Reset your Sales Process and Grow your Business with Sam Wakefield

1 00:00:00,239 --> 00:00:02,640 SPEAKER_00: Hey, I am Ryan, and we are back with another 2 00:00:02,640 --> 00:00:05,839 wonderful episode, all talking about building that perfect 3 00:00:05,839 --> 00:00:07,679 playbook to grow your business. 4 00:00:07,919 --> 00:00:10,960 And excited to have another wonderful guest, all about 5 00:00:10,960 --> 00:00:14,080 sales, advertising, marketing, operations, you name it. 6 00:00:14,400 --> 00:00:15,679 Sam is with us. 7 00:00:16,000 --> 00:00:17,199 Sam, thank you for being here. 8 00:00:17,280 --> 00:00:20,160 And I'm going to jump right into a hard-hitting question here. 9 00:00:20,399 --> 00:00:24,640 If you were down to your last $5,000 and you needed to grow 10 00:00:24,640 --> 00:00:27,519 and generate revenue, where are you going to spend it? 11 00:00:27,600 --> 00:00:28,399 What are you going to do? 12 00:00:28,480 --> 00:00:30,640 Are you going to advertise, market, prospect? 13 00:00:30,719 --> 00:00:34,799 What are the activities it would take to turn that$5,000 into a 14 00:00:34,799 --> 00:00:36,159 positive ROI? 15 00:00:36,479 --> 00:00:37,920 SPEAKER_01: I would use that $5,000. 16 00:00:38,560 --> 00:00:42,079 Well, in order, I would say prospecting, but let's define 17 00:00:42,079 --> 00:00:43,200 that super quickly. 18 00:00:43,439 --> 00:00:46,960 Most people think they need to put it into marketing or 19 00:00:46,960 --> 00:00:49,119 advertising or those types of things. 20 00:00:49,280 --> 00:00:53,359 The problem is both of those are very reactionary and they're 21 00:00:53,359 --> 00:00:57,119 responsible, we're waiting for someone to come to us. 22 00:00:57,280 --> 00:01:02,240 I would 100% take that money and put it into prospecting efforts. 23 00:01:02,799 --> 00:01:08,959 Prospecting is going and finding them and being proactive instead 24 00:01:08,959 --> 00:01:10,560 of reactive in our business. 25 00:01:10,879 --> 00:01:14,000 In fact, even on my whiteboard here next to me, I this lives 26 00:01:14,000 --> 00:01:14,159 here. 27 00:01:14,239 --> 00:01:17,120 This is night, it says 90% right here on my whiteboard. 28 00:01:17,359 --> 00:01:22,239 Because a founder and a business growth, anyone in the sales 29 00:01:22,239 --> 00:01:23,680 aspect of anything. 30 00:01:23,920 --> 00:01:27,439 In fact, until a business hits a million dollars in revenue 31 00:01:27,439 --> 00:01:31,599 annually, 90% of that founder's time should be spent 32 00:01:31,599 --> 00:01:32,239 prospecting. 33 00:01:32,400 --> 00:01:32,719 Period. 34 00:01:32,959 --> 00:01:33,439 Hard stop. 35 00:01:33,680 --> 00:01:34,239 End of story. 36 00:01:34,400 --> 00:01:35,920 So prospecting is everything. 37 00:01:36,159 --> 00:01:39,040 Let's just go find the people to get in front of. 38 00:01:39,439 --> 00:01:42,719 Most people they get down to that last$5,000 and they are mad 39 00:01:42,719 --> 00:01:44,799 about the results they're not getting for the work they're not 40 00:01:44,799 --> 00:01:44,959 doing. 41 00:01:45,200 --> 00:01:49,280 SPEAKER_00: So let's get an exact example of what do you do 42 00:01:49,280 --> 00:01:52,480 with the$5,000 to help you prospect to drive those new 43 00:01:52,480 --> 00:01:52,879 customers? 44 00:01:53,200 --> 00:01:55,359 SPEAKER_01: Depends on the vertical, of course, and what 45 00:01:55,359 --> 00:01:56,640 the desired client is. 46 00:01:56,719 --> 00:02:00,319 If we're B2B or we're B2C, could be very different. 47 00:02:00,799 --> 00:02:03,760 For example, I'll just use my company, a coaching company, I'm 48 00:02:03,760 --> 00:02:04,719 a training company. 49 00:02:04,959 --> 00:02:09,439 I would use that$5,000 to A start register for a couple of 50 00:02:09,439 --> 00:02:11,759 events and go to and get in front of people. 51 00:02:11,919 --> 00:02:15,360 Go places where my ideal best fit client is. 52 00:02:15,919 --> 00:02:17,919 So it, I mean, that could be some travel. 53 00:02:18,159 --> 00:02:21,039 At the end of the day, though, the best prospecting doesn't 54 00:02:21,039 --> 00:02:21,759 cost anything. 55 00:02:21,919 --> 00:02:23,120 And that's the best part about it. 56 00:02:23,199 --> 00:02:27,439 I use the$5,000 as my runway to keep the lights on while I'm 57 00:02:27,439 --> 00:02:28,080 prospecting. 58 00:02:28,400 --> 00:02:32,479 The best thing is literally just pick up the phone and start 59 00:02:32,479 --> 00:02:33,520 calling people. 60 00:02:33,680 --> 00:02:36,400 It's like this is the work nobody wants to do, but it's 61 00:02:36,400 --> 00:02:38,879 also the best return because it didn't cost anything to do it. 62 00:02:38,960 --> 00:02:40,080 We just have to do the work. 63 00:02:40,240 --> 00:02:41,439 That's uh step one. 64 00:02:41,680 --> 00:02:45,039 If you forced me to use the money, I would might run some 65 00:02:45,039 --> 00:02:48,639 type of uh direct targeted Facebook, something like that. 66 00:02:48,800 --> 00:02:51,680 Yeah, but it's more about the effort than it is actually using 67 00:02:51,680 --> 00:02:52,319 funds to do it. 68 00:02:52,560 --> 00:02:55,199 SPEAKER_00: So I know your background is like HVAC, and we 69 00:02:55,199 --> 00:02:58,400 have a lot of home service pros that are customers of ours and 70 00:02:58,400 --> 00:02:59,280 listen to this show. 71 00:02:59,439 --> 00:03:02,240 So if you were kind of a home service professional and you 72 00:03:02,240 --> 00:03:06,400 needed to drive in new customers direct to consumers, yeah, what 73 00:03:06,400 --> 00:03:09,280 are your some your direct activity for prospecting? 74 00:03:09,599 --> 00:03:10,719 SPEAKER_01: Yeah, that's the sweet spot. 75 00:03:10,800 --> 00:03:13,919 If you're a home service company, knock the doors is 76 00:03:14,080 --> 00:03:17,120 literally the highest leverage activity is every single time 77 00:03:17,120 --> 00:03:20,159 you have an appointment, knock the neighbors' doors, go across 78 00:03:20,159 --> 00:03:21,439 the street, knock their doors. 79 00:03:21,599 --> 00:03:26,000 If you at that place where you have to drive clients, who do 80 00:03:26,000 --> 00:03:26,400 you know? 81 00:03:26,560 --> 00:03:27,759 Who do you get in front of? 82 00:03:27,919 --> 00:03:30,639 If your entire neighborhood, the street that you live on, if 83 00:03:30,639 --> 00:03:33,199 every single person on that street doesn't know what you do, 84 00:03:33,280 --> 00:03:35,599 if you're the business owner, shame on you. 85 00:03:35,919 --> 00:03:37,120 Because they should. 86 00:03:37,280 --> 00:03:38,960 You shouldn't, your neighbor should know what you do. 87 00:03:39,039 --> 00:03:41,680 Start in your own neighborhood, create a culture inside your 88 00:03:41,680 --> 00:03:45,199 organization of every appointment show up to introduce 89 00:03:45,199 --> 00:03:46,879 yourself to everyone around. 90 00:03:47,039 --> 00:03:50,479 You know, asking for referrals is the second step. 91 00:03:50,719 --> 00:03:53,919 And then number three, the where I would actually use some funds 92 00:03:53,919 --> 00:03:59,520 like that is in my referral program and into uh almost zero 93 00:03:59,520 --> 00:04:02,000 companies I've ever worked with, and I've worked with dozens and 94 00:04:02,000 --> 00:04:03,439 dozens in the last seven years. 95 00:04:03,680 --> 00:04:07,599 Almost no one has a robust or any level of follow-up program. 