April 4, 2025 • 36 mins
In this episode of the Successful Life Podcast, host Corey Berrier addresses common misconceptions technicians have about sales, emphasizing that technicians can also be effective salespeople. Corey highlights the importance of ethical sales and customer education, delivering value-driven suggestions without appearing pushy. He offers practical advice on how to build trust and establish rapport with customers, overcome objections, and handle common challenges in sales situations. Through real-world examples, Corey demonstrates that good service alone isn't enough; technicians must adopt a sales mindset on every service call to truly help customers and succeed in their careers.
00:00 Introduction to the Podcast
00:12 Technicians and Sales: A Common Misconception
03:11 The Role of Ethical Sales
04:53 Educating Customers: The Key to Sales
07:05 Overcoming Common Sales Objections
09:03 Building Trust and Providing Value
12:19 The Importance of Role-Playing
15:49 Guiding Customers to Make Decisions
19:26 The Power of Transparency and Trust
31:32 Conclusion and Final Thoughts
https://coreyberrier.gumroad.com/
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:10):
Welcome to the Successful Life Podcast.
I'm your host, corey Barrier,and today we're going to talk
about how most technicians feellike they're just technicians,
that they don't know how to sell, they don't want to sell and,
quite frankly, we're going tobust some of the misconceptions
(00:32):
around what selling actuallymeans as a technician.
So I've just made a quick listhere of things that I've heard
over the last five years and I'mjust going to go through these
and I'm going to talk about whythey're not exactly true or not
(00:54):
really true at all.
So the first one is the mostcommon I'm not a salesperson, I
am a technician.
Well, here's the reality.
You're both.
Every single service call is asales opportunity and your
technical expertise gives youthe credibility and your ability
(01:17):
to educate now gives youinfluence.
Here's an example.
Mr Jones, based on what I seehere, I want to walk you through
some options so you can makethe best decision for your home
comfort and energy costs.
Right, you're not sellinganything.
(01:37):
You're really just providing avalue-based suggestion, or
really not even a suggestion.
More of a value-based statementis really what you're doing and
it's mutually beneficial.
But I don't want you to thinkit's mutually beneficial in this
(01:58):
scenario.
I want you to think about itbeing really beneficial for that
customer, because you're notgoing to recommend something
that they don't need or thatthey don't want, and you can be
a technician and a salespersonat the same time.
Let me just point this outYou've probably got kids, or you
(02:21):
might be married, or you mighthave a partner, or you might
have a girlfriend or boyfriendwhatever it is you best believe.
You are a salesperson if youhave any of those things, or if
you have ever had any of thosethings.
What happens when your kid saysI don't eat the broccoli, then
you got to convince that.
You got to convince your kidthat broccoli is good for them.
(02:45):
In whichever way you do it.
Maybe it's through manipulation.
Hey, guess what?
You get the ice cream if youeat the broccoli.
Manipulation not manipulationin a bad way, but just leverage.
Right, you're leveraging theice cream for the broccoli.
So the next one I've got hereis sales Are selling is pushy or
(03:05):
manipulative, so I guess Icouldn't have planned that one
any better.
Ethical sales is about service.
It's not about pressure.
It's helping customers makeinformed choices.
I'm going to repeat thatEthical sales is about service,
not pressure.
(03:25):
All you're doing is you'rehelping people to make an
informed decision, and one ofthe ways you can overcome that
is has this issue been affectingyour comfort or your utility
bills recently?
And that's not a sales question, right, it is a sales question,
(03:48):
but it's also a real humanquestion that the only person
that can answer is the customer.
All right, if they didn't askfor it, they don't want it,
right?
This almost probably should havebeen number one, but here's the
reality.
Most homeowners don't know whatthey need until it's explained
(04:14):
very clearly.
So, look, you got to thinkabout I don't know how to flush
my drain lines on my plumbing.
I have absolutely no idea howto do that, and so I've got to
call a plumbing company if Iwant that done.
(04:38):
If I have a sewage leak, Idon't know how to do that.
I have absolutely no idea howto do that, so I have to call a
professional to get those thingsdone.
Right.
If I could keep on and on withexamples.
So here's an example.
And you want to educate, right,stop thinking about selling and
(04:59):
more along the lines ofeducating the customer.
So what you're seeing here istypical of a system that's 15
years old.
If you'd like, I can show you afew options that can improve
air quality and reduce strain onthe system, you're giving the
choice completely up to them.
You're not making the choicefor them.
(05:20):
You're giving them theframework to give you their
answer, and their answer may beI don't want to see options to
improve my air quality andreduce strain on my system.
Do what you came here to do andleave.
You're probably not going toget that exact response, because
most people are not buttholeslike that.
(05:40):
We have some for sure, don'tget me wrong, but that's what we
think.
We think everybody's going tobe a butthole like that.
We have some for sure, don'tget me wrong, but that's what we
think.
We think everybody's going tobe a butthole when we go to
their house, and that's just notreally the case.
Customers only care about thecheapest option, to piggyback on
that last one.
That's not true.
People will pay for value andthey'll pay for peace of mind
(06:03):
and they will pay for long-termsavings.
Just because you want thecheapest option doesn't mean
your customer wants the cheapestoption.
So this is a mindset shift.
You got to stop thinking abouthow you would handle things and
think about and ask the questionfor the customer to answer and
(06:24):
think about and ask the questionfor the customer to answer,
because if you may want thecheapest option and it may be
because your bank account'srunning low and you could only
afford the cheapest option butyou can't determine how much
money your customer has, youjust can't.
So here's a way to overcomethat.
(06:45):
If this continues, you talkingto the customer.
If this continues, how do yousee it affecting your energy
bills over the next year?
So it gives them some contextto think about.
Well, how does this affect mybills over the next year?
And maybe they don't know.
It gives you an opportunity toexplain that If the system still
(07:06):
works, maybe they don't know.
It gives you an opportunity toexplain that If the system still
works, they won't replace it.
Well, that's unequivocally,without a doubt, not true?
