Episode 29 - Electrical Growth - Why We're Not Going to the Event

@11:54 - Clay Neumeyer (serviceloopelectrical.com)

Welcome to entrepreneur, the electricians podcast. I'm your host, Clay Newmire with my esteemed co host, Joseph, the robot of sales.

Otherwise known as the sales bought Luke, and he changed it today. And it was, guys, we're just here five days a week to help you master sales, simplify your pricing and deliver premium level service.

No fancy shit from us. As you can tell, there's no pre recorded intro. There's no pre recorded outro. The calls to action are all live, real intimate in the moment.

And today we have a fantastic topic to help you get some freaking space from those customers that are over your shoulder.

Joseph, why would we want to do this?

@12:45 - Joseph Lucanie (Fathom)

Sometimes you need space just to process your own thoughts, right? I can't tell you how many times I've gone to calls where the customer was just some crazy cat lady and kept putting cats on my shoulder while I'm working and trying to do things.

And it definitely held up the ability of design. I mean the best options for them. Or sometimes you're in a situation where the customers following you around, you're in the panel and they're like, so what'd you look like?

What's it look like? How's it going? Everything good? You figured it out yet? You need some space as a professional, not only to work safely, to work diligently, but to work smart.

You need to be able to design your choices. And sometimes you need to be at arm's length to do that.

@13:24 - Clay Neumeyer (serviceloopelectrical.com)

Absolutely. And you touched on something really important and we've heard that in our client group even is when designing those options, especially when you're new to it, it's already difficult.

It's already shaky, right? We're trying to come up with six things.

@13:36 - Joseph Lucanie (Fathom)

There's a whole process to that that we've outlined before.

@13:40 - Clay Neumeyer (serviceloopelectrical.com)

But how problematic is that when someone won't give you that space to actually think on these options and create things that are gonna benefit them?

@13:48 - Joseph Lucanie (Fathom)

It can be nearly impossible. And the reason why I say that is in order to design options, you have to be in the mindset to think at a 30,000 foot view.

You have to be able to say, not only am I going to solve what you've immediately asked. But I'm now also thinking five and 10 years into the future, or even as short as 30 days into the future to say, what could go wrong?

How can I enhance this? What should I offer that be on code to you? If the customer won't stop talking about Mr.

Boots, what are you gonna do? Like how can you make sure that you're gonna get it set up?

@14:20 - Clay Neumeyer (serviceloopelectrical.com)

Freakin' Mr. Boots, man. Always in the way. Spraying on everything.

@14:26 - Joseph Lucanie (Fathom)

Mr. Boots is a cat, right? Oh yeah, I'm assuming it's random cat.

@14:30 - Clay Neumeyer (serviceloopelectrical.com)

Yeah. Pussin' Boots, all right. So what's one of the ways we can begin to alleviate this problem?

@14:36 - Joseph Lucanie (Fathom)

So imagine the best way that I found it's called the interrupt step. What we would do is I'm gonna give you guys a visual that we're gonna all get our heads around it, and then we're gonna determine how to overcome it.

@14:47 - Clay Neumeyer (serviceloopelectrical.com)

And so, sorry, that just came through a little bit quiet.

@14:49 - Joseph Lucanie (Fathom)

What did you call this process again? Sorry, the interrupt step.

@14:52 - Clay Neumeyer (serviceloopelectrical.com)

Is that better? The interrupt step, got it.

@14:55 - Joseph Lucanie (Fathom)

Continue, thanks. All right, so the interrupt step is where you're, I'm gonna give you a visual, this is. So let's say you're sitting at the kitchen table, you just sat down and you're getting ready to write up your choices.

And whether you've implied or whether you haven't, this customer is not leaving you alone. They're talking to you about anything.

We talk about the weather, they talk about business, seeing your vans, whatever it is, they're talking and you can't focus.

The need to work a reaction is to try to say, hey, I need some space. But if you do that, what do you think's gonna end up happening to the relationship you've worked so hard to foster?

