine their sales techniques and elevate their standing within the competitive market.

In this episode we learn how to set the context and environment for the sales appointment. Controlling the flow of information that the homeowner receives is crucial.

Make sure to check out www.closeitnow.net to learn about all things Close It Now.

In this insightful podcast episode, the host delves into the nuances of establishing a successful framework for HVAC sales appointments. The discussion begins with the premise that the manner in which a representative introduces themselves and their company is foundational to the overall success of the sales process. The speaker emphasizes the importance of not only presenting oneself as a knowledgeable expert but also understanding the psychological dynamics at play during the homeowner’s decision-making process. By taking control of the appointment while ensuring that the homeowner feels respected and valued, sales professionals can create a more conducive environment for discussion and ultimately, closing the sale. Central to the conversation is the concept of the introductory phase of the appointment, where the speaker outlines critical components that should be included to reinforce credibility. These components encompass the reputation of the company, the representative's experience, and the clarity of the agenda for the meeting. The host stresses that these elements must be delivered in a logical sequence, as the order can significantly impact the homeowner's confidence and receptivity to the information presented. By employing a strategic and structured approach, sales representatives can effectively navigate the complexities of the sales conversation, ensuring that potential objections are addressed preemptively and that trust is established early on. The episode further explores practical techniques for refining introductory statements, encouraging listeners to engage in self-reflection and continuous improvement. By sharing personal anecdotes and insights drawn from extensive industry experience, the host not only provides valuable guidance but also fosters a sense of community among HVAC professionals. The emphasis on collaborative learning and adaptation underscores the podcast's commitment to elevating the standards of sales practices within the HVAC industry, ultimately driving better outcomes for both representatives and homeowners alike.

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.

Hey, hey, hey.

Welcome back.

Sam Wakefield here.

As you just heard, today we're going to be talking about setting the context of your appointment, how to take control of the appointment without the homeowner feeling like and thinking you're taking control of them.

Which is a fine line to walk because we all know that in the appointment we need to control the flow of information.

We need to control the flow of where each piece of information is given to the homeowner and in what order, which is really important to the way psychologically they receive it, how they process it and what they do with that information.

If you miss one of the steps along the way, you're leaving yourself objection.

Doors open when it comes time for the close.

And so that's what we're talking about, is how to do the appropriate introduction.

The things that have to be in the introduction for it to be the credibility pieces and where they need to go and the right order.

There's a philosophy out there that, well, I can have this kind of modular approach where I maybe cover the same things each time.

However, depending on how the call goes, maybe they'll get, you know, moved around.

As long as I cover the information in the appointment, then that's the important part.

And I'm here to tell you that that is not true.

Raise your hand if you have ever heard that type of a statement.

Because I know it.

I know it's really popular with some people out there, some even some train.

But coming at it from a psychological approach, I've studied the psychology of cells for a decade now, literally read hundreds of books, paid tens of thousands of dollars to go to seminars and take trainings and do online courses.

There is some deep science and deep study behind why things are in the order they are in every sales conversation.

So what the intro needs to look like, we're going to.

First of all, what should go in your introduction as far as the Pieces that you're the important pieces that you want to cover.

And then we'll actually, I'm going to give you my introduction that I use, and that way you can have kind of a real life experience and, you know, see firsthand of how it fits together, which is really important.

That way, as you're crafting your own introduction, then you can, you know, we can really work on.

Okay, I need this, I need this, I need this.

It doesn't have to be long.

In fact, the shorter the better.

Always play a game with yourself.

If you can communicate something in less words, do it.

Cut all of the unnecessary words out.

In fact, in my presentation that I just gave here a little bit ago, I recognized something that I've been saying for a while, for the last year or two that was completely unnecessary.

The second that I saw the look on the homeowner's face when I gave this one piece of information is the second I realized it was completely unnecessary.

So it won't be in any of my presentations moving forward.

So.

And you're always polishing as you go because, you know, if you're doing real time H vac sales in home, you know, here in Austin, Texas, we're in 350 to 400 houses a year.

I know I've talked to people who are in, you know, six, seven, eight, 900, 1,000 houses a year.

And so just depends on whatever level you are.

But you're going to get to practice this hundreds of times, which is awesome because there is no you're.

You either win or you learn.

There is no lose.

There's no failure as long as you embrace the mindset and the concept that I either win or I learn, you can always be polishing and always getting better.

So with your introduction, what the.

The pieces that need to be in there, there's three things that the homeowner has to have a massive level of certainty, a confidence in before they will pull the trigger on a buying decision.

The first one is their confidence in your organization, in your company.

They need to know that they chose the right company.

