From $3K to $80K/Month With No Sales Scripts

Adam (00:00):
If you banned the word sales, you could never say the word sales ever again. What would you say instead? 

Kevin (00:05):
Serve. 

Adam (00:05):
Give me a classic example of just an old school, greasy salesperson tactic. 

Kevin (00:10):
It’s just almost where it’s so relentless, just pressing, pressing, pressing, press. It’s like full core press. You’re like, okay, dude. 

Adam (00:16):
Ease up. 

Kevin (00:16):
Sure. 

Adam (00:18):
What is your favorite question to ask? 

Kevin (00:21):
Either when’s the last time you had your windows cleaned? Or how often do you want it done? 

Adam (00:29):
If you are standing on a driveway with your client and you’re using an old school, sleazy, greasy sales pitch to try to win their business, then you’re not doing it right. Today’s guest is Kevin Valle at Pink’s Window Cleaning, and he has a much better approach to how to “close the deal.” We’re going to get into how to do it ethically so it feels good and their client is served. So Kevin, welcome to the show. 

Kevin (00:55):
Hey, thanks Adam. Happy to be here. 

Adam (00:57):
Do you agree that there’s an old school way of selling that seems to be going away and there’s a newer way, a better way of doing sales, at least for home service businesses? 

Kevin (01:06):
First you hear the word sales and you get kind of like, ugh. And then it’s like, Well, I don’t want to be a sleazy, slimy salesperson. I’m like, Okay, let me ask you something in your normal life. Are you a sleazy, slimy person? And they’re usually like, Well, no, I don’t think so. Okay, so then why all of a sudden when what I would say is I’m trying to help solve someone’s problem, do I have to get all icky and weird about it? And so I think that’s been one advantage of mine, so to speak. And whether it comes natural or not, I think to me it’s, hey, I’m here to help solve a problem and I don’t believe it has to be cringey, salesy or slimy. And again, I feel like it’s a real time revelation, something that I’m practicing, but I feel like the feedback I get is always like, wow, that felt really simple. I’m like, well, it can be that simple. So again, I don’t know if it’s old versus new or just like, hey, just be yourself. Again, you don’t have to put on this different thing. Whether you’re extrovert or introvert, just solve someone’s problem. 

Adam (02:06):
Yeah. Well, with Pinks, you went from doing a couple thousand dollars a month to a million dollars a year or more. So clearly whatever you’re doing is working, which is good. What are some of the things that you do in the sales process? Let’s get nitty-gritty. What are you called? Are you called a salesperson? I’m guessing you’re not called a salesperson. So what are some of those specifics? 

Kevin (02:26):
Yeah, there’s coaching and encouragement. Again, when it was just me when we were doing, I think our first months was $3,000. It was me and one guy, one of my old college students. So it really was like, I’m the salesman, I’m the manager, I’m the tech, I’m everything. Whereas now you fast-forward two years, we just cleared 80 grand across our locations because we’ve expanded. That was the first time we ever done that. But I have a couple managers, not just two techs, about 15 to 17 techs. So it’s a different landscape. So that also stretched me to go, okay, what’s up here? What’s maybe in here? How do I get that into my guys? Now, I think a lot of the guys we find have that naturally, but I think part of what getting there, we do say in Pink’s, we want to become the mayor of window cleaning. We’re kind of saying that phrase, I think you should be the mayor of the trade, whatever that means. 

Adam (03:10):
What’s wrong with using the word, hey, I’m here. We all know I’m here. Just sell you window cleaning. We all know why I’m here. 

Kevin (03:17):
Okay, right there. I think that’s where, 

Adam (03:20):
I can still serve you if we get the right. 

Kevin (03:23):
I don’t want to act like, hey, sales is a bad word. No, I think there’s a redefining, at least for me in my company, I don’t want to speak for the world. I do things of reframing, rewording, or the mindset. It doesn’t have to necessarily be a rewording. But okay, practically I was a technician. So I’m here to clean, but before I clean, I need you to approve it. And so that’s where I’m like, not everyone wants to buy our window cleaning service. So I guess I’m like, I show up not knowing. It’s not like I’m going to assume every sale. I’m like, no, no, no, that’s not going to happen. Really, we should actually be like 65 to 75% close rate. I want more like 70. And that’s a whole other maybe tactic, but if we’re closing too high, our prices are too low. If we’re closing way too low, or our close rate’s low, we’re probably pricing a little bit too high. So there’s nuance there. 

