I’m hoping that you have read my previous blog post ‘Top 6 ways to market your business for free’ and have had some success in implementing these methods. If so, you should have seen the number of enquiries for your services, whether by phone or email, increase for very little cost. But has your number of booked jobs also increased at the same rate? This is something that all small businesses struggle with. Many auto locksmiths work alone or in a small team and perhaps you are required to wear several ‘hats’ in your business; locksmith, marketer, sales-person, accountant, admin assistant. Chances are you are a trained locksmith and more than likely you don’t have a degree in marketing or any sales training and yet you have to wear these hats possibly on a day to day basis because that is the nature of your business.
I can imagine most of your business enquiries go a little like this;
(Ringing Phone)
You: Hello, Auto Locksmith, Can I help you?
Customer: Yes, I need a spare key for a XYZ vehicle. How much do you charge?
You: That would cost £XXX
And then you hear the dreaded;
Customer: OK, thanks, I’ll call you back later.
Do you ever hear from this customer again? I would bet in 90% of instances you don’t, and here’s why.
Think about how much that phone call has cost you in time and money: Advertising, website development, building a good reputation, your time to answer the call, it all adds up. In the above example you may not realise it but you have automatically made several assumptions about your customer.
You have assumed:
• That they know exactly what they want.
• That they know exactly what they need (two very different things).
• That they fully understand the service that you offer.
If the only information you offer them is a price, then that’s all they have to go on in order to make their decision of which auto locksmith to book. We are all aware of what a competitive market the auto locksmith trade is. The customer is likely to be sat with the yellow pages or a website directory in front of them calling around several of your competitors and you need to stand out from the crowd and sell yourself and your company to that customer. With this in mind you should follow my 6 golden rules for converting that enquiry into a paying customer.
1. ANSWER THE CALL!
1st impressions count for a lot and a phone call that just rings out says to that customer that you don’t want their business. Ask yourself how many calls you have missed in the last week and how fast you answered the calls. How can you speed this up?
As a one-man band it is inevitable that you will miss calls – whilst you are with another customer for example. However a simple solution would be to record a professional sounding answer phone message that apologises for not answering, asks for contact details, and promises to call the customer back within a reasonable timescale.
If you often miss calls whilst you are driving from job to job then I would consider in investing in a good quality hands-free kit for your vehicle. This will allow you to answer the call and at the very least explain to the enquirer that you are currently on your way to a customer and you will call them back as soon as you arrive. You should always give the customer a timescale that you will call back in. This way, even if they call your competitors it is likely that they won’t make a decision until they have heard back from you, and this gives you the opportunity to swoop in and seal the deal.
Most importantly if you promise to call a customer back albeit via a voicemail recording or verbally over the phone, make sure you do return the call within the promised time. If you are late returning the call it doesn’t instil confidence in the customer that you would arrive on time if they were to book you.
2. BE HAPPY!
3. ASK OPEN QUESTIONS.
Most of your enquiries will start with a question;Customer: Can you tell me the price of XYZ?
Customer: Do you do XYZ?
As I’ve mentioned before, if you simply respond to this question with the information that is asked of you the customer remains in control of the conversation and can easily end the call with the dreaded “I’ll think about it and call you back.” Your aim is to secure the enquirer’s business on this first phone call to prevent them from going to a competitor and to do this you need to gain control of the conversation.
Here’s an example;
Customer: Can you tell me the price of a key for a Vauxhall Corsa?
Locksmith: I’d like to give you a quote specific to your needs and this will depend on several factors. Can you tell me a little more about your situation please? Why is it that you need a key?
If for example the customer then goes on to explain that her keys have been stolen, this gives you the opportunity to be sympathetic and reassure her not to worry;
Locksmith: That’s terrible, I’m sorry that this has happened to you. Try not to worry, I offer a mobile service which means I can come to you and get you a replacement key sorted quickly. I can also prevent any previous keys from being able to be used with your vehicle so you can be sure that it is secure for the future. (The customer may not have even thought of this.)
Give the customer your price and explain comprehensively what this includes and perhaps reiterate your unique selling points.
4. ALIGN YOURSELF WITH THE CUSTOMER
Every customer is different and you will need to adapt your techniques to suit each one. Each customer will have different wants and needs and they will also vary in their knowledge of your product and services, not to mention that they could be at any stage of the buying process. Your job is to use the open questions I have mentioned in step 3 to ascertain where this customer is in the buying cycle and how much they already know.
You could be the first locksmith they have called and although they know that they need a car key they could be completely oblivious to the difference between a basic ignition key and a remote key. They might not be aware of the procedures or technology involved so if you were to go ahead and cut straight to the price the customer would be shocked at the expense and immediately decide to terminate the call. By asking the open questions you can establish a little more information about the customer and advise them accordingly.
Customer: Do you do keys for a Vauxhall Corsa?
Locksmith: Yes I can supply a replacement key. Do you know what type of key you require? If you could give me a little more information about the vehicle I can explain the options available to you.
The customer is then likely to give you an indication of how much they know about vehicle keys. If they respond by telling you they need a ‘three button remote flip key’ you can assume that they have done their research and know a little about the service you are offering. If this is the case you can explain what you can provide concisely and without boring the customer with too much detail. You can then ask if they have any questions and if need be fill in the blanks. Don’t be afraid to ask if they have already had quotes from elsewhere because if they have it gives you the opportunity to explain a special offer you might have or your price match promise (if you have one). Whatever you do, do not bad mouth your competitors to the customer. This simply comes across as unprofessional.
