TOPIC: Takeaway Selling - Exact Scripts for How I Generated Over $22,000 in a Mont

I recently did a door-to-door gig and as always, when I start something I become completely obsessed and hate to fail at all. Stress also heightens me to unstoppable levels for a limited time so I just came out of an unconsciously obsessed focused state for one straight month.

In May, I made $9,000 upfront in my pocket and generated about $12,000-$14,000 worth of business if they carry out all the way to install (will get that money in about 30-60 days once installed).

I door knocked in a very skeptical and closed off area in Las Vegas setting up Solar. I used to sell cars a few years ago, where I was very friendly, fun, and energetic. This did not fly at all with door-to-door and this product, and I'm guessing sales in general is heading in this direction.

What worked was takeaway selling and being completely calm.
Combine that with methods from SPIN selling and a few offsetting patterns from Jordan Belfort while remaining subtle, I feel confident that I can now make a very good living if I ever want to doing door-to-door.

I believe the old gimmicky ways of sales and hype will die off.

You want to be in the position where the customer wants to buy more than you want to sell. This makes perfect sense, because these days sales is all about trust. They will trust you if you are an authority and are not needy.

[/u][/b]

At the door, this is the approach that has worked the best so far:

• Standing far back, my side to them, looking at my phone so they have to interrupt me, I say, "Oh, sorry to bug ya. I'm actually here to ask you about your meter. Did NVEnergy change your meter about 2-3 years ago?"
• Uh, I think so?
• "Oh okay, great. I was just working with your neighbor, John, and he was able to get on the new program. Are you familiar with why they did that, So people can convert their homes to the hybrid utility program?"
• No...
• "Oh ok, I take it you've probably seen it all over the news lately?"
• Oh yeah, about the net metering."
• "Right. I'm just here for a minute, it doesn't always work for everyone, but John said it might work out for a few other people in this neighborhood. I swung by because if your meter was changed and from Google earth you roof might qualify, you can do the hybrid utility program and save around 20-40% on your utility bills at no cost to you. Are you familiar with how solar works?"
• "Yes, I wouldn't buy them either. Most people I talk to think it costs around $20,000-$30,000 to get solar installed, and you have to wait for 10-12 years to get your investment back. I'm not here to sell you panels"
• Uh... Ok what are you doing here?
• "I go around and see who the new program might work out for. I actually need to go talk to your other neighbor, Sharon, in just a minute. Like I said, it doesn't always work for everyone, but if you are a good candidate and your roof works then you can save on your utility bill at no cost to you. With John I sat down with him for just 30 minutes to see if it worked for him and then he decided for himself if he wanted to carry on with the process."
• "All I do is set an appointment for 20-30 minutes, see if it would work for you, and if it does, than you can judge for yourself if you want us to have an actual site surveyor measure your roof and tell you what we can do for you."
• OK
• "Are you typically free at this time? Around 6? I'll be back in the neighborhood tomorrow and Friday if that works for you."
• At the door, I am completely calm. I do not smile. I talk like I am some hourly worker just doing his job.

If you notice I mention over and over:

• "It doesn't always work"
• "if you are a good candidate and your roof works"
• "I'm just here for a minute"
• "John decided for himself"
• "You can be the judge"

There is no pressure at all, and it sounds like I am doing them a favor by being there rather than feeling like I am trying to get something from them. I relieve pressure early on by saying I am only there for a minute and have to go talk to their neighbor. This comes off as if I am here to simply see if this would work for them. I build credibility by mentioning their neighbors.

The truth is, it really doesn't work for everyone.

This way, they see me as simply stopping by because their neighbor told me to, it might not work out but it could, and all they have to do is take 20-30 minutes of their time where they can judge for themself (got that from Brian Tracy) whether or not they want to proceed with the process. This isn't some high pressure sales appointment.



In the appointment, I always do very well if I am completely calm. My best days are when I'm 100% calm and don't even care if they sign up or not.

When I arrive, I am courteous and sit down and simply start by asking them questions about their situation, utility bills, and what they know about solar.

Here is where I just stare into their soul and listen to everything. I also take in if they have pets, what their hobbies are, etc. for after the appointment.

As they start to uncover certain aspects or what they know, I take mental note of everything and start to think of only them and how my product can benefit them. This is why being calm is essential - If I'm stuck in my head thinking about myself, thinking about how I have to get the sale, I cannot hear what they are saying or truly know what they need.
I'll dig further into certain areas or what they present similar to SPIN selling.

For any key point, I will ask something like, "Oh okay, so that is a major concern of yours?" "Ok, so the savings is the only reason why you would want solar, so if a solar system saved you considerable amount of money that would make it worthwhile?"

So for example, someone I set up the other day I started out and said, "There are three main reasons why people go solar. The primary one is savings. Is that why you are interested?