Homeowners replace workingsystems when they understand the
benefits of upgrading.
Look, I can't tell you how manytimes people have because they
(07:30):
want to do the replacement orthey want to do the repair.
In two months or three monthsor six months, you're right back
out there replacing anotherpart on that 15 year old system
that failed.
And now they're in the, nowthey're into this 15-year-old
system for $4,000 or $5,000,when, if they would have just
(07:50):
replaced it, they wouldn't havehad that.
They wouldn't have been in thehole that much money and
throwing money into a systemthat's just not worth putting
money into.
And a way to overcome thatwould be would you be open to
hearing what a newer system cando in terms of air quality,
quieter operation and lowerenergy usage?
(08:16):
Guess what?
Most people are going to beopen to hear that, especially if
you've gone and smiled when yougot to the door you've done all
the things that you need to doto build rapport.
When I say build rapport, thisis not some special sauce, right
?
This is just being a normaldude.
Just treat people like you'dwant to be treated, and this
(08:37):
doesn't apply to every singlehuman being, but the vast
majority of people want to betreated the right way, and I
think most people want to do theright thing.
I think most people want to do.
They want to be a good person,and so if you treat people good,
most of the time, my experienceshows, most of the time they're
(08:58):
going to treat you with thesame amount of goodness, so to
speak.
I can't tell you how many peoplehave heard say oh, I don't want
to sound like a salesman.
Here's the reality.
You're not a salesman.
You want to sound like atrusted advisor when you ask
good questions and you listenand provide insight.
(09:20):
You're not a salesman, you're afriend.
You're trying to provide themoptions that would best suit
them and their family.
And if you look at it like that, it's look, it's look.
It's just the easier, softerway you think about.
(09:43):
I'll give you like a Chris Vossstyle you mentioned your
allergies have been worse thisyear, right?
So if they've mentioned thatthey've had allergies and they
don't want to hear about indoorair quality, then you just
mirror them back and say, well,you mentioned your allergies
(10:06):
have been worse this year.
So you're just mirroring backsomething they've said in a
previous conversation, in thesame conversation.
But while you're finding outwhy you're out there and if you
notice they've got allergies,they've got allergy medicine
laying around, you can onlyassume somebody in the house
probably got allergies.
A lot of guys, once they hear nothe first time, they think,
(10:30):
well, this is over, right,because we get rejected and that
may be stemmed from somethingin childhood or who knows what
that stems from.
But the truth of the matter isit's very common to know that a
marketing message needs to beseen eight or 12 times before
somebody makes a purchase.
I'm not telling you.
(10:50):
You got to ask them eight or 12times while you're at their
house if they're going to buyfrom you or if they're going to
move forward or if they've madea decision.
No, I'm not saying that.
But my point there is we haveto see things over and over
before we make a decision.
And no often means not rightnow, or it may mean I need more
(11:17):
information.
So you overcome that by justsaying something like well,
what's stopping you from movingforward with a solution today?
And then that's going to openup a conversation of I don't
think you explained X, y or Z.
Could you tell me more aboutthat?
(11:37):
Or I'm waiting on my tax refund, so I can't move forward today,
but it's coming in two weeks.
Now you have an answer and youhave the ability now to come
back in two weeks and get themtheir problem solved.
So a lot of times people say,well, I can't sell if I'm not
(11:57):
100% confident.
I partially agree with that toa degree, but confidence comes
from practice and repetition.
You don't just get confidenceovernight.
You got to bust your face a fewtimes more than a few times, if
you're me to get thatconfidence.
It's practice and repetition.
(12:18):
And so the way you overcomethat is role play, common
objections and focusing ondelivering a clear value driven
message.
Now, I'm not telling you that'scomfortable, because it is very
uncomfortable to role play,especially in front of your
peers, because then you've gotto admit that maybe you don't
(12:40):
have it all together or youcould just keep getting a small
paycheck like the other guysthat won't role play.
This is vitally important.
This is role playing is sofreaking important to your
success.
I cannot drive this home hardenough.
I just can't.
(13:01):
So good service sells itselfBullshit.
It 100% does not.
Good service earns trust, butyou still need a guide in order
for that customer to make adecision.
And you're the guide right.
You're the person that'sguiding them, not selling them
(13:26):
to make a decision.
Next is upselling.
Is greedy Well, that's aridiculous comment, because if
you think that it's greedy well,your mindset needs to shift
tremendously, because there'snothing greedy about offering an
(13:47):
option, whether it's IAQ,whether it's, whether it's, if
you're, water filtration, ifyou're in plumbing, whether it's
anything, encapsulation, right,it doesn't matter what it is,
and you're not upselling them onsomething that they don't need
or that they may possibly want.
(14:10):
But if you don't give them theopportunity to purchase this
thing that you think isupselling, they're never going
to buy it from you.
It's only upselling if it'sunnecessary.
Otherwise, you're justproviding options and or
solutions for that customerright.
(14:33):
Whether I'm not suggesting thatif you don't have a UV air
purifier, that this would be thething that you would say.
But if this were my home, Iwould also consider a UV air
purifier because it can reallyhelp reduce airborne
contaminants.
Now, notice I didn't say if inmy home I have this thing, right
(14:54):
, so you don't want to say in myhome I have this thing, you
should buy it, because that'sprobably being dishonest.
If you don't have that thing,it is absolutely being dishonest
.
That's probably being dishonestif you don't have that thing,
it is absolutely being dishonest.
But by saying, if this were myhome, I'd also consider a UV
light or whatever, right, it canreally help reduce airborne
(15:17):
contaminants.
Most guys, talking about moneymakes them uncomfortable, right?
Talking about money makes mycustomers uncomfortable.
So if it makes me uncomfortable, makes them uncomfortable,
jesus, I'm just going to avoidit, right?
I'm just going to avoid talkingabout money and a lot of people
(15:38):
.
When you avoid talking aboutmoney, it creates confusion and
it creates more mistrust in you.
Overcome that with thetransparency around the money
problem, the money conversationI almost said money problem I
want to talk to you.
