Residential Metal Roofing Executive Report

A System For Selling – Part 8: Detailed Price and Proposal

Issue #60 | September 16, 2016 | Seth Heckaman

In this issue of the Residential Metal Roofing Executive Report, we have reached the final component of our System for Selling. We have already covered how to leverage psychology, build exclusivity, and more. As a reminder, you can view all past editions here. We will now move to the final, and arguably most important, component – “culminating in an exact price and proposal.”

When at a kitchen table following this detailed and intentional System, you have taken 1.5 – 2 hours to build an incredible amount of momentum. You have highlighted their current challenges through a thorough inspection and needs analysis, and they are feeling the pain and frustration of their experience. You have educated them on why their current roof (or other product) failed and how most other products will do the same, so they are angry at the company they hired previously and whoever tried to sell them an inferior solution the night before. And you have taken time to build value and exclusivity in every component of your solution and shown how it will best meet their needs, so they understand they cannot find your exact solution elsewhere. The only way to capitalize on the time and effort you have invested, and the emotional and logical value you have built for the homeowner, is to culminate in an exact price and proposal.

Some companies consider the act of presenting a price on the first visit to be high pressure. We believe it all depends on how you do so. If you only sell on emotion and negativity, present a vague proposal, offer a 30% discount if they sign that night, and refuse to take no for an answer, you are most definitely high pressure and are eventually going to fail in today’s day and age of social media and consumer advocacy. But if you present a detailed proposal reflecting the decisions they made throughout your presentation, offer modest discounts associated with tangible and believable value, and give them the freedom to make their decision, you are only fulfilling the natural, final step of your two or three-hour appointment.

Yet some companies still insist on presenting their proposals at a later date. Research has proven that homeowners will forget a significant amount of the information covered within 24 hours, and the majority is lost after three days. When they receive your email a day or two later, or even if you return to the house to present it in person, they have lost all reference of value – not to mention they are no longer emotionally invested! Sticker shock will always be worse and closing rates will drop dramatically.

Obviously the first step to being able to present a price on the first night is creating a system where the salesperson can calculate an exact price at the end of the presentation. The best roofing companies in the country have equipped their salespeople to build an exact price from measurements they collect from the ground, without having to increase their pricing to compensate for errors, and hold them accountable to their accuracy. If you are selling kitchens, baths, or basement finishing, and insist on having time away to calculate your price, try sending someone other than the salesperson ahead of time to collect measurements. The presentation must culminate in a price because that is when the homeowners are emotionally attached to their decisions. Remember, every buying decision is an emotional buying decision.

No matter how brilliant your presentation is, there will always be some amount of sticker shock. You build as much value as possible to mitigate it, but it will always exist. Providing a detailed proposal is critical so, while in the midst of shock, the homeowners are reminded of every element of your exclusive solution and there is no option – decisions they made throughout the presentation – they are willing to live without. They cannot find your solution elsewhere and only your solution will satisfy all their wants and needs. This is why we are so passionate about taking a consultative approach, because when it comes time to present a price, you are presenting the exact solution they have picked – not what you told them was best – and it has been catered to the unique wants and needs they defined at the beginning of the appointment.

Some salespeople follow the entire system up to this point and still fail the final step: asking for the order! When you take the time to provide homeowners a thorough inspection and analysis of their situation, detailed education on all available solutions, and professional recommendation, you earn the right to ask if you can serve them on their project. They know your ultimate goal is to sell metal roofs and you have already provided an incredible service, so it is a natural and expected conclusion.

This completes our series on our System for Selling. As always, thank you for participating in this conversation, and please do not hesitate to reach out with any questions or comments. Every day we watch metal roofing companies, with widely varying levels of sales acumen and experience, implement this System for Selling and dramatically increase their success. We would relish the opportunity to help you do the same.

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