Unlock Success: Personal Power Tips for Home Improvement Sales

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Personal Power in Home Improvement Sales

Some people call it charisma, some people call it swag, whatever you call it great salespeople in home improvement sales all have it. I call it personal power. If you don’t have it you won’t have the ability to take and keep control in a total stranger's home, have the credibility to influence people enough to buy from you; a lot of times in a one-call close for tens of thousands of dollars and be able to control a structured sales presentation time after time.

The Importance of Personal Power in Sales

Here are 4 things you can do to increase that power and have more fun. It's always more fun when you are winning, making more money, and being in control of the situation.  Be sure you listen to the end to hear all four. If you like these types of videos please subscribe and check out my blog for more free home improvement sales training listed in the description below.

1. Knowledge: The Foundation of Power

The first thing that gives you personal power is knowledge. I’m sure you’ve heard people say knowledge is power and when selling this power gives you credibility which leads to more influence and more sales. To get that knowledge you have to be serious and study your trade. That starts by being an expert at whatever product line you sell. This is your career why wouldn’t you be an expert? That’s what the customer is paying for: your expertise. Your expertise brings value to what you have to offer. The more expertise the more value you build.

Becoming an Expert in Your Field

You never want to be in a position where your customer knows more about what you're selling than you do. If that happens believe me they'll know. You'll have no credibility therefore no power.  To me, every sales call is like a test you must score 100% on.  You can’t miss one question. If you do you fail and won’t make the sale, You will be tested by customers who already know the answer to what they are asking you.

What is low e-glass in windows and how does it really work? Does it absorb or reflect heat? What about the cold how does low e-glass help you there if any? Or they ask you how many square feet of countertop they have when they already know. Or they ask you what is the correct sizing for their new AC unit? 1 ton 2 ton etc.

Yes… a lot of people won’t know any of that but you don’t want to make your living dependent on how smart the customer is. Make your living dependent on how smart you are. P.S. The customers who are testing you generally are approved for credit. 😊Not only that but your knowledge is being judged during your whole sales call.

Knowledge as a Confidence Builder

I'll never forget that one time I was selling kitchen refacing and I was measuring the lower and upper cabinets. I went to measure the cabinet above the stove to where we attach the vent hood. As I measured each cabinet on the top I went OK this is 15 inches wide this diagonal corner cabin is 30 inches wide before I even got to the cabinet above the stove I said and I'm sure this is 30 inches because I knew it was a 30 inch range so I measured it and said yep it's 30 inches.

Then later on after she was buying a 25,000 refacing job I asked her why she bought and she said ..you know I've had other salespeople coming to my house ..some were nice some knew more than others but when you were measuring the cabinets and you knew that that cabinet above my stove was 30 inches right then I knew what you were doing and that's one of the main reasons that I'm buying from you today not because you're the cheapest. Knowledge is power and the more you have the more power and therefore the more sales you make.

2. Self-Confidence: Developing Sales Swag

Knowledge builds the foundation for the 2nd thing that gives you personal power which is self-confidence or what I call a sales swag. If it’s done right it's not being cocky, rude, or pushy but it's a quiet power that is there just the same. The customer feels it without you saying one word.  Confidence comes from competence and competence comes from knowledge which comes from practice and study.

The Power of Being Prepared

If you are serious about your career that means you studied everything about what you are selling and practiced for every possible thing that could come up in your sales call. From how to handle difficult customers, how to measure, price, and explain the product, and how to handle any objections that come up in the close.  I don't have to say anything when I first get to somebody's home but what  I'm thinking is say whatever you want, act however you want, be whatever you want. Because whatever you say or do I know how to handle it at least three or four ways different ways and there's nothing you can do that will stop me or cause me problems.

Now with a belief system like that, what type of confidence do you think I have when I'm starting my sales call? I don't have to say anything to the customer I don't have to be egotistical but there's a power I have that helps me influence and steer the customer the way I want them to go. It may not be obvious but the customers feel it and because of that respect you. And if you really are an expert in the field of what you are selling you have a confidence that comes from you being prepared and how much you enjoy helping people. The customers can sense this just like they can sense whether you are faking it.  