I want to walk you through someprices and break them down so
(16:00):
there are no surprises, right?
You just got to say that to thecustomer.
They know you're there tocharge them money, even if
you're there on a bi-yearlymaintenance.
They know that there's probablygoing to be something that
you're going to talk to themabout that's going to cost them
money.
I shouldn't even say cost.
Invest right, it could be aninvestment, it could be a repair
(16:22):
, it could be an option thatthey don't have, that they don't
know that they'd like to have.
But unless you tell them, theycan't purchase it.
We've all had the thought ofwell, it's just not the right
time for this customer.
It's only the wrong time.
If you haven't uncovered thepain and if it's not clear to
(16:46):
you that it's the right time,then you may need to go back and
role play on how to uncover thepain.
It's one thing when you go anda system's completely down, it's
the middle of July.
You know what the pain is right.
But if you're unclear aboutwhether or not it's the right
(17:08):
time, or maybe that system couldlimp along a little longer, you
may just want to ask thequestion what would happen if it
, let's say, it's January orFebruary, or well, I guess we're
in April, so it's earlyspringtime, right?
So what's going to happen whenit's mid-July and this thing
(17:33):
goes sideways?
I'm not telling you it's goingto go sideways, but I can tell
you, based on my inspection ofthe whole house, that there's
going to be problems in the nearfuture, and I don't have a
crystal ball, so I can't tellyou when that's going to be.
But we can get this solved now.
While I'm here.
I have the part of my truck.
We can change it now and youwon't have to worry about this
(17:56):
situation for another five yearsor whatever it is, or whatever
it is, I'm too busy to sell.
Well, every technician shouldhave a sales mindset on the
service call.
You're not just going out toservice their system, you're
also going out there to diagnoseand uncover things that could
(18:21):
be improved, that they couldpurchase from you.
You should never walk away froma maintenance call without
offering some sort of solutions.
And then you might be sayingwell, corey, they're going to
say, every time you come outhere, they offer you, all trying
to sell me something Incorrect.
Maybe the last person that wentout there was not a very good
(18:47):
communicator and didn't offeroptions, but said hey, you
should buy this thing.
You never should tell somebodythey should buy this thing,
because who are you to tellpeople that?
Right, you can give them yourexperience.
I had a very similar situationwith Mr Jones down the street
and he had allergies, tookover-the-counter medicine,
(19:09):
eventually had to get shots.
We replaced this and we put IAQin his house and now he doesn't
deal with those symptoms.
Let's just share the story aboutsomebody else's experience.
That's vitally important.
If I do a great job, they'lljust call me back.
(19:29):
Oh no, people forget.
That's the reality.
People forget.
They get busy and guess what,by the time it's time to call
you back, they call somebodyelse because you didn't make a
strong offer.
Listen, we're busy people.
I've got a million things goingon, just like you.
(19:50):
So you overcome that.
Since I'm already here and itsaves you a trip charge, why
don't we go ahead and just takecare of this?
Now Back to that previous thingI was talking about a second
ago.
If you're already there, justhandle it, because listen, dude
(20:11):
or chick, I guess it costs a lotof money to send a truck back
out when you could have justhandled it right then.
And if you're too busy tohandle it right, then you
shouldn't be.
Then either you need to eitherspeed your calls up, which is
probably not the case, or maybeyour company's putting too many
(20:35):
calls on you it's hard to say,sitting here I don't know which
one it is, or maybe I don't know.
I don't know exactly what it isfor you.
But do just handle it rightthen.
And there Only sales reps shouldsell systems.
Well, guess what?
That's not really true.
The company that I'm workingfor now we've got 10 selling
(20:57):
techs right, selling techs,meaning their first trade was
the technical side, but they'velearned how to communicate and
they've learned how to talk tocustomers and provide options.
And it's not just sales reps.
In fact, I've heard servicetechnicians or selling
(21:21):
technicians say, hey, I couldjust call the sales guy or I
could just handle this right now, and salespeople have not a
great name.
So at the end of the day,that's a great way, if you're a
selling tech, whether you havecomfort advisors or whether you
don't, it doesn't really matter.
Hey, man, I could just handlethis for you right here and now,
(21:42):
or I can just call a salesmanout here to help you.
Boom, that's awful for somebodyto hear, because they don't
want a salesperson coming out totheir house.
Well, the customer knows best.
They said the system's workinggreat and they don't need any
more refrigerant.
Well, they don't know what theydon't know.
And that's why you educate themin this example of why they
(22:05):
need to put more refrigerant inthe system.
And that's why you educate themin this example of why they
need to put more refrigerant inthe system.
Because what's really going tohappen is, if you don't put more
refrigerant, in a month or two,when it gets really hot, you're
going to get another call outand they're going to say well,
james was just out here.
He didn't mention putting morerefrigerant in.
Well, that's because James saidwell, the customer knows best.
(22:27):
And guess what?
The customer is not going tousually tell the right story.
They're not going to benefityou by saying yeah, james did
tell me about that, but I choseto just disregard it.
Right, they're never going totell that story, even if it's
the truth.
Now, if you're smart, you'llhave good notes in the system
and then whoever they're talkingto in the office or whoever it
(22:50):
is taking that call, could saywell, james did note right here
that he said you were fourpounds low in refrigerant and
you said I'm going to be okay,I'll deal with it later or
whatever the case may be.
But if you didn't put goodnotes in, guess what?
Now James got a problem becausethere was no good notes in the
system.
(23:10):
And whoever's talking to thatcustomer now, they can't vouch
for James because there's nonotes in the system.
They say they'll think about it.
And boy do they mean it.
This is a smoke screen.
It's just usually a polite wayof saying take a hike, james.
(23:32):
A great way to say if somebodysays they need to think about it
, just so I understand, whatspecifically will you be
thinking about?
There's a problem with that?
Or, like Andy Hobica does and Ithink this is amazing Somebody
says they need to think about it.
He just stands there and letsthem think about it until they
(23:55):
decide to say something.
