Although it is indeed difficult to teach an old dog new tricks, it is not impossible as long as you have the right breed. Embracing technology by presenting all of my products and services on iPads, gives me the ability to instantly surf on line to answer questions, corroborate statements made, or instantly find out what your competitor who may be scheduled to follow your presentation is offering, are exceptional ways to give your prospects the necessary information to facilitate the order with you and your company.
Using client testimonials, apps including Cost vs. Value (To show prospects the average cost and resale value of a job) payment calculator (To ensure you never forget your calculator) iBooks, (To save PDF’s of the competitions warranty or brochures )Zillow,(To find out when the home was built, purchased, how long they’ve lived in the home, the approximate value, pictures of the home, etc) Angie’s List (To instantly brag about your reviews) YouTube (Which gives you instant access to your channel which contains all of your client testimonials) and design centers (To show the prospect what their home will look like with the improvements) and many, many more I’m sure I will discover along the way, make it virtually impossible for a prospect to say “no”.
From the salesmen’s perspective that has been in the industry awhile, the last thing they want to do is learn how to use it, since we have interviewed many “veterans” of the industry who still can’t email. Unfortunately that mentality usually means that it is not just technology that has passed them by. Learning how to use it once it is loaded with all of your apps and presentations usually takes a few hours. But that is a small price to pay for closing more orders, more profitably.
From the company’s perspective…well, that is where it can get difficult. Loading presentations, videos, testimonials, (Including all of the edits) brochures, and then getting them to play on cue, etc. You (Owners) can certainly do it yourself but it can sometimes take months, even years to perfect it. (Trust me; I am one of those owners) You can hire a “Techy” for $1,500 to $2,000 but if they do not understand our industry, that may require you sitting next to him or her the entire time using twice the man hours, and can take even longer to complete.
I have been taking my iPad in the home for a few years now and I would NEVER present any other way. With the ease and flow of the product presentations, bright colors, professionalism, accuracy in information, previous client video corroboration, there is no way to enumerate the return on investment I have been repaid for the iPad itself, as well as the man hours put into it.
Onward and upward,
John Anglis
