A very wise industry person said the above to me early in my career. He did not mean being a comedian, a puppeteer or even a jokester. What he did mean was trying to communicate technical information to a non-technical person is extremely difficult, and often results in inaccurate understanding. To be successful, we have to create a visual picture of how the features and benefits of our products and services solve the customer’s comfort problems.
“No show…No Dough!” should become the operational fabric that binds your company’s culture together. It should become the day-to-day operating procedure for every employee.
The lingering question for any customer purchasing an expensive product is, “Did I get my monies worth — was it a great value — or did I just get ripped?” Studies consistently reveal that customers rate their experience highest when stories, pictures, videos, checklists or drawings are used to explain what needs to be done, how it was done and the result of what was done.
That very point was the primary reason why one HVAC company uses the tag line: “We do not guess, we test!” And, this company shows the customer every test result, particularly those that require immediate corrective action for the safety, health or comfort of the customer.
Create a visual picture of how features and benefits solve a customer's HVAC comfort problems.
Now for an example: Customer complaint: “Our home is drafty in the winter. It must be the furnace. Please send a technician to look at our furnace.”
The “No Show” approach: the technician arrives and introductions are made. He goes to the furnace and performs the diagnostic procedures. He tells the customer the furnace is fine and the drafts are just something that happen in the winter. He leaves with a $79 diagnostic ticket.
Now For The Show
The technician arrives, exchanges introductions, confirms the situation and shows the customer an illustration that marks the furnace as only one component of the overall comfort system. The technician performs the diagnostics and then shows the customer the results of the performance testing with all factors in the “green”. The show has started.
But, now the real show begins. Next the technician shows the customer the thermal image that he made of the pull-down at the attic access. He explains how the blue image emanating around the attic access is the real source of the draft. Thermal imaging has now made the technician Superman: he can see through floors, walls and ceilings.
Then, the customer is shown a photo of a zippered infiltration barrier such as Attic Tent. The customer is also shown before-and-after thermal scans from a previous customer who had the product installed. The customer also gets a testimonial from a customer whose draft issues were resolved after the installation of the product.
The technician also educates the customer about the importance of having their furnace inspected by a trained professional every year. After the show, this technician leaves with a ticket for the $79 diagnostic + $289 for the attic tent and $179 for a maintenance agreement creating a total ticket of $547. The show was worth $468 and the customer has a much greater level of comfort.
Another show opportunity: A CSR is asked to make calls to a customer who has had a $500 repair bill in the previous 18 months.
The no show approach: the CSR calls and says, “Hello Ms. Jones, my company wants me to call and tell you about a 30-day deal we have for you. We will buy your old unit. So, if you are interested, give us a call at 123.456.7899. Thank you.”
“The Show” — that is, a demonstration of sincere concern and interest in solving the problem, and communication with a customer — determines if the customer loved the experience; the dinner, the concert and even his or her heating and air service provider!