The company's reputation is valuable.

The second is you as the representative of that company.

What's your experience like?

You're the project manager here.

What is it like?

How much do you know?

Because the thing is, people don't care how much you know until they know how much you care.

Teddy Robinson.

Teddy Robinson.

Teddy Roosevelt.

The former President of the United States, Theodore Roosevelt.

That was his quote I talked about in the last podcast because it is so important.

So that Is something that is really important when we're going through this process.

It doesn't matter about the details of the project until you get past the credibility.

See, when I work with my coaching clients, one of the very first things we do is I have them just tell me what are the steps of your presentation?

What's your home visit look like?

What does it look like?

Piece by piece, Walk me through it.

And for the last several what's happened is the credibility piece has been out of place.

They've gone through the whole traditionally that we were trained.

We'll take them to the thermostat first and start talking about that and build rapport along the way.

Well, no, you don't need to do that.

People know why you're there.

You are there to be friendly and professional.

You're not there to be their friend.

Cut the stupid 30 minute rapport building session talking about the pictures on the wall and their pug.

Because it doesn't matter unless you see something you're just truly passionate about and you have a conversation for a minute, that's fine.

And that's great if you're both happened to be into the same things or went to the same school or something.

But they don't want you to become their new best friend.

If you try to do that, it is so fake and they'll see through it immediately.

Be friendly, not a friend.

It's a huge, huge difference and you have to grasp that.

So you get, you know, you're doing your thing.

And how many times have the homeowner said instantly turned around?

It just happened earlier.

They instantly turn around, start walking to the equipment.

Oh well, you need to see the furnace or you need to.

Why don't we see.

You need to go in the attic.

I bet you need to do this.

And so the turn of phrase you use and it's very simple, it's not weird, just say absolutely.

I definitely want to check that out.

But first, is there a place I can set some of this down?

Because I carry a notepad, I carry my presentation book, I carry a whole folder of our information for the client.

All this stuff is in my hands.

There's no way I'm going to take notes while I'm trying to juggle all of that anyway.

And some of you care computer bag, all these kind of things.

They see that on your shoulder.

The homeowner needs to be directed in the visit, they need to be communicated.

What steps are in order and what it's going to look like.

So the easy way to do that is to say, absolutely, I want to check the equipment out.

But first, is there somewhere where I can set this down and we can go over a few things first?

That way I'm clear what you're asking me to do today.

And it's the exact same thing say a doctor does.

You go to the doctor's appointment, they don't just start looking you over with no idea what they're looking at.

They could be inspecting your ankle because they see something, oh, you've got this little bump on your ankle.

You're like, that's not why I'm here, doc.

I'm here for my shoulder.

Right, but until they asked you the questions, they had no idea what's wrong with you today.

What are you experiencing?

So that's the first thing.

Absolutely.

I want to check that out.

But first, is there somewhere I could set some of this down?

We're going to go over a few things first.

That way I'm clear what you're asking me to do.

So they get over there, you know, you get to wherever you're going, you set some of it down.

And then the next thing is we've got to.

So here's where the introduction really starts.

As you ask them who referred you to us and how much do you know about our company?

And so when you ask who referred you to us, that's where they're going to tell you.

Which, in fact, two today, I've had Andrew's List clients.

We are the top rated company in our town on Angie's List, which is awesome.

Great.

I love that you found us on Angie's List.

Did you read some of the reviews?

Yes.

Awesome.

I love that you might have even seen my name in there a few times.

You know, I always throw something else, something like that in it, but it's fine and it's fun.

But always ask where, who referred.

And when you're asking who referred you to us, that's actually placing in their mind that we love referrals and we expect referrals from happy clients.

So it's just planting those seeds.

So once you get past that, it's like, well, great, how much do you know about our company?

And then the answer, of course, is typically, well, either, well, we had you out for service a couple times, or the answer may be nothing, Nothing at all.

We just saw you were rated really well online.

Well, great.

And here's where the intro starts.

Our clients tell us it's important to know about the company and the person they're working with.

And we think that's important too.

So I'd like to take a second to tell you about me and my company.

Would that be alright?

And by asking permission to get into that part of it, they're opening the door for you to talk about yourself, talk about the company, talk about yourself and really build the credibility there.

Because they're now open to hearing about you and the company.

And you have to ask permission at each stage of the visit.

So they say yes.

And then the company introduction.

And here I'll just tell you a snippet of ours.

Your company introduction doesn't have to be long, but it has to include some key qualities about the company.

So with us it sounds like this.

Well, great.

Well, we're a family owned and operated company.

We're not a chain, we're not a franchise.

Most of the other big companies in town are owned by somebody else.