And he said well, hang on, Ithought you said I was just
waiting for you.
You said you need to thinkabout it and they're like oh
well, I need more time.
Great, I can go out to the van.
I may have butchered that, andy, but I think the listeners got
the point.
I've heard this a million timesI'll lose the sale if I give too
(24:18):
many options.
Well, depends on what too manyoptions means.
You could give two to threegood options, and that builds
trust and control.
You could get five or sixoptions, as long as they are in
the proper order, as long asthere's the best possible thing
they could do with the maximumamount of bells and whistles at
(24:40):
the top, and then guess what theother option at the bottom is.
You don't have to do anything,you can just leave it exactly
how I found it, because that isan option.
It's like a decision.
To not make a decision is stilla decision, right.
So it also gives you theability.
(25:00):
Then, if they take off thatpremium all premium option at
the very top, it gives themcontext and guess what?
It's sticker shock when you see$30,000 and you see it drop
down to 21,000.
You're like, all right, we'regetting closer to where I could
afford this, because, jesus,$30,000.
(25:20):
They're shocked when they seethat number and it's an effect
that makes them feel betterabout spending $21,000.
And that's just a fact.
All right, so they can't affordit.
People buy on perceived valueand financing, not just the cash
(25:42):
on hand.
Again, this goes back to one Imentioned earlier.
If you're saying the servicetechnician or the selling
technician or the comfortadvisor they can't afford it,
you can't make that decisionunless you've run their credit
or unless you haven't providedenough perceived value for them
(26:06):
to move forward.
If you haven't provided enoughperceived value for them to move
forward, if you haven'tprovided enough perceived value,
that's on you.
If their financing fails, thatis not on you.
And if they don't have cash onhand, that's also not on you.
But if you just assume theycan't afford it, assume they
(26:28):
can't afford it, then you'reselling from their bank account.
And so mention we have flexiblemonthly payment plans, we have
zero percent down, zero paymentsfor X number of months.
(26:48):
What would you be comfortablewith spending on a monthly basis
, you know?
And it's just really askingmore questions.
And then, joe Cresceras, whatshould we do?
You can follow up anything thatI've said in here with what
should we do, and he's justlobbing that thing right back
into the customer's court,really, and look, it's a great
way to keep circling back.
(27:09):
What should we do?
What should we do?
What should we do?
Joe says it like a hundredtimes in one conversation, but
guess what?
He gets to the end and eitherthey say get the F out or and
probably they don't probably dothat because he does it in a way
that's digestible.
The next one is and you can usethis with your family, you can
(27:32):
use this with your girlfriend,your boyfriend, your kids,
doesn't matter, right, but youshould never interrupt the
customer.
You can respectfully guide theconversation without
interrupting.
Now we've all had people whojust throw up at them, vomit at
(27:53):
the mouth and they just won'tshut up.
But you've got to figure out away to just guide them back on
track and listen.
I interview people sometimesthat go on and on, and so I have
ways of guiding that personback on track.
One way you can do this issound, but sound tactical
(28:14):
empathy really is what this isby Chris Voss.
Never split the difference.
Sounds like this has beenfrustrating for you, mind if I
ask a few questions so I get thefull picture.
So sounds like this has beenfrustrating for you, mind if I
(28:39):
ask a few questions to get thefull picture.
There's nothing pushy about that.
There's no harm with sayingthat whatsoever.
There's no harm with sayingthat whatsoever, if I push too
hard, they'll get mad.
You're not pushing them.
Your job's not to push them.
Your job is to guide them.
And if you don't guide them,you're not doing your job.
(29:01):
It's listen again, if you'rethe guide here, you are the
person that has to guide theship here and you should feel
very confident with that.
And look, most people are notgoing to get mad if their
system's down or if there's areplacement part or whatever
(29:24):
you're there for.
People want to be taken care ofby somebody they believe cares.
And if you don't care, thenthat's a whole different set of
problems.
But if you do care genuinelyand you're there to help that
person, they're going to feelthat.
They're going to feel that.
They're going to feel theempathy in your heart.
They're going to feel theempathy in your heart and you
(29:48):
want to transfer that energy tothat customer.
And it really takes a lot ofthe stress and worry out of that
service call when you justgenuinely try to help that
individual.
Just try it.
I promise you you'll see whatI'm talking about.
I need to be liked to close thesale.
(30:10):
You don't need to be liked, youneed to be trusted, and people
buy from people they trust.
And if they like you, great,that's a plus.
But you really need to be atrusted I mentioned this earlier
a trusted advisor.
If people can trust you andsometimes trust means that you
(30:32):
say today's, really you can getalong with this for another year
or two and do me a favor, letme know in a year or two when
you need my help.
Lots of times you would besurprised when people will say
let's talk about what thisreally looks like, right, let's
talk about what the real costsare for doing it today, because
(30:57):
they trust you.
You've gained trust throughbeing genuine and being honest
and empathetic.
Being genuine and being honestand empathetic, you can always
say even look, if I were in yourshoes, I'd wait another year or
two.
Dude, there is a lot of powerin saying that Now.
(31:23):
If you truly believe that now,if their system is going to go
down in two months, you don'twant to say that because now
you're a liar.
But if you think it's good togo for another year or two.
Just say that.
Just be honest with them.
One that I think is the biggest, and this is actually the last
one man James, I'm really gladthat you came out today to look
(31:45):
at the system.
I know it's 830 at night Justdoing my job.
Ma'am, you are not just doingyour job.
If you say I'm just doing myjob, now you're the help, now
they're not thinking of you as atrusted advisor or a
(32:07):
professional, right?
You don't go to the bank tellersay, oh, I appreciate your help
, and they go yep, corey, justdoing my job.
You would think, well, whatcrawled up that woman's ass
today?
Right, that's exactly what youwould think.
But I hear this a lot in theindustry.
Just doing my job, just doingmy job?
(32:29):
Well, if you're there at 9.30at night, you're not just doing
your job.
You've already done your joball day.