This opens up the conversation to their key points and also leaves open the other two reasons, which are amazing points that nobody ever thinks of and they take out two of the main objections. The two other main reasons are to improve a home's desirability in the market and to control your rates over time. The two biggest objections people have are if they have to move later or about the 20 year contract with a max rate increase of 2.9%. I can present both moving and the 20 years as a benefit and positive before they can present it as an objection.

• The person said, "Well, I really want to save money but I don't get how it is free, seems too good to be true. I also used to install solar 30 years ago and the people always lost money because they had to repair them all the time.
• "OK, so the only reason you want to go solar is to save money and your major concern is if the solar panels will work or give you headache later on right?" "Right." "OK. Also, we charge a lower rate than the utility and it can appear like it is too good to be true. Do you understand why we can do that?"
• To get rid of the scammy "Save money for free" feeling and "too good to be true" I go into the explanation of why we can put free solar on their roof and how using the sun is a lot more inexpensive than burning coal and maintaining a grid with wires everywhere.
• I will also look them right in the eyes and say, "We are going to make a ton of money off you." They will say, what? And I say, "After 5-7 years we will gotten our money back and at that point we are essentially your utility company. From then on we simply get paid just like your utility company does."

Throughout the whole presentation I am remaining completely calm, listening intently to their concerns, locking down their concerns and wants, than showing them how we will help them/take care of their concerns. I takeaway by telling them multiple things like how we will make tons of money off them and how, "Unfortunately the process can take 2-5 months for it to install. This is just the beginning of the process. You can cancel or postpone anything at no charge before anything is installed on your roof."

I will eventually ask, "Do you have any more questions?" Usually at this point, they either don't have any questions or ask, "What's next?"

There I just say, "We just do a soft credit pull, have you initial the first agreement that shows where you can cancel at anytime before installation, and then schedule a time for the site surveyor to measure your roof."

This is very easy for the customer, it feels like I am just a consultant there to show them their options and get them started, and makes selling feel SO MUCH better than being hardcore trying to pressure close people.

The truth is, being salesy or lacking integrity doesn't even work anymore and if I don't build a great relationship with a customer, they will just cancel anyways. Not to mention if I give a bad taste in that neighbor's mouth, every neighbor will then distrust me. But if I say, "Hi, I am working with Sharon and she told me to talk to you" people will be very receptive.

Let me know if you have any questions on my door-to-door journey. I still have a lot to learn but it was a very different sale to show up cold at someone's doorstep in scammy Vegas and then have them sign a 20 year agreement for their house.

I'm going to implement more of this with my online business as well.

Feedback and discussion is welcome.

Genious

That is awesome. Thank you for the share. I might have to borrow something from your script for my future sales job.

Just got out of a telemarketing position where all I do is push security systems to people for outbound, and a bait-and-switch kind of deal to get their email and then the security system on inbound. Really left a bad taste in my mouth to follow that script, and couldn't change anything because they monitor me so closely.

Oh well, gotta keep moving forward. But once again, thanks for sharing.

BTW, besides the programs you recommended in your big sales thread, have you heard of the President's Club sales program with David Sandler? I have heard it's pretty good, and am looking for a "copy" of it on the net now.

Rusaph wrote: That is awesome. Thank you for the share. I might have to borrow something from your script for my future sales job.

Just got out of a telemarketing position where all I do is push security systems to people for outbound, and a bait-and-switch kind of deal to get their email and then the security system on inbound. Really left a bad taste in my mouth to follow that script, and couldn't change anything because they monitor me so closely.

Oh well, gotta keep moving forward. But once again, thanks for sharing.

BTW, besides the programs you recommended in your big sales thread, have you heard of the President's Club sales program with David Sandler? I have heard it's pretty good, and am looking for a "copy" of it on the net now.

Interesting, I actually got a recommendation in an entrepreneur forum for this same post about David Sandler. The guy said he was the king of the psychological sale. I will check it out too. Let me know if you "find" it anywhere.

TJGoodlooking, check your PM

TJGoodLooking wrote: I recently did a door-to-door gig and as always, when I start something I become completely obsessed and hate to fail at all. Stress also heightens me to unstoppable levels for a limited time so I just came out of an unconsciously obsessed focused state for one straight month.

In May, I made $9,000 upfront in my pocket and generated about $12,000-$14,000 worth of business if they carry out all the way to install (will get that money in about 30-60 days once installed).

I door knocked in a very skeptical and closed off area in Las Vegas setting up Solar. I used to sell cars a few years ago, where I was very friendly, fun, and energetic. This did not fly at all with door-to-door and this product, and I'm guessing sales in general is heading in this direction.

What worked was takeaway selling and being completely calm.
Combine that with methods from SPIN selling and a few offsetting patterns from Jordan Belfort while remaining subtle, I feel confident that I can now make a very good living if I ever want to doing door-to-door.