So you're just a number.

With us it's about building relationship.

Then I talk about being, being a factory authorized dealer with the brand of equipment that we handle.

What that means to you, Mr.

Homeowner, Ms.

Homeowner is all of our people are our employees.

We don't use any subcontractors.

So everyone is background tested, drug screened and factory trained.

That way we know exactly who we're putting in your home and we know what they know because we trained them.

So everything is to our standard.

Then it points to this award right here.

So we have a couple of what are called President's awards, which means that we have a lower number of early breakdowns and warranty returns than any of the surrounding companies in our town that install the same brand in the first 10 years of the warranty period that comes with your new equipment, how great does that sound?

And so that's the intro about the company.

It wasn't long, but it included some really key elements that we can refer back to later.

If any type of objection doors come up, you they try to pry them open.

And we've already covered it.

A good example of one of those would be, well, why are you this much more expensive than this guy?

Can you cut your price down?

And that's when you can go back and say, well, remember we talked about that award for lower number of warranty returns than anyone else, including that company.

That's because we don't cut corners.

So which part of the installation do you want me to cut out so I could match their price?

Because if their system only last half as long or years less than ours, and we're talking about a price difference of only that much.

Have they really saved you anything if you have to do this again?

So it's a great way to turn back around and say, yeah, remember we talked about that?

They say, oh yeah, I remember that.

Okay, well, never mind.

So that's the company intro and then getting into the intro about yourself.

And so the company piece is first and it's first for an important reason because it's kind of the umbrella and then you're under that umbrella.

So then you to okay, I myself and here I'll just give you mine.

So here's what I say I use with every single client that I have.

I myself, I've been in the industry, in the H vac industry for about 15 years.

I started off as an attic rat years ago on the installation crew.

It usually gets a giggle.

And then I moved into service and then I owned my own company in our state for about five years near a certain town.

Always throw what town that is in case anybody is from there.

So I'm licensed in the state.

I wasn't selling newspaper ads last week.

There wasn't nothing wrong with that, but it's not what I was doing.

And that usually gets a little bit of a laugh as well.

But more importantly, they know that I'm in this for the long haul and I'm an expert in my field and what I do.

And then from there the rest is I have an agenda for our meeting today to help you best.

I'd like to go over that with you now if that's alright.

Sure, sure.

Okay.

And so they say they give you opening again, give you approval to get into the agenda.

So by setting the agenda, we're setting the context for the visit.

The context is a through at this point they realize you're in control and you're a professional in this appointment and you know exactly what you're doing and the steps you're going to do it.

The other thing we're fixing to set up is the context that you're going to ask for the close at the end of the sale.

So the intro, what the agenda looks like is great.

I have a plan for our meeting today to help you best and to be most efficient because people want to hear it's going to be efficient with that.

First what we're going to do is I'm going to ask you some questions about your home.

You get to tell me what your concerns are and what you're experiencing living in your home.

Then based on your answers, then I'll investigate, including the attic, the basement, or crawl space.

Everything that we talk about and use, obviously what pertains to your market.

And once I've done that, taken the measurements, looked at the whole house as a big picture, then we'll get back together and we'll go over the solutions it's going to take to fix the problems that you say it had.

And then we'll sit back down, we'll show you all those things it's going to take and then we'll work together to come up with a proposal that you'll accept.

That way we're in a team.

Team solving your problems.

Does that sound good?

Awesome.

And you never get a no.

At that point, everyone says yes.

And so they understand you're going to be working together to come up with the right size proposal for their project.

And that's it.

That's the intro and agenda which is really important to set up the context of the visit.

Now, in that whole process, there was a lot of psychology that we really covered.

That was the first thing was we're in control.

Second is we're professional.

We're here to be friendly but not be their friend.

That means also we're going to be very efficient with time.

There's no need for a two or three hour appointment.

I've heard of people having that long of appointment every time they're in a house.

And that is absolutely too long.

You will lose the homeowner's attention if that's going on.

This is, this is the.

You know, 10 years ago when I was trained in this, my average appointment time went from two hours to three hours when I started doing all this stuff.

But I would lose.

It's almost like beating them down and wearing them down.

And it's ridiculous.

There's no need for that anymore.

You can be professional and to the point without beating somebody down.

And you can't see nearly as many people in a day.

There's no way for you to be efficient if that's going on every time.

So also what you're doing is the three credibility pieces are the company.

So your organization that they need to be confident is the right company.

That you, as the representative of that company, that you have your, your act together and you know what's going on and if you don't, people don't expect us to always know the answer, but they do expect us to be able to immediately access the answer to any questions they have.

