5 Reasons to Start Doing Digital Distance Selling

As some social distancing policies loosen, it’s important to remember each customer may be in a different place when it comes to having home improvement contractors back in their homes. It’s easy to want to get back out there and see homeowners in person, just like you used to. But before you go back to business as usual, you need to make adjustments to your sales process to meet each customer where they are. That’s where Distance Selling comes into play.

So, what is “Distance Selling?” It’s a sales technique that prepares you for in-person interactions, virtual interactions, or a combination. Distance Selling is enabled with digital tools which allows you to sell exactly how your homeowner wants to buy. 

What does Digital Distance Selling look like? 

Digital Distance Selling involves a set of tools and techniques that allows you to meet homeowners at their comfort level, whatever that distance may be.

Here are some creative ways One Click Contractor customers are deploying Digital Distance Selling techniques in their businesses:

• If they want to sit 6’ apart at their kitchen table with you, on separate digital devices, we’ve got you covered. 
  
  
• If they want to meet with you 6’ apart in a non-traditional place on their property, like a garage (with the door up of course) or outside on a deck or a screened-in porch, we’ve got you covered. 
  
  
• If they want a contactless sales process but still want a way to touch and interact with REAL samples, we’ve got you covered. We call this technique Curbside Selling - learn more here.
  
  
• If they want a 100% virtual experience, we’ve got you covered. Use the tools included in One Click Contractor to easily invite, present, sell, and close customers from anywhere. We’ve embedded tools like two-way video, audio, and screen share directly into our sales platform for you to sell exactly how your customer wants to buy.

• If they want to assist you in collecting photos for the job scope, we’ve got you covered. One Click Contractor has a very unique way to use photos in your platform, and your homeowner can help! All photos collected from the special link you send them will be stored in their customer record. 
  
  
• If you want to use a data collector to help you gather job scope, and then present virtually to your customer, we’ve got you covered. 

Once you’ve collected the job scope and presented it to your customer using any of the Digital Distance Selling techniques, it’s time to close the deal. You can send a digital proposal to their email for easy review and digital signature all through the same platform. You can even provide online payment and financing options so it can all be handled from their computer, tablet, or phone.

Still not sure? Here are 5 reasons why you should employ this technique.

Some People Are Nervous About You Being in Their Home

Most homeowners have never liked strangers in their house, and now their concerns are at an all-time high with the risk of COVID-19 and flu season. This anxiety is likely to last for a while—you can’t wait for things to go back to normal! An appointment that uses Digital Distance Selling techniques still allows you some in-person interaction while also providing a streamlined, quicker experience that allows you to close to deal.

Physical Distance is Still Limited

Even when people are letting you inside, there’s still a level of anxiety and boundaries to respect. Gone are the days of crowding around a kitchen table or huddling with a client around one laptop or tablet. Each of you having a device is an opportunity to easily engage while keeping a distance. Bring an extra tablet or laptop in case they don’t have easy access. Remember to bring wipes to sanitize devices before they touch them to ease any fears they may have!

Pro Tip: Be open to alternate locations to the traditional kitchen table. Many contractors are seeing success with doing distance selling appointments in unique locations like garages with an open garage door, front porches, back decks, and three-season rooms with ventilation. If your customer wants to meet with you in person, make sure you’re being open and creative with where the appointment takes place. 

Appointments are Faster

Digital Distance Selling combines tools that give you rapid measurements and easy-to-produce estimates. This speeds up the process and saves the homeowner from having to watch you do complex calculations. Once those are in place, it’s easy to launch into a presentation with the push of a button. These impressive tools help position you as a pro in front of the homeowner while streamlining the process to be quick and efficient.

Ditch the Paper

No one wants paper clutter. It’s time to retire the three-part-carbonless forms and endless paperwork you pass back and forth to your client (an opportunity to spread unwanted germs). Using an all-in-one sales platform is an eco-friendly way to keep everything organized and managed alongside client information, allowing you to ditch that briefcase (or remove the junk on your car seat—we’ve all done it!) full of unfinished proposals for good. 

You Need to Keep Your Team Safe

Homeowners aren’t the only ones concerned about spreading unwanted germs! Distance Selling allows you to have the added layer of protection that can keep your team healthy and working by eliminating close contact with a homeowner. It’s still important to put safety precautions in place like masks, hand-washing, and proper sanitation of devices and tools whenever there’s in-person interaction. 

Distance selling is the perfect mix of old and new sales tactics. Even if you don’t want to transition to a virtual-only sales process, don’t discount the opportunity of bringing those tools into your day-to-day meetings! 

Need a more streamlined tool? Set up your free strategy session with a One Click Contractor team member to develop your plan of action and see the One Click Contractor all-in-one digital sales platform in action.