You're taking an extra effortto make sure that their home is
comfortable and safe, healthyand that builds long-term
customers, and you never knowhow that conversation is going
(32:55):
to end.
And just be honest with them.
Hey, here's what's going ontoday.
Here's what I'd be concernedabout long-term.
I'm going to show you a fewoptions of how we can get this
fixed today or what it lookslike, if you don't fix it today.
But either way, now you haveall the options.
(33:15):
So I hope this was helpful.
I genuinely hope it was helpful.
I hope it was valuable andwe'll see you next Friday.
Welcome to the Successful Life Podcast.
I'm your host, corey Barrier,and today we're going to talk
about how most technicians feellike they're just technicians,
that they don't know how to sell, they don't want to sell and,
quite frankly, we're going tobust some of the misconceptions
(00:32):
around what selling actuallymeans as a technician.
So I've just made a quick listhere of things that I've heard
over the last five years and I'mjust going to go through these
and I'm going to talk about whythey're not exactly true or not
(00:54):
really true at all.
So the first one is the mostcommon I'm not a salesperson, I
am a technician.
Well, here's the reality.
You're both.
Every single service call is asales opportunity and your
technical expertise gives youthe credibility and your ability
(01:17):
to educate now gives youinfluence.
Here's an example.
Mr Jones, based on what I seehere, I want to walk you through
some options so you can makethe best decision for your home
comfort and energy costs.
Right, you're not sellinganything.
(01:37):
You're really just providing avalue-based suggestion, or
really not even a suggestion.
More of a value-based statementis really what you're doing and
it's mutually beneficial.
But I don't want you to thinkit's mutually beneficial in this
(01:58):
scenario.
I want you to think about itbeing really beneficial for that
customer, because you're notgoing to recommend something
that they don't need or thatthey don't want, and you can be
a technician and a salespersonat the same time.
Let me just point this outYou've probably got kids, or you
(02:21):
might be married, or you mighthave a partner, or you might
have a girlfriend or boyfriendwhatever it is you best believe.
You are a salesperson if youhave any of those things, or if
you have ever had any of thosethings.
What happens when your kid saysI don't eat the broccoli, then
you got to convince that.
You got to convince your kidthat broccoli is good for them.
(02:45):
In whichever way you do it.
Maybe it's through manipulation.
Hey, guess what?
You get the ice cream if youeat the broccoli.
Manipulation not manipulationin a bad way, but just leverage.
Right, you're leveraging theice cream for the broccoli.
So the next one I've got hereis sales Are selling is pushy or
(03:05):
manipulative, so I guess Icouldn't have planned that one
any better.
Ethical sales is about service.
It's not about pressure.
It's helping customers makeinformed choices.
I'm going to repeat thatEthical sales is about service,
not pressure.
(03:25):
All you're doing is you'rehelping people to make an
informed decision, and one ofthe ways you can overcome that
is has this issue been affectingyour comfort or your utility
bills recently?
And that's not a sales question, right, it is a sales question,
(03:48):
but it's also a real humanquestion that the only person
that can answer is the customer.
All right, if they didn't askfor it, they don't want it,
right?
This almost probably should havebeen number one, but here's the
reality.
Most homeowners don't know whatthey need until it's explained
(04:14):
very clearly.
So, look, you got to thinkabout I don't know how to flush
my drain lines on my plumbing.
I have absolutely no idea howto do that, and so I've got to
call a plumbing company if Iwant that done.
(04:38):
If I have a sewage leak, Idon't know how to do that.
I have absolutely no idea howto do that, so I have to call a
professional to get those thingsdone.
Right.
If I could keep on and on withexamples.
So here's an example.
And you want to educate, right,stop thinking about selling and
(04:59):
more along the lines ofeducating the customer.
So what you're seeing here istypical of a system that's 15
years old.
If you'd like, I can show you afew options that can improve
air quality and reduce strain onthe system, you're giving the
choice completely up to them.
You're not making the choicefor them.
(05:20):
You're giving them theframework to give you their
answer, and their answer may beI don't want to see options to
improve my air quality andreduce strain on my system.
Do what you came here to do andleave.
You're probably not going toget that exact response, because
most people are not buttholeslike that.
(05:40):
We have some for sure, don'tget me wrong, but that's what we
think.
We think everybody's going tobe a butthole like that.
We have some for sure, don'tget me wrong, but that's what we
think.
We think everybody's going tobe a butthole when we go to
their house, and that's just notreally the case.
Customers only care about thecheapest option, to piggyback on
that last one.
That's not true.
People will pay for value andthey'll pay for peace of mind
(06:03):
and they will pay for long-termsavings.
Just because you want thecheapest option doesn't mean
your customer wants the cheapestoption.
So this is a mindset shift.
You got to stop thinking abouthow you would handle things and
think about and ask the questionfor the customer to answer and
(06:24):
think about and ask the questionfor the customer to answer,
because if you may want thecheapest option and it may be
because your bank account'srunning low and you could only
afford the cheapest option butyou can't determine how much
money your customer has, youjust can't.
So here's a way to overcomethat.
(06:45):
If this continues, you talkingto the customer.
If this continues, how do yousee it affecting your energy
bills over the next year?
So it gives them some contextto think about.
Well, how does this affect mybills over the next year?
And maybe they don't know.
It gives you an opportunity toexplain that If the system still
(07:06):
works, maybe they don't know.
It gives you an opportunity toexplain that If the system still
works, they won't replace it.
Well, that's unequivocally,without a doubt, not true?
Homeowners replace workingsystems when they understand the
benefits of upgrading.
Look, I can't tell you how manytimes people have because they
(07:30):
want to do the replacement orthey want to do the repair.
In two months or three monthsor six months, you're right back
out there replacing anotherpart on that 15 year old system
that failed.
And now they're in the, nowthey're into this 15-year-old
system for $4,000 or $5,000,when, if they would have just
(07:50):
replaced it, they wouldn't havehad that.
They wouldn't have been in thehole that much money and
throwing money into a systemthat's just not worth putting
money into.
