Does your Home Improvement Sales Team Suck at Objection Handling?

Does your home improvement sales team suck at objection handling? There could be varying answers here, but often times we forget that the homeowner is buying windows for the first time. They are buying a roof for the first time. They are buying a new basement for the first time. Yet, knowing that we know they are doing something in their home for the first time, we often immediately dismiss their objection as if it doesn’t matter.

Typical objections are:

• Pricing
• Timing (putting the project on hold)
• I need to wait until I speak with my spouse or partner (one legger)
• I am getting multiple quotes
• The product isn’t what I was looking for.

(Aren't sure how to find out what objections your prospects have? Be sure to read our blog post on how to add this step to your sales process.)

Treat every objection as if it is the first time you have heard it. It may be a painful thing to learn but that will truly help you understand the prospect’s objection.

• Pricing: Do you have a few minutes to hop on a call so I can tell you how we came to this quote? I am also happy to show you some other products that would be within your price range.
• Timing: There are a lot of different ways we can overcome timing objections. Do they need to save money? If so, offer financing if you have it. Do they have a party coming up and are concerned the installation will interfere? Talk to them. Figure out what the deal is but get a next step and an agreed-upon date to follow up.
• One Legger: This is common but do not just neglect to give them a quote if you only meet with one of them. I see this way too often and it is a great way of losing deals. Give them a quote. Ask them when they anticipate speaking with their partner and offer a secondary appointment before you leave the house. You will come back if it means a $30k dollar sale.
• Getting multiple quotes: Encourage them to look at all of their options. Why do you say that? Because they are going to whether you like it or not. They will appreciate and remember that you were consulting them and not just selling them. Ask them when they are going to be wrapping up their quotes and ask for a chance to walk through their quote one more time before making a decision.
• Incorrect product: Ask them about the product that they were looking for. If you have it, great. Don’t take it personally. We all try to pitch the incorrect product at times. If their taste changes throughout their buying process, that's okay. Be flexible and show them what else you have to offer.
  
  

The important thing is to continue to ask questions about the objection and throughout your sales cycle. You can often get ahead of objections if you say things like “Is there anything that could prevent you from moving forward or is there something that you didn’t see that you needed to in order to make a decision?”

Often times homeowners are not going to buy on the first visit and it is easy for your sales rep to move on to their next appointment without following up at all. This is leaving hundreds of thousands, if not millions of dollars on the table over the course of a year. With Hatch, you're able to put this follow-up process on auto-pilot by leading with text messages to the homeowner, to surface the real objection to why they didn't purchase. What we see a lot is that the homeowner just wasn't ready to buy in a one-call close pressure situation and needed a day or two to think about it - and they will request via text to have the rep come back out to their house or just ask for the paperwork to sign.

For more ways to improve sales communication, check out our free ebook now!