Ok Steve and Scott, how would you have handled this phone call

[Mojo Rising]

I use to answer the phones and had a 95% or higher success rate and I never made it about price. Most of the time they ask because they don't know what else to ask.. After I give them a price, before they can get a word in I go straight into the value of what they are going to get.. that usually landed the job. I never made it about price, I made it about them and their needs with the cleaning. I hit them on an emotional level and was giving them what they wanted plus more than they expected just by the communication we had. The price at that point was not the biggest thing on their mind, it was the badass service we were going to give them and how we were taking care of their needs. How to navigate the phone call in your favor is just something you learn over time.

Guru's? lol.. that is some good stuff there. Honestly if I was a new company like yours, I would be giving phone estimates and slinging deal to create revenue. Everyone fits themselves with the "guru hat", you just have to figure out which one is giving you the best information to works with your business.

I have been doing this for 15 years and I hear a lot from customers about how they didn't like how the company couldn't give them a quote or even a general ballpark figure.. couldn't even sell them value either.

 

[Scott W]

Receptionist: Scott Cleans, How can we help you today?
Caller: I'd like to get a price on cleaning a bedroom and a living room.
US: I'd love to give you a price for that, but first I need to know a little bit about your carpet so that the price accurately reflects the service you need. Let me ask a few questions?
What color is the carpet?
What fiber is the carpet made of?
What are the sizes of your rooms?
Are there any particular spots, spills or stains that concern you?
What prompted you to call us today?
Is there a schedule, maybe a particular day or time you wanted to have this service done?

They won't know the answers to some of the questions. That gives you an opening for an in person quote if you wish. Get a conversation going about the carpet. Depending upon their responses, you can give replies that begin to build their trust in confidence in your ability. Maybe, explain how you will treat a certain spill or stain, etc.

 

[Mrs.SpeedySteamer]

Caller lost my interest @ 2 room move-out....

Agreed!

 

[Steve Toburen]

Caller: Thank you for your time, I going to call some one else...

So what should I have done better? She kinda had a tone of annoyance like, why would I be asking her all these questions...

I feel your pain, Brian. And I think you did pretty well. Like Rob always says you can't win 'em all. That being said kudos to you for analyzing what you could have done to improve for next time.

Some observations:

1. Before starting to ask questions always "take ownership" of the call with a quick "I can help you with that. May I ask you a few questions?"

2. One great question to ask early on is, "How old are your carpets?"

3. This way when she says "There are no problems" you can use the age of the carpet and the never been cleaned challenge as your excuse to pre-inspect.

4. You nailed it when you said "she seemed irritated". Absolutely- nobody likes having their carpets cleaned and especially so when it is a rental and they are moving. So don't take it personally!

5. So another good questions is, "Will the home be rented out or put up for sale? This lets me know the type of cleaning level to provide."

By the way, I can't believe Scotty Warrington beat me again!

Best wishes,
Steve Toburen
www.SFS.https://shop.truckmountforums.com.com

PS What would I have done? After she said, "I'm going to call someone else" before she hung up I would have given her an approximate price "to help you compare" and offered to send her a written quote immediately by email with links back to my website videos on how we clean carpet. You never know...

 

[A1CS]

So I want to know how you expert sales people would have handled a call like this. This is approximately how the conversation went:

Caller: I'd like to know your price on cleaning a bed room and a living room.

Me: Would it be alright if I asked you a few questions.

Caller: sure.

Me: Where are you located?

Caller: Elkhart

Me: What kinds of problems are you having with your carpet?

Caller: none, we just need it cleaned because we're moving out.

Me: when is the last time you've had it cleaned?

Caller: never.

Me: Do you have any pets?

Caller: No, the house will be empty.

Me: I mean did you have any pets living there.

Caller: No pets. I really just need a quote.

Me: How soon do you need it done.

Caller: Thurs or Friday next week.

Me: Based on what your telling me. I think I need to come out and take a look before I can give a firm price.

Caller: Thank you for your time, I going to call some one else.

Me: Thank you, call me back if you need anything.



So what should I have done better? She kinda had a tone of annoyance like, why would I be asking her all these questions. This is an example of the type of call where the person seems want a quote for cleaning, but not the actual cleaning. Why would a person who's never had her carpets cleaned find it annoying that I'm asking about the condition of her carpet?

I understand her annoyance. Give her a price or someone else will. These people don't have time for long drawn out estimates, thats for a Move In.

 

[Gemcleans]

When someone calls and wants a price, I give them one. I tell them my minimum price is.... and it could be $10-$20. higher depending on the size and condition of carpet. If that sounds OK let's get a work order going.
If I don't get the job, there is more work out there.
You didn't get the job anyways, so just give them a price.

 

[StevenB.]

So I want to know how you expert sales people would have handled a call like this. This is approximately how the conversation went:

Caller: I'd like to know your price on cleaning a bed room and a living room.

STOP.....
What day and time could I schedule an estimate?



Could I ask you for better contact info?


















Me: Would it be alright if I asked you a few questions.

Caller: sure.

Me: Where are you located?

Caller: Elkhart

Me: What kinds of problems are you having with your carpet?

Caller: none, we just need it cleaned because we're moving out.

Me: when is the last time you've had it cleaned?

Caller: never.

Me: Do you have any pets?

Caller: No, the house will be empty.

Me: I mean did you have any pets living there.

Caller: No pets. I really just need a quote.

Me: How soon do you need it done.

Caller: Thurs or Friday next week.

Me: Based on what your telling me. I think I need to come out and take a look before I can give a firm price.

