The Close
The Close
As was previously mentioned, a close is something that incites a response from the customer. There are 2 things you need to accomplish as a setter. The first is getting the power bill / usage from the customer, and the second is setting a solid appointment for the closer to return and lock it down. As your objectives those are your 2 main closes. Some people prefer getting the appointment first and then the usage, but it has been found that spending the time to get the usage information first and then buttoning it up with an appointment is much more effective in getting the bill.
You should gain confidence to be able to close every 20 - 30 seconds during the conversation with the customer. this way it breaks up the conversation so it does not turn into a presentation. There are two types of closes - soft close and hard close
Closing is asking for the sale. A close needs to carry the same confidence that you have portrayed from the time the customer opened the door.
We mentioned new salespeople who talk too much in previous pages. Perhaps one reason they talk on and on about the specs of their product/service is that they are afraid to close. You should be constantly looking for opportunities to close the sale. From the moment you meet a customer you should look for an opportunity to close the deal!
There is a wide range of closes, but they are broken down into two categories:
Soft Closes and Hard Closes. As you go through the sales cycle, you will begin with soft closes and gradually build up to more and more hard closes that end in a completed sale.
Soft Closing
A soft close requires a response from the customer, but not a definite commitment. Soft closes are largely assumptive statements or questions designed to plant a seed in their mind about why you are ultimately there and how they can obtain the service or product you offer. When the customer responds to a soft close, he/she will reveal missing information required for the sale which will give you the opportunity to add the proper ingredients to finalize the sale.
There are a few purposes of a soft close. One is to lead the conversation into “yes” mode created by multiple questions in which the customer will respond “yes.” In doing so, the customer will be used to saying yes, and when the opportunity comes to hard close, the theory is that they will also say “yes” because they have repeatedly done so already.
You can also use soft closing in order to gauge how the customer is feeling or how interested they are throughout the set. Using soft closes like, have you guys ever looked into solar in the past? will give the customer an opportunity to respond and give you plenty of information on how to proceed effectively with the rest of the conversation. For example. if the customer responds, “yes and we weren’t interested” then you know they already have exposure to solar and you can more quickly fond out what held them up from going solar in the past in order to have a more solid set.
Examples of Soft Closes:
- How long have you lived in the home?
- Do you know how much energy you used last month?
- When was the last time you had a energy audit done on your home?
- Do you guys plan to live here for at least a couple more years?
- Do you pay your bills online, or get them in the mail?
- Did you receive the notice from the utility company about the increase in rates?
- Is this the ______ residence? I/m glad I caught you...
- If we are able to qualify you to pay zero dollars out pocket upfront, replace your utility bill with a cheaper, fixed payment, and increase the home value immediately, would that be of interest to you?
- Is it you or someone else that pays your power bill?
- Do you know, roughly how old your roof is?
All of these examples of soft closes are questions to gauge the level of interest of the customer but do not require them to commit to anything. Notice that the answer will also not hurt your pitch.
Hard Close
HARD CLOSE
A hard close requires a response from the customer and a definite commitment. Hard closes are largely assumptive statements or questions designed to set an appointment so the energy consultant, aka Aveyo Closer will be able to come to their house and go over the solar proposal with the customer.
An effective HARD CLOSE will include:
Setting a solid time for the Closer to come by their house, making sure they know the appointment with the closer will 45 minutes to an hour unless they have questions, and obtaining the Utility Bill.
CLOSE EXAMPLE
"So, to find out if you qualify, there are just a few things.
FIRST, you have to be the homeowner. You guys aren’t renting correct? Cool, so we are good there.
SECOND, you have to use enough power, do you know how much your bill was last month? Okay what about those scary months during the summer? You definitely use enough power.
LASTLY, I need to see one of your recent bills. Do you guys pay those online or get them in the mail? (Soft close) If you don’t mind, go ahead and pull that up on your phone really quick, I just need to see the little bar graph that shows the yearly usage...(look down at your laminate or iPad immediately)
Awesome so I just need to take a picture of the bill and I’ll send it to my engineers and then they send it back and let us know if the home pre-qualifies and if it will make sense. If everything comes back and looks good, my energy consultant will stop by and go over the proposal with you. We normally like to meet with both spouses if available, do you live here with a spouse or is it just you? Ok what time are you both normally home? So it looks like tomorrow at 5pm I could have my energy consultant stop by, will that work to meet with both you and your spouse? (Hard Close) Perfect, and he will just sit with both of you at the kitchen table if that’s okay?
Awesome. It normally takes about 45 minutes unless you guys have questions. Well it was great to meet you, and we will see you guys tomorrow at...
Day 7 Obtaining UB, Solidifying Appointment
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