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View Full Version : help w/ selling tankless waterheaters



huggytree
06-06-2009, 04:39 PM
I have never sold a retro fit tankless water heater.

i must get 1 e-mail a week for tankless waterheaters (retrofit)

a quality unit starts at $2800(installed)

i never get a e-mail back...me and my wife joke about it 'hey honey, i got another one"

i am very educated on the subject...i know the pro's & cons of each unit, the efficiencies, the gov. rebates..i can talk for 30 minutes straight about them if i had to....

a typical 50 gallon tank water heater is $870

gov rebates on tankless is 30% + WI energies give you $150

$2800
-870
-840 (30%)
-150

= $940 extra

I assume its all about price and i agree...i wouldnt spend it...

most calls say they thought tankless was $1,000....i try not to laugh, but im always rolling my eyes on the other end of the phone....

I talk w/ other larger plumbing companies and they sell Tankless units all the time....i dont know what their sales pitch is...i educate people on all the options, hand out brochures...no hard sell....

any suggestions?

im considering having a competitor come over and give me a quote just to see...i considered this a few times just to see how other plumbers sell their products...i see how they write their estimates....my estimates are always the clearest and best to look at.....im amazed how poorly most of them look..they look like a 12 year old wrote some of them.

Steve B
06-06-2009, 06:00 PM
It's pretty easy for me to understand why you aren't selling them. If you don't believe it's a good idea how can you convince them?

If I were you, I wouldn't even try to sell them. Sell things you believe ARE a good investement.

Evan
06-06-2009, 08:31 PM
I hate our tankless water heater. Occasionally it isn't delivering enough hot water, and all you get is cold.

The only benefit I can see is it reduces the amount of space. And you shouldn't have to worry about a water tank leak... though I'm really not sure of all the semantics. But if anyone has ever had their basement flooded, perhaps that could be a high point. The $900+ extra will be well worth the potential frustration otherwise.

Evan
06-06-2009, 08:34 PM
If you don't believe it's a good idea how can you convince them?

Exactly why it is hypocritical for me to by an "X" car, because it's the best thing by the "A" automaker, when the salesperson doesn't even drive a car from "A". If you wouldn't use the product yourself, you immediately lose credibility.

huggytree
06-06-2009, 09:48 PM
i know a builder who loves his...he always pushes for them...some people like them

they are perfect for the highend customer who wants a custom shower w/ 6 shower heads...you put one right under the shower and dedicate it just for that shower.

im just curious how everyone else keeps selling them...the opportunity is there for me since i get people contacting me weekly for them...i dont try to talk them out of it...i give them a price first, so i dont waste my time...ive only had 1 who came close...they wanted a $5k version....in the end they never called back though...

billbenson
06-07-2009, 03:42 AM
Why would someone want one? I'd guess instant water, saves space, environmentally friendly? There are a lot of solar systems on houses these days, depending on where you live. Solar has a real long payback as well.

I'm betting that a lot of people are sold on the concept before they call you. If I was interested in one, I'd do some web searching long before I got to the point of calling a plumber.

IMO the first thing you say should be "why are you interested in a tankless water heater"? You need to figure out why people want one so you can refine your pitch. With a zero closure rate, it sounds like you are unselling them. If you have a Ferrari for sale, do you tell the buyer its uncomfortable, gets 4 mi to the gallon, an the insurance is outrageous? A Ferrari buyer wants a Ferrari because he wants a Ferrari!

So, try to extract from every call why they want one, have they done any research, what mfg or model they like the best, how they got your name. And don't roll your eyes on the phone. The guy on the other end of the call can hear that! Then you will have the information you need to come up with a sales strategy.

Steve B
06-07-2009, 06:23 AM
Telling them the price up front so you don't waste your time is probably another reason why you have never sold one. Everything I've ever read about sales (which is not a whole lot) has said to save the price to the end. The other thing is that when you receive these calls you see them as potential time wasters versus potential profit makers. I'm sure this attitude comes through even if you don't want it to.

If you believe they are good for the high end customers with certain set-ups, then I think you should ask them to tell you more about their plumbing set-up before going deeply into the details of a system. If they describe the typical 3 bedroom, 2 bath home with normal fixtures, then tell them it really isn't a good fit for them in your opinion. You'll gain credibidility with them by not trying to sell them something they don't need and you won't waste your time. Maybe they'll hire you for another plumbing need in the future. But, if they describe a situation where you DO think it will be good for them, they should hear the enthusiasm in your voice as you describe the benefits of the system. At the end, you should give them a price (or make an appointment so you can give them a price in person).

huggytree
06-07-2009, 08:53 AM
the reason i tell them the price upfront is because people think they are $1,000 not $2,800...im trying to save myself from going to bid on it just to find out they have no money..im qualifing them.

by giving them a $ upfront i may be unselling them on the idea....but if i dont then i waste my time.

everyone wants one because they are neato!, but no one knows about the 4x cost...even the Obama rebates dont help much.

Evan
06-07-2009, 01:21 PM
the reason i tell them the price upfront is because people think they are $1,000 not $2,800.