Caller: Thank you for your time, I going to call some one else.

Me: Thank you, call me back if you need anything.



So what should I have done better? She kinda had a tone of annoyance like, why would I be asking her all these questions. This is an example of the type of call where the person seems want a quote for cleaning, but not the actual cleaning. Why would a person who's never had her carpets cleaned find it annoying that I'm asking about the condition of her carpet?

 

[Troyster]

ME: how many rooms? ME: this is my price! Done! no use spending 20 minutes talking to them when ,most of the time they BS anyway! most people want their filth cleaned and done cheap and don't want 100 questions > wastes everyone's time including mine when half are just looking for Rug Doctor prices anyway!

 

[ToddBenne]

Welcome to 2013 and the age of instant gratification. I agree with Mojo in that I view my company from a consumer's point of view. Hell, I was bored and no longer interested in what you had to say to her after the first couple of questions. This is the information age. If you do not answer her question now she will find someone who will and he will be cleaning and making money while you masturbate with the concept of needing an in home inspection and sales call to convince her to use you.

You are a solo operator, your emphasis is on generating revenue not driving around hoping to. I quote over the phone, quit doing the in home audit routine years ago. Quote it...book it...clean it...bank it. This stuff of over selling a basic service such as carpet cleaning is an industry perpetuated myth by guys who think they are too good to clean carpets. The concept customers should over pay us for the privilege of us taking dirt out of their carpets ios gone in today's economy and consumer mindset. You can clean for these folks or come one here and whine about it.

 

[Troyster]

Welcome to 2013 and the age of instant gratification. I agree with Mojo in that I view my company from a consumer's point of view. Hell, I was bored and no longer interested in what you had to say to her after the first couple of questions. This is the information age. If you do not answer her question now she will find someone who will and he will be cleaning and making money while you masturbate with the concept of needing an in home inspection and sales call to convince her to use you.

You are a solo operator, your emphasis is on generating revenue not driving around hoping to. I quote over the phone, quit doing the in home audit routine years ago. Quote it...book it...clean it...bank it. This stuff of over selling a basic service such as carpet cleaning is an industry perpetuated myth by guys who think they are too good to clean carpets. The concept customers should over pay us for the privilege of us taking dirt out of their carpets ios gone in today's economy and consumer mindset. You can clean for these folks or come one here and whine about it.

most intelligent answer I have ever had the privilege of ever reading on here!

 

[Joey J.]

I must be blessed. Some of you guys continually complain about customers lying and bs'ing you, not that its never happened to me but its such a rare occurrence that I'm certainly not going to let it affect the way I do business. Same holds true for how I handle payments, checks, etc.

 

[shane deubell]

I must be blessed. Some of you guys continually complain about customers lying and bs'ing you, not that its never happened to me but its such a rare occurrence that I'm certainly not going to let it affect the way I do business. Same holds true for how I handle payments, checks, etc.

Yep, only 1 bad check in 6 years.

People like deals but we all do.

 

[Mikey34]

Yep, only 1 bad check in 6 years.

People like deals but we all do.

Welcome back man!

 

[groutguy]

Easy...

Caller: Thank you for your time, I going to call some one else.

Me: I apologise, my give a f**k is broken, but my go f**k yourself is fully functional.

It was always nice to be able to use those lines before the digital age of online reviews

 

[WillnDeb]

How do you put that into practice? Suppose you have a dozen spots that require special treatment (paint, nail polish, koolaide, candle wax, etc) and the tenant says they don't want to pay extra, just give them the basic cleaning. Then the landlord calls you because he's unsatisfied.

I have no problem telling a landlord "thats all the tenant wanted to pay for". Let the landlord hash it out

 

[kingjoelking]

It's a move out. We are a commodity. They arnt using us because they want the best clean ever. They are using us because they have to. They dont care if it stays clean for 3 days. They just want it clean for 1 day. The next day when they do there walk through and can show a receipt that a "proffesional" did it. Shoot em a price and they will say yes or no. Throwing in the extra bit that Rob said about knowing what a property manager wants, so they dont keep the deposit may help. but really they dont care. As long as they show the carpet cleaning receipt they are expecting there deposit.

 

[1ST CHOICE CLEANING]

I do a lot of move outs and price them by the room and always let them know red stains and pet odors/stains are additional. Giving a price oved the phone would be easy. During pre inspection I point out spots and ask questions to make removing them easier, under promise and over deliver.

 

[Brian_g]

Do you guys think it would be in poor taste if I just asked "are you more concerned with price or quality?" I'm not talking about on every call, but on calls where the person asks about price more than once.

 

[Joey J.]

Do you guys think it would be in poor taste if I just asked "are you more concerned with price or quality?" I'm not talking about on every call, but on calls where the person asks about price more than once.

I've used that question before but for my style I find that if I feel they are shopping around I'll just say something along the lines of "When you are calling around keep in mind that not all carpet cleaning companies are the same, so you can compare apples to apples here are some things I do that a lot of other companies don't do so you may want to ask the ones you call." Then I'll list my steps and explain why each one is important. At this point many will go ahead and schedule and the ones that don't usually truly are just looking for cheap.

 

[Tron]

Do you guys think it would be in poor taste if I just asked "are you more concerned with price or quality?" I'm not talking about on every call, but on calls where the person asks about price more than once.

That would probably be offensive to most people.

I have just flat out said "we'll I can tell you right now I'm not gonna be the cheapest or anywhere closest to it, but I can show you what you'll get with our price that makes us a great value, and we won't switch it on you later"