HVAC Contractor Newsletter

Why are so few successful at sales? (1:49)

We take a look at why small businesses and HVAC companies struggle with sales.

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Hi, Brian Starzec here. I'm back from my vacation and this week I want to discuss one reason why small businesses, especially HVAC companies, have problems with sales.

It is a failure to consistently follow up.

Here are two stats to think about it. We all know that customers are going to buy when they want to buy, not when you want them to buy. However, you should not be discouraged.

On average, 2/3 of prospective buyers that say "no" today, will be ready to buy within the next year. Furthermore, 80% of the leads that you consider cold or dead, will buy within 2 years.

Let's also discuss some interesting facts about the sales process. On average, you will have a 2% close rate on your first sales call, and it will slowly increase with the number of touches. The bulk of the sales that you close will come after the 5th sales call.

However, most companies and sales people do not persevere. On average 48% quit after the first call and 24% quit after the 2nd call. Over 70% have quit after just 2 calls, and only a few continue to follow up beyond 5 calls.

Let's look at these figures side by side. The reason why so many people are not successful with sales is that they simply quit before the customer was ready to buy. Over 90% have quit before the overwhelming majority of customers were ready to buy.

Now although some may say that it is too difficult, time consuming or costly to continue to follow up with leads it is absolutely worthwhile, since that?s where the sales are. In next week's newsletter we will discuss how Internet-based technologies can help you follow up more consistently, easily, automatically, with a low cost, and ultimately help you make more sales.