Any work performed by anyone in your company is part of your business process. After 50 years of statistical analysis, business legend Dr. W. Edward Deming discovered if you get the first 15% of any process correct, 85% of the desired outcome (net profit) is assured. The most important 15% is your sales process.

Is your sales process manageable?

One of the biggest mistakes well-intentioned HVAC contractors make is sending their sales team, consultants, technicians, and CSRs to different sales training to learn different processes. It’s impossible to effectively manage sales until everyone is using the same sales process. It’s much easier to win once the coach and the team are following the same playbook. Choosing the right sales process is the most important decision management can make.

Does Your Team Struggle Closing Sales?

Your sales team will struggle if your sales process tries to change their personality, beliefs, or character. If your process uses old-school sales closes, your sales team may resist closing the sale. Any sales system that uses tricky questions, manipulative scripts, or tries to close sales before people know what they’re buying kills sales.

Do you only give buyers three choices?

Sears used the good-better-best sales process to sell higher-margin, “better” batteries for over 100 years. According to Harvard Business Review, when buyers are offered three versions of the same product, they are psychologically drawn from the least expensive and most expensive choices and pulled towards the “better” choice. The “best” product is there mainly to pull buyers to the compromise middle choice. Psychologists call this “extremeness aversion” or the “Goldilocks effect.” Any process that guides customers away from the biggest benefit, highest-margin solutions kills sales.

Behavioral studies show buyers respond negatively when any product critical to life, health, and safety is sold using trinary choice. According to the American College of Allergists, 50% of illnesses are caused or aggravated by poor indoor air quality. When buyers only get three options, it’s impossible to mix and match exactly the right products, accessories, and services to customize their ideal solution.

Do you ever sell low-price?

If your goal is to sell bottom-tier goods to entry-level buyers, your sales process is simple: Always having the lowest price. The problem is there is always someone willing to lose money on every job and try to make it up in volume.

Low-price buyers are the most likely to grind you down, play you against your competition, and request more free consulting. Before you know it, you’ve got hours invested in a job with no profits. Contractors that sell lowest price are the busiest the day before they go bankrupt.

Look at your records — the slow-pays and no-pays are likely price-only buyers. A large percentage of customer complaints come from people who purchased the lowest-cost minimum solution and expected much more than they got. Those with complaints can take up so much time you may lose focus on your good clients. Neglect is the No. 1 reason HVAC companies lose customers.

Sell high trust, not low price. When asked to spend big money on a complex product that determines home comfort and energy bills for the next 20 years, the most important thing buyers look for is someone they can trust.

Do you sell the way your customers want to buy?

Today, emotions like peace of mind and desire close more sales than features and facts. Desire is a complex emotion that drives all human behavior. The strength of your buyer’s desire determines if they buy, what they buy, and how much they will spend. Buyers don’t get emotional about the product — it’s the emotional benefits the product provides.

The difference between a $100 kitchen faucet and a $1,000 faucet isn’t function — it’s the desire to own something that makes them feel good every time they walk by.

Is it time to change to a more effective sales process?

Moving to a sales process that helps your sales team consistently close more big-benefit sales could best investment your company could ever make. Look for a sales process that is:

• enjoyable for buyers
• embraced by sales team
• easy to manage
• proven to increase sales

Two keys to implementing any new sales process are:

1. Management involvement. It’s imperative that management participate in all team training.
2. Role-playing. Practicing new skills allows your team to quickly turn new knowledge into action, receive valuable feedback, and gain self-confidence.

Are you losing sales with a flawed process but not sure you want to invest the time and money to change what you’re doing? Here is one more Dr. Deming insight you might find helpful: “Change isn’t necessary because survival isn’t mandatory.”