Trapped Behind The Garage Door

Garage Door

You Can’t Sell Them – Until They Find You

Have you ever needed help and didn’t know who to call? I found myself in that situation recently. You know, when you need a specialist to fix or repair something that you have neither the tools, the skill, or the time to do it.

The automatic garage door opener broke. I am a little intimidated by the springs, pulleys, and tracks, so I went to my computer and searched for “Garage Door Repair” with my hometown name in hopes of finding a local service/repair shop that could come out right away.

The top few results of my search produced a couple of national “list-service” sites rather than a local shop. I live in a small town and prefer to give first opportunity to vendors that are in the same community, if I can.

The job was urgent to me, so I also wanted someone that could do it today. You know, being part of the “now” generation, we want it when we want it. Instant gratification has been our expectation since the 1950’s.

Upon calling and getting a very friendly person ready to serve me on the phone, I explained my needs and she suggested 3 service providers that meet my criteria. I selected one that was close to me and she transferred the call to a garage door repair business.

The receptionist was “outstanding” and I was “sold” from the very beginning. During the conversation, I received 2 calls (in call waiting) from other vendors that the list service recommended. Although I was already “sold”, out of common courtesy I returned each of the other calls and received a short sales-pitch from each of them.

One of them quoted me about the same price and the other quoted me a lower price, which ultimately made me feel good about my decision to choose the first offer. The job was completed within that day and I was ultimately satisfied with the work and enjoyed meeting a new contact in the form of a local business which I can refer in the future.

BUT THE LESSON I LEARNED WHICH SHOULD BE LESSON FOR ALL LOCAL SERVICE BUSINESSES, IS THIS.

I (as a typical consumer) called the first listings that resulted from my online search. That result was an Internet listing company that charged each of 3 vendors $15 to pass on “my need” for their service (the lead). Only 1 got the job resulting in a $200 up-sell of an original $120 phone quote.

If each of these businesses would spend just a little effort and just a little money (less than the cost of one lead), they could have saved $15 by learning how their business with their direct phone can be listed above the Internet listing company in the search for their keywords at a regular and continuing cost of FREE. No more need to “buy” leads!
And, if each of these businesses would spend just a little money on continued and regular sales training for their customer service staff, most every sales opportunity could double or triple. Think of the benefit for your company to increase your existing sales without increasing your volume of leads and jobs performed.

Have you ever needed help and didn’t know who to call? Your potential customers do, every day!