Stop Assuming Every Customer Is Cheap

I was talking to a group of contractors recently about something that happens to all of us.

We remember the bad stuff.

I play a lot of blackjack. Years ago, I had a night where I won $135,000. Biggest night I ever had playing blackjack. Felt pretty damn good.

Then a couple weeks later, I lost a couple thousand dollars on a football game, and I was absolutely miserable.

Think about how ridiculous that is.

I won $135,000, but somehow losing $2,000 bothered me more than winning $135,000 made me happy.

That’s human nature.

And the exact same thing happens to your technicians and salespeople every single day.

The Customer You Remember

Your technician walks into a house and finds three legitimate problems.

He explains everything to the homeowner. The homeowner argues about every recommendation, complains about the price, tells him everything is too expensive, and doesn’t buy a damn thing.

Your technician remembers that guy.

He remembers him tomorrow. He remembers him next week.

Then there’s another homeowner.

Your technician does his inspection, finds several legitimate issues, explains the options, and the homeowner says:

“Sounds good. Let’s do it.”

Writes the check. Doesn’t complain. Everybody moves on with their day.

And what happens?

Your technician forgets about that customer.

The difficult customer gets burned into his brain. The easy customer barely registers.

Pretty soon, he starts believing every homeowner is cheap.

That’s where the real problem starts.

Your Last Customer Isn’t Your Next Customer

When a technician starts believing everybody is cheap, it changes how he approaches the next call.

He starts qualifying the homeowner before he ever gives them an opportunity to make a decision.

He sees an indoor air quality problem and thinks, They’re never going to spend the money on that.

He sees an aging water heater and decides, They probably don’t want to hear about it.

He finds something else that could improve the homeowner’s comfort, safety, or efficiency and thinks, That’s too expensive.

So he doesn’t bring it up.

Now we’ve got a technician making financial decisions for the homeowner.

That’s not his job.

Your job is to inspect the home, identify legitimate problems, explain what you found, provide appropriate solutions, and let the homeowner decide what they want to do.

Some people will say no.

Some people will say yes.

But you don’t get to make that decision for them.

Not Everybody Is in the “Cheap” Category

There are different strokes for different folks.

One homeowner may not have $500 available for an unexpected repair.

The next homeowner might spend $10,000 improving their comfort without blinking an eye.

Neither one is right or wrong.

They’re simply different people with different priorities, circumstances, and financial situations.

The mistake is allowing one negative experience to determine how you treat everybody who comes after them.

And this isn’t just about money.

Maybe your technician had one homeowner get irritated because he asked too many questions. Now he stops asking questions.

Maybe somebody complained about being offered additional solutions. Now he’s afraid to make recommendations.

Maybe somebody told him your company was too expensive. Now he starts apologizing for the price before the homeowner has even reacted to it.

One bad experience starts influencing dozens of future calls.

That’s expensive.

Give Every Homeowner the Same Opportunity

I’ve said this over and over again:

Your job is the process. Their job is the decision.

Do the inspection.

Ask the questions.

Find the problems.

Explain the impact.

Present the solutions.

Then shut up and let the homeowner decide.

Don’t decide they’re cheap.

Don’t decide they can’t afford it.

Don’t decide they won’t be interested because the last three homeowners weren’t.

And don’t withhold a legitimate solution because you’re afraid somebody might tell you no.

You aren’t there to pressure people into buying things they don’t need.

You’re there to make sure they understand the problems that actually exist and the options available to solve them.

That’s what professionals do.

Don’t Let the Bad Calls Rewrite Reality

Negative experiences stick with us. That’s exactly why you have to be conscious of them.

Otherwise, one miserable customer becomes “all customers.”

One price objection becomes “nobody has any money.”

One rejected recommendation becomes “nobody buys these things.”

That’s simply not reality.

The next time you hear somebody on your team say, “Customers won’t pay for that,” ask them a simple question:

Which customers?

Because the last homeowner isn’t the next homeowner.

Give every customer the information.

Give them the options.

And let them decide.