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How To Sell a House Wash - Rooftec Systems

Ryan Cash

UAMCC Associate Member
How do you meet new customers?
How do you close a sale?
What do I do if a customer tells me my price is too high?


I want to take a minute and look at the very basics of sales. There are a lot of sales gurus out there who have a whole system and will offer sales classes but in my experience, the sales process is very simple.

Here’s the breakdown:
  1. Introduction
  2. Build Rapport
  3. Build Value
  4. Ask for the Sale and Stop Talking
  5. Overcome Objections
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First, let’s focus on the Introduction.

How do you meet potential customers?

In the exterior cleaning there are a few quick and easy ways to find customers

Starting from least to most effective:
  1. Yard/Road Signs
    • Need to check with city before putting them on sides of roads
    • Have signs to put in your customer’s yards. Ask the customer if you can leave them in their yard. Tell them they can just throw them away after a week.
    • Simple is better. Customer’s need to be able to read them while driving by.
    • Company name, Services, Contact Info. (Toss in a QR code for easy searching)
  2. Door Knocking/In Person Meetings
    • I typically lump these two together. This may be the most nerve-wracking way to get customers, but it’ll certainly work. This is a good route for companies that are just starting out but it requires a lot leg work and being ok with rejection.
    • Walk on walkways, not in the grass
    • Be ok with people saying, “No”
    • Have something to hand them (Business card, flyer, etc.)
    • Knock on Doors surrounding a house you are currently working on
    • Be Concise
    • Have a schedule ready to book on the spot
  3. Door Hangers
    • Usually considered a step up from door knocking.
    • Have some simple, but nice looking flyers printed up.
    • This also is a numbers game.
    • Make sure to include some before/after photos
    • Phone number/email/services offered
    • Check local rules/regulations concerning where you can put these
  4. Online Presence/SEO
    • Be Everywhere! Facebook, Google, Instagram, etc.
    • This is how most customers find their contractors.
    • This can be totally organic and free, but you must balance price and effort
    • It’ll take a LOT of work and commitment
    • Post Often and frequently – Blogs/Photos/etc.
    • Ask EVERY customer for a review
    • Do the Math!
      • How much are you spending to acquire a customer?
      • what’s your average ticket price?
  5. Customer Referrals
    • This is the best possible way to get customers
    • Have your satisfied customers do the work for you!
    • Ask every customer if they know anyone who could use your services
    • Ask for their number and have the customer call them before you!
    • Tell the customer, “I’m going to be calling them in 2 days and would really appreciate it if you gave them a heads up so I don’t get chewed out on the phone”
    • If possible, ask them to call their referral while you’re there..book on the spot!
    • Give your customers your business card to hand out for you
    • Have business cards, magnets or a QR code on the side of your truck for neighbors to grab
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The next step in the process is to Build Rapport.


When you drive up to a potential customer’s home, what do you look at?
  • Probably their dirty roof?
  • Maybe their overflowing gutters?
  • Algae growth on the siding?
  • Dirty concrete driveway?
All these things are good and important. But there are a few other things I try and look at when I’m pulling in.
  • Do they have some sort of flag hanging on their home?
  • Maybe they have a side-by-side sitting on the driveway?
  • Sports equipment out front?
  • Kids Toys?
  • Really well manicured lawn?
  • An odd collection of bird feeders?
  • A unique car?
  • An interesting paint color on their home?

One of the most important part of sales is building a connection with your customer, even if it’s for just for a few minutes.

If you haven’t read, “How to Win Friends and Influence People” by Dale Carnegie, I highly recommend it.


A few of the main points from his book:
  1. Become genuinely interested in other people.
  2. Smile.
  3. Remember that person’s name.
  4. Be a good listener. Encourage others to talk about themselves.
  5. Talk in terms of the other person’s interests.
  6. Make the other person feel important – and do it sincerely.

In General, people love to talk about themselves. So whenever you talk to a potential customer use this knowledge to build quick rapport and form a connection.

People also like to buy from people they like. So show genuine interest in your customers. Don’t just see them as a path to a dollar.

One of the best phrases to add to your vocabulary is,

“Oh cool. I’ve always been interested in ______ but I don’t know much about it!”