@15:29 - Clay Neumeyer (serviceloopelectrical.com)

Yeah, it's a little rough, little abrasive, as people have said about me in the past. If you can imagine that.

@15:36 - Joseph Lucanie (Fathom)

Yeah, I was gonna say, I almost like Canada, usually a really pleasant guy to work with, but either way.

The thing is, is that that first new jerk is to say, I know what I'm gonna do, I'm gonna pause it.

Other times, some people say, I'm just not gonna say anything. I'm gonna give them the silent treatment until they eventually get the message.

But if they don't get the message, you just end up not being able to work either way.

@15:56 - Clay Neumeyer (serviceloopelectrical.com)

And you know what? There's one more critical, I hate to interrupt your flow, brother, but. There's one more big piece that we're seeing a lot that we're definitely standing against.

And that is leaving the home altogether.

@16:10 - Joseph Lucanie (Fathom)

Oh God, that's not even happening.

@16:11 - Clay Neumeyer (serviceloopelectrical.com)

Going out to the van, saying you'll send them an estimate later, setting a second appointment, like there's no need for this.

@16:19 - Joseph Lucanie (Fathom)

You can do this right here, right now. Let us help you. If you go to the van or you say, we're just gonna send you an estimate and we'll get back to you, you might as well not even show it out.

Like I am specialized in taking the job away from you at that point. Because the thing is, is that if you're gonna say, this is just not part of the service that we provide.

Here at Service Your Electrical, we always provide you with a complete, customized menu of choices from the finest money can buy to the most economically you possibly do.

It wouldn't be reasonable for me to expect you to translate these options on my behalf. So when's the best time I can meet with you and your spouse to go through this?

Imagine that verse, yeah, I'm gonna get back to you, I'll send you an estimate.

@16:58 - Clay Neumeyer (serviceloopelectrical.com)

Yeah.

@17:00 - Joseph Lucanie (Fathom)

Back onto the pace, we're in the kitchen, the customer is yammering on, we can't get them to stop. So there's a concept called giving the customer a job.

So what you're gonna wanna do is you're gonna wanna first soften the state, it usually comes in three paces, putting on the T, winding up, swinging.

Putting on the T is giving the customer a sense of gratitude, such as clay, honestly, I'm really having a great time talking to you.

I feel like we could talk all day, you're the kind of guy I'd like to just sit down and have a beer with and just talk all day with.

But can I ask you a question?

@17:31 - Clay Neumeyer (serviceloopelectrical.com)

Yeah, please.

@17:33 - Joseph Lucanie (Fathom)

Now, I'm right now I'm focused on providing the absolute finest designs I can. And I know I wanna make sure that we're getting the prices the best we can as well.

You mentioned that being in budget was a very important thing to you. So I'm really doing everything I can to focus on this.

While we're up, do you mind if I trouble you for a glass of water?

@17:50 - Clay Neumeyer (serviceloopelectrical.com)

Yeah, of course.

@17:52 - Joseph Lucanie (Fathom)

Awesome. So the first step there is we started with gratitude. We asked and said, we're really grateful to be working with this client.

We've enjoyed it. But the but statement is incredibly important because the but is almost an eraser for everything in previous years.

So now that but is almost like a period. I've enjoyed talking to you period. I'm designing choices and I'm really doing my best to focus on it right now and you have to give it to benefit them.

I'm doing my best to focus on this so I can make sure I'm giving you the best designs as well as sharpening my pencil to give you the best prices.

Period. Do you mind if I trouble you for a glass of water? So what you've done is you started by giving them gratitude.

You then continued on by explaining what you're actually asking for but then you soften the statement at the end for asking for a glass of water.

Now it's can I trouble you for a glass of water? Now can I get a glass of water? Can I bother you for a glass of water?

Could I inconvenience you for a glass of water? It always has to be something that you're almost apologetically asking for.

Why do you think that is going?

@19:01 - Clay Neumeyer (serviceloopelectrical.com)

So I can't remember who sings it, but he's talking about his daughter always being humble and kind And I swore I wouldn't cry today.

