August 11, 2020
All roads lead to Uncle Joe. We sat down with Joe Crisara, Owner of ContractorSelling.com to learn how to handle objections and use purchasing psychology to let people sell themselves on your service. From selling new air conditioners and furnaces to your own personal life, Joe has some incredible insight on how to deal with stalling customers, recognize your own leverage, and break through objections to close every deal in front of you.
The industry knows him as “Uncle Joe”, and for good reason. Joe has been in the trades since 1977, and even his father was in the plumbing industry, where Joe got his start. After plumbing, Joe earned his HVAC certificate and, as he puts it, “did everything the wrong way for the next 15 years”, from working as a technician to starting his own business. It’s a common theme with our successful guests, and a big part of where Joe’s expertise comes from. Another recurring theme is listening to those who know what they are doing, and Joe took some great advice that changed his life for the better. Instead of being so focused on saving his customers money, he started trying to convince his clients that they should invest in their homes.
Now, there are over 6,200 people who use Joe’s elearning and training software found at ContractorSelling.com. He’s helping contractors perform world class service from day one, and with over 600 clients doing over 5 million in sales, it’s clear that his methods work.
People don’t want to be sold, so there’s a lot that goes into great sales techniques. If you’re in sales or ever have been, you know exactly the resistance to expect from most people when trying to convince them of a service. At every step of the sales process you are going to encounter objections and you need to know how to handle them.
The key is being able to treat objections like a gift that’s being given. Instead of viewing resistance as a negative, you have to approach objections with a mindset of gratitude. It’s free feedback, and you can use objections as valuable information to help convince the customer that your service has merit. If you can remove your self-esteem from the equation and navigate through the objections, you can take your sales to the next level.
There are five different types of objections, and each has distinct characteristics. Defining these types will help you to determine the best way to approach the situation.
A real objection is when someone actually says “no”. When you hear words like “I’m not buying that”, you know you’ve met a true objection. The person isn’t just blurting something out, they’re telling you that for some reason, they don’t see the value in the service that you’re trying to provide.
Sometimes, it’s not even a real objection. People often will blurt something out to challenge you and see if you really believe in your service and the price. You can’t back down, because if you don’t believe in yourself and your service, why would anyone trust what you’re selling? In this case, you have to be confident and reassure your customer that yes, this price and the service are justified and valuable.
A stall is when someone says “not now”, “come back later”, or something along those lines. Remember, anything other than no or not now isn’t a true objection, it’s just people throwing things out and giving you the chance to back down. They might simply be complaining to see if you’ll back down or not be confident in your price/service. You’ve got to say “yeah, it’s a high price, but it’s for good reason. So what should we do?” Agree with them to the extent that makes sense, and then lead them towards the next step.
They might say “I don’t know, this is confusing. I might have to go do some more research”. When people are trying to look for answers somewhere else, you’ve got to convince them that you’re the best resource for them. Combat this by suggesting that instead of going online and taking advice from someone they don’t know, they can just ask you the questions and take advice from someone that is right in front of them who actually knows what they’re talking about. You’re the person that’s going to be performing the service, and you’ll have to deal with them if they aren’t happy. Simply being in front of the customer and confident in your abilities can be enough to convince them to trust you.
“I don’t know, I have to ask my (insert person)”. Whether it’s a wife, a boss, or someone else, you’ll find objections that include a person who isn’t there to help make the decision. Instead of accepting defeat, ask the person offering up a third-party objection what their third party would rather have: a temporary solution or a permanent one? Do they usually prefer mid-range or premium solutions? As they answer their own objections, you’ll be letting them lead themselves into the sale. Most of the time, they know all of the answers already, it’s just a matter of getting them to think through it out loud.
The phrase “What should we do” is the ace up your sleeve. This simple question is your path forward through every objection, and one that Joe uses to great effect. It’s not only a way to word your question as a partnership between you and the customer, it’s how you give them the feeling of leading the conversation. You have all of the leverage in the situation, and although they can object, you have to recognize that they need the service. If their AC isn’t working and they are complaining about the price, if you leave they’re still going to need to get it fixed. It might as well be you!
Hang in there and keep asking questions, and you’ll win every objection. If you’d like to learn more about Joe and his incredible sales techniques, be sure to check out the Total Immersion live training classes in addition to the invaluable elearning at ContractorSelling.com. There are upcoming Sale Summits each month through November, so be sure to sign up and take your sales to the next level!