Don’t Lose Potential Customers At The First Call

Many companies spend large investments in money and time on advertising and internet marketing only to provide a less than average response when called. Pest control firms are known to spend as much as $50 to get a potential customer to call them, so it is vital to turn that caller into a customer.

Turn callers into customers

A recent national mystery shopping survey conducted with 31 envu* members highlighted how important it is to make sure that not only is your phone answered but also that the person who answers your phone understands they are part of your marketing team. They are vital in turning your marketing dollars into customers.

Tested on termites and cockroach control

Each Envu member was called a minimum of two times over the period. Shoppers used two scenarios – one requiring a cockroach treatment and the other requiring a termite treatment.

The shoppers rated each firm over seven categories:

• Greeting
• Courtesy
• Qualify and recommend
• Product knowledge
• Link selling
• Close the sale
• The farewell

Each category had a series of criteria that the shopper scored their calls on. The average score from those surveyed was 74.8%. However, some firms received a score as low as 39% and some as high as 96%.

Rankings from member companies participating in Envu Mystery Shop

 

Scores for initial greeting and courtesy were good. Some 77% of participants scored 100% for the greeting, and 88% scored 100% for courtesy.

Qualifying callers or making recommendations: 50% below average

Less than 20% rated 100% for the ‘qualify and recommend’ portion of the call. This is where callers evaluated whether the firm asked about their needs, suggested a particular service, quoted a price, suggested the benefits of their service or recommendation. The average score for this part of the call was 76%; however, 50% of companies participating scored less than average.

Product knowledge was perceived to be very high

Callers asked questions about guarantees, what chemicals they might use, safety to family or to explain the recommended treatment. Some 85% of companies scored 100% in this section of the call.

Poor results for link selling and closing the sale

Link selling is recommending other services and discuss their benefits. Unfortunately, less than 20% of companies scored 100% here. More than 50% scored zero. When it came to closing the sale or asking for a booking, none scored 100% and 75% scored less than 60% for this section of the call.

Averages across each category for member companies participating in Envu Mystery Shop

Don’t let your marketing efforts be wasted when they call

When you are spending as much as $50 on attracting a potential customer to call, then getting the booking from that call is paramount. Improving the ability of you or your team taking the customer’s call to link sell and get the booking is a critical part of the equation in growing your business.

Four steps to success:

• Always answer the phone or at the very least have it go to an answering machine.
• Listen to your caller and use the call to ask questions that allow you to understand their needs. This allows you to make suggestions and tailor your services to meet their requirements.
• Make sure anyone who answers the phone knows how important these calls are to your business (up to $50 a call). When the phone rings it is not an interruption but an opportunity.
• Get some training so those answering the calls have the knowledge and skills to turn calls into customers.

To convert your marketing budget into business. Turn your callers into customers.

* Envu has a marketing and training support program assisting Envu customers grow their business. Members receive as part of the marketing support, a detailed individual report benchmarking them against the national average of other participating firms.

To find out more information, reach out to our team.

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