Ep 279 - Replay - Service Electrician Success: They Only Want Estimates

Hello and welcome to ElectriProner Secrets, the electrician podcast. We're here five days a week with you to help you, master sales, simplify pricing and deliver premium level service. Did you like that little exaggerated pause I threw in there, you called me on that one.

I was gonna say you know, I'm always orchestrating the background and I'm like different today.

I'm gonna lose it If you haven't heard us before. I'm Clay Neumeyer. This is my partner and esteemed co-host, Joseph the Salesbot Lecanny, and today we're gonna test that salesbot. We've got some stuff here because we just finished a fantastic sales class with our clients on the inside track of our little better practice group and guys are doing great, Super proud In fact. I've got a ton of energy for this, this topic, and for the wins that we heard today, even though they presented a bit as struggles and challenges and problems. But challenges, problems are good things for our listeners because we're gonna work through some of that live today to help you guys get through it too. If you're experiencing that, First and foremost, Joseph, I want to ask how you're doing and say may the fourth be with you.

Hey freaking men man, Thank you so much for that. It's been a great day and for those of us that identify as aficionados, personally a SIF, I believe that this is a definitely wonderful day, so may the fourth be with you as well.

All right. Well, I love that. I, as you know, am not as big of a Star Wars buff. I've tried watching it a couple of times. I think I have successfully watched a few of them, but I don't pass the test, although I do. I mean, joe, you're right into it Sitting in your office. I mean, we sat there for an hour while you explained the meaning of the various items on your walls and their fader references and all the things. I can see how you've related to that over time and really extracted the core stories and the influence from that series. So I would like to honor it for you, brother, well thank you.

That really means the world to me and you know what? Maybe that's a day that I can have a podcast one day and just touch on it and explain what makes me me and how this has helped my story. But it means a lot that you're acknowledging and honoring it. You're a good man, Clay.

Yeah, for sure. Yeah, you've got that script on the wall. It seems fitting that that day would be today. It does. We've just got such a great episode and I would hate to rail that for Star Wars tribute right now. I know I have to say but next year may be like a halfway to May 4th.

Yeah, we'll do something like that.

Alright, alright. So today, whenever a client's Alan, who is an absolute rock star we just love the tenacity of this fella definitely operates with present over perfect in mind and just goes out there and gets uncomfortable. So, Alan, if you're listening to this, kudos to you, man, we're super proud of your efforts and stuff. And, of course, um, Alan never minds us sharing. But in this case, Alan's had a tough time, I think today or yesterday with a client who ultimately and maybe you'd explain this better I think the problem was that he wasn't the decision maker Correct. He asked to receive the quote, made it clear that he was going to see other quotes and that only the decision maker could actually make the buying decision. Did I get that right or did you want to add some to that?

No, that's pretty much it. Realistically, what he was facing was known as a gatekeeper client, where their goal is to be strategically in place, whether intentionally or unintentionally, to make sure that I'm going to keep the person who could say yes or no completely removed from the situation. We want to make sure, at least in that archetype, they're trying to make sure that they cannot be emotionally swayed. They are only trying to be logically engaged. It's a very hard thing to overcome, but there is a process to do it, yeah.

Yeah, and I think something I'll just interject right there that did come out from our conversation earlier in this situation is that there are people who are very analytical, there are people that are going to have this preference, but insert this little ticking time bomb right here, right now, because we're going to help you guys solve this today. It's not always about answering these objections. Sometimes it's about eliminating them, right.

That's entirely what we do.

And Bill just jumped on to throw you a. May the 4th be with you as well. So yes, there we go.

I appreciate you, I appreciate you.

Of course, we're talking about our VIPs engaging with us in the Facebook group ElectriPriners Secrets. You can find us there, get with us and actually receive and see these live the day before they're released on our podcast episodes, on whatever network you're experiencing them. So back to the topic here. Absolutely, there's things we can do to eliminate this. It's in the process and it's in how we handle these analytical clients. Please continue, Joseph. Thank you for allowing me to derail us a bit there.