And a way to overcome thatwould be would you be open to
hearing what a newer system cando in terms of air quality,
quieter operation and lowerenergy usage?
(08:16):
Guess what?
Most people are going to beopen to hear that, especially if
you've gone and smiled when yougot to the door you've done all
the things that you need to doto build rapport.
When I say build rapport, thisis not some special sauce, right
?
This is just being a normaldude.
Just treat people like you'dwant to be treated, and this
(08:37):
doesn't apply to every singlehuman being, but the vast
majority of people want to betreated the right way, and I
think most people want to do theright thing.
I think most people want to do.
They want to be a good person,and so if you treat people good,
most of the time, my experienceshows, most of the time they're
(08:58):
going to treat you with thesame amount of goodness, so to
speak.
I can't tell you how many peoplehave heard say oh, I don't want
to sound like a salesman.
Here's the reality.
You're not a salesman.
You want to sound like atrusted advisor when you ask
good questions and you listenand provide insight.
(09:20):
You're not a salesman, you're afriend.
You're trying to provide themoptions that would best suit
them and their family.
And if you look at it like that, it's look, it's look.
It's just the easier, softerway you think about.
(09:43):
I'll give you like a Chris Vossstyle you mentioned your
allergies have been worse thisyear, right?
So if they've mentioned thatthey've had allergies and they
don't want to hear about indoorair quality, then you just
mirror them back and say, well,you mentioned your allergies
(10:06):
have been worse this year.
So you're just mirroring backsomething they've said in a
previous conversation, in thesame conversation.
But while you're finding outwhy you're out there and if you
notice they've got allergies,they've got allergy medicine
laying around, you can onlyassume somebody in the house
probably got allergies.
A lot of guys, once they hear nothe first time, they think,
(10:30):
well, this is over, right,because we get rejected and that
may be stemmed from somethingin childhood or who knows what
that stems from.
But the truth of the matter isit's very common to know that a
marketing message needs to beseen eight or 12 times before
somebody makes a purchase.
I'm not telling you.
(10:50):
You got to ask them eight or 12times while you're at their
house if they're going to buyfrom you or if they're going to
move forward or if they've madea decision.
No, I'm not saying that.
But my point there is we haveto see things over and over
before we make a decision.
And no often means not rightnow, or it may mean I need more
(11:17):
information.
So you overcome that by justsaying something like well,
what's stopping you from movingforward with a solution today?
And then that's going to openup a conversation of I don't
think you explained X, y or Z.
Could you tell me more aboutthat?
(11:37):
Or I'm waiting on my tax refund, so I can't move forward today,
but it's coming in two weeks.
Now you have an answer and youhave the ability now to come
back in two weeks and get themtheir problem solved.
So a lot of times people say,well, I can't sell if I'm not
(11:57):
100% confident.
I partially agree with that toa degree, but confidence comes
from practice and repetition.
You don't just get confidenceovernight.
You got to bust your face a fewtimes more than a few times, if
you're me to get thatconfidence.
It's practice and repetition.
(12:18):
And so the way you overcomethat is role play, common
objections and focusing ondelivering a clear value driven
message.
Now, I'm not telling you that'scomfortable, because it is very
uncomfortable to role play,especially in front of your
peers, because then you've gotto admit that maybe you don't
(12:40):
have it all together or youcould just keep getting a small
paycheck like the other guysthat won't role play.
This is vitally important.
This is role playing is sofreaking important to your
success.
I cannot drive this home hardenough.
I just can't.
(13:01):
So good service sells itselfBullshit.
It 100% does not.
Good service earns trust, butyou still need a guide in order
for that customer to make adecision.
And you're the guide right.
You're the person that'sguiding them, not selling them
(13:26):
to make a decision.
Next is upselling.
Is greedy Well, that's aridiculous comment, because if
you think that it's greedy well,your mindset needs to shift
tremendously, because there'snothing greedy about offering an
(13:47):
option, whether it's IAQ,whether it's, whether it's, if
you're, water filtration, ifyou're in plumbing, whether it's
anything, encapsulation, right,it doesn't matter what it is,
and you're not upselling them onsomething that they don't need
or that they may possibly want.
(14:10):
But if you don't give them theopportunity to purchase this
thing that you think isupselling, they're never going
to buy it from you.
It's only upselling if it'sunnecessary.
Otherwise, you're justproviding options and or
solutions for that customerright.
(14:33):
Whether I'm not suggesting thatif you don't have a UV air
purifier, that this would be thething that you would say.
But if this were my home, Iwould also consider a UV air
purifier because it can reallyhelp reduce airborne
contaminants.
Now, notice I didn't say if inmy home I have this thing, right
(14:54):
, so you don't want to say in myhome I have this thing, you
should buy it, because that'sprobably being dishonest.
If you don't have that thing,it is absolutely being dishonest
.
That's probably being dishonestif you don't have that thing,
it is absolutely being dishonest.
But by saying, if this were myhome, I'd also consider a UV
light or whatever, right, it canreally help reduce airborne
(15:17):
contaminants.
Most guys, talking about moneymakes them uncomfortable, right?
Talking about money makes mycustomers uncomfortable.
So if it makes me uncomfortable, makes them uncomfortable,
jesus, I'm just going to avoidit, right?
I'm just going to avoid talkingabout money and a lot of people
(15:38):
.
When you avoid talking aboutmoney, it creates confusion and
it creates more mistrust in you.
Overcome that with thetransparency around the money
problem, the money conversationI almost said money problem I
want to talk to you.
I want to walk you through someprices and break them down so
(16:00):
there are no surprises, right?
You just got to say that to thecustomer.
They know you're there tocharge them money, even if
you're there on a bi-yearlymaintenance.
They know that there's probablygoing to be something that
you're going to talk to themabout that's going to cost them
money.
I shouldn't even say cost.
Invest right, it could be aninvestment, it could be a repair
(16:22):
, it could be an option thatthey don't have, that they don't
know that they'd like to have.
But unless you tell them, theycan't purchase it.
