Our residential carpet cleaning industry is infamous for “bait and switch” selling. Let me be clear. Jon-Don, our SFS program and I personally condemn the unethical practice of quoting one price and then attempting to charge a (much) higher one. It is morally wrong to prey on vulnerable home owners that have been “trapped” in their Inner Sanctum! (Plus high pressure selling is ultimately counter-productive.)
That said, there is nothing wrong with gently letting your clients know you offer ASO’s. (Additional Service Options) You’ll do this both by “pre-orienting” your client on their ASO’s and tactfully offering them the ASO opportunity to spend more money with you throughout their Service Experience.
“But wait!” you say. “Steve, isn’t your client going to feel ‘high-pressured’ with these constant ASO requests and mentions?” No, not when you…
Always use Steve’s Famous “Fade Away Strategy” when bringing up Additional Service Options.
Let’s see how my Fade Away strategy works during the cleaning pre-inspection…
You: “We can also re-apply the carpet’s protective finish…”
Home owner: “Mmmm… I don’t know. We’re thinking about replacing the carpet next year…”
You (tactfully interrupting): “That’s fine! Why don’t we see how the carpets respond to the cleaning and you can decide on the Scotchgard protective finish option then.”
So what happened in the above exchange? Your client was on the verge of giving you a firm “NO”! But instead, you gently suggested they move their final Scotchgard Decision to LATER in their carpet cleaning experience. This gives you (or your tehnician) another opportunity to bring up the ASO opportunity. Here is how it works:
Home owner (gushing): “Oh, Charlie, my carpets look WONDERFUL! Thank you so much! I never believed they could look this good again!”
Technician (smiling): “Yep, Mrs. Jones, I surprise myself sometimes! Now Steve didn’t mark down anything on us re-applying the Scotchgard to help protect your carpets against spots and spills. Would you like me to re-apply it today? If so, you will also receive our free 12 Month Spot and Spill Warranty where we will come out at no charge to remove any common household spot that you can’t get out of the carpet we protect with Scotchgard.”
NOTE: Download a free fill-in-the-blanks-with-your-company-information 12 Month Spot and Spill Warranty HERE.
Home owner: “Well, I did tell Steve we were thinking about replacing the carpets. But they look so great now! Sure, go ahead and reapply the Scotchgard!” BINGO!
NOTE: This same “Fade Away” strategy of “transferring the ASO decision to later in the process” works great on any Additional Service Option. The take-away here? Always offer your clients the opportunity to say YES but never quite let’em say NO! 🙂
Steve