For this opportunity, you can do your own
knocking
For drycleaners looking to expand their
business, the answer may be right behind a nearby door —
many doors, in fact.
During the South East Fabricare
Association’s 2002 Southern Drycleaners Show in Savannah,
GA, in August, guest speaker Rex Carrigan discussed
door-to-door selling and developing route service.
Carrigan, who owns Carrigan Consulting,
shared his 40 years of sales experience — including 11
with the Grand Old Opry and 14 as a manager for White Way
Cleaners in Nashville, TN — with a large audience of
convention attendees.
He explained that there are several ways
to develop routes, including using door hangers and flyers.
However, such advertisement efforts are usually only effective
about one out of every 100 or 125 times. For a higher success
rate, Carrigan believes that nothing beats speaking with
customers face-to-face. Don’t be afraid to ask customers
from your retail location to become a part of your home
delivery service, he added. It is also effective to ask
customers for referrals. The key, according to Carrigan, is to
ask them to help you grow your business.
The most effective way of developing a
route is door-to-door solicitation. The important thing to
remember is to make sure customers hear and believe what you
say, he stressed.
In order to accomplish that, you need to
be a good persuader, which means following a few steps: become
a good storyteller to let others know how people feel about
your service; tell your stories with emotions; always be
truthful when talking to customers; use third party
testimonials; and speak with enthusiasm.
A good persuader also makes sure to ask
for the business by making a challenge to the customer to sign
up and start enjoying the new benefits of the service right
away.
Carrigan also discussed when and where to
develop routes. The best times of day vary, but a good salesman
takes advantage whenever they see somebody at home in the
targeted vicinity. Carrigan did suggest that weekday evenings
between 5 and 7 p.m. are good for the winter months and 5 to 8
p.m. in the summer and spring months. On Saturdays, between 9
a.m. to noon is the ideal time.
When you are looking for potential
locations, consider next door to your existing customers, he
noted. Not only should you expand on the same streets that have
your customers, but also the streets that you must pass through
to get to those customers. If a new development is being
constructed in your area, try to be the first cleaner to target
that area. Of course, knowing where and when to sell
won’t matter much if you don’t do your job as a
salesperson. Carrigan offered several tips on selling.
First of all, you should practice and
rehearse your opening presentations because the first few lines
you say will either win or lose the prospect.
Also, have a smile on your face before the
door opens, dress like a professional drycleaner and speak
slowly and clearly.
A good presenter will make eye contact,
stand up straight and speak with authority. When you mention
the benefits of your service, always include what it means to
the customer and make sure that you can prove anything you say.
In order to make sure that the customer pays attention,
don’t give them any literature until your presentation is
over and get them to agree on small points along the way.
Assume that every prospect you talk with
is going to accept your offer and have everything you will need
to sign them up with you, Carrigan said. Before leaving, you
should also ask them for the names of their neighbors next
door.
Inevitably, even if you follow every tip
and present yourself properly, there will be customers who
offer resistance. According to Carrigan, handling objections is
a vital part of the solicitation process.
If a customer says he or she is happy with
their current cleaner, for example, ask if their cleaner offers
free home pick-up and delivery service and point out that the
service will save them time because they will cut down on
having to wait in line, deal with traffic or load their
children in and out of the car.
If a customer comments that prices are too
high, point out that a lot of other people felt that way until
they realized the real value of your service.
Not only should you outline the value of
your free delivery service, but you should also trump your
plant’s cleaning abilities. This is a good time to
mention some of your company’s strengths, such as the
guarantees you offer, the hangars and shoulder savers you use
and the overall quality of your finished garment.
Once the sale has been made, don’t
let it end there, Carrigan pointed out. Follow-up is just as
important. Not only should you make sure to leave the customer
with the name and phone number of your delivery driver, inform
them that somebody from your company will be calling to remind
them when he or she will be by again.
Another nice touch is to always send new
customers a welcome letter, and, when returning clean clothes,
have your driver send a handwritten “Thank You”
card. It is also wise to check with the customer after their
first order has been delivered to make sure that their
expectations were met.
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