First Crucial Contacts – Part 2 – The Repair vs Replace Video

See here for the first part – First Crucial Contacts – The Warm Handoff.

The Customer Service Representative can initiate the conversation about having a system replacement before the tech even gets out there for his call. In other words, in my company, if somebody calls in to book a service call on an old system, we automatically have our CSRs send a video I produced where I talk to the homeowner about the top five reasons they should consider replacing an old system. It’s not salesy. It’s not pushy. It’s just educational.

CSR: Hey, Mr. Homeowner, I see you have an older system. Do you mind if I send you a quick educational video before our service tech comes out?
Homeowner: Sounds good.

Then we send the video out. The video includes five reasons why people should consider replacing an older system and the math behind it. (I will include an example in the next article.)

Command Prompt

Now when our service tech goes out there, the homeowner is already thinking about the price of a new system and then he will initiate the conversation. It may have never come up without the prompting from the CSR, and the homeowner may have remained content to pay for the repair service without knowing there was money to be saved.

Service tech: I’m here for the repair you called about.
Homeowner: Hey, how much is a new system?

Again, service technicians are great at having conversations with the homeowners about why they should replace an old system instead of just continually repairing it. But they don’t want to initiate those conversations because they don’t want to feel pushy. That’s where the prepared video helps. The video can be customized for an individual customer where his name is mentioned specifically to make them feel like you’ve stopped the world and have given them your full attention and time. Or it can be a generic one the CSR sends to each customer calling in with a broken unit that is over 15 years old.

Cost Effectiveness

My videos say something like, “Hey, Mr. and Mrs. Homeowner, I know you’re not thinking about replacing your system now, but if you think you might replace it within the next five years, here’s some valuable money-saving information.” Then I go through five reasons why they should consider replacing their system now instead of waiting five years. Is it a guaranteed lead? No, but techs have told me it made all the difference in the flow of the conversation and can potentially lead to direct sales.

It serves the purpose of starting the conversation between your company and your homeowner. And in many cases, the homeowner will take the lead and initiate the conversation with your service technician about a system replacement. Otherwise, especially with a shy salesperson, the topic may never come up. He may continue believing this sales call is only a repair job, instead of an opportunity to help the customer in the long run, and help the company generate business.

If he talks to the customer and gets him interested, we all know that our tech-turn leads from the service department are the best possible leads.

So two simple conversations that your CSR can have to help expand the business and help customers initiate conversations. Number one, initiating the conversation about maintenance agreements. Number two, initiating the conversation about repair versus replace.

Next time we meet, I’ll include the script I’ve used in videos sent to customers with aging A/C units to convince them why it might be a good idea to go ahead and replace the unit now.

If you want more tips or help growing your business take a look at my books or my Profit Paradigm Program.