That's all good, and believe it or not, once again, because we're alive, I'm going to be derailed multiple times, I'm sure, as you will. So it's all good, just keep putting me on the tee and I'll keep swinging at it. Sound fair, right, brother?

Yeah, you got it.

So let's kind of imagine what's going on in this client situation. The first thing that we've always asked is so what are you hoping to accomplish today? Right, you want to start at the beginning with having the customer, in their own words, describe how they want this call to go, and the goal of it is it's establishing what's known as a two-call close. We need to make sure that we have an understanding of where they're wanting to go so that we can make our process in not only in line with that, but expecting to get to the end before they do so. What I mean by that is this If the customer comes to you and they say something along the lines of, yeah, so what are you hoping to accomplish today? Well, I'm just looking to get quotes today. That's great, and you can even start with gratitude. You're like that's wonderful to hear. So just to confirm we're not doing anything today. This is just the thought of just trying to get understanding of what we're doing with this project. Is that correct? You're having them double down and recommit to it, like just to confirm we're not doing anything today. We're only looking into this, we're only getting budgetary, we're only looking at numbers right now, if they agree and say yes, perfect. That lines up wonderfully with exactly how we do business here at Service of Electrical. Our goal is we're going to take the time for this immediate visit that we're on right now to learn about you and the family, to evaluate the situation, to do all of our designs and figure out what needs to be done. Then, once we know what you're actually looking for and knowing about the family and how we can assist you, we're going to go back to the shop. We're going to design a range of choices, from the finest that money can buy to the most bare bones you can possibly do. Then, after we sharpen our pencils and dial everything down as tight as we can, we'll come back so that we can review with you and your spouse. That way, it's not on you to have to remember all our different choices, because that would be bad service.

I got a question for you. Go for it, because the entire time we're on the call. Earlier discussing this, I had this one comment in mind and you dropped it right there. How important is it for an analytical person to hear that you're going to go back and sharpen the pencil and prepare the absolute best price you possibly can? It's essential.

Now I'm going to play devil's advocate with myself for a moment, but I'd like to explain from both sides. Some people are like that's cheesy. Why would you tell them you're sharpening your pencil? We do everything by email. We do everything by tablet. We're not using pencils anymore. It's the same reason why we use nominal voltages. It could be 125. It could be 122. It could be 190. We don't know, but we call it 120. We have phrases that speak to people beyond what's being communicated. When you say I'm sharpening my pencil, you're not saying you're physically cranking it like you did when you were in fifth grade. You're saying this is what I'm doing to make sure that I give you a competitive quote. You're speaking to something without saying it at the same time. Does that make sense?

Absolutely Reminds me of also the precious metals and how we're laying those out in the six options, because it's what people recognize. It's an eight-leaf pair, just from this Western lifestyle.

Exactly If you were to say take of argument, I took the gold option. Well, imagine you're standing on a podium. If you took gold, where does that put you?

That's top or close, knowing that many people also have platinum.

Correct. And then at the other side of the coin, when you're taking bronze, we're on the podium, you're there.

Yeah, bottom or close. Yeah, Maybe there's some runner-up options.

Exactly Now. Luckily, we created six, but we're not going to get into that today. Either way, the point of it was we're going to create a range of choices, from the finest that money can buy to the most bare bones or economical we can do and that's what needs to be established to the customer.

Love it, so pencil sharpened where we headed with this thing.

Now we're headed as known as a two-call close, because the first step is that the customer will not invest with you, no matter what, if they don't trust, like and respect you. If they don't like who you are, they don't feel that they can relate with you and they can't feel like they're. You know they can identify with what you're trying to do. You're just a number, you're a commodity and as a result, you'll be treated like a commodity. So there are multiple times where I would go to calls and the customer would say I'm just getting a quote and then at the end of the call they would buy. And it wasn't some fancy sales line or gimmick or trick, it was the relationship. Courses are what we foster here. It's why the process works so well, because when you build that relationship they get to see that your values actually do line up with theirs, that you do actually care and that you do want to serve them at the highest level. So then our process goes towards the next step. When we're already there, we're reminding the customer hey, clay, I know at the beginning of the call you mentioned that you were just getting some quotes at this point and that there was nothing that we were planning on doing today. So we're on the same page. Is that still where we're at?