96 00:04:07,840 --> 00:04:09,360 You have to start doing follow-up. 97 00:04:09,599 --> 00:04:10,960 We follow up until. 98 00:04:11,120 --> 00:04:14,639 And so those three things will would literally double a 99 00:04:14,639 --> 00:04:17,360 business overnight if you actually did those activities 100 00:04:17,519 --> 00:04:18,800 and it became part of a culture. 101 00:04:19,120 --> 00:04:21,040 SPEAKER_00: Let's talk about referral side of things. 102 00:04:21,199 --> 00:04:26,000 Um, how often are you seeing companies miss that opportunity 103 00:04:26,240 --> 00:04:29,279 to ask for referrals from their current customer base? 104 00:04:29,759 --> 00:04:30,639 SPEAKER_01: Ten out of ten. 105 00:04:31,040 --> 00:04:31,680 Really? 106 00:04:31,920 --> 00:04:33,519 Yeah, nobody asks for referrals. 107 00:04:33,600 --> 00:04:37,279 If they do, it's maybe once, and it's usually a very lame way to 108 00:04:37,519 --> 00:04:38,879 way they they do it. 109 00:04:39,279 --> 00:04:41,600 SPEAKER_00: Yeah, what is the right way to ask for a referral 110 00:04:41,680 --> 00:04:42,639 to get in front of the system? 111 00:04:42,800 --> 00:04:45,279 SPEAKER_01: Yeah, so I mean, having a system for one, which 112 00:04:45,279 --> 00:04:48,079 means being structured, is crucial. 113 00:04:48,319 --> 00:04:51,519 So, I mean, a well-designed referral system is gonna ask for 114 00:04:51,519 --> 00:04:54,000 a referral six times through your customer journey. 115 00:04:54,240 --> 00:04:58,000 Now, I know that sounds like a lot, but think about this. 116 00:04:58,240 --> 00:05:02,319 We can have a line in our initial, maybe text email 117 00:05:02,480 --> 00:05:05,439 confirmation, and then the next step, we're starting to plant 118 00:05:05,439 --> 00:05:06,480 the seed, right? 119 00:05:06,639 --> 00:05:10,000 So asking for referral doesn't have to always be a direct ask. 120 00:05:10,079 --> 00:05:12,959 It can sound something like maybe in our CSR intake. 121 00:05:13,600 --> 00:05:15,279 Starting with, oh, this is awesome. 122 00:05:15,360 --> 00:05:18,000 Who re you know I see you're a new client, who referred you to 123 00:05:18,000 --> 00:05:21,839 us as the first question that plants the seed that hey, we get 124 00:05:21,839 --> 00:05:22,319 referrals. 125 00:05:22,720 --> 00:05:26,399 The way to ask and actually get referrals, uh say in an in-home 126 00:05:26,399 --> 00:05:28,000 appointment, it's a two-part. 127 00:05:28,480 --> 00:05:31,600 It's you've got to set it up properly, and then it's just a 128 00:05:31,600 --> 00:05:33,839 natural uh thing that happens. 129 00:05:34,000 --> 00:05:36,959 And so at the beginning, it's just like, hey, Ryan, I'm so 130 00:05:37,360 --> 00:05:38,160 thanks for having me out. 131 00:05:38,240 --> 00:05:40,800 It's my goal today to provide you five-star service. 132 00:05:41,199 --> 00:05:44,480 And uh, if any time throughout this process I don't provide 133 00:05:44,480 --> 00:05:45,279 that, please let me know. 134 00:05:45,519 --> 00:05:47,600 I want to course correct, I want to make sure that you're 135 00:05:47,600 --> 00:05:48,240 receiving that. 136 00:05:48,480 --> 00:05:51,199 And at the end, once you've received that five-star service, 137 00:05:51,360 --> 00:05:55,759 would it be okay if I asked you for a review and a referral? 138 00:05:55,920 --> 00:05:59,199 And that people will always say yes because you just put 139 00:05:59,199 --> 00:06:02,959 yourself on the hook to provide five-star service, and then once 140 00:06:02,959 --> 00:06:05,839 you do that, the law of reciprocity kicks in. 141 00:06:06,079 --> 00:06:07,920 And then at the end, how was your experience today? 142 00:06:08,000 --> 00:06:10,079 Were we able to provide you that five-star service? 143 00:06:10,399 --> 00:06:10,720 Yes. 144 00:06:10,800 --> 00:06:11,519 Oh, that's great. 145 00:06:11,600 --> 00:06:12,240 Awesome, perfect. 146 00:06:12,399 --> 00:06:15,839 Well, remember I asked you earlier if once we did that, if 147 00:06:15,839 --> 00:06:18,800 I could ask you for a review and a referral. 148 00:06:19,040 --> 00:06:20,399 Oh, yeah, okay, well, great. 149 00:06:20,480 --> 00:06:20,879 Well, perfect. 150 00:06:20,959 --> 00:06:21,920 Well, go ahead and grab your phone. 151 00:06:22,000 --> 00:06:24,000 Let's go ahead and do the review part right now. 152 00:06:24,240 --> 00:06:26,879 And who do you know, your friends and family, who do you 153 00:06:26,879 --> 00:06:28,000 know that we can help? 154 00:06:28,240 --> 00:06:31,439 Now that you have experienced our process and how how great it 155 00:06:31,439 --> 00:06:34,639 is and how smooth and easy it was, who do you know? 156 00:06:35,040 --> 00:06:36,079 Yeah, I love that. 157 00:06:36,240 --> 00:06:38,240 SPEAKER_00: And I think it's a simple question. 158 00:06:38,319 --> 00:06:41,759 I think we get hung up on the compensation side of it. 159 00:06:41,839 --> 00:06:44,720 I know a lot of companies will spend a lot of time spinning 160 00:06:44,720 --> 00:06:47,120 their wheels thinking about all right, if they give me three 161 00:06:47,120 --> 00:06:49,759 referrals, do I give them a free service, or do I give them a 162 00:06:49,759 --> 00:06:52,319 free widget in exchange for five names? 163 00:06:52,399 --> 00:06:55,199 Or you know, what is your process around that? 164 00:06:55,360 --> 00:06:57,279 Does do we get too caught up on that? 165 00:06:57,360 --> 00:06:59,759 Or is that actually the right way of going about it? 166 00:07:00,480 --> 00:07:02,959 SPEAKER_01: I would say that yes, we absolutely get too lost 167 00:07:02,959 --> 00:07:04,720 in the weeds and we just don't do it. 168 00:07:04,959 --> 00:07:07,920 It doesn't have to be polished or beautiful, it just has to be 169 00:07:07,920 --> 00:07:08,560 an ask. 170 00:07:08,879 --> 00:07:13,120 I love giving gifts and giving gratitude pieces, like here's 171 00:07:13,120 --> 00:07:15,439 your$50 gift card, go have dinner, thank you for the 172 00:07:15,439 --> 00:07:16,160 referral. 173 00:07:16,399 --> 00:07:18,959 But we do it, we don't lead with that because there's a 174 00:07:19,199 --> 00:07:23,519 psychology piece where people are resistant to make money off 175 00:07:23,519 --> 00:07:24,720 of their friends and family. 176 00:07:24,879 --> 00:07:28,879 And so when we lead with that, that turns half the people off 177 00:07:28,959 --> 00:07:31,360 of you know, why would I pass this referral? 178 00:07:31,600 --> 00:07:34,399 But when we ask for who do you know that we can help? 179 00:07:34,560 --> 00:07:37,680 Because Ryan, really, my greatest fear is your friends 180 00:07:37,680 --> 00:07:40,319 and family get taken advantage of in one of two ways. 181 00:07:40,480 --> 00:07:43,600 Either, you know, some company comes in and dramatically 182 00:07:43,600 --> 00:07:47,360 overcharges them for no apparent reason, or you know, they go 183 00:07:47,360 --> 00:07:50,720 with somebody, maybe they save a few bucks on the front end, but 184 00:07:50,720 --> 00:07:53,600 they are have they cut some corners, they leave safeties 185 00:07:53,600 --> 00:07:57,199 out, and it causes problems down the road and maybe some health 186 00:07:57,199 --> 00:07:59,759 issues, and and worst case scenario could be worse than 187 00:07:59,759 --> 00:07:59,920 that. 188 00:08:00,079 --> 00:08:02,800 So we don't want that to happen to your friends and family. 