One of the things I see service businesses struggle with the most is showcasing exactly what makes them better than their competitors. And when they can’t demonstrate what makes them better, they fall back to cutting pricing to win deals, which is a race to the bottom and a really bad practice.
Many service business owners and contractors believe their work quality is their differentiation. That may be true, but how does the customer know this? And what does the difference in work quality mean for them? This is where I see most people fail.
If your differentiation is your work quality, you need to learn how to showcase that your work quality is superior to others. Depending on what you do, it can be extremely difficult to do in practice. Not only do customers often not know what quality work looks like, but it’s really hard to show to the customer.
So what can you do instead? Demonstrate your expertise and showcase the steps that go into making your work quality superior.
What do you do and what steps do you take to make sure your work is high quality? What steps do you take that your competitors may take shortcuts in? Walk your customers through your process and, most importantly, what you look out for based on your experience.
Customers love knowing that you know what issues to look out for and avoid. To many customers, quality work equates to no problems for them. This will earn you enormous trust in quality.
And let me tell you a secret… even simply explaining the most elementary steps in how you perform your work, even steps that literally everyone does, can build trust. Why?
Because the reality is that the average consumer knows very little about what you do.
So what does this look like?
It needs to be done both with direct dialogue with the customer but also on your estimate/quote.
In this example, I’m going to use a window replacement sales scenario:
“In replacing these windows, you obviously want a quality install. What is considered a quality install? One of the most important factors is that the window doesn’t leak during rain. There are two main factors when it comes to leaks: the window itself and the quality of the flashing/flashing installation. We use an installation process that gives you the best quality install and also a backup system in case of any points of failure in the window. Not only do we only install Marvin windows, which provide the best quality and value, but we do install and flashing right.
First, we only use Zip System flashing tape and stretch tape; we find it to be the best flashing. We prepare the sill by adjust it to a slight angle and use Zip stretch tape to give maximum protection on the sill and up the sides. The slight angle and zip stretch tape is a safe guard in case water does penetrate the window, it will flow back down the front and out to avoid internal wall damage. Most installers do not do this properly or at all, so if you do have a failure, water comes into your wall system.
Once the window is mounted, we tape over the side flanges and then the top flange, and use a roller to roll the tape flat for proper adhesion. One of the most common issues we see is improper flashing installation. Water can penetrate from the window itself but also behind your veneer, so we need to ensure there are no entry points behind the window for water to enter. The bottom flange is left un-taped to let water escape if it does get into the window/sill.
Bottom line, this is our standard process of best practices, but is often not done by most installers. You want to make sure all of this is done right the first time, otherwise it can cause extensive wall damage that will require it to be redone again in the future.”
When it comes to showcasing this expertise in your estimate or proposal, you’ll want to note and detail the quality materials and steps, including quality assurance process.
If you’re using a multi-page proposal, you can dedicate a page to educating the customer on your install process.
If you’re using a basic estimate structure, include the primary steps and your QA process as line items. I don’t advocate for breaking out your pricing by item unless your proposal has elements that the customer needs to pick and choose from. In this scenario, your line items might look like this:
Marvin Window – 4 x 6 ft
Window Sill Preparation – [Describe in detail]
Window Flashing Installation – [Describe in detail]
Quality Check and Leak Test – [Describe in detail]
Remember, and I cannot stress this enough, 95% of homeowners know very little about your trade. The simple steps and process that you take for granted are foreign concepts to your customers and opportunities to educate and show your expertise. You may think they’re standard process and not worth mentioning, but they can make a big difference in impression on your customer.
Learn how to easily implement sales best practices in your estimates and proposals with FieldPulse