So that's as far as I'm gonna go with that one.

@19:08 - Joseph Lucanie (Fathom)

Okay, all right Yeah, he with daughters here Amen dad daughters are the best. I don't think I got two girls on my own.

@19:14 - Clay Neumeyer (serviceloopelectrical.com)

I wouldn't have it any other way I feel like I've got squirrel disease today. So Let's get let's get back on track.

Go ahead.

@19:21 - Joseph Lucanie (Fathom)

Tell us why tell us why Always be humble and kind So the reason why we're going to be trying to give them a kind reason at the end of saying like hey Almost took me off my my thought process But so we've got the gratitude step at the beginning The middle step was then interrupting and giving them the reason and then giving them the but can I inconvenience you?

Can I trouble you for a glass of water? Because you want to make it almost like it's a big ass that you're uncomfortable asking for Right kind of trouble you for a glass of water would that be okay If I were to come to your home clay and I'm working and you've invited me and I'm doing all these things for you And I said i'm sharpening my pencil coming with a

best price that possibly can. And then I asked for something so trivial as a glass of water. What would you probably do?

@20:07 - Clay Neumeyer (serviceloopelectrical.com)

Oh, I'd help you out with that glass of water. I'm the host. Right.

@20:10 - Joseph Lucanie (Fathom)

I'm a good person and a good host. So maybe that's not everyone. Maybe not. But very rarely have I ever found someone who didn't want to ask for it.

@20:20 - Clay Neumeyer (serviceloopelectrical.com)

Allow me to have a glass of water.

@20:22 - Joseph Lucanie (Fathom)

Yeah. Especially if I pose it as a kind of trouble for something is that all right? Because usually you'll find someone go, Oh my God, I'm sorry.

@20:30 - Clay Neumeyer (serviceloopelectrical.com)

I never offered it to you anyway. Let me go get it right now. Yeah.

@20:31 - Joseph Lucanie (Fathom)

And they'll come back with a tray of cookies or glass of water and ice and a cup of coffee.

You want a sandwich?

@20:38 - Clay Neumeyer (serviceloopelectrical.com)

They'll start asking for these things, especially if they were overly engaged with you in the first place.

@20:42 - Joseph Lucanie (Fathom)

Correct. Very rarely did someone think about offering a glass of water. But then when you bring it up, they're like, Oh my God, I didn't offer them a glass of water.

Of course. Yeah, my grandmother would be so mad if I didn't know if I was something to eat when they came to the home.

Yeah, of course. So they stepped away. This is where So you have to step away, you take just a couple of minutes, whether it's 30 seconds or two minutes while they're doing anything on yourself, deep diaphragm breathing, make sure you can send to yourself and say this is my next direction.

Now, when they come back, you can give them a timeframe what they're going to be looking play thank you so much for the glass of water I really appreciate it.

Now just so you're on the same, especially on the same page what I'm going to be doing is I'm going to be about 10 minutes more, just making sure that I'm crunching the numbers and giving you the best price that possibly can, as well as working some really awesome designs.

Can I let you know when I'm ready in about 10 minutes.

@21:35 - Clay Neumeyer (serviceloopelectrical.com)

Absolutely.

@21:38 - Joseph Lucanie (Fathom)

So did I tell you to go away at any point.

@21:40 - Clay Neumeyer (serviceloopelectrical.com)

No.

@21:43 - Joseph Lucanie (Fathom)

In fact, I never even said you couldn't sit here with me. But I not only said I'm grateful to talk to you.

I've explained what I'm doing like what I'm actually getting done and why I'm getting it done. I transitioned you away.

So we both had a moment of separation. And then when you come back, I can research control over the call.

Yeah, I'm inviting you and saying, Hey, I'm going to need about another 10 minutes. And then after you're done, and they acknowledge it, look at your presentation, send to yourself and put your attention towards what you're doing.

If you actually have one arm out and you're facing the customer and you're looking at this, it's not going to work because you're inviting the customer to talk to you.