Example: You see a side by side in the driveway. “Man, those things look so fun! I’d love to have one down the road, I just don’t know enough about them to figure out what brand to go with. How’d you decide on yours?”


But again, the key is authenticity. Show a genuine interest in people and you can make a quick connection that will aid in your sale!

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The next phase in the sales process is to Building Value.

There are generally two ways to build value in sales.
  1. Offer a discounted rate
  2. Offer better service.
I typically don’t recommend the first of these two options. Discounting your pricing may drive more sales but can definitely hurt your business in the long run. This route relies on quantity, not quality.

The better path to a sales though is to build value through better service.

Better service doesn’t just mean better results though. Building value through better service can include:

  • Better Results
  • Easier Booking
  • More Knowledge
  • Easier Billing

Better Results- This is pretty self explanatory. Be thorough. Pre and post soak plants to prevent damage. Use a bleach neutralizer to aid in damage prevention. Cover all electrical outlets before starting. Perform a complete walkthrough before and after each job. RINSE the roof so your customer doesn’t have to wait for rain. Double check everything.


Easier Booking- One of the absolute BEST ways to land a customer is ANSWER YOUR PHONE!! Have a system and a schedule. There are plenty of CRMs out there that other contractors recommend, but the key here is to have a system. Make it easy for a customer to get ahold of you and book an appointment. Be prepared to book a job on the phone the first time your customer calls. (avoid in person estimates on smaller jobs wherever possible). Show up when you say you’re going to. Give them a call ahead before their appointment window to let them know if you’ll be late. Verify the day before. Have a SCRIPT for your phone calls. Add this phrase to your script: “Is there a gate code or anything I need to be aware of when I arrive?” Be Hassle Free!


More Knowledge- This was always my focus when cleaning. I always wanted to know more about the customer’s home than they did. Here are just a few of the things you need to learn:
  • Basics of roof and home construction
  • Basics mechanical knowledge and how to troubleshoot your equipment
  • What are the common stains in your area?
  • Different Types of Glass and how to clean it
  • Market pricing for your work
  • Local trees and plants. When do they flower? When do they drop their leaves?
  • Basic understanding of chemistry.
  • Potential Liabilities you’ll encounter
  • Different cleaning methods for roofs and siding
  • Manufacturer’s recommended processes for uncommon materials

By being knowledgeable, you’ll be equipped to answer any objections your customer may bring up and be able to fix any problems that arise on the job. You’ll know what services to recommend and the best time of year for your customer to have them done. The key here is BE THE EXPERT. Your customer is paying for your experience and knowledge!


Easier Billing: Make it easy for your customer to pay. Checks, Cash, Credit Cards. Figure out a way to accept them all. I always recommend taking a credit card number at the time of booking. Run their card after the job is complete unless they specify otherwise. A lot of times, contractors are worried their customer’s won’t want to give them a card number. This worry is pretty unfounded. Running a credit card is the norm now. Make it easy on them. Hand them an invoice at the end of the job with this under payment, “Bill CC on file”.


You can charge higher prices if you offer more value. By finding ways to build that value, your customers won’t look at your price and try to do the math to figure out what they are paying you per hour. They will look at your price and compare that to the value of the job you are offering and the end results.

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Once you've given your pitch, it's time to Ask for the Sale and Stop Talking!

How do you act when you give a customer a quote?
Are you worried your price is too high for them?
Are you nervous about what your answer will be to any objections they give?
How will you close the sale?
Do you lower the price if they push back on it?



One of the best things you can do is to be confident in your pricing. If you believe your prices are too high it will absolutely show through to your customer and they will push back. If you’re unsure of whether or not you can handle a job this size, the customer will worry too.

Give a price like it’s THE price. Not a high price or low price. Your price is THE price if they want it done. Let them create their own objections if they have them. No need to do that for them.


Training yourself to be confident takes work. There is absolutely some benefit to the whole, “Fake it ‘til you make it” mindset but the better approach is actually to just over-prepare and over-educate. Be confident in your abilities and pricing and it will show through to your customers.