Adam (04:12):
Where does persuasion fall into the category for you, into the equation for you? Do you persuade? 

Kevin (04:18):
Yeah. 

Adam (04:18):
Okay. You try to sell? 

Kevin (04:19):
Okay. Yeah. So you’re, 

Adam (04:20):
Come on. 

Kevin (04:21):
Yeah, you’re touching something. 

Adam (04:22):
Because you give people options, let them choose. 

Kevin (04:23):
For sure, for sure. Well, 

Adam (04:24):
What if they say, well, I got another quote? 

Kevin (04:26):
Yeah, totally. I’m okay with persuading. I’ve also learned I don’t really care. I mean, I’m thinking of a lot of testimonies. One of my favorite ones, I don’t know if we can get all into it, but I’ll say this. We have a really awesome country club in one of my cities. They already had a quote. They were already getting them ready to be booked. I just start asking questions though. I’m a big questions guy. I kept talking, asking how they feel about it. Is it good? It’s going to take them five days. I was like, take them five days. That takes us two days. So we just start having the conversation, but I’m learning pain points. I said, well, surely they’re like, I mean, this place, y’all expect your patrons to come in the nines. They can’t be here without a tucked insurer. I know the country club enough to understand that. So I said, so your uniforms have to be pretty spot on. Actually, they don’t wear uniforms. Well, then I just start prodding. We end up winning that client. Through that was I learned what their needs were. I learned what their pain was. And again, I wasn’t trying to manipulate. I just said, hey, this is kind of who we are. This is how we do it. Does that fit y’all or not? And those people can kind of start to self-discern, I think we’re supposed to have y’all. And now they’re one of our best recurring clients. 

Adam (05:33):
Kevin, let’s pause for a minute. This is great, but I love to talk about sales. But Jobber also helps our sales process. 

Kevin (05:38):
Absolutely. 

Adam (05:39):
How has Jobber really turbocharged, really amplified your sales process to the next level? 

Kevin (05:44):
When I tell people we have the most world-class service or the world-class everything, it’s our equipment, our back office, and Jobber’s a part of that. And so one of my favorite little features is, again, window cleaning could be a lot. What I love is when you have that honest conversation, and they may say, I want everything. I say, Well, hey, let me show you what’s maybe recommended. And then I love the feature because they can toggle optional if I said it optional. So it’s, hey, you could see it whether you wanted 10% off, 20% off. I make that a line item. And so then I almost, kind of like at a menu at a restaurant, I can show them, hey, you can mess with it and you can change it and it’ll add the sales tax. You’ll know exactly to the penny what you’d get. And that little feature has been really awesome to say, Hey, these are things we suggest. These are things you talked about. Mix and match and see which ones works best for you. 

Adam (06:29):
It’s so simple, but it’s so powerful. 

Kevin (06:30):
Yeah, and we’ll come out tomorrow, the next day. 

Adam (06:32):
If you’re not using Jobber for your sales process, you need to, whether it’s for quoting, optional line items, the follow-up, the emails, the texts, all those things, the organization, you need to use Jobber today. Start your free trial. Go to jobber.com/podcastdeal. Get the exclusive discount and start using Jobber today. 

(06:51)
There’s listeners out there who never ask a question. All they do is talk and talk and talk. And we’re just going to talk to you right, you guys shut up. And you ask them question. You need to talk 30% of the time so they could talk 70. Well, you’re talking 90%. And so there’s people out there that just need to hear this hard truth that you must ask your prospect so many questions. 

Kevin (07:17):
Yes. And even I would say, I mean, what is the whole. I know there’s all these adages, but it’s like before you can be heard, you got to listen. And I’m sure I’m botching it. But that essence, and you’re so right, and that’s something I do try to teach people, not just in pinks, not just my business. 

Adam (07:34):
In life, in marriage, in family, 

Kevin (07:35):
Everywhere. Yeah, but in just everywhere. It’s like, 

Adam (07:37):
It’s everywhere. 

Kevin (07:38):
Everywhere. Is ask questions. And everyone’s like, What’s the right… Just start asking questions. But for me, we used to say, if a quote takes 15 minutes, how much am I talking about window cleaning? 