I believe the old gimmicky ways of sales and hype will die off.

You want to be in the position where the customer wants to buy more than you want to sell. This makes perfect sense, because these days sales is all about trust. They will trust you if you are an authority and are not needy.

Takeaway Selling

[/u][/b]

At the door, this is the approach that has worked the best so far:

• Standing far back, my side to them, looking at my phone so they have to interrupt me, I say, "Oh, sorry to bug ya. I'm actually here to ask you about your meter. Did NVEnergy change your meter about 2-3 years ago?"
• Uh, I think so?
• "Oh okay, great. I was just working with your neighbor, John, and he was able to get on the new program. Are you familiar with why they did that, So people can convert their homes to the hybrid utility program?"
• No...
• "Oh ok, I take it you've probably seen it all over the news lately?"
• Oh yeah, about the net metering."
• "Right. I'm just here for a minute, it doesn't always work for everyone, but John said it might work out for a few other people in this neighborhood. I swung by because if your meter was changed and from Google earth you roof might qualify, you can do the hybrid utility program and save around 20-40% on your utility bills at no cost to you. Are you familiar with how solar works?"
• "Yes, I wouldn't buy them either. Most people I talk to think it costs around $20,000-$30,000 to get solar installed, and you have to wait for 10-12 years to get your investment back. I'm not here to sell you panels"
• Uh... Ok what are you doing here?
• "I go around and see who the new program might work out for. I actually need to go talk to your other neighbor, Sharon, in just a minute. Like I said, it doesn't always work for everyone, but if you are a good candidate and your roof works then you can save on your utility bill at no cost to you. With John I sat down with him for just 30 minutes to see if it worked for him and then he decided for himself if he wanted to carry on with the process."
• "All I do is set an appointment for 20-30 minutes, see if it would work for you, and if it does, than you can judge for yourself if you want us to have an actual site surveyor measure your roof and tell you what we can do for you."
• OK
• "Are you typically free at this time? Around 6? I'll be back in the neighborhood tomorrow and Friday if that works for you."
• At the door, I am completely calm. I do not smile. I talk like I am some hourly worker just doing his job.

If you notice I mention over and over:

• "It doesn't always work"
• "if you are a good candidate and your roof works"
• "I'm just here for a minute"
• "John decided for himself"
• "You can be the judge"

There is no pressure at all, and it sounds like I am doing them a favor by being there rather than feeling like I am trying to get something from them. I relieve pressure early on by saying I am only there for a minute and have to go talk to their neighbor. This comes off as if I am here to simply see if this would work for them. I build credibility by mentioning their neighbors.

The truth is, it really doesn't work for everyone.

This way, they see me as simply stopping by because their neighbor told me to, it might not work out but it could, and all they have to do is take 20-30 minutes of their time where they can judge for themself (got that from Brian Tracy) whether or not they want to proceed with the process. This isn't some high pressure sales appointment.

The Actual Appointment - Pure Calmness

In the appointment, I always do very well if I am completely calm. My best days are when I'm 100% calm and don't even care if they sign up or not.

When I arrive, I am courteous and sit down and simply start by asking them questions about their situation, utility bills, and what they know about solar.

Here is where I just stare into their soul and listen to everything. I also take in if they have pets, what their hobbies are, etc. for after the appointment.

As they start to uncover certain aspects or what they know, I take mental note of everything and start to think of only them and how my product can benefit them. This is why being calm is essential - If I'm stuck in my head thinking about myself, thinking about how I have to get the sale, I cannot hear what they are saying or truly know what they need.
I'll dig further into certain areas or what they present similar to SPIN selling.

For any key point, I will ask something like, "Oh okay, so that is a major concern of yours?" "Ok, so the savings is the only reason why you would want solar, so if a solar system saved you considerable amount of money that would make it worthwhile?"

So for example, someone I set up the other day I started out and said, "There are three main reasons why people go solar. The primary one is savings. Is that why you are interested?

This opens up the conversation to their key points and also leaves open the other two reasons, which are amazing points that nobody ever thinks of and they take out two of the main objections. The two other main reasons are to improve a home's desirability in the market and to control your rates over time. The two biggest objections people have are if they have to move later or about the 20 year contract with a max rate increase of 2.9%. I can present both moving and the 20 years as a benefit and positive before they can present it as an objection.

• The person said, "Well, I really want to save money but I don't get how it is free, seems too good to be true. I also used to install solar 30 years ago and the people always lost money because they had to repair them all the time.
• "OK, so the only reason you want to go solar is to save money and your major concern is if the solar panels will work or give you headache later on right?" "Right." "OK. Also, we charge a lower rate than the utility and it can appear like it is too good to be true. Do you understand why we can do that?"
• To get rid of the scammy "Save money for free" feeling and "too good to be true" I go into the explanation of why we can put free solar on their roof and how using the sun is a lot more inexpensive than burning coal and maintaining a grid with wires everywhere.
• I will also look them right in the eyes and say, "We are going to make a ton of money off you." They will say, what? And I say, "After 5-7 years we will gotten our money back and at that point we are essentially your utility company. From then on we simply get paid just like your utility company does."