189 00:08:03,199 --> 00:08:08,160 When we approach it with an act as a service to them, then once 190 00:08:08,160 --> 00:08:10,480 they do give us referral, oh by the way, thank you. 191 00:08:10,639 --> 00:08:13,680 Here's our gift of thanks, and then give that. 192 00:08:14,160 --> 00:08:17,439 Now there's no weirdness about making money off of people. 193 00:08:17,680 --> 00:08:18,000 Right. 194 00:08:18,160 --> 00:08:20,480 And at the same time, now they go ding ding ding. 195 00:08:20,560 --> 00:08:23,839 I can send some more referrals, and now then the money 196 00:08:23,839 --> 00:08:27,279 conversation can come in if it's gift cards to Starbucks or 197 00:08:27,279 --> 00:08:28,319 whatever, it doesn't matter. 198 00:08:28,480 --> 00:08:31,360 But then that becomes a relevant part of the conversation, but we 199 00:08:31,360 --> 00:08:32,559 don't want to lead with that. 200 00:08:32,879 --> 00:08:35,679 SPEAKER_00: So we're assuming we've got a lot of existing 201 00:08:35,679 --> 00:08:38,320 clients, you know, that they're in our pipeline. 202 00:08:38,399 --> 00:08:41,279 We've worked with them, we've created great service, but we 203 00:08:41,279 --> 00:08:46,240 haven't done the five stars review referral request yet. 204 00:08:46,399 --> 00:08:50,000 If I wanted to start today and go back through my existing book 205 00:08:50,000 --> 00:08:53,279 of business to generate some referrals, what's the right way 206 00:08:53,279 --> 00:08:53,759 to do that? 207 00:08:54,080 --> 00:08:55,759 SPEAKER_01: Oh man, that's that's so simple. 208 00:08:55,919 --> 00:08:58,960 And again, this is doing the work that most people resist 209 00:08:58,960 --> 00:09:00,960 doing, which is happy calls. 210 00:09:01,120 --> 00:09:02,320 I love happy calls. 211 00:09:02,399 --> 00:09:06,799 And happy calls does not mean it has to be the freshest install 212 00:09:06,799 --> 00:09:07,279 on the planet. 213 00:09:07,360 --> 00:09:10,799 I was working with a company recently and I had them call 214 00:09:10,799 --> 00:09:13,200 through the last eight months worth of projects. 215 00:09:13,440 --> 00:09:17,200 And what happened out of that were they got, I want to say we 216 00:09:17,200 --> 00:09:21,679 got like 32 reviews, brand new reviews from the last eight 217 00:09:21,679 --> 00:09:23,759 months of projects that nobody had asked them. 218 00:09:23,840 --> 00:09:26,000 And they said, Oh my gosh, of course I'll leave you a review. 219 00:09:26,159 --> 00:09:27,679 Nobody asked me before. 220 00:09:27,919 --> 00:09:31,279 And out of that, there was right around four or five referrals 221 00:09:31,279 --> 00:09:35,440 that came from one person spending a day and a half 222 00:09:35,440 --> 00:09:37,840 calling through the last eight months of projects. 223 00:09:38,159 --> 00:09:39,279 SPEAKER_00: Sam, I love that idea. 224 00:09:39,360 --> 00:09:41,360 What what's that look conversation look like? 225 00:09:41,519 --> 00:09:44,480 What's the what's the language someone could pick up the phone 226 00:09:44,480 --> 00:09:45,120 and use today? 227 00:09:45,440 --> 00:09:46,080 SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah, yeah. 228 00:09:46,240 --> 00:09:47,200 Implement this right away. 229 00:09:47,279 --> 00:09:49,679 It's like um ring ring, hey, hey, Ryan. 230 00:09:49,840 --> 00:09:53,759 Hey, it's Sam with uh Close It Now HVAC, we'll say. 231 00:09:54,000 --> 00:09:56,159 It's been a couple months since we did your project. 232 00:09:56,320 --> 00:09:58,720 Um, you know, we we believe in relationship. 233 00:09:58,799 --> 00:10:00,639 I want to stay in touch with you here. 234 00:10:00,879 --> 00:10:03,600 What have you liked best about what you've experienced since we 235 00:10:03,600 --> 00:10:04,559 did that project for you? 236 00:10:04,879 --> 00:10:05,840 SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it's been great. 237 00:10:05,919 --> 00:10:06,879 I no problems. 238 00:10:06,960 --> 00:10:08,240 I can't even think of a problem. 239 00:10:08,480 --> 00:10:09,519 SPEAKER_01: Oh, I'd love to hear that. 240 00:10:09,679 --> 00:10:10,320 Thank you so much. 241 00:10:10,480 --> 00:10:13,120 Yeah, so we love to hear those types of things. 242 00:10:13,200 --> 00:10:17,440 Um, did you have a chance to uh leave a review when we did your 243 00:10:17,440 --> 00:10:18,240 project before? 244 00:10:18,559 --> 00:10:19,679 No, I don't think I did. 245 00:10:20,000 --> 00:10:20,720 Okay, gotcha. 246 00:10:20,799 --> 00:10:24,000 You know, since since you had had such a good experience, I'd 247 00:10:24,000 --> 00:10:28,399 love to maybe uh actually thank you for leaving us a review. 248 00:10:28,480 --> 00:10:29,759 Thank you for being a great client. 249 00:10:29,919 --> 00:10:32,960 I know we've got you scheduled for some uh you know, for some 250 00:10:32,960 --> 00:10:36,320 maintenance coming up here, some some regular checkup on your 251 00:10:36,320 --> 00:10:37,919 system, but just grateful for that. 252 00:10:38,000 --> 00:10:40,799 And so I'd love if you went to Google and left us a review. 253 00:10:40,960 --> 00:10:44,559 At the same time, um, did anyone ever talk to you about our 254 00:10:44,559 --> 00:10:46,000 referral program that we have? 255 00:10:46,240 --> 00:10:47,840 No, I don't think I heard about that. 256 00:10:48,159 --> 00:10:50,720 Oh, they oh well I'll tell you what, I apologize because that 257 00:10:50,720 --> 00:10:52,080 that's part of our process. 258 00:10:52,240 --> 00:10:56,000 You know, one of the things that uh because as you've seen, the 259 00:10:56,000 --> 00:10:58,480 the work we do, and and you know, so many of our clients 260 00:10:58,480 --> 00:11:02,559 have come from referrals, is uh we have a really cool referral 261 00:11:02,559 --> 00:11:02,879 program. 262 00:11:03,039 --> 00:11:05,360 So I'm curious, who do you know that we could help? 263 00:11:05,519 --> 00:11:07,519 Friends, family, um, anybody? 264 00:11:07,600 --> 00:11:10,480 Because you know, we don't want them to, you know, get taken 265 00:11:10,480 --> 00:11:14,159 advantage of with you know those overpriced companies, or you 266 00:11:14,159 --> 00:11:16,879 know, even worse, have a company come in and cut a bunch of 267 00:11:16,879 --> 00:11:19,120 corners and you know cause a health risk for them. 268 00:11:19,440 --> 00:11:22,080 SPEAKER_00: Sam, I love this role play and I think it's super 269 00:11:22,080 --> 00:11:22,399 simple. 270 00:11:22,559 --> 00:11:25,759 I love your approach to it because you're you don't come 271 00:11:25,759 --> 00:11:29,279 across as pushy, you're asking questions, you're being a little 272 00:11:29,279 --> 00:11:34,879 bit apologetic in in tone by apologizing for not having asked 273 00:11:34,879 --> 00:11:37,840 for the referral in the past uh or the review. 274 00:11:38,080 --> 00:11:43,600 So it's easy to, as a consumer, I think, engage with that as 275 00:11:43,600 --> 00:11:46,960 opposed to I think a lot of service professionals are very, 276 00:11:47,600 --> 00:11:50,159 I'll call it very candid personalities. 