Open up the door to success with pre-call planning

As I always like to say, a prepared company is a successful company. If you put in the time it takes to prepare for a service or sales call, that little bit of "above and beyond" can really grab the attention of your customer and benefit your company in the long run.

I sat down with HVAC Learning Solutions trainer Eric Andrews to gather some tips for preparing before you head out into the field. Here are three pre-call planning tips you should institute across your company today.

1. Make sure everyone is on the same page. Andrews says, "The sales person might have a dedicated sales process that contradicts the sales tactics of the technician or customer service rep, which doesn't look very professional in the customer's eyes and leads to them possibly having doubts or a lack of trust or confidence with the company."
2. Perform both a phone and email confirmation. The reason Andrews says both phone and email confirmations are important is because an email will lead them straight to the most important resources they need (and might not know it,). Andrews also suggests using a service like MailChimp or Constant Contact for a professional-looking email template that includes:
   1. A background or bio about the company
   2. A background or bio about the sales person servicing the home, including their photo and a photo of their vehicle so the customer can get acquainted with the sales advisor before they arrive.
   3. Appointment and address confirmation
   4. Link to third-party articles and websites that talk about best practices in the HVAC industry (as long as they are practiced in your dealership IE: load calculations, proper size of equipment, etc.) 
   5. A link to financing so the sales advisor can know if the customer is pre-approved for financing before coming to the home.
3. Know the neighborhood and the home. "We tend to not use technology to the fullest in our industry," Andrews says. "I would recommend looking up  the customer's address online and it will come up on Zillow, Trulia, or even your local tax adjusters website. There's all kinds of public data and records to help you understand the customers home better, like the layout, square footage, and number of rooms. That way, when you go into the house, it looks like you've done a little bit of research and gives you a little credibility."

A little bit of research, prep time, and effort goes a long way in making and closing the sale. Talk with your peers, confirm appointments, give the customer informational resources, and do a little research to turn your customer's experience from an A to an A+.