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ICM January-February 2017

Management... How to add more revenue to each service call? Roger Daviston Technicians have conversations with clients every day about change. The client must make a decision about repairs, maintenance or scheduling and these conversations happen naturally. Language’s primary role is to convey thoughts and ideas that are in our minds, but another role of language is to influence others’ behavior or to motivate them to do something. It could be something as simple as may I use your pencil or something as complex as vote for me for President of the U.S. Technicians are influencing and motivating clients to make decisions every day. Thirty to forty times a month, a technician influences someone to spend money with your firm. How the client spends his or her money should be left up to the client and not up to the technician. The technician should resist the urge of the “Righting Reflex.” The “Righting Reflex” is a tendency to correct someone by offering advice as to what you would do. Another way to think about this is directing people, as opposed to allowing or guiding. It is more effective to strike balance between directing, guiding and allowing people to make their own choices about their own money. Using an attitude of directing the client in what to do can cost the company enormous amounts of revenue. Several years ago, I was consulting with a very small heating and air company and their average ticket on replacement sales was a meager $4,000, primarily because the owner was directing and not allowing. His beliefs about what should or should not be done were over powering his clients’ possible wants and limiting the company’s revenue. I sold a system for him from an online GotoMeeting—I was in Manhattan, 1,100 miles away from my client’s location. I gave the client five options, talked to him about the difference and let him pick. The options ranged from $8,000 to $15,000 and the client picked a nice $13,000 system with a wifi thermostat. Actually, I did not sell him, he decided to make a purchase from a menu of choices. He did not choose what I would have chosen. Later, the “Righting Reflex” took over my client, the owner of the heating and air company, and he talked the gentleman out of the wifi thermostat by telling him that he didn’t need nor want it, directing the gentleman even after he agreed to buy it. Conversations with clients ought to be arranged in a way that allows them to talk themselves into purchasing what they want based on their values and interest, not ours. We have influence over them because of our expertise and we should never allow a client to do something that would harm themselves, but at the same time we should resist the urge to direct them. Our attitudes, speech and words influence. Directing a person projects our values and beliefs onto them and limits our own results. Let’s look at the President The Daviston Group technician who has a directing style of influencing the client. What does a director do? He directs and tells the clients what’s wrong, how to fix it and how to proceed. He determines the solution and shows it to the client with no options. His attitude is I’m the expert. I know it all. I know what’s best for you so this is what I recommend. A technician who directs provides information, advice and instructions as to how to proceed, limiting revenue. I once sold a gentleman a system that was worth about as much as his house. When he picked the most expensive option of the five choices, I was surprised and thought he was making a financial mistake. However, who am I to decide for him what he should do with his money? He wanted the best and most expensive that I showed him. We put it in and he was happy. By allowing, instead of directing, I increased my revenue. The technician who allows is a great listener, is sincerely interested in what the client has to say and is really trying to understand the frustrations and concerns of the client. He respectfully listens and resists the urge to insert his own ideas, beliefs or values. His mindset is I don’t know what is best for the client until I have full understanding. The technician’s attitude says, “I trust in your ability to make the best choice for yourself, I’ll go beside you and respect your ability to work through this on your own.” The technician is comfortable with the client’s anxiety and does not rescue them from their emotional stress in the moment. Further, there is a middle ground and it is like being a guide. Recently Inna (my wife) and I went to Ireland. When we arrived in Dublin, we had no plans other than to book a hotel in town and get advice from locals. “Tell us about Ireland,” I asked, and they would tell us about all the options that we had. They did not order us around, tell us where to go or what to see. However, they did guide us in a skillful way by asking questions, listening and offering their advice about their country without directing. It was left up to us to make our own choice. How much does it cost to replace a capacitor? Well, it depends on your style of influence. If you direct a person, probably about $250, but if you allow them, it could be as much as $1,100. This is because that’s what the menu of options are when a capacitor needs replacing, assuming the client wants to rebuild that part of his system, restore it to like new condition and make it better than it was before you arrived. You can watch the next broadcast of The Service Call Blueprint at rogerdaviston.com to see clearly how to do this. ICM Roger Daviston facilitates behavior change through training, coaching and team building. Get Roger’s free service call strategies and learn how to sell more by selling less at http://rogerdaviston.com. 18 ICM/January/February 2017


ICM January-February 2017
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