The core of a successful sales program is building trust with your customer base. A great way to build trust is by routinely communicating correct and clear information to your clients in a helpful way. Building trust with customers not only creates loyalty but also increases the chances that they’ll recommend your business to a family member or friend. Ensuring you practice good sales habits brings your business closer to achieving a loyal customer base and can lead to referrals for future work.
Here are five common sales mistakes to avoid to help your company succeed.
1. Using Outdated Pricing
A common mistake contractors make is adding pricing to their system once, but not updating it as prices change. This issue is especially common today since material costs are changing frequently. To combat this sales mistake, a good rule of thumb is to review prices at least once a month. You can connect with distributors and manufacturers to understand how long pricing is held or use supplier tools like myABCsupply to check current pricing.
2. Forgetting to Include Sales Escalation Clauses
Documenting price increases in contracts is crucial. As costs fluctuate, excluding sales escalation clauses in your contracts can result in a loss of money. Make sure you educate your customers when sharing price increases with them, and keep letters from manufacturers and distributors documenting cost increases. Contractors can find manufacturer price increase announcements on ABC Supply’s website.
3. Ineffectively Qualifying Bids
Contractors who fail to explain their estimates have a difficult time addressing issues that arise. Customers want to understand the reasoning behind your estimates. Reviewing your in-depth understanding of customers’ goals for a project and giving several bid options that meet those goals show that you have flexibility and care about your customers’ needs.
4. Failing to Integrate Software
It’s no secret that automating processes increases efficiency and thus your company’s bottom line. Combining several programs into one will help you keep details organized and impress your customers. Some examples of software contractors can use include AccuLynx, an all-in-one tool designed to streamline every aspect of a roofing business; Salesforce, a customer relationship management program; and EagleView, a tool that uses aerial imagery to generate estimates for projects.
5. Focusing on Features Instead of Benefits
Customers are interested in how you can solve their problems. However, contractors often focus on the features of the products they recommend as opposed to the value they provide. For example, if you simply say, “I recommend metal roofing,” customers aren’t aware of how metal roofing would benefit them. To avoid this mistake, focus on how your solution will help the customer achieve their desired outcome. Saying “I recommend metal roofing because it reflects solar radiant heat, which can reduce cooling costs” highlights the benefit the customer will receive.
Sales techniques have a huge impact on your customer relationships and the overall success of your business. Visit ABC Supply’s blog to learn more about fostering meaningful customer connections and read how social media platforms such as LinkedIn and Facebook can help.