Yes.

And that's great. If the customer says yes, then we're following the same play. If they say well, I mean, I'm really interested in hearing what you have to say. They've just shown that you've created a relationship and that from the beginning to now, you've created enough interest and desire for them to be willing to change their decision making process.

People do business with who they know like and trust. When you first showed up, like you said, gatekeeper mission, I want to keep my emotions out of this and I want to keep them at bay away from forcing us or having mind you know what. It's a great day to say. Any Jedi mind influence to cause this sale, I love it.

I love the reference there. That's it. Underline bold, highlight that one.

But at the end of the day, guys, I just want to remind everyone that we know we are the best option, because if someone else gets this work, you don't have control. I know that if you're listening to us, then it's likely that you're trying to become a premium service provider. You're trying to do the best you can serve at the highest level, so that means you're the best choice. If you're listening to this, you are the best choice. You gotta know that. We also need to know back to basics here that just because they're shopping around doesn't mean this is not a sale for you. It means that your process also needs to honor people who shop around, the analytical brains who feel like they're project managers in their own right and want to see the best price. But even in the commercial world, it's important to note here that the lowest price is often not chosen.

That's actually why we design the prices the way we do. When you have your top option, it's almost never chosen, only about 15% of the time. When you have your bottom choice, only 2% are taking that choice. That's the thing. It's really just that. So you'll find that people are more statistically likely to buy your best than they are to buy your worst, just on the blind. So why are we discounting them and always assuming that they're only going to want to go cheap? We need to recognize what the problem is. At the beginning. They've kept us at arm's length. So the problem to solve isn't to give them more technical knowledge. It's to show that you yourself are willing to invest in the relationship. And as you do that and they feel like, oh, they're not just trying to sell me. Now they can open up emotionally, you can learn more about them and, as a result, you can visit yourself properly for the next call, meaning the second part of this closing process.

Absolutely. I love that, and I love that certain parts of this process, which we're not going to have time to dive into it, nor are we able to give every last detail away, but there's literally moments, really in the beginning of the process that help dictate these outcomes as well Exactly that separate you from the competitors. So, on this, two call close, by the way, guys, we did an entire episode on this one in the past, so, also not going to go into extreme detail with it, we're going to stick to how it pertains to this problem that we're dealing with today, but you can always go back and learn more about that two call close. One of the advantages we're going to come to, though, I'm sure and I'll tee you up for it is maybe even being the last to come back, having that appointment booked so that you come back last and get to discuss the differences. Do you think that that is also important here, joseph?

I love it. You can see the smile. For those of you who are just listening, you can tell when Clay says something that really inspires me. I get like this big cheesy grin, because that's exactly why we say the word conclusion as well. So when you ask someone, when are you hoping to bring it to a conclusion? We're not asking when are you planning on getting all your quotes. We're asking when did you want to get this job done? There's no way they could get the job done before they've gotten all their quotes. So when you're asking this, you're actually also asking when are you most likely to be able to make a decision? And then you can schedule your follow-up appointment. The secondary, the second part of the close from the two-part steps to come back closest to the date that they've already provided you and you. Two things can happen Either going to say, yes, that works out great and that shows you lined up, or they may say, well, we're looking for it sooner than that, and that gives you another way out. You're like, okay, well, I'm happy to support you. Just so I understand this correctly, why do you feel like it'd be in your best interest to get it done sooner? Why not just wait, and then it's up to them to now convince you why they need it done sooner.

I love that Little flip. Right, just a little flip. Put it back in their court at the right time and let them choose that direction Again. I always love the books where you choose your own ending, oh yeah.

RL Stein for the win.

RL Stein. You got it. You got it. Okay, where are we going from here?