277 00:11:50,320 --> 00:11:50,559 Yeah. 278 00:11:50,799 --> 00:11:54,399 And that can be a little bit, I put up my my blockers pretty 279 00:11:54,399 --> 00:11:56,960 quickly, like, oh, you just want something from me, so that's why 280 00:11:56,960 --> 00:11:57,759 you're calling me back. 281 00:11:58,080 --> 00:12:00,480 SPEAKER_01: The main thing to remember, and I'm such an 282 00:12:00,480 --> 00:12:05,679 advocate for this, is for most home service companies, the key 283 00:12:05,679 --> 00:12:06,960 word is service. 284 00:12:07,120 --> 00:12:10,879 It's a service industry, and we've forgotten that. 285 00:12:11,360 --> 00:12:13,679 So we have to remember that at the beginning. 286 00:12:13,759 --> 00:12:15,919 You know, we have to remember that we're here to serve. 287 00:12:16,080 --> 00:12:19,759 And when we do that, service at the highest level looks like how 288 00:12:19,919 --> 00:12:20,799 can I help? 289 00:12:21,039 --> 00:12:23,919 And so when we remember that, and that's the the lens that we 290 00:12:23,919 --> 00:12:27,679 see everything through, what that does, it really changes the 291 00:12:27,679 --> 00:12:29,360 dynamic of every conversation. 292 00:12:29,600 --> 00:12:31,919 And when we're asking for reviews and referrals, the main 293 00:12:31,919 --> 00:12:35,360 thing that I want to emphasize to everybody is it doesn't 294 00:12:35,360 --> 00:12:38,799 really matter the words you say because every time the studies 295 00:12:38,799 --> 00:12:43,200 are done on consumers, they expect, they want to give 296 00:12:43,200 --> 00:12:46,720 referrals, but nobody ever asks for them. 297 00:12:47,360 --> 00:12:48,799 Literally don't ask for referrals. 298 00:12:48,960 --> 00:12:51,039 A great example is my business partner. 299 00:12:51,279 --> 00:12:54,480 We've been talking to a company, HVAC and Plumbing Company that's 300 00:12:54,480 --> 00:12:55,440 actually near him. 301 00:12:55,759 --> 00:13:00,879 And we literally met the owner and had a conversation with him 302 00:13:00,879 --> 00:13:02,480 about some of these things. 303 00:13:02,720 --> 00:13:06,080 And it was two days later, he sends me this picture. 304 00:13:06,240 --> 00:13:09,440 One of this guy's vans is two doors down from his house. 305 00:13:09,759 --> 00:13:13,200 And my business partner, he has needed a plumber for the last 306 00:13:13,200 --> 00:13:17,200 year and a half, but he's just been busy and hasn't quite made 307 00:13:17,200 --> 00:13:17,759 the call. 308 00:13:17,919 --> 00:13:20,159 And he literally sent that picture to the owner, said, 309 00:13:20,320 --> 00:13:22,799 Remember what we talked about about knocking on the neighbors' 310 00:13:22,960 --> 00:13:23,360 doors? 311 00:13:23,519 --> 00:13:26,879 If he knocked on my door right now, I would have him do the 312 00:13:26,879 --> 00:13:28,480 work because it still needs done. 313 00:13:28,559 --> 00:13:30,639 I just haven't wanted to go through the effort of picking up 314 00:13:30,639 --> 00:13:30,960 the phone. 315 00:13:31,200 --> 00:13:31,600 SPEAKER_00: Yeah. 316 00:13:31,919 --> 00:13:34,960 SPEAKER_01: So much of this is it costs nothing but a couple 317 00:13:35,120 --> 00:13:35,759 minutes. 318 00:13:36,000 --> 00:13:38,960 But remember, you don't have to have the perfect words. 319 00:13:39,120 --> 00:13:40,639 Homeowners don't care. 320 00:13:40,960 --> 00:13:44,240 We have to have this perfect scripting for people in the 321 00:13:44,240 --> 00:13:47,279 industry so we feel like we can go do it. 322 00:13:47,440 --> 00:13:49,200 But at the end of the day, they don't really care. 323 00:13:49,360 --> 00:13:51,039 They just care that you did it. 324 00:13:51,200 --> 00:13:51,440 SPEAKER_00: Yeah. 325 00:13:51,679 --> 00:13:54,080 SPEAKER_01: Ask for the referral, ask for a review. 326 00:13:54,240 --> 00:13:56,320 Go introduce yourself to somebody you've never met 327 00:13:56,320 --> 00:13:56,720 before. 328 00:13:56,960 --> 00:13:59,279 SPEAKER_00: For me, a couple of things that I really love that 329 00:13:59,279 --> 00:14:03,039 you said is the power of remembering you're a service 330 00:14:03,039 --> 00:14:03,679 company. 331 00:14:03,919 --> 00:14:05,279 That's the kind of foundation. 332 00:14:05,360 --> 00:14:08,399 And so being a home service professional or home service 333 00:14:08,399 --> 00:14:11,279 pro, I think that's an easy barrier to overcome. 334 00:14:11,360 --> 00:14:15,440 It says, as a home service professional company, we really 335 00:14:15,440 --> 00:14:19,679 aim to be the highest standard professionalism of serving you. 336 00:14:19,919 --> 00:14:23,279 And because of that, we'd like to check in with you quarterly 337 00:14:23,360 --> 00:14:26,399 if that's okay, just to make sure the work that we did held 338 00:14:26,399 --> 00:14:27,440 up on our end. 339 00:14:27,600 --> 00:14:28,000 Absolutely. 340 00:14:28,240 --> 00:14:33,440 And while we're at it, we'd love to earn your consideration for a 341 00:14:33,440 --> 00:14:34,000 review. 342 00:14:34,320 --> 00:14:37,519 Easy way to get your foot in the door for them to be thoughtful 343 00:14:37,519 --> 00:14:38,399 and be thinking of you. 344 00:14:38,799 --> 00:14:40,480 SPEAKER_01: Something you said there, and for everybody 345 00:14:40,480 --> 00:14:43,200 listening, I 100% agree, Ryan. 346 00:14:43,600 --> 00:14:48,240 The caveat is if you ask, have an ask like that in a 347 00:14:48,240 --> 00:14:50,320 conversation with somebody and say, We'd love to check in with 348 00:14:50,320 --> 00:14:52,320 you quarterly, you better do it. 349 00:14:52,559 --> 00:14:54,320 Because you just put yourself on the hook. 350 00:14:54,559 --> 00:14:58,480 Because when you actually follow through on something like that, 351 00:14:58,799 --> 00:15:03,600 then you will earn so many trust points in that homeowner's mind. 352 00:15:03,840 --> 00:15:06,879 However, if you say, Ryan, we'd love to check in with you 353 00:15:07,039 --> 00:15:09,679 quarterly, but you never call them back and you actually don't 354 00:15:09,679 --> 00:15:13,919 do it, you've destroyed any trust points that you ever had. 355 00:15:14,080 --> 00:15:15,360 So that's the caveat. 356 00:15:15,519 --> 00:15:19,360 If you have an ask like that, actually follow through and be a 357 00:15:19,360 --> 00:15:22,320 person of integrity and do what you said you were going to do. 358 00:15:22,639 --> 00:15:25,120 That is everything in this type of industry. 359 00:15:25,360 --> 00:15:26,799 SPEAKER_00: Yeah, 100% agree. 360 00:15:27,039 --> 00:15:30,639 And I was just going to add that you mentioned consumers really 361 00:15:30,639 --> 00:15:32,879 like to have someone they can refer. 362 00:15:33,039 --> 00:15:36,000 You know, at the surface level, I was like, I don't know if I 363 00:15:36,000 --> 00:15:39,679 believe that 100%, but then I kind of reflect in, you know, my 364 00:15:39,679 --> 00:15:42,559 own community of Facebook groups that I engage with. 365 00:15:42,720 --> 00:15:48,080 It's amazing how many people go to Facebook groups to ask for a 366 00:15:48,080 --> 00:15:48,639 referral. 367 00:15:48,799 --> 00:15:48,960 Yeah. 368 00:15:49,360 --> 00:15:50,480 I need a plumber. 369 00:15:50,720 --> 00:15:51,279 I need this. 370 00:15:51,519 --> 00:15:54,480 Hey, looking for my pool to get cleaned, or I'm looking for 371 00:15:54,480 --> 00:15:54,720 this. 372 00:15:54,879 --> 00:16:00,080 And it's amazing to me how quick and thorough that comment 373 00:16:00,080 --> 00:16:01,039 section becomes. 