Ralph who is one of the senior techs working at an hvac, plumbing and electrical service business suddenly blurted out a question to his boss, “Hey Bill, where’s Jimmy? I haven’t seen him for a couple weeks now.”
Ralph was referring to one of the newer techs who joined the company about a year ago. “I think he’s on vacation, right Bill?” said Karen who is one of the CSR’s at the firm. Bill, who has owned the company for 29 years set the record straight, “No, we had to lay him off two months ago when it got real slow.”
Bill of course was just being nice. What he didn’t say was that Jimmy was a dispensable employee. He failed to add enough value to the team, his customers and the bottom line to even keep himself employed, much less to be considered a star player.
Callbacks are costly. Each time we go to a customer homes it can cost as much as $250 or more. In a recent discussion on Linkedin, John Whitney Jr. said, “Field service techs want the right tools and a minimum of distractions. Managers want constant contact, on-the-fly updates, and solid record-keeping. IT/ tech guys want cool new toys and the latest apps. The company wants to get the job done with one visit. And, of course, the customer wants the work done correctly and in a timely fashion. Sometimes, these goals all work together. But sometimes they don’t. What can we do to improve this situation?”
Whenever I work with sales managers who are failing, I notice that they all talk about the immediate issues going on with their salespeople and are looking for the “quick fix” or “silver bullet” answer from me.
Most of them have given up and think they have already thought of everything. The one thing they haven’t thought of is to zoom out and look at the big picture, which includes their own behavior and how it contributes or even causes an issue to occur.
Fear can disable the best of us. Many times the fear we face in service and sales situations start to make us create assumptions that lead us to dysfunctional behaviors. Sometimes the fear begins with finding a huge problem that the customer didn’t expect on a typical call. The problem is viewed as small or routine by the client but after you diagnose the whole system you find the problem is bigger than anyone anticipated. The fear that the client may think you are trying to sell them something they don’t need may paralyze some into covering up the problem instead of solving it.
Indeed service or sales people who fear things like the economy, high prices, their ability to sell, close or handle objections usually blame the fear itself which stops them in their tracks, instead of trying to sculpt an effective response to it.
One of the more fun parts of my job is talking to sales and service managers who refuse to admit that the results that their people get on their opportunities do indeed, suck. What do I mean by this statement?
First of all let’s face it, I use that word to get your attention and now that I have it, let me explain. When any frontline service or sales professional in your company does not produce the results needed to pay for all the overhead, benefits, pay, education and everything else needed to cover their fair share of these expenses, then they are “sucking” these valuable resources at the expense of other employees who ARE pulling their own weight.
There is an imbalance at many companies that is created by some of the sales team performing at a high level while others do not. Many perceive this as just a fact of life and refuse to believe that EVERYBODY could achieve profitable numbers and reach their goals.
“The problems of today cannot be solved by the same level of thinking that created those problems.”
Albert Einstein
How many times in the service contracting business have you ever had a challenge that just went away by waiting? One of the secrets to being successful in the contracting industry no matter what job you do is to muster the courage to take action.
For instance, think about an installation crew walking around in circles thinking about the job instead of just doing some of the basics that need to be done regardless of the difficulty. Things like protecting the home with floor mats or drop clothes, unloading materials or even removing the old materials and equipment. Sometimes we think too much or try to be an “Einstein” and those thoughts can impair our ability to act.
In this interview, ContractorSelling.com CEO, Joe Crisara shares his thoughts about the state of the service contracting industry and their importance to society. He also talks about his commitment to helping those who need help.
Someone who studies the sales process like myself may be the easiest person for a good salesperson to sell to. Believe me, I’ve seen and heard more than my share of sales presentations in my life, and most all of them either made me laugh, made me cry, bored me, repelled me or angered me.
I actually pity the people who use outdated, scripted and ineffective techniques. I also get frustrated when i see someone who is good at their trade but too timid to have the confidence to ask for the job. The have essentially poured themselves into how to be very good at their trade but have not invested in the skill needed to convince someone to purchase this knowledge. But then the realization washes over me that what they do or say is just the result of the poor or non-existent training they have received.
There is a lot of controversy that has been stirred up over the years as to whether a company should allow a service tech to sell larger jobs or if they should be turned over to a sales person. Watch this video as Joe Crisara, Rick Picard and others share their thoughts.
One of the first questions I always ask new clients who are struggling to get control of their salespeople and increase their results is a very easy one to answer. Here is the question…
“Of the last 10 salespeople to leave, how many of them quit and how many were dismissed or as I like to say “de-hired?”
When I listen to sales managers answer that question, I don’t only listen for the words they tell me but also watch how hard it is for them to access this information. If a sales manager takes a long time to answer because they can’t remember the last time a sales person left the company, I know they have a turn-over problem. Not enough, turn-over that is.
“Where’s Jimmy?”