We've all had the thought ofwell, it's just not the right
time for this customer.
It's only the wrong time.
If you haven't uncovered thepain and if it's not clear to
(16:46):
you that it's the right time,then you may need to go back and
role play on how to uncover thepain.
It's one thing when you go anda system's completely down, it's
the middle of July.
You know what the pain is right.
But if you're unclear aboutwhether or not it's the right
(17:08):
time, or maybe that system couldlimp along a little longer, you
may just want to ask thequestion what would happen if it
, let's say, it's January orFebruary, or well, I guess we're
in April, so it's earlyspringtime, right?
So what's going to happen whenit's mid-July and this thing
(17:33):
goes sideways?
I'm not telling you it's goingto go sideways, but I can tell
you, based on my inspection ofthe whole house, that there's
going to be problems in the nearfuture, and I don't have a
crystal ball, so I can't tellyou when that's going to be.
But we can get this solved now.
While I'm here.
I have the part of my truck.
We can change it now and youwon't have to worry about this
(17:56):
situation for another five yearsor whatever it is, or whatever
it is, I'm too busy to sell.
Well, every technician shouldhave a sales mindset on the
service call.
You're not just going out toservice their system, you're
also going out there to diagnoseand uncover things that could
(18:21):
be improved, that they couldpurchase from you.
You should never walk away froma maintenance call without
offering some sort of solutions.
And then you might be sayingwell, corey, they're going to
say, every time you come outhere, they offer you, all trying
to sell me something Incorrect.
Maybe the last person that wentout there was not a very good
(18:47):
communicator and didn't offeroptions, but said hey, you
should buy this thing.
You never should tell somebodythey should buy this thing,
because who are you to tellpeople that?
Right, you can give them yourexperience.
I had a very similar situationwith Mr Jones down the street
and he had allergies, tookover-the-counter medicine,
(19:09):
eventually had to get shots.
We replaced this and we put IAQin his house and now he doesn't
deal with those symptoms.
Let's just share the story aboutsomebody else's experience.
That's vitally important.
If I do a great job, they'lljust call me back.
(19:29):
Oh no, people forget.
That's the reality.
People forget.
They get busy and guess what,by the time it's time to call
you back, they call somebodyelse because you didn't make a
strong offer.
Listen, we're busy people.
I've got a million things goingon, just like you.
(19:50):
So you overcome that.
Since I'm already here and itsaves you a trip charge, why
don't we go ahead and just takecare of this?
Now Back to that previous thingI was talking about a second
ago.
If you're already there, justhandle it, because listen, dude
(20:11):
or chick, I guess it costs a lotof money to send a truck back
out when you could have justhandled it right then.
And if you're too busy tohandle it right, then you
shouldn't be.
Then either you need to eitherspeed your calls up, which is
probably not the case, or maybeyour company's putting too many
(20:35):
calls on you it's hard to say,sitting here I don't know which
one it is, or maybe I don't know.
I don't know exactly what it isfor you.
But do just handle it rightthen.
And there Only sales reps shouldsell systems.
Well, guess what?
That's not really true.
The company that I'm workingfor now we've got 10 selling
(20:57):
techs right, selling techs,meaning their first trade was
the technical side, but they'velearned how to communicate and
they've learned how to talk tocustomers and provide options.
And it's not just sales reps.
In fact, I've heard servicetechnicians or selling
(21:21):
technicians say, hey, I couldjust call the sales guy or I
could just handle this right now, and salespeople have not a
great name.
So at the end of the day,that's a great way, if you're a
selling tech, whether you havecomfort advisors or whether you
don't, it doesn't really matter.
Hey, man, I could just handlethis for you right here and now,
(21:42):
or I can just call a salesmanout here to help you.
Boom, that's awful for somebodyto hear, because they don't
want a salesperson coming out totheir house.
Well, the customer knows best.
They said the system's workinggreat and they don't need any
more refrigerant.
Well, they don't know what theydon't know.
And that's why you educate themin this example of why they
(22:05):
need to put more refrigerant inthe system.
And that's why you educate themin this example of why they
need to put more refrigerant inthe system.
Because what's really going tohappen is, if you don't put more
refrigerant, in a month or two,when it gets really hot, you're
going to get another call outand they're going to say well,
james was just out here.
He didn't mention putting morerefrigerant in.
Well, that's because James saidwell, the customer knows best.
(22:27):
And guess what?
The customer is not going tousually tell the right story.
They're not going to benefityou by saying yeah, james did
tell me about that, but I choseto just disregard it.
Right, they're never going totell that story, even if it's
the truth.
Now, if you're smart, you'llhave good notes in the system
and then whoever they're talkingto in the office or whoever it
(22:50):
is taking that call, could saywell, james did note right here
that he said you were fourpounds low in refrigerant and
you said I'm going to be okay,I'll deal with it later or
whatever the case may be.
But if you didn't put goodnotes in, guess what?
Now James got a problem becausethere was no good notes in the
system.
(23:10):
And whoever's talking to thatcustomer now, they can't vouch
for James because there's nonotes in the system.
They say they'll think about it.
And boy do they mean it.
This is a smoke screen.
It's just usually a polite wayof saying take a hike, james.
(23:32):
A great way to say if somebodysays they need to think about it
, just so I understand, whatspecifically will you be
thinking about?
There's a problem with that?
Or, like Andy Hobica does and Ithink this is amazing Somebody
says they need to think about it.
He just stands there and letsthem think about it until they
(23:55):
decide to say something.
And he said well, hang on, Ithought you said I was just
waiting for you.
You said you need to thinkabout it and they're like oh
well, I need more time.
Great, I can go out to the van.
I may have butchered that, andy, but I think the listeners got
the point.
I've heard this a million timesI'll lose the sale if I give too
(24:18):
many options.
Well, depends on what too manyoptions means.
You could give two to threegood options, and that builds
trust and control.
You could get five or sixoptions, as long as they are in
the proper order, as long asthere's the best possible thing
they could do with the maximumamount of bells and whistles at
(24:40):
the top, and then guess what theother option at the bottom is.