Throughout the whole presentation I am remaining completely calm, listening intently to their concerns, locking down their concerns and wants, than showing them how we will help them/take care of their concerns. I takeaway by telling them multiple things like how we will make tons of money off them and how, "Unfortunately the process can take 2-5 months for it to install. This is just the beginning of the process. You can cancel or postpone anything at no charge before anything is installed on your roof."

I will eventually ask, "Do you have any more questions?" Usually at this point, they either don't have any questions or ask, "What's next?"

There I just say, "We just do a soft credit pull, have you initial the first agreement that shows where you can cancel at anytime before installation, and then schedule a time for the site surveyor to measure your roof."

This is very easy for the customer, it feels like I am just a consultant there to show them their options and get them started, and makes selling feel SO MUCH better than being hardcore trying to pressure close people.

The truth is, being salesy or lacking integrity doesn't even work anymore and if I don't build a great relationship with a customer, they will just cancel anyways. Not to mention if I give a bad taste in that neighbor's mouth, every neighbor will then distrust me. But if I say, "Hi, I am working with Sharon and she told me to talk to you" people will be very receptive.

Let me know if you have any questions on my door-to-door journey. I still have a lot to learn but it was a very different sale to show up cold at someone's doorstep in scammy Vegas and then have them sign a 20 year agreement for their house.

I'm going to implement more of this with my online business as well.

Feedback and discussion is welcome.

Thanks TJ. Great info as usual. I have read in some of the studying on sales techniques and I could see how the whole neighbors having it/spoke with bit works. I have tried to incorporate that into my selling people always want to keep up with the Jones and concerned with "what most people do".

Vegas is a really hot place to live perfect for what your doing. Do you usually get them to sign a 20 year contract? With the way the economy has been more and more people are considering selling there homes. Do you get commission for 1 year or 5 year contracts?If solar panals were to raise the value of your home homeowners could refinance there homes and get bigger loans from the bank. There's plenty of homes to go to in Las Vegas one of the nicer places to live.

We only do 20 year contracts.

Saw this thread and had to give it a shot. These solar programs are popping up all over where I'm from so it didn't take long for me to get a position at one of the companies. I've just been collecting leads so far and haven't done any appointments thus far (The company won't want us closing sales until we've done training, which I should be done this weekend). So yea haven't got any money out of this position yet but I'm actually liking the work (its my first sales position) and I've been learning a shit ton of new skills. Anyways TJ, how are your conversions looking once you have an appointment scheduled with a client? Leads I find have been pretty easy to generate when i use a script similar to yours.

Are you doing this over the phone? If you're that good at generating leads if you can generate some in Las Vegas/Henderson I'd buy them from you.

The hardest part of my job is getting the leads (D2D). Once I'm actually in their home, right now my closing ratio is 80-90%. I set it up really well.

Actually I'm doing leads D2D. I'm finishing up closing training tmmrw so should be setting up appointments and working on my own schedule soon. I asked my managers what the closing rate was at the appointment and they too said 80-90% which I found to be insane. Just wanted input from another source as well to clarify.

I'm actually based in Ontario so I don't have US Calling. I find for generating leads what's useful to know is to not bother convincing people if they are not interested. I'll usually begin with "Hi, sorry to bother you, I'm just in the neighbourhood notifying you of our free solar panel program with partnership of the Ontario government, are you familiar with this program?" Based of their reaction I'll usually know whether the person will be a hit or a miss, and only put in the effort if i believe they'll be a hit.

Also, I might find lead generation relatively easy because I don't find it tedious. I'm actually enjoying just conversing with people throughout the day. To give you an idea of the quantity of leads I'm getting, I've worked 3 2-2.5 hr shifts on evenings while i switch from my current job to sales, and have gotten 6,7, and 4 leads respectively. I thought it didn't sound like much but after my managers said that the conversion rate is 80-90% at the appointment, I'd be looking at some very good income (I was thinking conversion rate would be 10-20% at most beforehand).

Also, are you guys allowed to look into commercial/industrial properties or is it strictly residential?

Interesting, I wonder if the area you are in makes a difference. Most people here get run through by solar guys, alarm salesman, pest control D2D, so as soon as they open the door I'm at a disadvantage. In your area, is there lots of people D2D salespeople, other Solar people knocking, or have they typically not heard about it?

I unfortunately can't sell commercial/industrial, I can only sell residential. We have a commercial side though.

What company are you working for?

If you would be interested in giving me tips on your door approach I can tell you what I do in the appointments (my door approach is my weakness).