MACS Service Reports - 2015 - NOV5

Overcoming Customer Objections to
A/C Preventative Maintenance

4. Education / Priorities: What will happen
if I don't do this service? Is this a 'nice to do' or
a 'must do' thing for my car? Sometimes this
is very similar to objection number 3 but
the priority part (as opposed to suspicion)
means they are closer to a 'yes' answer. Remember everyone is constantly being sold
something and much of the time they do
need what it is they are being sold. Everything from the right amount of life insurance to a furnace check-up. Few people have
the money for it all. If the vehicle has NOT
had a track record of any A/C complaints,
you might actually postpone the service to a
later date. This shows the customer you are
not one of the 'buy, buy, buy,' pushy sales
people who make every sales opportunity
sound like an emergency for the customer.
On the other hand, if the customer has had
issues with their A/C in the past (maybe a
catastrophic compressor failure), go back
to the medical analogy. Most people know
far more about their bodies and the world
of medicine compared to their automobiles
and the services they require. People who
have had a particular health problem would
need more checks in that area to make sure
the problem is cured and stays cured more
than a person who has never had that particular problem. A person who suffers from
frequent cavities needs a check up by the
dentist more than the person who has never
had a single cavity. The same is true for the
systems on a particular vehicle.
5. Value / Advantage over Competitors'
Services: The last shop I had work on my A/C
does a complete recharge for only X dollars. Why
should I pay you X dollars more? If you believe in yourself, your shop and your equipment, this objection is a fairly easy one to
make a case for. ASE credentials (paraphrase
them as 'industry certifications') along with
technical training accomplishments add to
the equipment advantages you have. Experience and reputation all add up to the advantage that makes your services valuable.
Remember, every customer who calls or visits for a price isn't necessarily a true price
checker. In many cases, the customer is an
'attitude checker' or a 'quality checker' who
simply doesn't know the right questions to
ask to determine if we are one of the 'good
shops' or one of those shops you read the
negative complaints about in Yelp, Google
Plus, City Search, Angie's List, etc. If you
get good ratings in some of those reviews,
be sure to add that to your bragging rights!

1. Price: I'm sorry; I just don't have the extra money right now. Remember that price
is the objection, not the service or you personally. Brow-beating your customers with
the proverbial pay me now or pay me a lot
more later usually gives the customer an
exit strategy. We don't want them to exit
the shop! A more positive approach is we
have found that preventive maintenance
actually saves you quite a bit of money.
If price is still an issue, you might consider having a drawer with some coupons
for discounts on various services you
provide, including A/C. Dig around and
say "I just found a coupon for 10 percent
off. This would save you X dollars on this
work. Does that help?" Consumers have
become addicted to rebates and coupons.
Have you ever been pleasantly surprised
by a person running a cash register in a
store when they dug out a coupon for
you? If so, you know this is a very helpful
technique to making customers happy.
2. Time: No thanks, we are really busy right
now and can't have any of our family's vehicles tied up for service. Since time is the
objection, offer to set an appointment that
works great for them. Then follow up with
reminders. If you have a loaner vehicle, offer to make it available to your customer.
3. Education / Suspicion: My A/C works fine
now, why would you suggest a bunch of inspection work and a recharge? Whatever happened to
'if it works don't fix it'? Overcoming the education part is easy enough. You ARE your
customer 's SME (Subject Matter Expert)
when it comes to auto repair and maintenance. Avoid going too deep with explanations and if at all possible avoid acronyms and long technical words (CCOT,
hygroscopic, etc.) when giving your quick
lesson on the service being offered. Try
to be more understanding by saying "I
completely agree with you and would be
asking the same questions too if I were in
your shoes." Then follow up with logic to
your reasoning. A useful analogy to apply
to your customer in selling a recovery and
recharge on a vehicle with good cooling
performance is blood pressure. You may
have a problem with your blood pressure
and 'feel' quite well. Thank God your doctor catches it during a routine physical
and treats the problem.

November 2015

MACS Service Reports

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of MACS Service Reports - 2015