You don't have to do anything,you can just leave it exactly
how I found it, because that isan option.
It's like a decision.
To not make a decision is stilla decision, right.
So it also gives you theability.
(25:00):
Then, if they take off thatpremium all premium option at
the very top, it gives themcontext and guess what?
It's sticker shock when you see$30,000 and you see it drop
down to 21,000.
You're like, all right, we'regetting closer to where I could
afford this, because, jesus,$30,000.
(25:20):
They're shocked when they seethat number and it's an effect
that makes them feel betterabout spending $21,000.
And that's just a fact.
All right, so they can't affordit.
People buy on perceived valueand financing, not just the cash
(25:42):
on hand.
Again, this goes back to one Imentioned earlier.
If you're saying the servicetechnician or the selling
technician or the comfortadvisor they can't afford it,
you can't make that decisionunless you've run their credit
or unless you haven't providedenough perceived value for them
(26:06):
to move forward.
If you haven't provided enoughperceived value for them to move
forward, if you haven'tprovided enough perceived value,
that's on you.
If their financing fails, thatis not on you.
And if they don't have cash onhand, that's also not on you.
But if you just assume theycan't afford it, assume they
(26:28):
can't afford it, then you'reselling from their bank account.
And so mention we have flexiblemonthly payment plans, we have
zero percent down, zero paymentsfor X number of months.
(26:48):
What would you be comfortablewith spending on a monthly basis
, you know?
And it's just really askingmore questions.
And then, joe Cresceras, whatshould we do?
You can follow up anything thatI've said in here with what
should we do, and he's justlobbing that thing right back
into the customer's court,really, and look, it's a great
way to keep circling back.
(27:09):
What should we do?
What should we do?
What should we do?
Joe says it like a hundredtimes in one conversation, but
guess what?
He gets to the end and eitherthey say get the F out or and
probably they don't probably dothat because he does it in a way
that's digestible.
The next one is and you can usethis with your family, you can
(27:32):
use this with your girlfriend,your boyfriend, your kids,
doesn't matter, right, but youshould never interrupt the
customer.
You can respectfully guide theconversation without
interrupting.
Now we've all had people whojust throw up at them, vomit at
(27:53):
the mouth and they just won'tshut up.
But you've got to figure out away to just guide them back on
track and listen.
I interview people sometimesthat go on and on, and so I have
ways of guiding that personback on track.
One way you can do this issound, but sound tactical
(28:14):
empathy really is what this isby Chris Voss.
Never split the difference.
Sounds like this has beenfrustrating for you, mind if I
ask a few questions so I get thefull picture.
So sounds like this has beenfrustrating for you, mind if I
(28:39):
ask a few questions to get thefull picture.
There's nothing pushy about that.
There's no harm with sayingthat whatsoever.
There's no harm with sayingthat whatsoever, if I push too
hard, they'll get mad.
You're not pushing them.
Your job's not to push them.
Your job is to guide them.
And if you don't guide them,you're not doing your job.
(29:01):
It's listen again, if you'rethe guide here, you are the
person that has to guide theship here and you should feel
very confident with that.
And look, most people are notgoing to get mad if their
system's down or if there's areplacement part or whatever
(29:24):
you're there for.
People want to be taken care ofby somebody they believe cares.
And if you don't care, thenthat's a whole different set of
problems.
But if you do care genuinelyand you're there to help that
person, they're going to feelthat.
They're going to feel that.
They're going to feel theempathy in your heart.
They're going to feel theempathy in your heart and you
(29:48):
want to transfer that energy tothat customer.
And it really takes a lot ofthe stress and worry out of that
service call when you justgenuinely try to help that
individual.
Just try it.
I promise you you'll see whatI'm talking about.
I need to be liked to close thesale.
(30:10):
You don't need to be liked, youneed to be trusted, and people
buy from people they trust.
And if they like you, great,that's a plus.
But you really need to be atrusted I mentioned this earlier
a trusted advisor.
If people can trust you andsometimes trust means that you
(30:32):
say today's, really you can getalong with this for another year
or two and do me a favor, letme know in a year or two when
you need my help.
Lots of times you would besurprised when people will say
let's talk about what thisreally looks like, right, let's
talk about what the real costsare for doing it today, because
(30:57):
they trust you.
You've gained trust throughbeing genuine and being honest
and empathetic.
Being genuine and being honestand empathetic, you can always
say even look, if I were in yourshoes, I'd wait another year or
two.
Dude, there is a lot of powerin saying that Now.
(31:23):
If you truly believe that now,if their system is going to go
down in two months, you don'twant to say that because now
you're a liar.
But if you think it's good togo for another year or two.
Just say that.
Just be honest with them.
One that I think is the biggest, and this is actually the last
one man James, I'm really gladthat you came out today to look
(31:45):
at the system.
I know it's 830 at night Justdoing my job.
Ma'am, you are not just doingyour job.
If you say I'm just doing myjob, now you're the help, now
they're not thinking of you as atrusted advisor or a
(32:07):
professional, right?
You don't go to the bank tellersay, oh, I appreciate your help
, and they go yep, corey, justdoing my job.
You would think, well, whatcrawled up that woman's ass
today?
Right, that's exactly what youwould think.
But I hear this a lot in theindustry.
Just doing my job, just doingmy job?
(32:29):
Well, if you're there at 9.30at night, you're not just doing
your job.
You've already done your joball day.
You're taking an extra effortto make sure that their home is
comfortable and safe, healthyand that builds long-term
customers, and you never knowhow that conversation is going
(32:55):
to end.
And just be honest with them.
Hey, here's what's going ontoday.
Here's what I'd be concernedabout long-term.
I'm going to show you a fewoptions of how we can get this
fixed today or what it lookslike, if you don't fix it today.
But either way, now you haveall the options.
(33:15):
So I hope this was helpful.
I genuinely hope it was helpful.
I hope it was valuable andwe'll see you next Friday.
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