Here Is a phrase you should say in EVERY close when asking for a sale,

“Our price is $$ for the cleaning. I can get you on my schedule on Tuesday at 8am or Thursday at 3pm. Which works better for you?”


The key to this approach is that you already are assuming the answer is yes and so their choice is not deciding whether or not they will book your services, but instead when will they have you come out.


Finally, the absolute most important thing you can do after asking for a sale is STOP TALKING! Don’ project your thoughts on a customer or try to overcome objections that they haven’t brought up yet. Instead, give them the quote and stop talking!


Wait for them to answer first! It may seem like an awkward silence, but learn to love that silence.

Once they’ve given you a “Yes”. The next most important thing you can do is solidify the appointment.

Here are my steps to do that:
  1. Collect Credit Card Information
  2. Ask if there is a gate code
  3. Ask if they have any pets/dogs you should be aware of when you arrive.
  4. Ask for abbreviated directions. “Sometimes my GPS takes me to the wrong place, can you walk me through how I get to your home?”This serves a couple purposes:
    • It makes sure you get to the right house (who hasn’t cleaned a neighbors house on accident??)
    • It allows them to visualize you actually coming to their home
  5. Re-state the list of services you’ll be performing and the price

Some of this may seem like overkill, but I promise that if you take the extra 2 minutes to do this, you will no longer have to worry about a customer last minute cancelling or forgetting about their service. This forces them to put themselves in a mindset that you are going to be coming to their house.


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The final step in the sales process is Overcoming Objections.


After you’ve asked for the sale, You’re likely to get one of three responses:
  • Yes
  • No.
  • Some sort of objection

If you get a yes, great! You landed the sale!
If you get a flat no, that’s ok too. Some people are just not your customers.

However, there is also a good chance you’ll get some form of objection.


The most common objections a customer will give in the exterior cleaning industry are:
  1. I need it done sooner than you’re available
  2. I want to do it, but not right now (ex: Can you wait until after the pollen falls?)
  3. The Price is too high
  4. I’m going to get a few other quotes
  5. I got another quote that was much cheaper

The first objection on this list is absolutely legitimate. If a customer need’s a job completed sooner than you’re available (Maybe they have a house party coming up), you generally have three options.
  1. Your first option is to charge a premium rate to bump them up in your schedule. This will require moving other customers around and possibly hurting your relationship with them, so you need to make sure this route makes sense for your business. If a customer wants a job done sooner, it will cost.
  2. The second option is to network with your local “competition” and offer your customer an alternative company to use. This is why networking is so important.
  3. Finally, you can turn down the work. You need to decide which is the best option for you though.


All of the other objections actually fall into the same concept: The customer’s perception is that the value of the service being offered doesn’t line up with the price. This could mean several things: Maybe they don’t believe you have enough experience or knowledge to complete the work. Maybe they only got one quote and are worried they’d be paying too much.



So how do you handle these objections:

There are lots of great books on sales, but I’ve always found that the best method at overcoming these objections is the “Feel, Felt, Found” method.
  1. Tell them “I understand how you feel”.
  2. Tell them about someone else who felt the same way initially.
  3. Then tell them how that person found that when they did what you wanted/bought the product, they got what they wanted.

Here are a few examples:

“Mr. Smith, I totally understand that you feel like our prices are high, and a lot of our past customers have felt that way as well. In fact, we just finished up a job last week where the homeowner first thought the same thing. But after completing the job on time with great results, they found that our higher pricing was a direct representation of the care we give to their home.”


“Mr. Smith, If I’m understanding you correctly, you feel like some of your other, lower quotes better matched your expectation of the price you were hoping for? In the past, several of our customers first felt the same way. But I always encouraged them to think about it this way: “Imagine that both quotes were the same price. Which company would you go with? That’s the company you should choose. You want to make sure the company that works on your house is going to give it the care it deserves.” Most of our customers who have looked at it from that perspective have found that their gut is telling them what they want to do”



The keys to overcoming objections are to not take them personally but rather to view them as an opportunity to ask more questions and find out what the objection is really about. Educating your customer, being kind, and finding the root cause of their concerns will always help close a sale that is on the fence!
 
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