Okay. Now the next step is after the customer has then said that, yes, they're willing to come back. Then great, then we're going to establish that second call where you're going to physically come back. But the thing is, can you imagine that some customers might want to give you resistance, like I want to speak to the crowd right now, someone who's listening, that's like no, they're just going to want an estimate now. Can you imagine that that might come up that someone's going to be like well, I just want to quote now, aren't you going to give me a quote? Yeah definitely Right. The thing that I want you all to understand is that you're holding a playbook, that you are the only one who's gotten a chance to read it, and that most people do not want to break an order of operation that you believe in or an established order of operation. When you go somewhere, each company is going to operate in their own way, and you're usually going to allow them to do it their way. It just makes sense to do so. So the confidence in which you describe this initial quote and the reasoning why you're giving it, why you're doing it, is very important. So I'm going to break into two sections, is that okay?

Absolutely.

Okay. The first is the confidence in which you're delivering it. If you say something like well, what we normally would like to do is we're going to want to come back and meet with you and your spouse, it's not going to work when you say, here at Service of Electrical, our goal is to do this. We are going to make sure that we've gotten the chance to know you and your family and make sure that we understand exactly the problem you're trying to solve. Then, after we've determined exactly what it is you're trying to do, we are going to go back to our shop and we are going to sharpen our pencil and design the best choices we can, from the finest that money can buy to the most bare bones that you can do. At that point, once we've sharpened that pencil and we've gotten everything as tight and copacetic as we can, we're going to schedule time to come back to meet with you and your spouse. That way, you don't have the burden of having to translate multiple quotes and determine which one's the best fit for you. We'll be here side by side to help guide you through the process and you'll be completely free to choose, with no pressure, which one you think is best for you. At what point is someone going to tell you you know what one they're going to interrupt your confidence? Not likely going to happen, I've established. Did it really sound I mean, that was off the top of my head, just going off memory, but did that sound like I was pretty confident in this, the way we're going to do what we do?

Absolutely.

Okay. So as long as our pace and our tone is good, it's important. The second thing was why we're doing it the way. We are right. We're letting them know that we're just going to evaluate it first, to learn and understand them and their family. We're doing that so we can let the customer know that it's relevant to them and that they are the people we're focused on, not the light, not the panel, not the outlet, them them themselves. Then, after we've gotten that established, we're letting them know we will be going back to the shop Establishing one. We have a location, usually implying they were a more established company.

And they're witnessing that. They're experiencing that already. There's definitely a difference here, which we're going to touch on again. Continue. Sorry to interrupt, yeah.

No, it's all good. We're letting them know that we're different than the average company that they're going to work with. We're letting them know that we're going to sharpen our pencil to make sure we give them the most accurate quotes possible, make sure that it's as competitive as we can possibly get it. Then we're establishing, we're creating a range, so at this point they're starting to understand what it's like to purchase from us. They're establishing what makes us different and what they can come to expect. We then, at the same time, towards the end of it now, have described what the likely outcome will be. We create the choices. We're going to come back with you and your spouse. Now I never say wife, I never say husband. In fact, we probably should just be saying partner or spouse, to make it easier, because you never want to alienate anyone or judge any lifestyle but then establishing to yourself from there this is meant to benefit you. We're going to make sure you come back so you have a complete and total turnkey understanding of what you're going to be receiving.

I love this. I love this, I love this.

I dive in for a second.

Please and thank you, because I want to answer to a self objection that people would have at this point, people being electric burners out there presenting in this way or thinking, hey, I've got some reasons why I shouldn't present in this way, one being I don't want to piss these people off. If they want the number today, I should give them the number today, or I might not get the job. But and I'm sure you got plenty answers for this too I mean, we can go and go and go. There's a half dozen little forces at work here. A what's the likelihood you're going to be the only person rocking a two call close on this.

The thing is is you're almost always going to be the only one who does it, because the average electrician is get in and get out. In fact, and I'm not going to say any names we had someone that we were working with earlier specifically say hey, when I, before I started your process, they said they want an estimate. I didn't want to fucking deal with them and I just sent it to them.

Yeah.

And now that they understand the reasoning why, you know what to do and why to do it. So to answer your self-objection, if I may, yeah, take a crack at it too.

We got some time on this one.

