Steve Levitt heads up Scorpion’s sales team and is passionate about the art and science behind successful sales strategies.

In the home services industry, he shares how he often sees owners afraid to let go of the sales part of the business that they have been primarily responsible for. It seems easier to just continue doing it yourself, than training someone. However, investing in and training a strong team to fill that role is one of the best things you can do for your company.

Steve says that if you are spending too much time working in the field, rather than on the business, it’s time to focus on getting a new plan for sales.

First, determine your goals, strengths, and the unique differentiators that set you apart from the competition.

Steve emphasizes that finding someone who is responsible for this whole plan is crucial. Invest in that person. They should understand what you do, have clear goals, be able to ask the right questions, and take full responsibility.

“To me, the most important thing that salespeople really want to feel is that they are playing a game they can win, period.”

Stretch goals, goals that are challenging but not impossible, are ideal for cultivating an exciting, engaging sales culture. When the sales team has goals that are attainable and measurable, they will be able to focus and feel supported.

Early on in your business, one person can be responsible for sales in order to understand the whole picture holistically. However, as you scale, you will need to build a team that specializes in each part of the sales strategy, from communicating with customers about services and scheduling to closing the deal.

In home services businesses, techs are often in the role of both determining the problem, closing the sale, and then fixing the problem. Steve says that hiring the right people is hard, and you have to put in the work to find them. Good techs are:

These qualities build trust and comfort with the client. As you identify techs who are good at determining the problem and closing the sale, it may be time to have them make that their sole focus and send a different tech in to actually fix the problem. This all depends on how you want to run your business, but don’t underestimate playing to your team’s strengths.

“Consumers are showing up to all sorts of buying cycles with far more information, with far more research and competitive analysis done, even for things as simple as finding an electrician...They are more educated.”

Your sales team backs up your marketing strategy and business goals. Make sure your sales and marketing are aligned and consistent to create a positive customer experience.

Set a goal for being where you want to be in a certain time frame. Start with the end in mind and work your way back into how you will achieve this from a sales and marketing perspective.