On the other hand you might have a customer respond by saying “I didn’t realise there were different types of keys.” You can then go ahead and explain briefly and in layman’s terms the technology involved and the types of keys available to the customer. Ask more open ended questions such as “what do you require the key for?” You can then use their response to advise them of the best product and service. They will be grateful that you have taken the time to explain the options without being patronising.
Give the customer a quote and fully explain what this includes, now that they are aware that it is not as simple as cutting a household key they might not be as shocked when they hear the price.
5. ESTABLISH THE NEXT STEP
All customers that contact you will be at a different stage of the buying cycle. The key to gaining more conversions (The act of converting an enquiring customer into a paying one) is to establish where the customer currently is in the buying cycle. You can normally establish this quickly by asking the open questions that I have mentioned in rule 3. If they mention that their keys have been stolen and they have no spare you can be pretty sure that they are ‘ready to buy’ as soon as possible. If the customer mentions that their son or daughter is currently taking driving lessons and they would like a spare key to give them when they pass their test, then you can assume that they are at the stage where they are evaluating their purchase options and probably won’t book immediately, they are simply ‘data collecting’.The key here is to use your precious time wisely, after-all ‘time is money’. A data collecting customer should be treated professionally as you would any other customer but it would be more valuable for you to get their contact details and tell them that you will email their quote across. This way you have cleared your phone line for the next possible ‘ready to buy’ customer whilst simultaneously collecting the customer’s contact details that you can then use to send them their quote in writing so that they don’t forget. You can also perhaps send them a special offer in a months’ time when they are more likely to be a ‘ready to buy’ customer reminding them of your services.
Once you have asked your open questions and qualified where they are in the buying cycle, you’ve told your customer your unique selling points and given them the price, you will need to establish the next step. With any luck the customer will say “That sounds great, when can you book me in?” and in this case the next step would be to confirm the booking. Happy days!
However, even at this point if the customer doesn’t seem like he/she is ready to buy you should never allow the customer to put the phone down or walk out of your store without establishing the ‘next step’.
Perhaps the mention of a limited time offer at this point could sweeten the deal?
Locksmith: Just so you know, we have a special offer of 10% off all bookings made before the end of this week.
Remember you need to keep control of the exchange so perhaps this could be the promise of a follow-up call within a reasonable time frame, but make sure you don’t make it sound too pushy and perhaps ask the customer when is the best time to call. Even the promise of emailing the information across to them so that they have it to compare to other quotes whilst reminding the customer of your price matching policy is a great second-best follow up.
6. FOLLOW UP!
Whatever the enquiry method, if you have promised to call back - make sure you do! Always try to give a timescale for your follow up and stick to it.
Follow-up phone calls can be difficult, especially if you get the answer machine. Be prepared to leave a concise voicemail message should this happen. Refer to your previous contact in your message and make sure you repeat your phone number clearly and slowly twice giving the customer chance to jot it down. There’s nothing worse than a mumbling voicemail message that you can barely understand concluded with a telephone number spoken at the speed of light that requires 10 replays to understand! (We’ve all been there!)
Here’s an example script that you could use;
“Good Afternoon Mr Smith, It’s Gary calling from the Auto Locksmiths. As promised I am just following up on the conversation that we had regarding the replacement car key for your Vauxhall Corsa. If you have any further questions please don’t hesitate to get in touch on 0115 9522 772, that’s Gary the Auto Locksmith on 0115 9522 772. I look forward to hearing from you and hope that I can be of assistance.”
In my opinion, you should follow the rule of three. Attempt three follow ups, perhaps the first by phone, if you have no response you could try sending an email the following day. If you still get no response, I would advise that you try one last phone call and if you get the answer machine leave a message along the following lines;
“Good evening Mr Smith, It’s Gary calling from the Auto Locksmiths. I was just calling to check if you have received my quotation on email or if you have resolved your car key issue. If I can be of further assistance please don’t hesitate to call me on 0115 9522 772, that’s Gary the Auto Locksmith on 0115 9522 772. Many thanks”
This way, you remain polite and professional. You have relinquished control of the exchange to the customer and if they wish to take you up on your offer they will call. If on this occasion all of your best efforts haven’t come to fruition and the customer has decided to go with a competitor you are letting them off the hook and you can concentrate your time and efforts on other ‘ready to buy’ customers. You win some you lose some!
CONCLUSION
In conclusion, the 6 Golden Rules to convert an enquiry into a booking are:1. ANSWER THE CALL - Never miss an opportunity, answer all calls and respond to all emails.
2. BE HAPPY! - Make sure you sound happy and professional in any exchange.
3. ASK OPEN QUESTIONS - Ask the customer open questions in order to gain insight into their knowledge. Remember the 5 W’s - Who, What, Why, When and Where.
4. ALIGN YOURSELF WITH THE CUSTOMER – Use the open questions to discover what stage of the buying cycle the customer is at and respond accordingly.
5. ESTABLISH THE NEXT STEP - Always keep control of the exchange and never allow a customer to leave without establishing the next steps before they go.
6. FOLLOW UP - Try to complete a transaction in the first conversation but if this is not possible always follow up with the customer.
I hope you can see the benefits of using this style of exchange with your enquiring customers. I can hear you thinking, “How on earth am I going to remember all of this?!” but trust me, when you start to implement these suggestions you will soon begin to use them naturally.
Immediately after the next customer’s telephone enquiry that you answer, re-read back through these pointers and identify where you could have improved the interaction and try and implement them the next time. It will soon become second nature and you should be encouraged when you begin to see an increase in the number of bookings you are putting in your diary!
I’d love to hear how you get on and your thoughts on my suggestions. If there is a particular area of marketing that you are struggling with and would like advice on, please get in touch via social media (Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn) or email and I will attempt to write further blog posts to help you.
Good Luck!
