Building a relationship is key when you’re making any type of sale. Depending on what you’re selling, you may need to find out about your customer’s family, habits, likes, and dislikes along with their wants and needs before you can even make a sale. When selling solar things are no different and require even more communication throughout what can be a lengthy process. At the end of it all you want your customer to leave the interaction feeling as though they received the best service possible, and they will not only give you a great review, but may lead you to more customers with referrals.
To get an excellent review and the referral, it’s important to know how to build rapport with customers, keep them informed, handle problems, and let them tell you how you did.
Building Rapport
Good relationships make great sales. It’s a good thing to keep in mind throughout your conversation with a customer. Part of this may be a natural part of your process to determine if your product fits the customer’s needs. This is especially true with solar and trying to determine how many of its benefits a customer will be able to take advantage of. As you make each discovery about your customer, write it down and use that information to determine if there are more opportunities for you to help.
Keep Your Customer Informed
No one likes to be left in the dark and before their solar energy is installed your customer could be left feeling that they have been. Contracts and agreements aside, it's important for them to “sign off” on every step of the process. Let them know what’s coming and don’t be afraid to repeat the information if necessary. It helps to come to certain conversations with information documented so customers can easily refer to it in the future. Let them know that you’re always available to talk them through the process.
Handle Problems
Despite your best efforts, there will still be occasions where information slips through the cracks. A large portion of getting a job completed requires that other people will need to be involved. Mistakes and miscommunication are bound to happen, but don’t panic. When a customer comes to you with a concern, they’re also looking to be understood. Listening and showing empathy go a long way to making sure your customer stays on your side. Even if you can’t offer an immediate solution, you can let them know that you’re taking responsibility for finding one.
Let Customers Tell You How You Did
After you’ve done all the hard work of getting solar to your customer, you can’t forget to ask for a review. Customers will tell you how they feel, especially if you make the process quick and easy. You can do this with a quick rating system or a one or two question survey. Take that even further and make it easy for your customers to refer you to their friends and family. It's important that you have built enough of a relationship to get your review or referral. If possible, wait to ask until the process is complete and you’ve successfully helped your customer get everything they need. In any case, you can make it easy to get both your review and referral.
