100 Reasons You Should Buy From Us

There was a day when I posted a challenge on The Wall.

I asked contractors to give me 100 reasons why people should do business with them. Most of the posters struggled to put together a half-dozen or so reasons, and then the following list appeared from one guy. I asked him how he had managed to come up with his list so quickly and he said,"Quickly? We've been working on that list for years!"

Good use of his time, don't you think?

When a potential customer has doubts about hiring this man, he just starts laying out the reasons why having his company do the work is a very wise decision.

I'll let him do the rest of the talking. And by the way, he's your competitor. Mull that over for a while.

"I can give you 100 reasons why people should do business with us, but they are really just variations of the five reasons that matter: Availability, Knowledge, Workmanship, Price, and Warranty. Here you go:

1. We answer our phone during the day.

2. We have emergency numbers for after hours.

3. We limit the number of new clients we take on so we will be available to our loyal customers.

4. We don't overbook our day (in case an emergency comes up).

5. We work our schedule around yours.

6. We work weekends by appointment for your convenience.

7. We will come out after-hours to an emergency.

8. We staff our shop to meet the demands of our workload.

9. We don't overwork our technicians so they'll be at their best for you.

10 We schedule our work properly so you won't have to wait the entire day for us show up.

11. We keep in contact with our techs so we know when they will be available for you.

12. We call you to let you know if we are running late.

13. We will return the same day if something goes wrong.

14. We will let you cancel an appointment, without prejudice, if something comes up.

15. We will always make time for our loyal customers, especially if all they need is some advice.

16. We network with other contractors in our area to back us up when we start to get overbooked with work.

17. We will even send out the secretary in the office to turn off your water in an emergency if you are unable to do it.

18. We have a chain of command of who will be sent out after hours so if one person is unavailable, the next one will fill in.

19. We allow our employees to take their trucks home to be able to respond to after hours calls more rapidly.

20. We won't cancel your appointment because somebody "better" needs us right now.

21. We visit The Wall at HeatingHelp.com frequently to increase our knowledge.

22. We read every article we can get our hands on about the products we sell.

23. We subscribe to the trade magazines so we know what is happening within our industry.

24. We ask questions of the manufacturer to know their product better.

25. We go to product training seminars to gain knowledge of the products we sell.

26. We take things apart in the shop to get hands-on knowledge of how a product works.

27. We talk to others in the trade to learn what works for them and what is a waste of our time.

28. We welcome sales reps into our office and let them show us their new wares.

29. We know how to specify the right product for your application.

30. We know what will not work, and we refuse to install a product that will put you or you loved ones in danger.

31. We don't hire the first guy off the street, give him a wrench, and call him a technician.

32. We help our technicians continue their education, even if it isn't business related because it makes them a more rounded person, one that's better able to help you.

33. We enroll our technicians in job-related education classes, so they will be better able to serve you.

34. We demand that all certifications required of our technicians be kept current.

35. We hold the current licenses necessary to do the work we provide.

36. We have an entire library of reference material to draw from.

37. We use the Internet to get the information from suppliers all over the world.

38. We carry product literature on the products we sell.

39. We hold regular meetings with our employees to discuss situations and concerns that come up in the field.

40. We test our technicians regularly on the skills we know are necessary.

41. We make the product look as good as it works.

42. We use the best material we can find to complement the best products we install.

43. We use the best tools we can find to aide in our installation.

44. We use the best techniques that are available to make our installations better.

45. We leave our work area neater than when we found it.

46. We don't work louder than necessary so we won't disturb you.

47. We don't play loud music on the job.

48. We concentrate on the work at hand, rather than horsing around.

49. We don't replace things that are working properly.

50. We explain what we're doing so you have an understanding of what's going on.

51. We secure all equipment so it won't fall over.

52. We don't skip steps to get done with your job quicker.

53. We use only parts that are made to go with your equipment.

54. We don't install used equipment to save a buck.

55. We will check other equipment adjacent to our installation to make sure it is compatible with what we are installing.

56. We will look for other signs of trouble that may also be going on inside your home.

57. We will test the equipment after we install it to make sure it is working properly before we leave.

58. We will test any other equipment we touched in order to install our equipment before we leave.

59. We check all safety controls.

60. We check all safety controls again.

61. We will bill you if you are honorable.

62. We will give you extra time to pay your bill if you need it.

63. We accept credit cards for your convenience.

64. We will accept your personal check without having to give us eight forms of I.D. and your first-born child.

65. We will explain your charges completely, to your satisfaction, because we have nothing to hide.

66. We will knock a few dollars off the bill if the situation warrants it.

67. We will give you some free items if they are available.

68. We will not quote one price to get you to commit and then refuse to do the work unless you pay us more.

69. We will not quote you a higher price because you live in a better neighborhood.

70. We use real financial accounting to come up with our sales price rather than charging what "everyone else" does.

71. We know that the most expensive product isn't necessarily the best.

72. We will gladly quote you a firm price for the work rather than guessing "what it should be around."

73. We will let you shop around if you like, without holding it against you.

74. We will not pressure you into signing on for work you don't really want.

75. We won't pressure you into ordering work you don't really need.

76. We don't have to charge you more to make up for the losses we've incurred on our previous jobs.

77. We don't bill you for items you don't receive.

78. We don't charge you ten bucks for a 20-cent washer because you won't know the difference anyway.

79. We will meet anyone's price on product or material, as long as they area legitimate supplier and the product is the same, or we will let you buy it from them yourself and we will still install it for you.

80. We will NOT meet anyone's price on labor because our costs of labor are unique to our business only.

81. We use the best product available to us so there won't be a problem.

82. We will replace any product that fails.

83. We will replace any other item that is damaged because our product failed.

84. We will refund your money if you are not completely satisfied with the way we handled your problem.

85. We will give you the benefit of the doubt when it comes to product failure rather than trying to find the "loophole" in the warranty to get us off the hook.

86. We will perform the warranty repairs ourselves, rather than making you depend upon the manufacturer to handle the problem.

87. We carry replacement parts for what we sell so you don't have to wait a week while the part gets shipped from the manufacturer.

88. We will fill out any paperwork necessary to guarantee your product becomes registered with the manufacturer.

89. We will inform you of any potential problems with your product when we become aware of them.

90. We will come and check out your product even if there is nothing wrong, but just because you think "it's acting funny."

91. We will use only reputable wholesalers who will be there for us if there is a problem.

92. We carry sufficient insurance to cover any damage we may do.

93. We carry insurance on our own people so if anything happens to them while in your home, they will be taken care of.

94. We secure the necessary permits required for your job so there will never be a question if it was done legally or "to code".

95. We will not charge you again for labor to reinstall a defective product.

96. We will keep your product information on file so if there is a question about what is covered and for how long, we will have it available for you.

97. We will not penalize, or refuse to honor your warranty, because you "can't find the papers."

98. We will note any concerns you have with our product or installation in case something comes up in the future.

99. We will not tell you a product is out of warranty, charge you for a new one, then take the old one back for credit because it really was covered.

100. We will contact you before the warranty expires to see if you are having any problems before it runs out.

"And if you add all this up what you have is VALUE, which is what every customer that comes into your world is looking for you to provide.

"You can still go on and on from here with your reasons, but you will find they will fit into one of the five main categories I started with. Meeting any one of these categories may get you some jobs, but put them all together and you will be successful beyond your wildest dreams."

To which I can only add, Amen!