374 00:16:01,120 --> 00:16:04,559 And it's not a lot of people pitching their own side hustle. 375 00:16:04,720 --> 00:16:07,759 It's a lot of people saying, Oh, I loved Joe over at Joe's 376 00:16:07,759 --> 00:16:10,480 Plumbing, or I love Frank over at Frank's HVAC. 377 00:16:10,799 --> 00:16:14,240 It's incredible how quick they are to recommend. 378 00:16:14,320 --> 00:16:16,960 And I think a lot of times their referral might not be in the 379 00:16:16,960 --> 00:16:19,919 moment, but it could be in the future moments when they're 380 00:16:19,919 --> 00:16:23,679 scrolling through the death scroll on Facebook groups and 381 00:16:23,679 --> 00:16:24,480 people are asking. 382 00:16:24,639 --> 00:16:27,840 And the fact that these Facebook groups start to create a point 383 00:16:27,840 --> 00:16:32,159 system where you actually get points based on high quality 384 00:16:32,159 --> 00:16:34,960 comments or engagement, and you become a top contributor or 385 00:16:35,120 --> 00:16:37,600 rising contributor, and that gamifies it. 386 00:16:37,679 --> 00:16:39,120 And people want to get engaged. 387 00:16:39,440 --> 00:16:43,279 And um, having someone they know, like, and trust gives them 388 00:16:43,279 --> 00:16:46,559 that permission to befriend a neighbor and share your 389 00:16:46,559 --> 00:16:46,960 information. 390 00:16:47,200 --> 00:16:49,279 So I think that's a really, really wise. 391 00:16:49,679 --> 00:16:52,320 We have a client of ours who told me one of the fast, you 392 00:16:52,320 --> 00:16:54,879 know, he's just he's posting jobs left and right, he's 393 00:16:54,879 --> 00:16:57,120 growing quite a bit for a service company. 394 00:16:57,200 --> 00:16:59,600 And I said, What was kind of his secret to success? 395 00:16:59,759 --> 00:17:02,879 And one of my favorite answers so far was not oh, the best 396 00:17:02,879 --> 00:17:07,119 Facebook ads, or I'm running the great LSA ads, or whatever it 397 00:17:07,119 --> 00:17:07,359 is. 398 00:17:07,519 --> 00:17:13,119 It's I created brand ambassadors in every local community 399 00:17:13,119 --> 00:17:14,720 Facebook group possible. 400 00:17:14,880 --> 00:17:15,200 Yep. 401 00:17:15,440 --> 00:17:20,319 And I send them shirts, I send them hats, I send them, you 402 00:17:20,319 --> 00:17:24,240 know, whatever it is, like low-cost stuff, but on a regular 403 00:17:24,240 --> 00:17:25,359 basis, and thank them. 404 00:17:25,440 --> 00:17:28,079 Hey, thanks for being a brand ambassador in your community. 405 00:17:28,400 --> 00:17:32,720 You're, you know, and he doesn't really measure it, so to speak, 406 00:17:32,799 --> 00:17:37,519 on like uh, you know, you sent me six referrals or not, but 407 00:17:37,519 --> 00:17:41,839 just a pure gradual, overwhelming volume of now 408 00:17:41,839 --> 00:17:43,359 inbound referral phone calls. 409 00:17:43,440 --> 00:17:48,000 Hey, I heard about you on this Facebook group, next door app 410 00:17:48,000 --> 00:17:51,200 group, or whatever it is, all because he created local 411 00:17:51,200 --> 00:17:54,960 ambassadors and he would ask them, you have been such a great 412 00:17:54,960 --> 00:17:58,400 customer, and I hope we have been a great supplier for you. 413 00:17:58,640 --> 00:18:01,759 Would you be willing to be one of our ambassadors in this 414 00:18:01,839 --> 00:18:02,559 community? 415 00:18:02,799 --> 00:18:06,640 And that ask has been so much more powerful than just even 416 00:18:06,640 --> 00:18:09,279 saying, Will you refer me one more client? 417 00:18:09,519 --> 00:18:10,160 Absolutely. 418 00:18:10,400 --> 00:18:13,359 There's something powerful to be asked to be an ambassador. 419 00:18:13,440 --> 00:18:16,160 It's like, will you be on my board for my nonprofit? 420 00:18:16,240 --> 00:18:17,279 Who says no to that? 421 00:18:17,519 --> 00:18:17,759 Right? 422 00:18:18,240 --> 00:18:20,720 There's no money or compensation involved, but people just want 423 00:18:20,720 --> 00:18:22,720 to be involved and feel like they're giving back. 424 00:18:22,799 --> 00:18:23,680 So I really like it. 425 00:18:23,920 --> 00:18:26,559 Let's let's jump over to a couple other topics here. 426 00:18:26,799 --> 00:18:30,799 Um, you talk a lot about like the psychology behind what 427 00:18:30,799 --> 00:18:34,079 attracts or pushes clients away. 428 00:18:34,319 --> 00:18:37,039 What's the number one thing businesses do that kind of 429 00:18:37,039 --> 00:18:39,599 repels people who they're trying to reach? 430 00:18:40,000 --> 00:18:43,119 SPEAKER_01: This is definitely a marketing and advertising, uh, 431 00:18:43,359 --> 00:18:46,079 how to write copy or messaging conversation. 432 00:18:46,400 --> 00:18:46,799 Right. 433 00:18:47,119 --> 00:18:52,559 The biggest piece that most companies miss is we focus on 434 00:18:52,559 --> 00:18:56,559 the thing and not on what is the pain point and what's the 435 00:18:56,559 --> 00:18:57,119 outcome. 436 00:18:57,279 --> 00:19:02,240 People don't care that you have a call now, it's$1,000 off. 437 00:19:02,400 --> 00:19:03,920 People really, really don't care. 438 00:19:04,160 --> 00:19:06,960 Nobody woke up this morning and said, Man, let's look for the 439 00:19:06,960 --> 00:19:10,880 best deal because I sure want to buy an HVAC system or a plumbing 440 00:19:10,960 --> 00:19:13,279 system or water treatment or a roof today. 441 00:19:13,599 --> 00:19:16,319 They woke up and man went, man, I've got this problem. 442 00:19:16,480 --> 00:19:17,519 God, it's uncomfortable. 443 00:19:17,839 --> 00:19:19,920 Oh my gosh, we have to take care of this. 444 00:19:20,160 --> 00:19:23,440 And then they hit the searches and they started their process, 445 00:19:23,519 --> 00:19:26,240 and but all they care about is the desired outcome. 446 00:19:26,400 --> 00:19:29,680 And then this carries through to the way that we communicate 447 00:19:29,680 --> 00:19:32,640 directly in our interactions with homeowners. 448 00:19:33,279 --> 00:19:36,400 So many people will what I call just read the spec sheet. 449 00:19:36,640 --> 00:19:39,359 They only focus on, hey, what's wrong? 450 00:19:39,680 --> 00:19:42,799 Great, here's the solution, here's how we fix it, or here's 451 00:19:42,799 --> 00:19:44,960 the thing to replace it, here's how much it is. 452 00:19:45,200 --> 00:19:45,759 Do you want that? 453 00:19:45,920 --> 00:19:47,839 And if that's the case, you might as well be standing at the 454 00:19:47,839 --> 00:19:51,599 counter at Lowe's or Home Depot because you're just taking an 455 00:19:51,599 --> 00:19:51,920 order. 456 00:19:52,000 --> 00:19:55,200 That is not a customer experience. 457 00:19:55,359 --> 00:19:57,519 And so we have to think about the customer experience. 458 00:19:57,839 --> 00:20:00,000 And honestly, I'm glad you asked this question because I really 459 00:20:00,000 --> 00:20:03,119 boiled it down to um one simple mantra. 460 00:20:03,440 --> 00:20:06,000 You have if you run your business and all of your 461 00:20:06,000 --> 00:20:09,759 communication through this lens of my job is to understand the 462 00:20:09,759 --> 00:20:14,720 human first, their problem second, and their problem is not 463 00:20:14,720 --> 00:20:18,480 what's broken or what's wrong, it's what they're experiencing 464 00:20:18,640 --> 00:20:20,720 because of the thing that's broken or wrong. 