ever selling your business, the value of your fee simply
multiplies.
But my people are scared…
I started this article by reprising my history so that you
would realize that I know more about this subject than
your team of naysayers. I’m not saying it to brag. I’m saying
it because I want you to make a lot more money. Most
of you know me long enough to trust that I’m not exaggerating
the results.
The challenge is that most customer service or sales
managers operate defensively. It’s the nature of the
industry. We are constantly on the defensive. We mostly
hear from customers when they are upset, or when
our prices are higher than some competitors, or when
someone wants to covert, etc. Ten calls can feel like an
avalanche.
Some companies are reluctant to charge fees because
they have built their previous promotion around the fact
that they don’t charge them. I have a unique vantage
point, because we work for companies that charge fees
as well as those that don’t. There is no distinguishable
difference in the results. The “we don’t charge fees pitch”
is not a magic bullet, even if you did win some customers
by saying it. If “no fees” was magic, everyone would fly
Southwest airlines and not United or Delta. No one would
rent from Airbnb, whose fees are substantial. Everyone
would stop subscribing to cable TV. You get the picture.
Now is the time to start
It does not take long to get started, but there are questions
to be answered:
• What do you need to include in
your customer communications?
• Do you tell them about it beforehand, or does it
simply show up on the delivery ticket?
• When is the best time to roll it out?
• Do all customers get charged, or are some excluded?
• How do you handle new
customers?
• What should you call it?
• What should you charge?
• How do you get your customer service team trained
so they can confidently deal with calls?
• Can you test it with a smaller group rather than
roll it out to everyone?
Please contact me if you would like to discuss this, but
it’s best to move fast. There are still plenty of deliveries
left this year and you are leaving a lot of money on the
table that you will need in the years to come. ICM
Rich Goldberg is President of Warm Thoughts Communications,
Inc. Warm Thoughts is the nation’s largest marketing firm
focusing exclusively on the heating oil, propane, heating oil and
HVAC industries. See more of their ideas at warmthoughts.com.
You can reach Goldberg at rgoldberg@warmthoughts.com; or
551-482-8133.
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