Sometimes turning two shoulders facing a direction is very important. It communicates that this is where my focus is. If you had a customer who is going to see all these things, do you feel like it would be a pretty unusual situation for them to continue to pass to you at that point?

@22:37 - Clay Neumeyer (serviceloopelectrical.com)

Absolutely. Yeah, we got some feedback from the group too, calling it verbal judo 101. Communication is another big C word I heard there, communication 101, recognizing that there's definitely and really a strong physical component to communication as well as tonality.

@22:56 - Joseph Lucanie (Fathom)

There's a lot that goes into this. Lastly, This is just at the customers at the kitchen table. You can apply this in any other kind of situation.

Can I spin it for a slightly different kind of customer?

@23:07 - Clay Neumeyer (serviceloopelectrical.com)

Sure. Let's do that.

@23:08 - Joseph Lucanie (Fathom)

All right. Let's say you're standing in front of the panel, right? You're called out to do a diagnosis and this customer is just breathing heavy and just standing behind you.

Awkward, right? And you don't want to just talk to them the whole time because sometimes you do have to focus.

Maybe you're taking meter readings. Maybe for some reason you're checking to see why there's 145 to an outlet in the basic living room.

We don't know. We got to figure out we have to start metering things out and figure where the neutral break is.

So you need a little more time. You can pause the customer and say, Hey, could I ask you for your help with something?

Now, if I were to ask someone for help, what is the natural innate response that we usually have?

@23:50 - Clay Neumeyer (serviceloopelectrical.com)

Yes, they want to help.

@23:52 - Joseph Lucanie (Fathom)

Sure. They want to be involved. They're not standing around and you asking what's going on, what's going on? Because the board, they have some sort of emotional connection to this.

If you say, hey, can I trouble you for some help with something? Sure. I'm tracing right now in the living room.

I'm going to make sure everything goes smooth. Right now I'm going to work on the circuit and I'm going to take some readings.

Could you go upstairs and plug a space heater into that outlet and turn it on, wait 15 seconds and then turn it off?

Could you go to the ceiling, the kitchen and actually turn on your stove? Could you go to your dryer and turn on the dryer?

You can tell someone to do something. And as long as they understand that this is something that's going to benefit the relationship, people are happy to do it.

But realistically, do you need them to turn on the dryer? Yep. Tab went up, but you can have some sort of justification in saying so, right?

You could say, well, I'm making sure that when you turn on a major 240 load that I can make sure that panel doesn't have a proper voltage drop dip.

I mean, we don't know. It's possible. But the point is, is that you want the customer to step away from you for a couple of minutes.

Same exercise, diaphragm breathing, get yourself centered. When they come back, And usually it's not going to be within 30 seconds because you can give them the timeframe.

Go to the kitchen, can you turn the stove on and monitor it for five minutes and then turn it off.

I'm going to be measuring the voltages down here. Then when they do come back, thank them. State of gratitude.

Clay, I just want to say thank you so much. I can't tell you how convenient it is to have a customer like yourself that we're not like an appreciating my service, but it's willing to step up and help with these things.

Really lucky to be working with someone like you.

@25:30 - Clay Neumeyer (serviceloopelectrical.com)

Huge wins, huge wins. And if we're keeping in mind this, us, them, the line and the sand, where are we when they're helping us achieve a solution for their problem?

@25:42 - Joseph Lucanie (Fathom)

We become, we're almost drafting them onto our team. They may have started off on the opposite side. Usually though when you have a customer that won't stop talking, it's because they want to be your friend anyway.

When you can give them a task, you're saying, I want you included. I think that you could help this process.

You make my day better. Who doesn't want that? Some people don't even get that in their marriages. You know what I mean?

You're sitting here saying, you matter to me, and you're helpful, and I appreciate that you're here. It's like, ah, I need that, I need that in my life, right?

@26:19 - Clay Neumeyer (serviceloopelectrical.com)

Yeah, definitely. No, super helpful, super helpful. Guys, if you're watching this, let us know, have you ever run this play before?

