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Too much Information!

by longrobnc
11 replies
Hello all,

I was just looking over the numbers for my Overhead Door Business. I have not always been great about keeping up with lead sources and closing ratios. For the past 6 months, I have really buckled down and concentrated on tracking almost everything.

For repairs, we close 70% of all call ins or website leads. Almost all are call ins. For installations, our closing % really stinks. This month, it's only 15%! Actually, this year, we are closing at less than 25%. This would not be so bad if not for the type of leads. Most of these leads are coming from ads on price leaders....... hell, we can't even close those. I've shopped and our prices are hard to beat.

Last year, I was short handed, so I put a quote form on my site that asked for a lot of information. The customer fills out the form, and I email quotes as soon as I get the form. They are then dropped in to aweber for follow up. The problem is that most of these folks never take my calls after they have the quote. Most of the projects that I did sell were people that walked in to the showroom or called me. In these cases, I'm able to build value in the product and find out what they really want/need.


Should I change my form, and only do quotes after I have done an in home visit?

Am I asking for too much information online?

#closing #information #offline ads #webform
  • Profile picture of the author RobinInTexas
    My first inclination would be to try a split test, but I'm not sure if the sample size would be big enough to be meaningful.

    Maybe the best approach would be to find a way to engage the leads and build some confidence before you hit them with the price.

    Are you being beat out by competition that is giving a lowball initial quote and coming up with necessary add-ons?
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    Robin



    ...Even if you're on the right track, you'll get run over if you just set there.
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  • Profile picture of the author Aaron Doud
    This is a classic case of why sending prices before building value is so bad for most businesses.

    If you are truly the price leader you can do it. But often you will lose if others can simply match your price or come close because they show the value.

    What you are selling is not a commodity so I would say never give price up front.

    As for your closing percentages we can't really know if they are good or bad unless we can compare them to yourself in the past and to others in the industry. Because of course repairs will close at a higher rate than installations. With a repair they pretty much have to buy so the only question is from who. When you are selling installations you are not just competing with other companies but you also are up against "do nothing" and that is the cheapest option.

    As for the automated follow up. Personally I hate it. If they are in the buying stage you need to be following up personally rather it is email or phone. Automated follow up works best for pre-buyers in this type of industry.

    Collect the bare minimum info and call them. I'm not sure in your industry that I would even ask for email at that stage. Name, Phone, Comments. Those are the boxes you need. Get the rest during the call. if they need you to contact via email they will tell you that in the comments box and leave their email there.
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    Aaron Doud - Sales & Success
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    • Profile picture of the author longrobnc
      Originally Posted by Aaron Doud View Post

      This is a classic case of why sending prices before building value is so bad for most businesses.

      If you are truly the price leader you can do it. But often you will lose if others can simply match your price or come close because they show the value.

      What you are selling is not a commodity so I would say never give price up front.

      As for your closing percentages we can't really know if they are good or bad unless we can compare them to yourself in the past and to others in the industry. Because of course repairs will close at a higher rate than installations. With a repair they pretty much have to buy so the only question is from who. When you are selling installations you are not just competing with other companies but you also are up against "do nothing" and that is the cheapest option.

      As for the automated follow up. Personally I hate it. If they are in the buying stage you need to be following up personally rather it is email or phone. Automated follow up works best for pre-buyers in this type of industry.

      Collect the bare minimum info and call them. I'm not sure in your industry that I would even ask for email at that stage. Name, Phone, Comments. Those are the boxes you need. Get the rest during the call. if they need you to contact via email they will tell you that in the comments box and leave their email there.
      Hi Aaron,

      I changed the way I did automated follow up a few months back. At that time, I had nice, pretty html messages with graphics, logos etc. It did terrible.

      I changed the emails to plain text and added my personal signature, phone number, etc. I get a much better response.
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      • Profile picture of the author Aaron Doud
        Originally Posted by longrobnc View Post

        Hi Aaron,

        I changed the way I did automated follow up a few months back. At that time, I had nice, pretty html messages with graphics, logos etc. It did terrible.

        I changed the emails to plain text and added my personal signature, phone number, etc. I get a much better response.
        I noticed this as well in some of my emails during testing a few years back. Personalized emails that are from a real person simply convert better.

        We have automated emails that our site sends. All are basic text with a few pictures as needed. Most are signed off from myself or another member of the staff.

        I also suggest adding a small picture to your email signature. I have that for all our Sales Professionals. It helps the person reading the email to feel you are a real person. Thus building that trust needed to get them to buy.
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        Aaron Doud - Sales & Success
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    • Profile picture of the author longrobnc
      Originally Posted by Aaron Doud View Post

      Because of course repairs will close at a higher rate than installations.
      At one time, our repair leads did not close nearly as often. We changed our process in a drastic way and built packages for various types of repairs. Lots of freebies with high perceived value. Our closing ratio nearly doubled.

