Sales: Pitch or Process?

   A business owner can schedule machine operations, command respect, and direct employees. But the one thing he or she can’t do is force a customer to buy his product. This can leave the most-competent stone shop owner feeling helpless and frustrated when sales start to slip.
   Building a proactive approach to selling is typically not in the backshop or on the jobsite. The result is that many fabricators spin their wheels by spending their money on expensive and ineffective advertising in an attempt to gain some semblance of control over their sales. This leaves many to believe that they’re powerless to affect sales and that they’re at the mercy of the economy or competition.
   The solution to this dilemma is to understand that while sales are difficult to control, they can be managed. It’s also important to realize that sales is more than just the act of selling or using a catchy sales pitch, in the same way that cutting out a slab is more than just cutting. It involves a methodical approach with incremental steps that must be taken in a particular order.
   For example: To cut a slab, the sawyer first cleans the surface so it can be inspected for blemishes; next, the templates are laid out so the blemishes are avoided and the joint color matches; and, finally, the slab is actually cut.
   Similarly, there are focused and logical actions that can be taken to increase the likelihood of selling more effectively. And those incremental steps define a successful sales system.
   A successful sales system is made up of three components:
   • identifying the primary customer;
   • creating and communicating the message; and
   • following up relentlessly.
  
IDENTIFICATION
   In any marketplace there are a broad range of potential customers wanting a granite slab countertop: million-dollar-home builders, tract home developers, remodeling contractors and homeowners. Each of these segments of the market will have particular needs and priorities unique to how they want their countertops provided.
   It is necessary to rank the customers’ needs in the order of importance they place on quality, price, convenience, and customer service. For example, an upscale homeowner’s number-one concern, or need, may be convenience, followed by quality and customer service.
   In the same way that every customer has unique requirements for their particular situation, every fabrication shop has unique strengths because of the particular skills and talents of the staff managing and doing the work.
   One shop may be predisposed to doing high-volume, low-price work that would suit a condo or townhome developer whose needs are price first, convenience second, and quality last. Other shops will be geared to doing low-volume, ultra-high-quality work desired by a million-dollar-home builder, where price is no object as long as the quality and craftsmanship is unparalleled. 
   After identifying the individual needs of the marketplace and a clear understanding of the company’s ability to meet them, fabricators can get a handle on what segment of the market they should be targeting. That target market becomes their primary customer source, and it is should become their mission to serve those customers better than any other company in town.
  
COMMUNICATION
   Once the primary customer is selected, it’s time to develop the message that caters to that market niche. This message must quickly and clearly communicate that the company not only understands the needs of their primary customer better than anyone else, but is the best source available for meeting that need.
   From the recording on the voice mail to the wording on the Website, the message must be consistent and clear. And nowhere is this principle more important than with the people who actually speak with the customer.
   The receptionist, estimator or sales rep – anyone who regularly talks with potential customers – must be aware of how the company uniquely meets the customer’s needs, and communicates the message quickly and effectively.
   A very efficient way to do this is to write a short script posted by the phone and used by every person who speaks to prospective customers. The script starts with the all-important question: “Have you heard what makes us unique?”
   Unless the customer has spoken to someone else in the organization who has asked them this question, they will likely be intrigued and quite interested in finding out. When they express interest in knowing, pre-prepared answers are given. The answer(s) should be the specific approach or unique abilities that the company possesses that meet the particular needs of the primary customer.
   Here’s an example of that script (with the target customer need shown in each answer).
   Have you heard what makes our company unique?
   • We template over your existing counters, leaving you with a functioning kitchen while we produce your counters. (Convenience.)
   • We have an incredibly skilled staff, capable of producing a very high level of quality craftsmanship. (Quality.)
   • We place a premium on providing a superb level of personalized attention. (Service.)
   For the primary customer, this will match their expectations, and may prove the deciding factor then and there for buying countertops. If not, then the final step in the process becomes extremely important.
  
FOLLOW UP
   This final step is a system in and of itself. It’s the icing on the cake, and it’s so effective it can actually stand alone and increase sales.
   Because customers almost always have questions after they receive the initial quote for projects, a very positive impression will be made when they receive a phone call seeking to provide the answers.
   The two most-important elements of following up systematically are establishing who is going to follow up, and then asking another very important question.
   One person must be assigned the task of contacting every primary customer within a certain number of days after providing the initial quote. Quote delivery should be organized in a way that’s clear when and which customers are ready to be contacted.
   For example, all the quotes produced from Monday to Friday could be compiled at the end of the week and clipped together by the estimator. The estimator could then timestamp the bundle and assign the date the customers should be called. If it’s established that the following Wednesday is the follow-up date, then it is labeled and given to the person assigned to make the calls.
   Making the call is easy at this point; the person has only to ask the customer if they have any questions (and be ready and able to answer them). Most often this will provide additional opportunities to reinforce the strengths of the company, increasing the confidence of the customer.
   If there is a “pitch” in this process, it’s given at the follow-up. It takes the form of a simple unthreatening question, and absolutely cannot be neglected. It is what is commonly referred to as asking for the sale.
   This is the easiest way to ask for it, “Well, would you like me to reserve you a date on our schedule?” If the customer isn’t willing to commit to moving forward, it should be noted, and the quote placed in a stack to be followed up on the following week.
   In the same way that a machine can malfunction and employees can be erratic, efforts won’t be 100-percent successful in closing every sale. But, by methodically developing and relentlessly working within a system, the fire of future sales will burn brightly into the future.
   Aaron Crowley is the founder and president of FabricatorsFriend.com and a prominent stone shop in Portland, Ore. He can be reached at aaroncgc@verizon.net.

This article first appeared in the September 2007 print edition of Stone Business. ©2007 Western Business Media Inc.