SALES! appointments and such!!

Paul Biester

Paul Biester

Location
under grace
I would like to get a little banter started about how other folks go about their lead conversion.As either a rep or the owner doing sales how does your process work.WE have been doing ours a certain way for a period of time and i am trying to re-evaluate to see if we can make the process better.
so here goes my example: the Phone rings (Ring ,ring) " Tree awareness how may I help you!" (said w a smile)... what would you like us to look at for you? ask some qualifying questions and set up the appointment. My operations manager has slots opened when she knows im available to look at work and books at a time agreed upon w prospect. I show up on time and try to leave them w a nice,detailed,printed proposal. I start usually at around 9 and run one estimate every hour until about 4/6 oclock....i generally do between 24/32 estimates a week.... I had a VERY successful friend of mine tell me to shoot for 40 estimates a week....not that all would be face to face,,,,,some drivebys are ok....he sold about 1million in tree work and said he was done most days between 1-3 every day... a couple of questions
1. does something seem wrong w my process?
2. do most of you self schedule vs,an assistant sets up appoinments? i like the fact when someone calls they get set up right away, usually while im out working on estimates..lol..
3. how many estimates do you all typically do?in a week/a day? i like a bit of balance in my life ...wife kids and some fun sprinkled in...
ok this should get some dialog going lets see where this goes..... thanks eveyone in advance for all of the smart insights!!!!
 
Your process seems fair when I used to do sales as my primary job years ago.
After 10 yrs in biz and still the principle arborist and doing all the cutting as well we try hard to make things fit or fudge it.

My wife and I work closely together, we could be much more effecient but such is life vs. work.
Beth is really good at getting the info and sometimes we will just call back with an estimate. Nice when that works.

I do consulting on Saturday. Average about 10 visites with HO.
We do Streetview estimates when ever we can. Shhh my little secret.
Alot of our work is referral so we set a day, show up that morning discuss and give a price. Than get to work.
Some years we run two crews and I find I am out evening or taking a 1/2 or full day to do estimates.
I am fortunate with my wife in the office as the first contact.
She sells the job right there and then and all I have to do is show up, consult and validate and give a fair price.

My first years in business I used to spend all day Saturdays on the phone begging for work, now I spend Saturdays selling work.

On most estimates/consulting nothing is left for them jusst the conversation.
I formalize the proposal and attaach Insurance docs, About Us doc, referrals, wbsite.
This has worked fairly well for us and has kept me in the trees and out of the office.
I think my wife likes it this way.
smirk.gif

Raindays are our chance to catch up and enjoy lunch together.
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Hey ROpeshield... very well stated! thank you for your insights..i hope to draw this into a good discussion about converting more leads into jobs...for a growth model...increase lead generation....and there by lead conversion...
sounds like you and the Mrs have it worked out thats AWESOME!!
 
I find that to keep two employees busy and profitable, I need to be on sales at least three days a week, selling about two days work each day. Not to mention trips to the bank, saw shop, tree care supplier, accountant, you name it, it's better for me to be off the job. Keep in mind that until May 2011 I had a full time job, and did most or all sales on Sundays, and most or all work on Saturdays (plus my full time gig), so I am still figuring this thing out. I think when things slow down, I will be back on the crew more, but for now, I am trying to focus on other aspects of the biz while managing from near and far as needed.

So my model is in flux, but to sum it up, I try to keep sales calls to 30 minutes plus travel time, and I try to do less than 10 per day, preferably five to seven tops. If my business grows, this will have to change, but for now, overall I am selling about 30% more than we can actually do as promised, which should keep us busy until January if things stay as they are now, and if some clients are patient. Have I helped with the original post? :)

-Tom
 
Yes Tom!! those numbers are pretty much dead on w mine...the issue becomes if i want to grow,,,i need to be able to increase the number of lead conversion...either by shear numbers of leads or by becoming VERY efficient w qualifying leads,,,in other words a high percntage of "ourtype" of clients!! what ever they may be for your specific situation!!
thanks for the in put!
 
Good thread!

I have a love hate relationship with sales. Sometimes sales calls are fun and interesting, sometimes, they're horrible and annoying. Like when a client calls you by your competitor's first name which wouldn't be so bad if your competitor wasn't 30 years behind in skills and education.

I do all the sales for 6 high producing dudes so it keeps me busy. i try to lump sections of days for sales and then stack appointments every half hour. Travel time here can be less than 5 minutes between sites if they're planned right. It usually gives me enough time to get to everyone and give them enough of my time. I answer the phone too so i can qualify people and schedule some more time if i think they'll need it.

I'd like to have someone else answering the phone since i can only really answer 50% of the calls, the rest go to the machine. Good for the people who get me but bad for those who get the machine.

I'm trying to get a handle on what point it pays to have a part time office staff person. I probably got to that point a couple of years ago.

Curious as to other's conversion rate. i figure i'm at 70%.

Vince
 
I'm lucky because I had been part time for almost 20 years before going full time, so I was able to pick and choose my clients. Jobs I didn't wan't or couldn't fit in, I either referred to others or lost. Those were usually in areas where people don't care about trees as much, or outside of my range at the time. Sometimes they were just too big for a Saturday only company.

