| In this episode of Potty Talk The Million Dollar Plumber discusses why having a CSR for your plumbing business is important and why not having a CSR could cost your business in the long run. |
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3 Golden Nuggets
- Control the Call
- Book the Call TODAY
- Hire a CSR
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Show Notes
Can you afford not to have a customer service representative for your plumbing business? The short answer is no.
Here’s why…
Imagine this scenario: you’re in the middle of a job, under the sink, and the phone rings.
Another customer–can you afford to lose it? Probably not. So, you’ll pick up the phone, grumpy because, well, you’re under the sink and your hands are full. Will you be able to book that call? Probably not…
Because it doesn’t have to be that way!
Your job is to run a plumbing business, not take calls 24/7.
So the long answer is this: If you want a self-sustaining plumbing business where you don’t do everything yourself, then you need to hire a customer service representative BEFORE you even hire your second man. That’s how important it is.
Control the Call
Now the CSR does NOT need to be a plumber or know anything about plumbing. It just needs to be someone who is
- friendly (preferably a female, I’ll tell you why in a bit)
- comfortable taking calls
- able to control the call
And that last point is the most important one. Your CSR’s one and only job is to control the call! As long as they fit the 3 checkmarks, you’re good to go.
Now, why a female? Because 9 times out 10 the person calling for the plumber WILL be Mrs. Jones, and she’ll feel more comfortable talking to another woman. And a comfortable client is a paying client!
But most importantly, why control the call? because it’s the professional thing to do! When you go to a doctor, you don’t just go in and diagnose yourself–you wait for the doctor to ask you a question. The same thing with a CSR. If a customer is calling to tell you about a problem, your CSR needs to be quick on her feet, able to keep the conversation rolling while ALSO controlling where the conversation goes.
So, again, she doesn’t need to know anything about plumbing, give quotes or diagnose an issue–she just needs to say “I can have a licensed plumber come and take a look. Does this time frame work for you?”
And that’s it. With just a few sentences you’ve shown your customer that…
- You’re a professional company
- You know what you’re doing
Book the Call TODAY
And the most important thing for your CSR to know is to NEVER schedule a booking for the following day. Because then you’ve already lost that customer.
No one wakes up in the morning and wants to have to call their plumber. They’re calling you because they need their problem fixed immediately.
So give them their day back, and promise to get the problem fixed on the same day. That’s the one value that they actually need from you–their day back as quickly as possible.
What to do if You Can’t Afford to Hire a CSR…
Now if your wife can’t come into the business with you or if you can’t afford to hire someone and you’re just a Chuck in the truck that’s starting out…you still need a CSR.
So an easy fix would be to hire a service!
One that I love to recommend constantly is Plumbline–a CSR service that answers your calls for you, WITH your plumbing business name, so you never have to miss a call. And the best thing about them is that they only charge you per call that they book! So, if they take 10-15 calls for you that day and only end up booking 2 of them? you’re only getting charged for the 2.
So, they’re affordable, efficient, and they make your job x10 times easier. So no excuses guys–hire a CSR today, and watch as it improves the quality of your business and makes your job as a plumbing business owner a breeze!
So now you know that you DO need a CSR, they don’t need to know about plumbing, they just need to be friendly, and it doesn’t have to cost you a fortune to run a professional and self-sustaining plumbing business.
Richard’s Call to Action
If you want to learn more about numbers that matter and how to best run your plumbing business, why not schedule a free 30-min strategy call with us? Let’s talk about your goals and where you want to be this time next year, and we’ll help you create a path to make that happen. Schedule your free strategy call here today!