That's because (as I just viewed Home Depot and Lowes), that is the selling price they have them for. The most expensive one I saw there was $1,200.

huggytree
06-07-2009, 11:03 PM
HD & Lowes sells some real crap..They sell heaters which arent even rated for 1 shower.

i think i pay $ 1,400 for mine (my cost) Noritz & Rinnai

maybe i need to educate people on the crap Home Depot sells before i hit them with the final cost

Evan
06-08-2009, 12:08 AM
maybe i need to educate people on the crap Home Depot sells before i hit them with the final cost

Well, don't bash their "crap". That is certainly why customers have $1K as their benchmark.

If you can convince them that those aren't good quality, and sell a few more benefits of your heater, then you'll be in a better position to sell it.

But I also tend to believe it's best to sell a Cadillac only when it is requested or that seems what they're interested in. It's an impossible sell if they're on a used Ford budget.

billbenson
06-08-2009, 12:19 AM
You got me curious huggy and I did some searching earlier. The price spread is wide and the ROI can be 10 to 20 years. Seemed like the cheaper units might be ok for a second bathroom in warmer climates. They draw a lot of power, so you may need to run a new breaker as well.

Your prices seemed to be good and it only took me 10 or 15 minutes of reading a couple of web articles to figure out its not for me. I still have trouble believing that at least your younger prospects don't do their homework before calling you. I'm convinced you can sell them. It really sounds like you don't want to, which is fine.

As far as educating them on HD and Lowes I wouldn't take the approach of convincing the customer that they are selling junk. Send them reviews in an email of all the products with specs including product life, capacities, ROI tailored to your climate, etc. Don't say product X is garbage. You can have a summary at the top of your review sheet that has recommendations for different applications and budgets. Let the customer come to the conclusion that a product is garbage. Don't give him a quote until he settles on a product. If you don't want the job, quote high. If you are only getting one email or phone call a week, I don't see 10 minutes on the phone, wasting your time unless you are absolutely backlogged.

orion_joel
06-08-2009, 03:16 AM
Huggy, If you want to sell these units, then you need to change your attitude towards wasting your time. If you are not actually going out and doing a proper sales pitch on them then how do you ever expect to sell one. I do not know what you tell them after the price, but if i was to call up and ask about something and have someone say they are $2800, right off the bat, then i would be probably back off the idea as well.

Here are some steps that you may like to consider taking and see if you cannot improve the pitch, without spending to much extra time.

1. Find some horror stories about the cheap ones that people buy at Lowes or Home Depot, if they are so bad there must be plenty around.
2. Get some decent marketing material from your supplier, if they are priced around the levels you mention they must have a brochure or something that you can get to give to prospects.
3. Depending what sort of range of models is available, create a price options sheet, put the low end model and the next one up that you are going to offer and price it as the tankless heater itself installed, with no pipework. Make it clear what is included and what will be extra depending upon the actual installation location. Eg Price includes installation of Tankless system in a suitable location in the house $ XXXX, Depending on what connections are required additional parts and labour will be required to complete a full installation.
4. Create a sales pack which will include A cover letter, Product Brochures, Your Price Options sheet, and some of the horror stories of using low quality versions. Also include a final flyer or leaflet, about hot water systems (with a tank) basically outlining if tankless is not for them or outside their budget you also offer standard systems.
5. When someone emails or calls, dont give a price, ask one or two questions to find out what their needs are and then offer to send the pack, and call back in a few days when they have it to discuss their options.

You need to see this sales process as someone calling for more information is qualifying in itself. They are looking to buy the product, and immediately thinking need to not waste time and throwing a price at them is potentially shooting yourself in the foot.

Other ways that you may be able to improve your sell through may include
- get a finance company that you can sell through that will finance the water heater system, depending on the time frame that this could be done over, you could go from saying $2800 to $1000 installation and $50 a month for $35 a month on a 5 yr plan. (most finance companies will only include a certain amount of services or accessories in a plan, which is why i say it like this.)
- Sell it at a small rate, while they will still be paying $2800 up front sell it as something like, "With the rebates that you receive, over 10 years a tankless system only works out $94/ year more then a standard water heater". That is less then $2 a week difference. Yes of course you need to tell them the full price at some point, but getting them warmed up with these smaller bits can help.

You just need to be looking at the opportunity to sell something, and ways to make it more attactive to the customer then blurting a price up front. As i mentioned above there are ways to not waste so much time but still get a second chance. Just the fact that you could potentially get a mailing address and phone number to follow up on could be a big thing.

Finally if you find that you still cannot sell them, always be ready to downsell, it is something that is done in Internet marketing all the time, but so rare in many other markets. Basically you offer the product and if they are not interested once they know the price then you drop down a level. EG "Ok tankless system does not seem to be for you, did you know that we also offer standard water heaters?" Because in reality if they are looking for a tankless system it probably is because they need to replace the one they have so if they are not going to get tankless because of the price, then offer them what else you can. It may help make the effort of taking the calls worth while