The following article was featured in the July 2011 NARI Spec Sheet

Crossing the Canyon: Mapping Your Way to Higher Closing Rates

Many NARI members are driving down the road these days with a big thought bubble over their heads: Dang! Why is it so hard to sell my services? Stop the truck. Pull over. Do you think it’s tough to sell remodeling, landscaping, painting, interior design, roofing, flooring or windows? Buying is just as difficult.

Committing to a major purchase like a new kitchen or furnace isn’t easy. Homeowners have a lot at stake—not just dollars, but also long-term happiness and peace of mind. The more you do to help people feel confident they are making wise decisions and choosing the right company, the more projects you will close.

Buying is Like Crossing a Canyon

When homeowners call a remodeler or contractor, it’s usually because they are thinking about a project. But getting from thinking about to doing is like getting from one side of a canyon to the other: The bigger the project, the wider the canyon. Your job is to build a bridge to the other side and close the deal.

What do buyers need and want from the moment they call you, until the moment they sign a contract or hand over their credit card? What makes it difficult for them to choose you? What will make them feel confident buying from you?

Create a Map of How You Will Close the Sale

To help buyers get to the other side of the canyon, start with a process map—a detailed outline (usually a table or flow chart) of the steps involved in buying and selling a product or service. It’s called a map because it describes your way of getting from one side of the sale (lead) to the other (signed contract).

The map for a residential painting company, or kitchen and bath showroom, will be different from a design-build contractor because remodeling the kitchen is different from painting the master bedroom. Yet, all companies can benefit greatly from having a map to guide the sales/buying process.

Different buying situations have different processes. The sales process for a visitor to a car dealership might have five phases; within each phase there will be multiple steps.

It’s Not a Sale. It’s a Buying Decision.

Remember, your sales process is the flip side of someone else’s buying process. So, if you want to improve your closing rates, turn it around and think about what you are doing to facilitate the buying process.

If you are a contractor, your client’s buying process might look something like this:

1. Dream: Thinking about a project, not actively shopping
2. Discover: Contact and interview service providers; independent research (Google, read, visit showroom, talk to neighbors)
3. Research: Gather information about options and costs
4. Evaluate: Compare contractors and proposals
5. Decide: Proceed, hold or go back to previous phase

Break Each Phase Down Into Small, Detailed Steps

Each phase represents an opportunity for the sale to progress or breakdown. For example: there are acceptable ways to respond, and there are excellent ways to respond when a buyer is in the discovery phase. Even little things like how you handle incoming calls or schedule an appointment can set the stage for the relationship and create forward momentum in the process. To refine your process, start by asking yourself questions about each phase and breaking it down into steps.

Who’s involved?
What happens now?
What should be happening?
What works best?
What do buyers care about at this point?
What are their objectives?
What questions do they ask or forget to ask?
Why do they get stuck?
What do they not understand?
What answers satisfy them?
What information is helpful and needed?
What do they need in order to make a decision?

What Good is a Map?

You can get from place to place without a map. But having a map helps you get there more quickly, and reminds you how you got there last time. It documents the fastest and most effective route to closing more sales.

Process mapping often leads to detailed conversations and creative problem solving. It’s powerful because it helps companies discover better ways to get from hello to signed contract.

Faster Estimating = Higher Closing Rates

In our work with NARI members, we’ve seen how getting estimates out the door can be a challenge.

During a recent process mapping session, staff at a Minneapolis, Minn., remodeling company all agreed they should be able to deliver a proposal for a simple remodeling project in three to five business days. But it was taking them much longer and as a result, they were losing jobs and dollars. Salespeople in the field were having trouble chasing down bids from subs in order to write up the estimate. Estimates were taking 10 days or more and some clients weren’t waiting around.

In an effort to improve their process, they created a hand-off form. Salespeople use the form to hand-off information about the project to office staff. Now, office staff can gather bids from subs, and write up estimates while sales staff remains in the field. Salespeople review and edit estimates before delivering them to clients within a shorter, more reasonable period of time.

Faster estimating is helping buyers in the research phase gather the information they need to make decisions. It’s also evidence of the company’s professionalism and responsiveness. Although they are still working on the process, closing rates are improving.

Best Practices = Higher Closing Rates

Management, sales, marketing, and customer service staff at a specialty contracting company invested many hours over several weeks mapping the sales/buying process and identifying best practices. Mapping has given them a clear, shared picture of what works, and what they need to do to close more sales.

Now, marketing is making sales tools easier for buyers to read and understand. The Website has been redesigned so visitors can find what they are looking for and conversion rates are up.  Salespeople are delivering proposals faster, and improving their follow-up. Inside sales is making more follow-up calls with past clients and prospects. And management is tracking performance metrics and results. Closing rates are starting to creep up, which is creating momentum for the company-wide efforts.

Involve Your Team in Mapping Your Process

A consultant like Bungalo Group can make building a process map easier and faster. But if you are willing to invest the time and effort, you and your staff can do it on you own.

Kristin Zhivago’s book, Rivers of Revenue is an excellent guide to building a sales process map. Zhivago calls them buying process maps, because it isn’t really about what works for you, it’s about what the buyer needs in order to commit. You can use Zhivago’s templates to discover breakdowns, gaps, or inconsistencies in your process and facilitate conversations about current practice and how you can close more projects.

Better Process = Higher Closing Rates

Mapping and improving your sales process will make buying your services simpler, easier, faster and more comfortable for buyers. An effective process means more people will buy from you, and your closing rates will improve.