Adam (07:50):
Not much. 

Kevin (07:51):
Time. 90 seconds? Truly. But I love it because it doesn’t feel much just like a game. It’s like, can I seek to understand this person and go from an adversary, which as soon as you door knock, or even if they fill out their card up, how do I become your ally? How do I get to the scene? Not across the table from you, how do I get next to you? I’m doing that in those 13 and a half minutes. So when I show up, Oh, hey, you want to meet me around back? They just want to get you, Oh yeah, hey, real quick, who did your flower bed? They’re like, Oh, such and such. Oh my gosh. My wife, I got to have to learn who did. She would kill to have these… We start talking. They’re like, Oh, did your daughter go to A&M? Or just conversation. By the end, it’s, Oh, by the way, yeah, I have that quote for you because Jobber and all that’s so great. So what do you think about that? Y’all said you had that event coming up this weekend. Does Thursday or Friday work for you? 

Adam (08:43):
Do you trickle out the price as you go? One thing I’ve learned a lot over the years as I study sales and as I do sales is a lot of times at the very end, you’ve had this great rapport, great conversation. You just feel like it’s in the bag. And then you spin the iPad around and you show them number. They’re like, Oh, that’s too expensive. Goodbye. It’s whiplash. You think, Well, what just happened? I though they were going to buy. 

Kevin (09:04):
There are times where, again, if you can set the right frame. If I saw these big windows, some people are like, Oh, I have three windows. Sometimes when you take a look, you’re like, Ooh, Mrs. Smith, I didn’t realize they were that big. Hey, no, we can do it, but it’s a lot bigger winds than I thought. So there’s little conversational moments of anchors. 

Adam (09:22):
For sure. 

Kevin (09:22):
Okay, this might be a pretty big job. Now again, I’m not trying to manipulate. I’m just trying to give her. No, that’s a big, 

Adam (09:28):
Proper expectation. 

Kevin (09:29):
Big window. So if you can set proper frames and be honest too, yes, we’re the experts, but there’s times like, Hey, I’m going to tell you right now, people want a confident person. I can be confident and not know how to do it. Even in not knowing the answer, I believe there was a level of confidence I exuded of just like, hey, there’s an assurance that I got you. And if people can feel that even when you’re giving them the sales quote, price, cost, it comes back to trust. Have you built enough trust with that person to know you’re on their team? Or are you just thinking of the next job, next quote, next thing? And again, people may not believe this. When I used to come in on Monday meeting, we’d have no jobs Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday. This calendar is wide open. Do you think when I went to people, hey, you know what we could probably do, Mrs. Betsy? I think we could actually fit this in tomorrow. I know we have space Wednesday, but we could actually probably make it happen tomorrow. What do you think about that? 

Adam (10:24):
I think that’d be great. 

Kevin (10:24):
They’re like, oh, that sounds good. Really? You could fit in tomorrow. How do you think we can make that work? I’m not lying, but I’m not also, we really need to work tomorrow. Please. So again, but there’s a level of assurance in that. But if I can also not be so desperate for that, I need this right now. 

Adam (10:40):
Obviously, you’re good at this, but you have a team. So how do you bake this into the whole cake? 

Kevin (10:46):
Again, I don’t want to act like I’ve figured out all the sales problems. To me, it’s how are my guys doing? I love the word apprenticeship. Come watch me. It’s not just send a video, look on Andy Elliot online, which is very cool, whatever. But hey, come see how I want to take care of our people. So even, I mean, I have a whole thing on how when I’m filtering people, it’s like, do I like being around you when I interview people? 

Adam (11:11):
That’s a big one. Yeah. 

Kevin (11:13):
Because if I don’t like being around you personally, why would I want to put you in my mom’s house, my neighbor’s house? So there’s a little bit of that personable stuff. But for me, it’s, are you getting to see me do it? So I’ve either modeled a phone call, and I guess I’m shouting out, well, I’ll say our phone service for the business, it records our calls. So one, they can listen to calls I’ve done. They can watch me do a call. We can listen back to how they had a call. And so creating close feedback loops. I’m such a huge advocate on very tight feedback loops. 

Adam (11:47):
Yes, very quick. 