Have you ever given a customer a job? If not, why not? Sounds like it could be really beneficial to me, and I would say the results prove it.

Getting on the same team as your customer is gonna be your best friend. It's everything we aim to do, and so I see no reason why you shouldn't be running this play, putting it in your process almost every time.

@26:49 - Joseph Lucanie (Fathom)

It wouldn't make sense not to. I mean, at the end of the day, if you ever one follows a play perfectly, it's just something else to keep in the back pocket.

It's if the customer is going to constantly be reaching out to you, you have to read. Sw17 is to control the call.

Because Clay, what do you think is gonna happen if we get the customer hold the reins on this?

@27:07 - Clay Neumeyer (serviceloopelectrical.com)

I'm sorry, the question one more time?

@27:09 - Joseph Lucanie (Fathom)

Sorry, what do you think would end up happening if we let the customer have the reins on this?

@27:13 - Clay Neumeyer (serviceloopelectrical.com)

Like if we let them control the call? Yeah, well, we're always gonna be somewhat defeated. We're under, as I always say, look, we're in their house, but we're having them to our clinic.

Correct. We want them to have the element of control, but we actually need to maintain control and that requires us to have a process that identifies these very things and helps establish and maintain that control.

@27:38 - Joseph Lucanie (Fathom)

I agree completely. If we were gonna simplify that statement, it would be we wanna be responsive, not reactive. We wanna be able to say, I can control this call because I suspect this is what's happening and I'm gonna shift it so the customer not only feels included, but also understands we need a little bit of a separation.

And then when you can say, hey, you know what, I'm gonna need about 10 minutes to complete this. You're establishing that this is how it needs to happen at this point.

You didn't ask them and you step away for 10 minutes. You're like, I'm going to need about another 10 minutes to go through this and get this completed.

You're pretty much putting it on the end of the statement.

@28:12 - Clay Neumeyer (serviceloopelectrical.com)

Absolutely. I got a big question for you. And I think everyone wonders this. Is there any aspect of this engagement from the moment you start talking to a customer to the moment you're finished with that job collecting payment, getting the review in their fur all that you yourself have not put thorough intention into the communication and responsiveness to any potential situation that may arise?

@28:39 - Joseph Lucanie (Fathom)

I mean, I'd like to say that I have the intention on every single step, but there's a very specific reason why it's I'm great at this process, but not because I'm great.

I'm great at this process because I'm not great. I needed to get good at this process because it was the only way I knew to communicate.

So at the end of the day, when you realize all the subtleties and words and you understand the linguistics behind it and say like, okay, this word means this, but this word communicates that, you start looking at it more like I'm assembling a block of Tetris.

Each individual piece matters. And if you think of it even in a more visual way, imagine this almost like a chart that's going one way or the other, a dial or a gauge.

I want to know that every sentence I'm making, every motion, every move, every body language communication is moving the needle further and further and further towards Joe is the right guy.

Man, I got to work with this person. He seems to have it all together. And damn it, he cares so much.

If you can do that in every word, in every sentence, in every intentionality, where do you fail? The only reason I was able to close as high as I could is because of the entire level of intention.

@30:01 - Clay Neumeyer (serviceloopelectrical.com)

Yeah, I love that. And behind closed doors, I mean, I think it was yesterday we were talking about where that common failure point is.

I mean, that's our entire job is to identify that, uncover it, and solve those problems. And what I feel I've seen, and what I've felt, and what you've felt, and what you've seen around us, not only now as coaches, but in industry, because we are electricians, we've done this stuff.

You see people go with a little bit of a under planned or prepared presentation. And so on the spot coming up with options is difficult.

It makes you uncomfortable and causes anxiety, which then makes you naturally want the gap between you and the customer, hence the van, hence the go home and send you options.

And then that gap just continues to grow and grow and grow, and you're lucky to get that customer. And only at that point, if you get it, do you truly focus on developing that relationship?

@31:01 - Joseph Lucanie (Fathom)

Can I add one more thing to my mind?

