- Underpromise and overdeliver.
So many times they’ll say, you give an expectation that you’re going to get things back sooner than what you really can, just to impress, but when you’re late, that’s worse. Whatever you could do, if you need to get a quote back and say it’s going to take you probably a day, say two days. Get the quote back a day early, so impress.
2.Clean vehicle, clean shirt, clean shoes.
That’s all we’re going to say.
3. Online bookings from your website.
A lot of [inaudible 00:02:16] tradie websites are now starting to be able to have customers be able to make their own appointments. This is pretty cool. My doctor does it now and I love it. I would go to somewhere that I know I can have a little bit more control of when you’re going to come. I know it’s a bit harder for this industry, but it can be done. These guys, they’re doing it, so look at the software that you use for your job management and see how you can integrate that in your website. Generally just [inaudible 00:02:41] develop a condo, so it’s really quite quick and easy to do.
4. SMS appointment reminders.
Day before you’ve got a quote or a job to do for a customer, make sure you’re collecting people’s mobile numbers and to send them a text, say “Hi, just confirming I’ll be at your place at 9:30am tomorrow for your quote.”
5. Don’t be on time, be 5 minutes early
for those same job and quotes. In the matter of fact, don’t be on time, be 5 minutes early. If you want to get this really … here’s a prototype. Send another text 5 minutes out, say “Hey, running a little early, is it okay for you to come now?” Or 10 minutes out. Just again, to wow people. It ties back to one of the early ones of underpromising and overdelivering. People are actually expecting you to be late, so if you’re early, just a little bit, they’ll be pleasantly surprised.
6. follow-up completed jobs the next day or the day after.
So many people just do the job and go. How impressive would it be if you actually got a call and go just want to make sure that your tap is fixed or whatever you’re fixing is working okay. Is there anything else we can do for you? That’d be a really effective way to make an impression on your customers, I think. I’d love to know if a job was done, they’ve checked to make sure I’m happy with it. Then I [inaudible 00:04:25] well, that’s not the [inaudible 00:04:27] shouldn’t be anything wrong because you did good work when [inaudible 00:04:29] in the first place. Again, if you can’t do it, get some help to help do that, but really that can be a quick way to make an impression.
Warrick Bidwell: Absolutely. It’s a great time to ask for referrals as well.
Michaela Clark: That’s right.
Warrick Bidwell: If they’re really happy with the service, like hey, I was really happy with what we did. Who do you know that also is thinking about a bathroom reno? Or who has a roof? Or a yard or whatever. Great time to ask for referrals.
7. Answer your phone.
I know, Michaela and I talk about this a lot. Yes, tradiesva.com.au offers some fantastic fine, answering services with [inaudible 00:05:18] receptionist just to answer your phone. People will hang up and not leave a message and ring the next person. We’ll do it. That’s a great way to get more business, but also if you’ve got a customer calling, they want to be able to talk to a human, not a voice mail.
That’s right. I reckon about 75% of people don’t leave a voice mail message. If you think voice mails are getting those missed calls, they’re not. Just think about how many calls you might be missing and how much money that could be worth to you.
8. Use sale scripts.
When you do answer the phone, make sure you have a script, not so you sound like a robot, but it’s just about consistency, making sure you ask the right questions. Better yet, change your inquiry forms or your job sheets or whatever you’re using to actually be a bit of a prompt sheet, so you just simply follow the bouncing ball on your piece of paper, you ask all the right questions, get all the details. You don’t forget anything, you don’t forget to get their mobile number or what times of the day they’re home. You write it all down and then it becomes your job card for that particular job. Scripts are really, really powerful and it means you don’t have to keep so much stuff in your head.
9. Make it easy for customers to pay.
This is about whether you take payments on the [inaudible 00:06:52] or when they book or however. Or have a number of payment options, whether it be direct debit or a credit card, just make it easy for them to pay, don’t make it hard, don’t send an invoice two weeks later and then you’re chasing them for a payment. Just make it easy.
10. This is about everyone being on the same page.
All the things we’ve just mentioned or the way you talk to your customers, the way you show up, having procedures in place, so that your team is delivering the high level of customer service that you want, every job, every time. Just making sure your team is behind it and that they’re all consistently delivering the same level of service, no matter who guys out there does the job or who they’re ringing the office, that everybody is playing by the same book.
That’s right, nothing worse that you promise something, one of your team members goes out and does it differently and everybody is confused. It’s just freaks people out.