Kevin (11:48):
Because if you had a conversation today and I wait a week, you’ve kind of forgotten. Now the conversation is saved, but I need you to remember how that felt. How did that conversation feel? So even to my employees. So I’m naturally, maybe for me, coaching comes more natural to me over time it has. But being able to have those kind of touch points, so our Monday meetings, reviewing sales conversations, but that level of apprenticeship I feel like is so. I tell my technicians, we’re not going to touch sales till you’re here for six months. They’re like, Well, I used to sell. That’s awesome. You’ll do great when we talk in six months. But my whole philosophy is I need to know who we are, what we’re about. Why are people so excited? But it’s not just our Instagram. It’s not just our cool sweaters, although that’s really cool. 

(12:36)
There’s something about the culture, the things that we’re fostering here. I need you to be a part of it before we even talk about sales. So there is kind of that method to the madness, madness even to the methodology of what we’re doing. But if people can watch and hear from me, in a sense, get that apprenticeship from me again, and then learning how they conversate. I don’t need a bunch of me’s, but understand some of those core values. Put your own spin on it. So you don’t have to be this super loud. I love when people are like, Kevin, you must love window cleaning. No, no, no. I just love serving people and my employees can find it their own way. So I say, bridge the gap. One of my guys in Aggie. Talk to them about Aggie. When did you graduate? Make it about y’all. Now every now and then I said, now if they’re a veteran, you can tell them your boss is a veteran. Don’t be afraid. But that’s conversational. If you have a dog, you can still be yourself. You don’t have to be like me. You don’t have to just be in Pink’s. You can learn. And so I think that’s the apprenticeship, actually reviewing calls, talking about, hey, I would’ve tweaked that a little bit. And when you ask that, how’d that feel? I didn’t feel right. Okay, so what’s a better question? I’m asking questions about the questions we should be asking. So that’s been helpful. 

Adam (13:45):
Alright, Kevin, lightning round here. I’m going to ask a bunch of questions. Just give me the best answer you got. All right. Number one, if you banned the word sales, you could never say the word sales ever again, what would you say instead? 

Kevin (13:55):
Serve. 

Adam (13:56):
What is one common property eyesore in the window cleaning industry that you see that can spark a conversation that other contractors might not see? 

Kevin (14:06):
When I go to certain buildings, big commercial buildings, especially those newer ones, you’ll see these suction cups where you can tell where they installed the windows. They’re usually about maybe 10 feet higher. And I love it because I’ll just spark the conversation. I’ll be like, Oh, is this building new? They’re like, No, we’ve been here for like 20 years. Oh, wow. Well, I just saw the suction cup. Well, it’s in between the glass. No. And I go grab my ladder and I get up and wipe it. And so it just shows me that whoever told you that that was a clean window, it’s not. It’s dirty. 

Adam (14:35):
What is your favorite question to ask? 

Kevin (14:39):
Either when’s the last time you had your windows cleaned? Or how often do you want it done? 

Adam (14:44):
Give me a classic example of just an old school, greasy salesperson tactic. 

Kevin (14:49):
It’s just almost where it’s so relentless. Just pressing, pressing, pressing, press, like full core press. You’re like, okay, dude. 

Adam (14:55):
Ease up. 

Kevin (14:55):
Sure. 

Adam (14:56):
Alright. Yeah. Kevin, how do we find out more about you? 

Kevin (14:59):
Yeah. Look, Pink’s Windows Services. You go to pinkswindows.com. We’re semi-popular on the Instagram. If you just want to find fun, silly content, we’re on there. If you’re ever in San Antonio, New Braunfels or Brian-College Station, hit me up. Love to clean your windows or just have a conversation. 

Adam (15:15):
Sweet. We’re crushing it. Your three locations are better for it because you’re in business. You’re a good dad, good father. 

Kevin (15:21):
Thanks, man. 

Adam (15:21):
Good husband. So keep it up. Keep rocking up. Your next big profit boost might already be sitting on your schedule. Next week, we’re diving into route density and how smarter routing can squeeze more revenue out of trucks you already own. And thank you for listening. I hope that you heard something today that will help you close more sales the right way, that feel better, and that actually serve your clients. I’m your host, Adam Sylvester. You can find me at adamsylvester.com. Your team, your clients, and your family deserve your very best. So go give it to them.