      I haven't found a profitable way to package doors and build value in the same way as I did with repairs.

      Originally Posted by Aaron Doud View Post

      With a repair they pretty much have to buy so the only question is from who.
      I've known lots of clients to leave their doors damaged or broken for a year before they finally buckle down to call. It's not a must to everyone. Also, many doors that get replaced have been driven through by cars, so if they have an HOA it has to be done. Garage builders and contractors also have to buy doors. It's only a matter of who also. Repairs are really no easier to close. It's all in the technique. We often do repairs that are almost the cost of a whole new door. The customers never bat an eye at the cost.
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  • Profile picture of the author Eddie Spangler
    I cant even imagine giving a quote by email for this product, it seems cold, impersonal and just begs to be price shopped.

    Do customers even understand the different options on the form?

    Is your website building any kind of rapport/confidence with either video, testimonials, education and such?
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    • Profile picture of the author RimaNaj2011
      Less fields will give you a better conversion rate. A/B testing would be best but I don't think you'd get a good test with numbers that are low (which I'm assuming since it's a local business).
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    • Profile picture of the author longrobnc
      Originally Posted by Eddie Spangler View Post

      I cant even imagine giving a quote by email for this product, it seems cold, impersonal and just begs to be price shopped.

      Do customers even understand the different options on the form?

      Is your website building any kind of rapport/confidence with either video, testimonials, education and such?
      Eddie,

      The website does a pretty decent job of education. Could do better, I'm sure. The problem is that I have been very short handed in the office, so I started taking some short cuts. I noticed going over our numbers that I closed a lot more sales when I actually went out and did site visits.

      You are dead on with the price shopping. We have great prices, but customers know ways of getting good deals when they have a low quote in hand.
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      • Profile picture of the author Aaron Doud
        Originally Posted by longrobnc View Post

        Eddie,

        The website does a pretty decent job of education. Could do better, I'm sure. The problem is that I have been very short handed in the office, so I started taking some short cuts. I noticed going over our numbers that I closed a lot more sales when I actually went out and did site visits.

        You are dead on with the price shopping. We have great prices, but customers know ways of getting good deals when they have a low quote in hand.
        Ok I have to comment on this. As many know I used to sell RVs (still do when they need me to) online. And from my experience in RVs and with friends selling cars there are some myths when it comes to price shoppers.

        1. Myth: People who price shop buy based on price: This is extremely untrue. Price shoppers even when it comes to something that can be sold nationally, like an RV, are still really value buyers. Often the first dealership (their local one) sold them on the unit but not on the value of the price they gave. Basically they felt like the price was too high so are price shopping to find value.

        2. Myth: People price shop to get their dealer of choice to go lower: I have seen this disproven time and time again. I've had dealers match our price and still had a guy drive two days to buy from us. We showed them the value in buying from us even though it was harder and actually more expensive to buy from us vs. their local dealer. Once one dealer loses their faith (doesn't show them the value) they are often done with them.

        3. Myth: People like to price shop: The vast majority hate it. I've had people stop at our dealership first and tell me they will be visiting multiple dealers before buying. And time and time again we have sold them before they went anywhere else. People don't want to waste time shopping around. They want Sales Professionals to find the right product for them at the right price. If someone tells me they plan to spend the day shopping I love it. Because that tells me they have planned for this to take a full day so as long as I can find them the right unit within a few hours they will buy from me. When people have decided to buy they will often buy from the first Sales Professional who actually meets their needs and shows them the value. This is especially true if they go to you first. By contacting you first it shows that you are already their first choice.

        Now I want to comment on being "too busy". You should never be too busy for your customers. If you need to hire more staff do it. Doing anything else limits your growth and can actually cause you business to become smaller.

        "Busy" is simply your business telling you it needs to grow. Taking short cuts will only hurt your business is the long run. Do it right every time. Anything less is a disservice to yourself, your business, and your customers.

        As for your website. I am glad it is informative. And you admit it isn't perfect. But let me explain something. A commercial website is not about education. While having an informative site can help in multiple ways you have to remember that people are coming to you to buy. They need what you sell or they wouldn't be there.

        When it comes to large purchases very few people will buy from a website. A few more will buy after talking by email. But the vast majority will only buy after talking on the phone or in person. This is because they can "read" you via your voice and non-verbal communication. This puts them at ease and they trust you. When people are parting with large sums of money they need to trust the person they are buying from.

        Rather it is cars, campers, over head doors people buy from Sales Professionals that they trust who find personalized solutions for them and who show them the value of said solutions.
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        Aaron Doud - Sales & Success
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        • Profile picture of the author longrobnc
          Originally Posted by Aaron Doud View Post

          Ok I have to comment on this. As many know I used to sell RVs (still do when they need me to) online. And from my experience in RVs and with friends selling cars there are some myths when it comes to price shoppers.