465 00:20:20,960 --> 00:20:23,599 So my job is to understand the human first, their problem 466 00:20:23,680 --> 00:20:25,519 second, and the solution third. 467 00:20:25,759 --> 00:20:29,200 If we follow that order, everything starts to smooth out 468 00:20:29,200 --> 00:20:30,079 and take care of itself. 469 00:20:30,319 --> 00:20:32,720 SPEAKER_00: I like the psychology of that, and and I 470 00:20:32,720 --> 00:20:35,920 want to kind of go through this a little bit for slower people 471 00:20:35,920 --> 00:20:40,559 like me out there, because I think the psychology of 472 00:20:40,799 --> 00:20:44,799 messaging your service or product the right way can truly 473 00:20:44,799 --> 00:20:48,799 attract not only customers, but the right customers. 474 00:20:49,119 --> 00:20:53,599 But if you focus on the wrong messaging, it really detracts 475 00:20:53,599 --> 00:20:58,079 the great customers and attracts the wrong customers. 476 00:20:58,400 --> 00:21:00,720 SPEAKER_01: I can give you a super quick example that'll 477 00:21:00,720 --> 00:21:02,640 really land this plane for this idea. 478 00:21:02,880 --> 00:21:03,200 Perfect. 479 00:21:03,359 --> 00:21:06,000 Um, and it'll be dual purpose because it'll show somebody how 480 00:21:06,000 --> 00:21:09,519 to actually what to say at a door when they knock on your 481 00:21:09,519 --> 00:21:10,079 neighbor's doors. 482 00:21:10,240 --> 00:21:13,200 So if I knocked on your door next door to maybe a sales 483 00:21:13,200 --> 00:21:15,039 appointment or a project I've got going on. 484 00:21:15,359 --> 00:21:17,599 I'm gonna knock on your door and I'm gonna say, Hey, my name is 485 00:21:17,599 --> 00:21:17,839 Sam. 486 00:21:17,920 --> 00:21:20,559 I just wanted to take a quick second to introduce myself. 487 00:21:20,799 --> 00:21:22,400 Um, we're working next door. 488 00:21:22,480 --> 00:21:24,160 I just want here's a couple cards. 489 00:21:24,319 --> 00:21:26,960 If anything blows into your yard or people park in the wrong 490 00:21:26,960 --> 00:21:27,759 place, please let me know. 491 00:21:27,839 --> 00:21:29,599 We'll take care of it immediately. 492 00:21:30,240 --> 00:21:31,200 And that's it. 493 00:21:31,359 --> 00:21:34,079 That's the whole reason I knocked on your door. 494 00:21:34,799 --> 00:21:37,519 But the very next question that always comes out of that 495 00:21:37,519 --> 00:21:40,960 homeowner's mouth is, oh, what are you doing over there? 496 00:21:41,440 --> 00:21:42,720 So we'll take both paths. 497 00:21:42,880 --> 00:21:45,839 The wrong path is what we're exactly what we're talking 498 00:21:45,839 --> 00:21:45,920 about. 499 00:21:46,079 --> 00:21:48,880 If you said, Oh, we're replacing their water heater. 500 00:21:49,359 --> 00:21:49,759 SPEAKER_00: Right. 501 00:21:50,400 --> 00:21:53,039 SPEAKER_01: Oh, we're changing their air conditioner. 502 00:21:53,279 --> 00:21:54,480 That's the wrong path. 503 00:21:54,720 --> 00:21:57,759 The right path is what are you doing over there? 504 00:21:58,000 --> 00:22:01,440 And then we say something like, Oh Well, you know how most of 505 00:22:01,440 --> 00:22:04,480 the houses in this neighborhood have that one room in the corner 506 00:22:04,480 --> 00:22:06,880 of the house that's always hotter than the rest in the 507 00:22:06,880 --> 00:22:07,279 summer? 508 00:22:07,519 --> 00:22:08,880 We're fixing that for them. 509 00:22:09,359 --> 00:22:12,799 Or you know how all these houses are all about the same age and 510 00:22:12,799 --> 00:22:14,559 all the water most a lot of water heat. 511 00:22:14,640 --> 00:22:16,240 We've been getting a lot of calls for the water heaters 512 00:22:16,319 --> 00:22:17,119 starting to go. 513 00:22:17,440 --> 00:22:20,640 Theirs was going, we're taking care of that for them because 514 00:22:20,640 --> 00:22:23,279 they were tired of only having 10 minutes of hot water in their 515 00:22:23,279 --> 00:22:23,920 shower. 516 00:22:24,160 --> 00:22:27,359 So, see, we called out the pain point, and then that homeowner 517 00:22:27,440 --> 00:22:29,200 goes, because the houses are all built the same right next to 518 00:22:29,200 --> 00:22:29,440 each other. 519 00:22:29,519 --> 00:22:31,119 That homeowner goes, I've got that. 520 00:22:31,279 --> 00:22:32,240 Can you look at mine? 521 00:22:32,480 --> 00:22:33,119 SPEAKER_00: Exactly. 522 00:22:33,359 --> 00:22:35,279 SPEAKER_01: It's the same thing, but it's different messaging 523 00:22:35,279 --> 00:22:35,839 around it. 524 00:22:36,160 --> 00:22:38,720 SPEAKER_00: Back in my day of digital marketing, we would call 525 00:22:38,720 --> 00:22:43,279 that our problem pain agitation solution. 526 00:22:43,839 --> 00:22:46,480 So we would declare what the problem is. 527 00:22:46,640 --> 00:22:50,400 The problem is the room isn't staying hot or it's too hot or 528 00:22:50,400 --> 00:22:51,039 whatever in air. 529 00:22:51,119 --> 00:22:53,200 I'm in Arizona, so every day every room's too hot. 530 00:22:53,440 --> 00:22:54,400 Everything's all too hot. 531 00:22:54,799 --> 00:22:55,039 Yeah. 532 00:22:56,720 --> 00:22:57,119 It's too hot. 533 00:22:57,599 --> 00:22:58,880 That's the problem, right? 534 00:22:59,039 --> 00:23:02,400 The pain is we we're always sweaty in that room or it's 535 00:23:02,400 --> 00:23:05,279 uncomfortable and no one wants to use that room the right way. 536 00:23:05,519 --> 00:23:07,119 We agitate a little bit more. 537 00:23:07,279 --> 00:23:09,200 You've probably felt that in the past. 538 00:23:09,279 --> 00:23:10,480 I know how that goes. 539 00:23:10,720 --> 00:23:14,640 The solution is we're increasing our insulation and replacing 540 00:23:14,640 --> 00:23:15,759 XYZ. 541 00:23:16,079 --> 00:23:19,440 And now all of a sudden they can visualize the solution to their 542 00:23:19,440 --> 00:23:21,279 problem that they're also experiencing. 543 00:23:21,519 --> 00:23:22,559 And so I love that. 544 00:23:22,640 --> 00:23:26,160 And I think that another great example of that is we had our 545 00:23:26,160 --> 00:23:27,839 water heater recently replaced. 546 00:23:28,000 --> 00:23:33,359 And I feel like it was because of the advertising was so great. 547 00:23:33,680 --> 00:23:36,640 It wasn't, do you have an old water heater that needs to be 548 00:23:36,640 --> 00:23:37,039 replaced? 549 00:23:37,119 --> 00:23:38,319 Because everyone's got that. 550 00:23:38,799 --> 00:23:39,279 Of course. 551 00:23:39,759 --> 00:23:44,319 Instead, it was are you looking for a water heater that can 552 00:23:44,559 --> 00:23:48,720 declutter your space, give you instant hot water for an 553 00:23:48,720 --> 00:23:50,240 unlimited amount of showers? 554 00:23:50,480 --> 00:23:50,640 Yeah. 555 00:23:50,799 --> 00:23:52,079 SPEAKER_01: So never run them out. 556 00:23:52,559 --> 00:23:52,880 SPEAKER_00: Hmm. 557 00:23:53,039 --> 00:23:54,079 I hadn't thought of that. 558 00:23:54,240 --> 00:23:58,640 Well, here is an instant, you know, water heater, as opposed 559 00:23:58,640 --> 00:24:02,319 to the big ugly, you know, tank that's sitting in your in your 560 00:24:02,319 --> 00:24:02,799 garage. 561 00:24:03,039 --> 00:24:06,559 And so for me, that was really compelling. 562 00:24:06,720 --> 00:24:08,559 Is I wanted I hate clutter. 