Awesome. The question that you had was well, what do I do? Aren't I going to piss them off? Well, not if you're solving their emotional need. So the first thing that someone might come to you be like well, does that mean to say you're not going to give me an estimate today? You can just say well, I'm here to help you in the best ways that I can. Can I ask you a question? Is accuracy going to be important when you're trying to get your numbers? I mean, is that a wrong question to ask?

No, it's valid. It ties back to yet another episode we did on how to overcome the price objection on the phone or people demanding price over the phone, it's the same thing. Is an accurate number important to you?

Correct, because the goal is what is usually the justification that someone says I need a quote today, but I'm not going to make a decision. They usually say, well, we're just budget shopping for now, okay. Well, any one of us who is fiscally responsible knows that a budget only works when the number they're inputting into your spreadsheet is accurate. If I tell you it's $1,000 today and you set aside $1,000 and then I come back two, three months from now, it's actually $3,000 to do the job you really want it done, and not just the one that gets my foot in the door, you're going to be pretty pissed. And now I have to justify $2,000 in two months.

It's not going to work right. Yeah, yeah, there's so much here, yeah.

So letting them know that our goal is to make sure that we're doing things for accuracy, for your benefit. Everything we do is for the customer's benefit, to serve them at the highest level.

Can I jump back in?

By all means.

Okay, zooming out 30,000 foot view. What we know about this customer right from the get go is they don't want to feel like there's no options. They don't want to feel sales pressure, and the pressure to buy today is really specifically what we're speaking to Now. Again full circle back to what I said. It was likelihood. You're the only person to relieve that pressure entirely by focusing on relationship and understanding the needs and then pulling back and having zero sales pressure today. I guarantee I can't guarantee it, but I'm going to go ahead and be a betting man on this one. You're going to be one in a thousand in your area that's actually doing it this way. It displays patience and we do the same thing. We get on calls with people all the time and a lot of times there's a little hesitancy because they don't want to be pushed into an offer, a sale. We don't do that. I just get on the call and help people and if we like each other, we offer a second call. And if we like the second call, we say, hey, would you like to hear pricing? And they go, yes, yes, we would. So in backing us up and then coming back, there's another superpower at play. You're also going to be the person that gets to see them twice. Now let's back up to the self objection a bit and say you know what devil's advocate are they even going to have me back? Well, let's say they're shopping three quotes. You're the only person that gave them zero pressure to buy anything. You ran the play and, like we acknowledged earlier, they didn't want sales pressure because they want options and you've got all the options they need. Anyway, You're going to present six. So you focused on relationship. You back up, then you get to see them a second time, which no one else got Again, following a process that really honors them, honors that relationship, and at that time they're able to see the clear difference and recognize between you and them, the competitors, just what they're dealing with and how much of a gem you really are Now. Have you ever here's the last one I've got for this have you ever backed up from, let's say, shopping for a house or witnessed this on a reality TV show? Hey, what did you think about house A between a couple? Hey, would you think about house B? Hey, what did you think about house C? In this specific situation, do you think the partnership, the couple, would have that conversation?

More than likely, they're going to be talking amongst themselves and figuring out like, yeah, I do like this, I like that.

And probably sorry before you came back, even for the second. They probably have it before then. But we liked Joe the most. We just haven't seen his prices yet. That's important. And there's an objection handle that I've heard from Grant Cardone before, where if you get a price objection, he says hey, back up a moment and just say, all things being equal, if price wasn't an issue, would you rather work with us or them? Okay, I'm done. That's my big rant.

Now, it's not a rant, you're giving some serious value here and other things that I've heard. That would really work in that pretty good circumstance really lines up really, really well with what you've just said, because once again, we focused on the relationship. We focused on making sure there's no pressure situation and then if they still gave you resistance, at that point you're figuring out would you rather work with us or them? If the stars aligned and we had everything that you wanted, what would be the likely outcome? And there it is. That's a big question to ask.

