Do you struggle with low call volumes for the technicians in the slower months? Would you rather send a technician on a call then send them home at noon? What can you do to help them understand the importance of the annual maintenance agreement? Some service techs are great at offering annual maintenance agreements (AMA’s) and some struggle with it. Like most items that the technicians offer it usually comes down to three things.
1) If they do not believe in it, they will not offer it.
Most people have a hard time selling something they do not believe in. If they do not believe in the company directives, do you change those directives to meet the employee’s directives? If you want to have annual maintenance agreements, you must hold people accountable to offer and sell them. AMAs should bring value to your customers as well as your company. If you are charging the same amount for two visits a year and not giving a discounted service call, and they are an annual maintenance customer, then you will not get many people to sell or buy them. AMAs keep your employees working especially in the not so busy seasons. Take care of the little things and show the customer you appreciate them. Then when it comes time for the larger purchases you will get an opportunity to show them you can handle those as well.
2) It cannot be complicated.
Do you have a simple process for signing up a customer or is it complicated? Have you filled out the paperwork you are asking them to fill out? How long does it take? Can it be done in a few minutes, or does it add 20 minutes to their call because they must write a bunch of details that are already in the system? Make it as easy as possible in the field without creating a bunch of work for your office staff too. AMAs should not be hard to offer, sell, and record it in the system. If it is difficult with your current system, maybe it is time to evaluate that system and the efficiency of it in your business.
3) Out of sight equals out of mind.
The technicians have a lot of stuff on their mind when they are running a call. It can also be extremely hot or cold when and where they are working on the equipment and the last thing on their mind is trying to mention one more thing that we offer. Can we help them out by creating a short outline that is a reminder of what they could offer on each call? Can we role play with them and others, to help them see how effective it can be just by making the offerings? If you create a short list, like checklist, for when the techs are on a call, it can make it easier for them to remember to cover those items when they are with a customer. It is important to have reminders, because we all forget things, especially in the “heat of the moment.”
There may be more things that can help you and your team succeed at offering and selling the AMAs, but if you begin with these you will start having successes. Keep it simple and build upon your successes. Contact us for a free consultation.