563 00:24:08,720 --> 00:24:12,880 I wanted to clean things up, but also we have guests that come 564 00:24:12,880 --> 00:24:17,119 over, and my stinking water heater goes out after a couple 565 00:24:17,119 --> 00:24:20,160 of showers, and then I'm like, oh sorry, that's embarrassing. 566 00:24:20,319 --> 00:24:23,359 You got to wait until you can get a hot shower because it's 567 00:24:23,519 --> 00:24:23,759 out. 568 00:24:24,400 --> 00:24:29,119 So they hit that pain point so well with a value prop, and 569 00:24:29,119 --> 00:24:30,240 almost didn't to your point. 570 00:24:30,319 --> 00:24:32,960 I didn't care if I was saving 500 bucks or what the discount 571 00:24:32,960 --> 00:24:34,480 was, it was solving a problem. 572 00:24:34,720 --> 00:24:37,519 It was a real problem with a real solution around it. 573 00:24:37,759 --> 00:24:39,440 So I really like that a lot. 574 00:24:39,599 --> 00:24:41,039 And do you see that in sales a lot? 575 00:24:41,200 --> 00:24:44,559 What's some of the sales training that you do around that 576 00:24:44,559 --> 00:24:48,880 kind of solution on the backside of a problem and pain point? 577 00:24:49,200 --> 00:24:50,079 SPEAKER_01: That's everything. 578 00:24:50,240 --> 00:24:55,039 Um every every stitch of the sales training that I do, I call 579 00:24:55,039 --> 00:24:56,240 it the benefit lens. 580 00:24:56,559 --> 00:25:00,079 If we're not passing it through, what is the true benefit of for 581 00:25:00,079 --> 00:25:00,799 the homeowner? 582 00:25:01,200 --> 00:25:03,119 And that's how we have to communicate. 583 00:25:03,279 --> 00:25:05,279 So there's three phases to the benefit. 584 00:25:05,440 --> 00:25:08,960 You've got the what, which is the thing, you've got the how it 585 00:25:08,960 --> 00:25:13,039 works, and then you've got how they're going to experience the 586 00:25:13,039 --> 00:25:13,680 benefit. 587 00:25:14,160 --> 00:25:17,359 Most people think the benefit is how it works. 588 00:25:17,519 --> 00:25:19,599 We'll we'll take an air cleaner, for example. 589 00:25:19,839 --> 00:25:22,720 Let's say we do some air filtration in a home. 590 00:25:23,119 --> 00:25:26,559 And the first fat pass is tell me about this air cleaner. 591 00:25:26,640 --> 00:25:29,599 And people will go, this it's four inches versus one inch. 592 00:25:29,920 --> 00:25:32,400 And when you spread this out, it's this big surface area. 593 00:25:32,480 --> 00:25:34,960 Okay, I was like, okay, we just told me what it is. 594 00:25:35,359 --> 00:25:36,480 Now give me the benefit. 595 00:25:36,640 --> 00:25:41,119 Then they'll go, oh, well, so what it does, it takes out 99.9% 596 00:25:41,440 --> 00:25:44,000 of viruses and dust and and polls. 597 00:25:44,079 --> 00:25:46,720 I was like, okay, well, you just told me what it does, but you 598 00:25:46,720 --> 00:25:48,720 still didn't tell me the benefit. 599 00:25:48,880 --> 00:25:51,599 How is it going to affect my life? 600 00:25:51,839 --> 00:25:56,960 And then we start to get it like, oh, so that, so what this 601 00:25:56,960 --> 00:25:59,599 means for you are a couple of expressions there. 602 00:26:00,079 --> 00:26:04,240 So you earlier you were telling me how every single time the hay 603 00:26:04,240 --> 00:26:06,640 fever season comes around, it really affects you. 604 00:26:06,799 --> 00:26:09,039 When you come home, this is going to help turn your home 605 00:26:09,039 --> 00:26:11,359 into a sanctuary away from that, so you can get a little bit of 606 00:26:11,359 --> 00:26:14,000 reprieve from reprieve from it. 607 00:26:14,400 --> 00:26:19,680 Now we're speaking in terms of a benefit versus just what it is 608 00:26:19,839 --> 00:26:20,559 or what it does. 609 00:26:20,640 --> 00:26:24,240 And so if we don't have that piece into it, no one has an 610 00:26:24,240 --> 00:26:26,319 emotional connection because most people don't have the 611 00:26:26,319 --> 00:26:28,160 ability to, they don't know what our stuff does. 612 00:26:28,240 --> 00:26:31,200 They don't have the ability to connect those dots in their 613 00:26:31,200 --> 00:26:31,440 minds. 614 00:26:31,599 --> 00:26:34,160 So then they're just stuck with, okay, well, it sounds like a 615 00:26:34,160 --> 00:26:34,960 cool thing. 616 00:26:35,279 --> 00:26:38,319 But the second we make it real to them and how it will affect 617 00:26:38,319 --> 00:26:41,839 and change their life, now we can have a conversation that's 618 00:26:41,839 --> 00:26:42,480 compelling. 619 00:26:42,799 --> 00:26:47,680 SPEAKER_00: I think, Sam, you're in a really interesting time 620 00:26:47,920 --> 00:26:48,559 right now. 621 00:26:48,880 --> 00:26:51,680 We have AI that can answer everything for us. 622 00:26:52,240 --> 00:26:56,880 We have reps who want to do the least amount of work possible. 623 00:26:57,599 --> 00:27:02,400 We have a very, it's not just my opinion, it's conversations I 624 00:27:02,400 --> 00:27:05,680 have on the daily with my customers, but an entitled 625 00:27:05,680 --> 00:27:06,319 generation. 626 00:27:07,680 --> 00:27:11,599 What's fascinating to me is the amount of opportunity, though, 627 00:27:11,680 --> 00:27:16,000 that is missed because we're not asking the right questions. 628 00:27:16,319 --> 00:27:20,319 And you're providing a solution to say there's an art to sales, 629 00:27:20,480 --> 00:27:23,200 there's an art to driving additional revenue to your 630 00:27:23,200 --> 00:27:25,599 business that's right in front of you. 631 00:27:25,839 --> 00:27:29,920 So as we wrap up here, Sam, would you drop us a little 632 00:27:29,920 --> 00:27:31,359 golden nugget here? 633 00:27:31,599 --> 00:27:35,359 But what is the number one thing that any small business owner 634 00:27:35,359 --> 00:27:39,039 out there should do to train their sales rep to help them 635 00:27:39,039 --> 00:27:41,039 drive more revenue effectively? 636 00:27:41,519 --> 00:27:43,279 SPEAKER_01: First of all, it's personal growth. 637 00:27:43,759 --> 00:27:46,960 I'm such a massive believer sales is not the performance of 638 00:27:46,960 --> 00:27:49,119 the hour or the hour and a half that you're in the house. 639 00:27:49,200 --> 00:27:50,880 It's the overflow of your life. 640 00:27:51,039 --> 00:27:53,440 And how you do anything is how you do everything. 641 00:27:53,680 --> 00:27:59,279 So integrity and gr becoming someone worth buying from is the 642 00:27:59,279 --> 00:28:00,319 foundation for it all. 643 00:28:00,559 --> 00:28:02,880 The biggest question a sales trainer ever gets is, hey, I 644 00:28:02,880 --> 00:28:05,279 need to help help handling objections. 645 00:28:05,599 --> 00:28:09,200 And then they all get frustrated when I say, okay, well, let's go 646 00:28:09,200 --> 00:28:10,240 back to the beginning. 647 00:28:10,480 --> 00:28:14,720 If there was one piece to work on that's going to get the most 648 00:28:14,720 --> 00:28:18,480 immediate results, is the first the first five minutes of an 649 00:28:18,480 --> 00:28:18,880 appointment. 650 00:28:19,039 --> 00:28:19,279 Yeah. 651 00:28:19,519 --> 00:28:22,799 What I'm not talking about is did I park okay? 652 00:28:23,200 --> 00:28:24,480 Is my van parked okay? 653 00:28:24,559 --> 00:28:27,039 And do you mind if I put these floor savers on? 654 00:28:27,359 --> 00:28:31,440 What I am talking about is what pieces need to be in the 655 00:28:31,440 --> 00:28:34,960 conversation at the beginning and how we have to, we we've got 656 00:28:34,960 --> 00:28:37,759 to set a correct container, we have to set right correct 657 00:28:37,759 --> 00:28:40,559 expectations, and we have to become the leader in the 658 00:28:40,559 --> 00:28:44,240 appointment because we have to learn how to create a safe, 659 00:28:44,400 --> 00:28:47,920 comfortable environment that the homeowners will feel comfortable 660 00:28:47,920 --> 00:28:49,200 to make a buying decision. 