If the stars aligned.

ladies and gentlemen, Can I say why I love that close so much. Yeah, please do so. It's a close that is both inconspicuous and unarguable. Now, what I mean by that is this is that when you say if the stars aligned, you're almost creating a ridiculous scenario that you can both visualize and laugh at. You're like okay, the star is over our kitchen table right now. Everything's in a lot. The planets are in alignment right now. I had the exact right price, I had the right solution and you wanted it. How it happened At that point, if they didn't say I would move forward, you can back away at this moment and they say can we just call a quick time out for a second? Just so I understand this correctly, you need to tell me that if I'm batting a thousand, everything, including the planetary alignment, is in my favor and we still aren't looking to do something at this point, I don't want to feel like I'm pressuring you. I feel like now is not the right time. Wouldn't it be better if we just came back another time, when you're more looking to bring this to a conclusion which is, once again, a fair question to ask and what you've done is now create scarcity? That's really what just happened. You made yourself more valuable by being willing to pull away, because if you were so hard up on work, could you have done that? If you had an empty board and there was no calls on the calendar, could you pull away from a job. The customer knows that too, and if you're willing to pull back if things aren't perfect, they will likely pull you back in. And that's where a willing and voluntary commitment comes from and, as a result, that could be the thing that turns the sale around.

They don't want to lose that level of service. You're a genius, my friend, you are a genius, and it's no wonder why we call you the sales bot.

No, I appreciate that. I mean, I have a hard time accepting compliments, but the logic is I just struggled for a very long time. I studied under many, many different teachers and I did everything that could to survive, and this is the process. That was the result of it, and I'm grateful and very willing to share this with as many people as we can so that they don't have to struggle like I did.

Well, we all appreciate it, man. Ok, now I got us a little off track. There, really dove in on the 30,000 foot view and all the psychological stuff happening. Was there anything else you wanted to add to this, or can we jump into action items and close out?

I'd say action items for now, because otherwise we're going to end up creating a whole nother podcast, like I could just see, like there's so much depth to it that I don't want to cut it short and I also don't want to ramble people's ears off.

Well, it's perfect. Then what would you say for an action item to help people overcoming this common problem?

The very bare minimum action that we recommend doing is to simply acknowledge to yourself why would the customer ask me this question? Simply getting in their mindset of why would they even want this, or why would they tell me that this is the way they want to do business? What are they trying to do? If you can't see the target, you can't place your shot perfectly. So I'm just asking you to recognize the warning signs that this is happening and allowing you to position yourself before you do the first push off. Would that be a fair step?

Absolutely A little Stephen or a cubby code here. As we've said before, seek first to understand, then to be understood. That will be a major advantage. I love it. I love it With that. I just want to tack in this little self-objection piece not allowing yourself to be overcome by it, expecting a certain number of these pretend calls Just acknowledging that it's not a bad client or someone that should be disqualified. It's an analytical person gatekeeper trying to run their play to ensure they get the result that they're expecting.

Believe it or not, Clay, this is why I love working with you so much. You actually are touching on the all-star action that I had in mind.

Perfect.

Let's go, because the thing is, the self-objection is really what causes people to stumble. I trust this process with my life. I've had to, literally, because this is what kept me alive to do things. I know that this will work. The reason why I know it will work is because I ran the play and I've seen it. For those of you that haven't run the play, I can understand why you'd be scared. It's a situation where you're walking in. You're going to say this customer is going to flame me on Google. They're going to be upset with me. They're going to yell at me, they're going to try to kick me out of their house. They're going to blast me to other people. That's you saying that. No one else has said that. We're letting our imagination run wild. As a result, we're not taking the shot when we can. The All Star Action is to recognize that people aren't doing this to you. They're doing it so that they can serve themselves at the level they feel that they need. If you do the first part correctly, which is to seek to understand, you will eventually be understood. At the end of this call, overcome the self-objection that you're holding yourself in place, which is chaining you to the floor and you will find that you'll be able to thrive.

This might be one of the most valuable episodes we've had out. We keep setting the bar with that. If you've found value in this, let us know in the comments on Facebook or in the reviews where you heard this first episode. We appreciate each and every one of you. Without the electric burners and the intrapreneurs out there, we wouldn't have this to do five days a week, helping you, master sales, simplify pricing and deliver premium level service. I'm Clay Neumeier. This is Joseph Lucani at your service. Guys, let us know how we can help. See you again next time.

Y'all be well.