Contractormag 1001 Woody Woodall 0
Contractormag 1001 Woody Woodall 0
Contractormag 1001 Woody Woodall 0
Contractormag 1001 Woody Woodall 0
Contractormag 1001 Woody Woodall 0

The Unified Group hosts sales forum

April 1, 2010
BROADVIEW, ILL. — Forty-three Unified Group members attended the 2010 Sales Forum, Scottsdale, Ariz., March 16-19, learning that a great salesperson relies on his or her ability to ask good questions to better understand the customer’s needs and that sales is not about fast talking, but about building relationships, being honest, sincere and helping people.

BROADVIEW, ILL.Forty-three Unified Group members attended the 2010 Sales Forum, Scottsdale, Ariz., March 16-19, learning that a great salesperson relies on his or her ability to ask good questions to better understand the customer’s needs and that sales is not about fast talking, but about building relationships, being honest, sincere and helping people.

The session started with a discussion about company image. Prior to the meeting, each attendee asked a handful of their customers what came to mind when they thought of their company. One meeting attendee took what he had heard and turned it into a marketing piece to use with other customers. Other topics for the first day included brainstorming different marketing tactics, how to get into niche markets, the importance of networking and relationship building, and how to utilize the Internet to prospect.

During the second day, each attendee went through a “first call” role practice with a “customer” they met at a networking event. Their objective of the call was to gain permission for a survey. Their goals were to build rapport, extract information, and educate and create interest in their company.

“This was a great refresher for forgotten/back shelved practices to again step up our game,” said a meeting attendee. “The meeting once again strengthened the value of belonging to The Unified Group.”

Each attendee was part of a group assigned to a specific market (health care, data center, telecommunications, etc.). After the first call, each group selected two people to do a verification call in front of the entire group for the chance at a cash prize. Jamie Budy of Air Comfort and Miles Adcock of Design Mechanical had the winning call.

On the last day, Woody Woodall led a discussion on account management and customer retention and Jim Bartolotta discussed different price objectives and how to negotiate around them.

Formed in 1998, The Unified Group is an association of more than 50 independent HVAC commercial contractors in the industry. The group’s goal is to make great HVAC companies even stronger, and by doing so, to increase the value provided to customers, whether they are local, regional or national businesses. The Unified Group brings together the best people to share best practices and experiences with each other.

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