This compiled with the fact that I built a solid reputation as an arborist working for the city of Providence, and alot of people knew that I did part time work, and they also knew when I left, because if I may say so myself, I did ALOT for the Forestry and planting programs in my time there. So that all paid off toward going full time, big time.

To augment this, and to get back to the original issue, I advertise in local magazines/newspapers in the communities where I want to work, where 'my type of clients' exist. These are people that care about trees, and that aren't generally looking for the lowest price. I get almost 100% of my word of mouth referrals, which make up a large majority of the calls I get. And people that see my ad probably know about me already (Providence is a small place!). People that are shopping around usually go to the phone book, and when I get those calls, they go to the bottom of my list. Often they have already hired someone in the time it takes me to return their call. They aren't usually looking for advice or consultation, they are looking for a company to come in and remove a tree or cut a specific branch for the lowest price, which I'd rather not compete with anyway.

If I had to guess, my numbers would look like this:

Conversion on word of mouth referrals or folks that know about me one way or another: >95% (These represent about 85% of the calls I receive!)

Conversion on the othe 15% of cold calls: <50%, maybe worse.

I can certainly live with these numbers. The problem is dealing with the phone calls, sales calls, and actual work in a timely fashion, which leads to the office manager question. Here's my idea for that...

Find an entrepeneurial person that has time on their hands, like someone that works from home, and familiarize them with your biz. Have daytime calls forwarded to them, and pay them per call received. At the end of each day, they send you an email with the info, and you return the calls. I can't afford a full time secretary, so this is what I have been thinking to do.

Sorry for the long thread, but I figured I'd explain where I'm at and how I got there.

-Tom
 
i love the input!! ithis is what i hoped would happen!
some of the reasons you mention are why i did away w yellow pages and started a refferal program. If i am going to be running around .... i want it to be for well qualified leads!! that way the lead conversion rate will naturally go up and the work will be the kind of work we are looking for !! great insights!!
 
Great thread... hits home with one of my biggest concerns.

I like alot of what I hear, tomthetreeman sounds closest to my style of 'return call' policy. If I do not like the sound of the message, I wait two days to call back. Lots of "I already hired that cheap a** tree service" or it actually turns into a decent bid.
I think it is still good to give some 'free estimates' and not be low bidder. How many times have you heard later - "I really did not like those guys" and now we got the next project? I work hard to keep a good reputation - albeit also hear we are 'slow to call back'. Most people understand we are not Walmart.
 
Lymbwalkr... follow ups are a great way to sell jobs ... i do not do them as often as i like but.... in a perfect world i would do the estimate,if i dont close on the spot i ask for permission to follow up..." is it ok to follow up with you in a couple of days?" then 72hrs later....give them a call... this is a great pattern to develop!!
More and more i think we need to weed out the bad prospects!! Turn it around in your head !! we are actually shopping for a specific type of client. Not just any client will do! I have recently walked from a few jobs where i told the folks it was not a good fit! one was a super heavy side prune ,the other guy wanted WAY too much off some mature Oaks. After i could not talk him into doing a good job.....he hired another co..
 
I'd rather not lose an opportunity because of slow response but choose not to pursue it once I've qualified the contact. I'll get back to them that day, find out how they found me -this can clarify the quality of the prospect- then probe them for what they are looking to have us do, time frame for getting the work done (another revealing question), what prompted them to consider tending to their trees (storms, plans for construction, insurance required, etc....) and when will they be available to meet.

Even if it's a simple job, e.g., take that limb off. It's a chance to walk on the property and have a look to see what future opportunities may be in store.

I'll ask some trial closing questions to see if they'll commit to the job while I'm there. And shut up and let them talk! My closing rate has been close to 80%.
 
do most of you guys write the proposal and try to close on the spot?.... I do Unless it requires a large amount of writing/typing...i may have to write it up later? just curious?
 
treehumpaa.... I ALWAYS enjoy your thoughtful line of questions... you have great insights into asking t he proper questions,as well as letting the client talk. one new question i have been askin at the end is this..." are there any questions you feel i have not asked,?anything you feel has been left ou or missed....have we covered everything you had us out for? that kind of thing...
 
those are great trial closes (in sales jargon!). It'll get out any potential objections or points that may not have been covered.

I'll write it up there and ask for the job. Usually, something like, "Would you like to go ahead with the work?" When it is a more detailed quote then I'll not rush it. Most of the time I'll set up a follow up meeting to deliver the proposal or get an email to send it to and arrange a follow up call to confirm the details and answer any other questions that may have arisen.

One thing I always try to do is find out what the client does for a living. This can really give me a lot of insight in to the nature of the person and how conversant they are in business and sales processes. it also helps to build rapport.

Thanks Paul! You going to be around TCI expo on Saturday?
 
treehumper - that is a lot of follow up, meet, email, phone calls...
I also try to 'close' the job. Write up most bids on the spot - then say "Our next available date is XXX, would you like me to schedule your work?"
I always try to remember to shut up and listen (works with wife too!). I ask about the "goals" they have in mind. Last thing in my speech reminds them that ALL is cleaned-up, hauled away.
Oh yeah - pick up dog poop and move the car, garden gnomes! :)
 
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