John Anglis cartoon

The Anglis Angle

John Anglis in action
Category

Blog title heading will go here

Full name
11 Jan 2022
5 min read

If You Ain't FIRST, You're LAST (...Or Are You?)

Spring has sprung, and that means home improvement season is now in full effect!

People are receiving their tax returns, and they've got extra cash to inject into their homes.

For those in the home improvement business, this is a bittersweet time.

It's sweet because warm leads are flowing in. The question isn't IF they'll be buying, but FROM WHOM?

That brings us to the bitter point - they are competitive leads.

Your salespeople may complain that the reason they don't make a sale is that they were the 1st or 2nd estimate with more coming after, but "had I been the 3rd..."

Of course, when they are the 3rd estimate, the prospect tells them that they've got 2 more companies coming out -making your salesperson ask, "Why couldn't I be the 5th?"

Years ago, I outsmarted myself by using my silver tongue to set myself up to be the 3rd, 4th or 5th estimate.

The problem was, I never got to most of them because they bought before I arrived. How frustrating! If I'm the first I can't close, if I'm the third I can't close and if I'm the last I might not get in. WTF!?

Many salespeople find themselves asking: WHY is it when I'm the 1st, they always need 3 estimates - but when I'm the 3rd, they always need a 4th, etc. I actually believed I was unlucky, as do many of your salespeople.

The truth is that there are 2 reasons homeowners don't buy: the reason they give you, and the REAL reason. The REAL reason always comes down to one of these:

  • NO NEED - so they will either not do it or see what else is on the market that might better solve their problems.
  • NO TRUST - in your salesperson, your company, your product, or your price.
  • NO WANT - because your price exceeds your value proposition, so they want to shop to avoid paying the premiums for the extra features and benefits that they don't need or want.
  • NO URGENCY - because they don't want it or need it or trust you, your company, your product, your price etc.
  • NO MONEY - because your salespeople aren't presenting finance and cash options simultaneously, so prospects are making an affordability decision with only half the information.

Think about it. When the homeowner says they want to shop around, which of these are they REALLY saying?

In "The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People," Dr. Stephen Covey discusses reverse engineering outcomes, beginning with defining your goals and working backward to create a roadmap for success. This philosophy inspired the development of my ALPHA Sales System, where I anticipated and addressed the REAL reasons people hesitate to buy at each stage. By mitigating these concerns, I helped position my salespeople to achieve more profitable and consistent sales, whether we were the 1st or 5th estimate - though we were among the highest priced in our market.  

This helped me develop an ALPHA Sales Team at CareFree (My former company) where we closed nearly 40% of our presentations on the 1st presentation with a negligible rescission rate and incredibly high NSLI. In fact, half of my salespeople were in their mid-20s either having recently graduated or going to college part time.

While we hired great people, it didn't matter unless we had the right sales system for them to use.

If you're ready to install an ALPHA Sales System in your business that delivers predictable results like clockwork - book your Discovery Call here.

It's time for you to STOP being a victim of the order your salespeople arrive in the home and START making the competition worried that you'll get there first.

Subscribe to The Anglis Angle

Find out what’s going on with home improvement - and what YOU need to know about it with a monthly e-newsletter from John himself.