@31:02 - Clay Neumeyer (serviceloopelectrical.com)

Just the last bit of it is without then the post and self diagnostic to that call and understanding what happened and actually investing energy at any point to the options, to the relationship, to the communications.

We just end up going fire to fire. We just go to the next call and do the same thing again.

And we go home really and lay awake at night full of riddled with anxiety and stress because nothing went our way.

We didn't give it time to deal with it and we didn't actually correct anything or grow anything so we get stuck.

That's my whole spiel.

@31:39 - Joseph Lucanie (Fathom)

No, you're so right. And honestly, I feel like that summed up everything I was thinking about saying. Okay. Oh, these are nicely done at the end.

I didn't mean to interject and interrupt at the last moment. It was just, I'm glad that you and I are on the same page.

I always get to know we're with these in the right direction.

@31:53 - Clay Neumeyer (serviceloopelectrical.com)

No, it's good. So that's everything this process aims to solve. And now I know we're getting a bit long, so we'll tighten up here at the end, but...

What can we do to take action against this?

@32:04 - Joseph Lucanie (Fathom)

So the thing about this particular process is I'd say the bare minimum action and the author action don't sound very different, but it once again is the intention behind it.

The bare minimum action is simply saying, can you tell me what times or what situations cause you the most anxiety, right?

So is it when the customer standing behind you? Is it when the customer sitting silent, is it when the customer is talking to you when you can understand the scenario that causes your anxiety, you can figure out where you're going to put your intention now and to solve that problem.

@32:39 - Clay Neumeyer (serviceloopelectrical.com)

Love it.

@32:40 - Joseph Lucanie (Fathom)

Does that make sense?

@32:41 - Clay Neumeyer (serviceloopelectrical.com)

Absolutely. Yeah. 100% 110% on the button.

@32:45 - Joseph Lucanie (Fathom)

And I would say, I want to give the all-straction, but I remember what I was going to say that would help.

@32:49 - Clay Neumeyer (serviceloopelectrical.com)

Okay.

@32:50 - Joseph Lucanie (Fathom)

So the visual I was going to say is why do we have people who have these situations where they feel like it's uncomfortable making options at some points.

Remember back in trade school, or like when you first started off and you had to learn how to do wiring three ways and four ways and you're like, how do I get the two travelers lined up?

When we were first young, like 16, 15 years old trying to do it, it was hard and it was stressful.

You even got tested on and we're like, Oh my God, we can't do it. Options are no different. It's just a slightly different thing that you currently don't have familiarity with currently don't have familiarity with.

But when you do it more, it becomes muscle memory and now I can give any one of you guys on multi screwdriver and pair of linemons and you can wire as many three ways as you need it.

The all star action in addition to that is not only do I want you to know what causes you stress, but the all star action is saying, have you practiced the response to that?

If you know the customer is going to be following you around and you know you get stressed when they're behind you, did you practice your response on how to interrupt them?

Those are the really important things. So the all star action and the bare minimum action, they go hand in hand, but unless you know what is causing you that stress, you'll never know what to practice.

@34:12 - Clay Neumeyer (serviceloopelectrical.com)

Love it. Huge, huge, huge. Big giveaways guy. Every day we're showing up here from five days a week. Anyway, not every day.

Saturdays and Sundays off, but we keep showing up every weekday to help you guys with this stuff. We're the only electrician podcast that's giving you actionable advice, not just actionable, but then all star actionable advice five days a week.

If you were to just listen to this podcast, go and take action. I know you'll come back to us with wins.

If you've got those wins already, let us know we would love to put you on our windwall, our little wall of fame for all of our entrepreneurs or entrepreneurs who are looking to succeed at the next level.

I'm Clay Newmeyer. This is my co-host Joseph Lecani, and we're here to help you master sales, simplify pricing and deliver premium level service.

Catch us here.. Live on the on the group. Sorry, but also in the Facebook group where you can engage with us there guys.

We'll see you again next time.

@35:08 - Joseph Lucanie (Fathom)

Take care.