Earning the Right to the Sale

That confidence can’t be affected even if they are rude or what I call the wild animal customer. I’m not buying anything and I only have ten minutes can you guys do this and this etc? No matter how they act or what they say  I am thinking and saying the same thing to them. “Not a problem”. Remember big dogs don’t bark. Only the little ones do. The other thing that helps my confidence is that  I feel that I’ve earned and deserve the sale because I have paid my dues by studying and putting the time and work in.

I’ve paid the dues of all the times when I first started that I worked all day and didn’t make a penny as I learned my trade. The fact that I believe that I deserve the sale is a type of confidence all on its own. You can’t cheat the game and if you know you aren't prepared whether on a conscious or subconscious level, you don't feel you deserve the sale and because of that you won't get it as much.

 3. The Power of Being Nice

The third thing that I think gives you personal power and it sounds simple but it's just to be nice. I've known a lot of great salespeople in my life and I've noticed that the one thing that people always say that they seem to have in common is that they were nice. It sounds funny that you have to train and make somebody aware of doing that almost like teaching somebody how to be human but you'd be surprised. Or maybe not. Being nice can be just about being helpful and pleasant to talk to.

Simple Acts of Kindness Matter

I've been in homes where I can see that the clock on their stove is blinking because they don't know how to reset it or there's a light bulb they can't reach which doesn't work and regardless of whether or not I'm there to sell I always offer “hey do you want me to help you change that bulb I can reach it” or do you want me to help fix the time on your stove because my mom always has me fix hers”. To me, it's just fun to do because I like helping people and just the nature of you doing that will help your rapport,  which will increase your chances of making the sale, and take advantage of so many universal laws that we don't have time to discuss them here.

A Powerful Mindset Shift

One technique that I like and I read it in a book by Og Mandino.  I think it was called the Greatest Salesman in the World. The point is that you're supposed to treat everybody that you meet as if you know a great dark secret about them. And the secret is that imagine that you knew for some reason that at midnight that day, they were going to die. Now if you knew that about the person regardless of the situation how would you treat that person? How would you act towards them and respond to things that you normally would be upset by? I think you know the answer. You'd be kinder you'd be more compassionate and you'd be more caring. Now if you act like that what kind of response do you think that you'd get from them?  So be nice.

4. Letting Go of the Sale: The Ultimate Power Move

The fourth thing you need to do to have more personal power is not to care if you make a sale or not. It’s to go there with the attitude that you are not there to make a sale. You are there to help them. So all your sales call is about is finding out what type of problem they have because obviously they are not happy with something or you wouldn’t be there and find out whether or not your product can solve their problem. You don’t care whether they buy or not but are simply there to help them and have fun at the same time. It’s not an act I really put myself in the state of mind that I don’t care whether they buy or not. If you do that many things will happen that give you personal power.

The Power of Walking Away

First of all the traditional leverage that a customer has over the salesperson who they know wants to make the sale is gone. They say that the true strength of any negotiation is in the hands of the person who is prepared to walk away if it’s not right. The more they feel you want them to buy the less control you have and the less they want to buy anyway. The more they feel you don’t care if they buy or not and are just there to help them by giving them an education the more they will be inclined to buy. Plus the less that it seems like you don’t care whether they buy or not gives your product more value.

Avoiding "Commission Breath"

Look at the difference in how a Mercedes Benz salesperson acts vs a used car salesperson. One wants you to fill out a credit app before you even get in it and the other offers to loan you the downpayment if you don't have it. That’s why desperate salespeople never sell. The customer smells it. It’s called commission breath. If you’ve been doing this for a while you’ll notice that anytime you desperately need to make a sale you can’t give it away and when you are selling left and right and because of that aren’t trying to hard make a sale they seem to buy very easily. You get on a roll.

Hopefully, you'll think about some of these things and when you work on them and internalize them you will be unstoppable. If you like this please check out the video on The Real Reason People Succeed in Commission sales or the playlist on closing. Happy Selling