          1. Myth: People who price shop buy based on price: This is extremely untrue. Price shoppers even when it comes to something that can be sold nationally, like an RV, are still really value buyers. Often the first dealership (their local one) sold them on the unit but not on the value of the price they gave. Basically they felt like the price was too high so are price shopping to find value.

          2. Myth: People price shop to get their dealer of choice to go lower: I have seen this disproven time and time again. I've had dealers match our price and still had a guy drive two days to buy from us. We showed them the value in buying from us even though it was harder and actually more expensive to buy from us vs. their local dealer. Once one dealer loses their faith (doesn't show them the value) they are often done with them.

          3. Myth: People like to price shop: The vast majority hate it. I've had people stop at our dealership first and tell me they will be visiting multiple dealers before buying. And time and time again we have sold them before they went anywhere else. People don't want to waste time shopping around. They want Sales Professionals to find the right product for them at the right price. If someone tells me they plan to spend the day shopping I love it. Because that tells me they have planned for this to take a full day so as long as I can find them the right unit within a few hours they will buy from me. When people have decided to buy they will often buy from the first Sales Professional who actually meets their needs and shows them the value. This is especially true if they go to you first. By contacting you first it shows that you are already their first choice.

          Now I want to comment on being "too busy". You should never be too busy for your customers. If you need to hire more staff do it. Doing anything else limits your growth and can actually cause you business to become smaller.

          "Busy" is simply your business telling you it needs to grow. Taking short cuts will only hurt your business is the long run. Do it right every time. Anything less is a disservice to yourself, your business, and your customers.

          As for your website. I am glad it is informative. And you admit it isn't perfect. But let me explain something. A commercial website is not about education. While having an informative site can help in multiple ways you have to remember that people are coming to you to buy. They need what you sell or they wouldn't be there.

          When it comes to large purchases very few people will buy from a website. A few more will buy after talking by email. But the vast majority will only buy after talking on the phone or in person. This is because they can "read" you via your voice and non-verbal communication. This puts them at ease and they trust you. When people are parting with large sums of money they need to trust the person they are buying from.

          Rather it is cars, campers, over head doors people buy from Sales Professionals that they trust who find personalized solutions for them and who show them the value of said solutions.
          These are some great points. I've had people drive large distances to buy doors from me. It seemed ridiculous, but I guess they have their reasons. I have a person that does a lot of phone follow up when we miss sales. When we get an answer it is almost ALWAYS price. We just did not build value!

          There is no good excuse, but I have taken shortcuts with Residential door installs because I haven't been able to secure/keep sales staff. I've hired 4 salespeople in the past 6 months. They go through a training put together by my wife who is the national sales trainer for a large weight loss company. These guys couldn't close any more than we did by giving out email quotes.

          I just can't do it all myself. We grew about 35% per year from 2009-2012. In the past 6 months, we have started to grow by leaps and bounds. We were up over 50% year over year in the 1st quarter. That left me scrambling to fill holes. I'm the only person here that knows how to bid commercial projects, etc. That is how my business was built, and my main priority. I also have relationships with my regular customers and they won't speak to anyone else here but me.

          I have strongly considered pulling all of our ads for installations until I can improve our sales process. The problem is that I have Installers with families that have to eat. We do make sales because we have a lot of leads, but it's really like slinging mud against the wall. With everything else I have to do I can't run a handful of home visits a day.
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  • Profile picture of the author Jason Kanigan
    Originally Posted by longrobnc View Post

    Hello all,

    I was just looking over the numbers for my Overhead Door Business. I have not always been great about keeping up with lead sources and closing ratios. For the past 6 months, I have really buckled down and concentrated on tracking almost everything.

    For repairs, we close 70% of all call ins or website leads. Almost all are call ins. For installations, our closing % really stinks. This month, it's only 15%! Actually, this year, we are closing at less than 25%. This would not be so bad if not for the type of leads. Most of these leads are coming from ads on price leaders....... hell, we can't even close those. I've shopped and our prices are hard to beat.

    Last year, I was short handed, so I put a quote form on my site that asked for a lot of information. The customer fills out the form, and I email quotes as soon as I get the form. They are then dropped in to aweber for follow up. The problem is that most of these folks never take my calls after they have the quote. Most of the projects that I did sell were people that walked in to the showroom or called me. In these cases, I'm able to build value in the product and find out what they really want/need.


    Should I change my form, and only do quotes after I have done an in home visit?

    Am I asking for too much information online?
    CALL them with the quote, not email.

    Anyone who fills out that form is a serious prospect.

    Anyone who fills out that form is also going to get a good education on What questions to ask when solving this problem. Put that in text above it: "If you don't know what information you need to get your Overhead Door fixed, this form will help you."

    Ask some questions before you give them the price. How did they get the info together to complete the form? Get their involvement.
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