Prospect Receives Picture of Salesman
By Phil Moses
Customer Connection Director - St. Louis Better Business Bureau
Coddling customers is the credo of the Woods family, owners of Woods Basement Systems in Collinsville.
The extent to which the company goes to educate its customers sets a high standard for managing expectations.
Twenty-plus years ago, founder Rick Woods and his wife Anna Lee enlisted their children in a new venture...keeping basement dry and repairing foundations.
Telemarketers
Wayne and Susan, still in high school at the time, scanned local phone books in a fledgling telemarketing campaign. (They and their spouses are now active in the company.)
Rick surveyed the problem, closed the sale, and installed the product.
Over the years, the care of the customer has become a finely tuned process.
When a lead generates interest, the potential client receives a customized orientation kit preceding the sales call.
Several Items
Depending on the need, the kit may include an 80-page book on waterproofing or crawl space improvement that defines trade terms and discusses the pros and cons of the problem; the applicable product brochures; and the company background.
The "kicker" is a sheet featuring a photograph of the salesman, supported by text covering his qualifications. (When its a service call, the homeowner receives a postcard with a photo of the technician.)
"No surprises" is part of the company doctrine.
Once installation has begun, the foreman takes photos that become part of the permanent client file.
To preclude "silent dissatisfaction" the foreman urges homeowners to call the service department.
Checklists Used
Operators then run through checklists with the caller that reinforce the thoroughness of the job.
Foreman are rewarded for efficiency and completeness.
These dollar "carrots" are balanced by "sticks:" penalties for faulty installations requiring call-backs.
Today, the Woods franchise is one of the largest of the 263 Basement Systems in the U.S. and five other countries.
Its spectacular growth, doubling every year since 2002, has required rigorous recruiting, evaluation, hiring and training.
With a hundred jobs on the books at any normal time, Woods must maintain continuous training schedules.
The job is not complete when the workers depart.
Woods conducts a regimen of follow-up activities including a phone call or postcard one month later, and another phone call a month later.
If there are any doubts about the Woods family's commitment, a visit to the home office will dispel them.
Just off the main, there's a nursery for the five youngest of the families' eight children including an on-site nanny.
And Rick Woods' wife, Anna Lee, is "grandmother in residence."
For more news about Woods Basement Systems, be sure to check our website at: http://www.woodsbasementsystems.com/!