661 00:28:49,279 --> 00:28:52,720 Because people do not buy because they're more educated, 662 00:28:52,799 --> 00:28:54,720 they buy when they feel safe. 663 00:28:55,440 --> 00:28:59,519 And if we can establish that in the first five minutes, the 664 00:28:59,519 --> 00:29:02,000 entire rest of the appointment goes smoother and numbers 665 00:29:02,000 --> 00:29:04,160 immediately start to drive drive north. 666 00:29:04,480 --> 00:29:05,440 SPEAKER_00: Oh, fantastic. 667 00:29:05,599 --> 00:29:07,039 I love that insight, Sam. 668 00:29:07,359 --> 00:29:09,680 Thank you so much for joining us today in the podcast. 669 00:29:09,759 --> 00:29:13,119 I think it's a good reminder for everyone, just the the art and 670 00:29:13,119 --> 00:29:16,400 power of being intentional about kind of our sales, our process, 671 00:29:16,559 --> 00:29:19,119 our language, even the extra effort. 672 00:29:19,279 --> 00:29:23,599 But before I close this out, um tell me just a little bit about 673 00:29:23,680 --> 00:29:28,160 like who are your some of your clients, and um we get asked a 674 00:29:28,160 --> 00:29:31,759 fair amount just for random business advice and tips, but I 675 00:29:31,920 --> 00:29:33,839 love to talk about sales training. 676 00:29:34,000 --> 00:29:37,039 Um tell me a little bit about kind of your your process, who 677 00:29:37,039 --> 00:29:40,400 the right customer is, and that'll be great. 678 00:29:40,640 --> 00:29:42,240 SPEAKER_01: Um yeah, so good question. 679 00:29:42,400 --> 00:29:45,119 So I've got several different programs for different size 680 00:29:45,279 --> 00:29:45,920 organizations. 681 00:29:46,400 --> 00:29:51,279 My clients are typically the ones that are tired of the same 682 00:29:51,279 --> 00:29:54,640 junk that's been around for 20 years, the pushy, pushy, pushy 683 00:29:55,279 --> 00:29:58,240 makes you feel gross to say this type of sales training. 684 00:29:58,799 --> 00:30:02,480 And so my process is very, as you heard, the number of 685 00:30:02,480 --> 00:30:04,160 questions, very permission-based. 686 00:30:04,480 --> 00:30:07,759 Um, we're not pushing anything when you when you create that 687 00:30:07,759 --> 00:30:09,839 environment, so it's all integrity focused. 688 00:30:10,559 --> 00:30:14,400 I've helped everywhere from really small companies, owner 689 00:30:14,400 --> 00:30:19,200 operators, to uh$30 and$50 million a year companies. 690 00:30:19,599 --> 00:30:24,319 So I do both uh in-person sales training uh for on-site as well 691 00:30:24,319 --> 00:30:25,039 as virtual. 692 00:30:25,599 --> 00:30:29,440 Um every time I set up a step foot on site, revenue goes up, 693 00:30:29,680 --> 00:30:31,359 usually a minimum of 30%. 694 00:30:31,839 --> 00:30:33,839 They get a lift of that type of number. 695 00:30:34,240 --> 00:30:34,720 SPEAKER_00: That's great. 696 00:30:35,759 --> 00:30:39,440 SPEAKER_01: So everything from, you know, I I was in Raleigh at 697 00:30:39,440 --> 00:30:42,799 a$30 million a year company, and their top guy was doing four 698 00:30:42,799 --> 00:30:45,759 million a year, but his average ticket was$8,900. 699 00:30:46,400 --> 00:30:49,680 And after I was there, it went to 16,000 and has stayed there 700 00:30:49,680 --> 00:30:50,880 for two and a half years now. 701 00:30:51,119 --> 00:30:51,440 Wow. 702 00:30:51,599 --> 00:30:55,680 Uh the number of stories of I was about to get fired and now 703 00:30:55,680 --> 00:30:58,880 I'm number one in my company after three months of coaching, 704 00:30:59,200 --> 00:31:01,200 just the list is longer than we have time for. 705 00:31:01,359 --> 00:31:01,519 Yeah. 706 00:31:01,680 --> 00:31:04,400 Uh so that that's the type of results we typically see. 707 00:31:04,720 --> 00:31:07,680 But as far as the companies, home services, HVAC plumbing 708 00:31:07,759 --> 00:31:11,519 electrical, roofing, windows, garage, it really is the it's a 709 00:31:11,519 --> 00:31:13,119 universal conversation at this point. 710 00:31:13,519 --> 00:31:16,799 And so we in fact we just enrolled a company in New Jersey 711 00:31:16,799 --> 00:31:19,039 that's uh does bathroom remodeling. 712 00:31:19,599 --> 00:31:23,200 And so it's really a I've had multiple plumbers right now in 713 00:31:23,200 --> 00:31:25,920 my client list as well as uh some different remodeling 714 00:31:25,920 --> 00:31:29,680 companies of all things, which is it was initially a surprise, 715 00:31:29,759 --> 00:31:32,720 but it it's the same the same conversation. 716 00:31:32,880 --> 00:31:35,920 I've got a whole component for revenue optim. 717 00:31:36,480 --> 00:31:38,720 In fact, I'd I I'd love to set up a meeting with you and my 718 00:31:38,720 --> 00:31:41,599 business partner because we could really use someone that 719 00:31:41,599 --> 00:31:42,640 does what you do. 720 00:31:43,039 --> 00:31:49,119 Um we we're launching in July a group program for smaller to 721 00:31:49,119 --> 00:31:53,440 mid-sized companies to focus on revenue growth and scaling, but 722 00:31:53,440 --> 00:31:57,039 we're doing it in a way we're gonna show them immediately how 723 00:31:57,039 --> 00:32:01,519 to reclaim so much that they're overspending and lost revenue 724 00:32:01,519 --> 00:32:04,799 that should have gone to the bottom line in the first 30 to 725 00:32:04,799 --> 00:32:09,759 60 days that it will 100% cost justify the cost of the program. 726 00:32:09,839 --> 00:32:11,599 And then it's all gonna be lift from there. 727 00:32:11,759 --> 00:32:12,079 Yeah. 728 00:32:12,240 --> 00:32:15,119 And so our goal is to really just help as many people as 729 00:32:15,119 --> 00:32:15,440 possible. 730 00:32:15,759 --> 00:32:19,119 So closeitnow.net is the website. 731 00:32:19,200 --> 00:32:20,240 Uh so you can go there. 732 00:32:20,319 --> 00:32:23,279 There's a form uh you can fill out to be in touch with me, or 733 00:32:23,279 --> 00:32:26,799 email me directly, Sam at closeitnow.net. 734 00:32:27,119 --> 00:32:30,559 Um also have a Facebook group that's just under close it now, 735 00:32:30,799 --> 00:32:32,559 and go listen to the podcast. 736 00:32:32,799 --> 00:32:36,319 I've almost 300 episodes now, and seven this month is uh 737 00:32:36,400 --> 00:32:40,720 seven-year anniversary of the podcast, which is uh listened to 738 00:32:40,720 --> 00:32:42,640 in over 70 countries around the world now. 739 00:32:42,799 --> 00:32:46,880 So the every single episode I make a very serious point to 740 00:32:46,880 --> 00:32:50,079 give an actionable item every s every episode you can 741 00:32:50,079 --> 00:32:51,119 immediately use. 742 00:32:51,279 --> 00:32:54,799 And so it's close it now anywhere you listen to podcasts. 743 00:32:55,119 --> 00:32:55,680 Fantastic. 744 00:32:55,839 --> 00:32:57,119 Thank you, Sam, for joining us. 745 00:32:57,200 --> 00:32:58,319 I really appreciate it. 746 00:32:58,640 --> 00:32:59,200 Absolutely. 747 00:32:59,279 --> 00:33:00,319 Thanks for having me on today.