Every Tuesday at 1PM Central Time, Portage Cartage moderates a Twitter-based "movechat" for movers and consumers looking for information on moving. The topic of today's movechat was Sales Secrets. Below is the abridged transcript of the questions and the responses.
Q1 - What is your company's sales philosophy?
movertim Be honest, be sincere,
movinggal My company's philosophy is providing the customer with some calm in the chaos of moving by providing info.
PortageCartage Can we assume that nobody in this chat uses the lowball-estimate, high-actual-cost scam?
xpressmovers I don't know Portage, I hope so.
xpressmovers Lowball-estimate practice is very common. During the slow period, we get lot's of customer feedback, that our estimates are high.
xpressmovers When we ask the potential customers, what others are giving the numbers are scary.
PortageCartage We've definitely lost bids to the lowball tactic. Have you?
xpressmovers Many times. Just this month we lost at least 4 long distance jobs because of low-balling.
movinggal The unfortunate bit about low balling is the customer doesn't realize they may have been taken until they try to take possession.
movinggal More has to be done to educate the consumer. I have written a blog post on avoiding potential scams.
PortageCartage Hmm. What can customers do to protect themselves against this low-balling tactic? The appeal of a lower estimate is strong.
ReddingRelo I'm in a different part of the biz but lowball offers are scary. Ask, "What part of the service don't you want?"
PortageCartage We appreciate all perspectives here. And that's a great question to ask. You get what you pay for!
xpressmovers Regardless of what we write, say, people always fall for the low cost as they want to save money on their move.
ReloMary information is golden - lowball pricing should simply set off radar every time
movinggal Maybe providing them a list or questionnaire that lists the services with your est. so they can compare to other co.
MovePoint I agree with @movinggal a detailed list is good.
MovePoint Let your them know what they should expect from a lowball offer Demonstrate how you & your staff r certified, licensed pros.
Q2 - Are there any sales training courses in which you enroll your sales force?
PortageCartage For ourselves, we use material from David Sandler and @gitomer.
PortageCartage We also send our sales staff to an annual learning conference hosted by our van line head office.
PortageCartage Let's change Q2 a bit: What books would you recommend in order to be a more effective salesperson? Ask around in your office.
PortageCartage For books, The Power of Positive Thinking comes to mind, as does How To Win Friends and Influence People.
ReddingRelo Napoleon Hill's Keys to Success - The 17 Principles of Personal Achievement
xpressmovers I personally listen to motivational speakers and read different books on the subject. Thinking positive is a key to success.
MovePoint Raving Fans, Spencer Johnson, M.D.
Let's see if Q3 shakes things up: Do your salespeople have relationships (i.e. golf) with their direct competitors? ...and if so, is there anything wrong with that?
movinggal It doesn't apply to me yet but I am a firm believer of keeping folks close even competitors. It helps you both in the long run.
MovePoint I think if the relationship can perhaps can build a amicable working relationship it is not a bad idea.
PortageCartage What are the benefits of this type of business relationship?
movinggal I don't think those relationships are wrong as long as they are managed properly and you have confidence in ur sales staff.
MovePoint It can be a great referral source. Plus maybe you can give job away that you cannot or don't want to do. :)
xpressmovers There is nothing wrong of being a friend with the competition. Always something good can come up from that.
Our final question: Q4 - What role does technology (incl. social media) play in your sales methods?
movinggal SM is key to getting your co noticed and offer customers info ahead of time when they r doing research online.
MovePoint Done right SM can be leveraged amazingly ppl will most likely use a co that's been referred to them or have had interactions with
movinggal Bldg a social network also helps give the customer confidence in your products and services.
PortageCartage Like in Trust Agents!
PortageCartage Our sales staff use tablet PCs to do an in-home inventory & proprietary software to prepare an estimate. =legible
ReloMary Testimonials on LI are valuable regarding online SM - it's good for clients to realize you're IN BUSINESS! :-)
xpressmovers Technology/Internet is changing the way people shop for services. The better you adapt to the new way, the better they will become
xpressmovers Portage what software solution do you use?
PortageCartage It's one that @mayflowercanada, our van line, built in-house and provides gratis. A little buggy but overall OK.
PortageCartage I think that wraps it up for today, but feel free to keep chatting.
PortageCartage Spread the word among the movers you know for next week: topic will be 'Third Party Services.'
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