So we can make a phone call, we can look it up with our resources, whatever it is, they don't want you to they don't want you to have to always know the answer, but they do expect you to be able to access the answer.

So the cred for yourself that you are the right representative to come up with a solution for their problem.

And then the third component that they have to be certain about is the project itself, what your solutions you're offering.

And so that's a whole nother podcast of how to properly present your solutions to what they say they're going to, which we're going to do really soon.

Because how you have that conversation completely eliminates them trying to commoditize what they're buying from you into a commodity that they can compare to the next company, to the next company, to the next company.

It's how you present your solutions and what you include in the package.

And so we'll talk about that in a subsequent podcast.

But that is it.

That's the, that's the how to do the intro, how to set context, which is the context is the environment of the visit, setting up the fact that they're not going to lead you around all over the house.

And because you have some clients that are, you know, ADD people that it's like, dude, you were an add kid, right?

You should have had Ridlan, where's your Ritalin now?

But, you know, setting up the context that you're in control and you're going to lead the, you're going to lead the visit.

That doesn't mean that has to be low energy.

It does mean that it needs to be structured and you're leading the structure.

Because if you think that you can modulize this and move some of these components out of place, what happens is if you say you take the company coming component and the component about the credibility for the company and yourself and you move it to the end after you've investigated all the equipment and then you sit back down at the table and they say, okay, well now let's talk about the company.

Well, they've already either forgotten about the, you know, what you were looking at the house, or they had, more importantly, the way the psychology works because they don't have the confidence in you and your organization yet.

When you're going through the problems in the system and the solutions, they don't believe that it's going to solve the problem because you haven't built up why you're the expert yet.

And so that's absolutely what happens.

I mean, take anything for example.

If you don't know who someone is, there's a lot less value.

You could literally be sitting across the table from maybe Warren Buffet.

If you've never seen him before, you know, one of the richest men in the world.

If you've never seen him before, you don't know how much value sits across the table from you or what an expert he is.

You might have questions about money and how to make money and how to invest, but if you didn't know who you were sitting across the table from, you wouldn't even know to ask them.

And you definitely wouldn't take anything that they're telling you with the same value than if you knew who he was.

If you already understood his credibility, then everything he tells you, you're going to take it a completely different level.

You're going to value, you're going to listen differently, you're going to take notes, you're going to do everything you can to record the conversation.

Whereas if you just think he's some old guy sitting across the table and you don't have any, especially if you look at his house, he lives in the same, you know, $30,000 house that he bought when he was, when he was broke.

Right?

But, so if you judge that book by its cover, you don't know the credibility.

You're not going to listen at the same level.

And it's the same thing with this appointment.

You have to set the cred, the organization, yourself up first.

So everything else the rest of the way, they listen to you with a different level of understanding and level that they understand that your credibility stand.

The company's credibility stands behind what you're talking about.

So when you see something good, they talk about a problem they're having as something they're experiencing.

That's when you can say things like, oh my gosh, I know exactly what you're talking about.

We hear this all the time.

And our company has developed the perfect solution for that.

And we fix this all the time.

So it's commonplace for us.

Don't feel like.

So we treat you unique.

But don't feel like your problem is because we have the right solution for it.

And so you can have that type of conversation.

And when you can speak on that level to a client, they 100% become your partners working together to solve the problem.

Now, instead of, well, you're just somebody here trying to sell me something that I'm may not believe is going to fix my problem, because that's exactly what goes on.

If they don't understand the credibility that you're there to serve them in the way that you fix their problem, all the time.

So that is my message for today.

You've got to set the context of the appointment.

You have to do the credibility pieces in the right order.

The third credibility piece is of course the solution.

So just to recap real quick, step one is introduce the company.

Step two, introduce yourself.

And step three, set the agenda.

Don't let them just take you to the attic or take you to the basement.

Take you to the equipment if you haven't done this process because it's very, very important and very powerful.

Even if they say, hey, I just have a few minutes.

Great, no problem, we'll buzz right through this.

But do not skip this step or you will leave yourself completely vulnerable at the end when it comes to the close.

So that's my message.

So if you got some value from this one, share it with somebody.

Sharing is caring and I love that this community is growing so quickly.

We're listening to in eight countries now around the world and it's growing faster and faster all the time.

The website is being built, we've got an online community and the Facebook groups.

So go find Close it now sales training in a Facebook group.

Join there.

Love to keep this conversation going.

Love to hear your biggest takeaways.

What are you learning that is helping you in your sales every day?

So shoot, drop me a line, go to closeitnow.net and I will talk to you soon.

Thanks for listening to Close it now with Sam Wakefield.

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