3 Reasons Contractors Should Set Same-Day Sales Appointments

I recently attended the International Roofing Expo in Las Vegas and presented a talk titled “24 Marketing Ideas for 2024”. Several attendees stuck around to provide feedback and ask follow-up questions.

The idea that received the most buzz was my recommendation to implement same-day contractor sales appointments. While some home improvement contractors are already having success with this approach, many remain hesitant to do so for two primary reasons.

First, they may not be able to get buy-in from their sales team. That’s an issue company leadership needs to address.

Second, they may be afraid to reserve time slots for same-day appointments that never get filled. The lost opportunity cost of an unbooked time slot can be thousands of dollars, depending on the contractor’s net sale per lead issued, or NSLI.

Rather than focus on reasons why same-day home improvement sales appointments won’t work for them, contractors should understand why these quick turnarounds will create more sales revenue for their company.
 

Close Before Competitors Meet Customers

In a market where potential leads are increasingly difficult to generate, why wouldn’t you want to be the first contractor in the home to show off your products or service?

If you implement same-day appointments, you have a chance to replace canceled appointments with appointments that are very unlikely to be canceled.

The industry is full of chatter on the concept of speed-to-lead—the idea that it’s a race to contact a prospect and schedule an appointment within minutes. But, home improvement companies should equally focus on speed-to-sale—getting into the home as quickly as possible and before your competitors do. Set the lead today and close the deal today. It doesn’t get any more efficient than that.

Home improvement industry consultant Megan Beattie of Tony Hoty Training and Consulting says that potential customers who accept same-day appointments are more likely to make quick decisions and impulse purchases. “As a result, closing rates become substantially higher on leads set for the same day,” says Beattie. “Companies that close at 30-40% normally will usually see upwards of a 50-60% close rate on same-day appointments.”
 

Less Time for Sales Reps to Pre-Judge Leads

Count me in as someone who prefers sales consultants to know as little as possible about a lead before meeting with them. Even the most well-intentioned home improvement rep has biases that shape their sales performance and sales process in the home.

Same-day appointments allow for less time to make snap decisions about whether leads will purchase from you. There’s little opportunity to Google everything you could want to know about the neighborhood demographics, the homeowners, and the home itself when you’ve just been assigned a lead you have to run right away.

If a sales consultant has contact information and an address and knows the type of product the customer is interested in, that’s more than enough for them to be able to deliver a sales pitch that closes the same day.
 

Extremely Low Cancellation Rate

Appointment cancellations result in a lot of lost business opportunities, especially when customers make them at the last minute. Once that appointment slot time passes, it’s gone forever.

If you implement same-day appointments, you have a chance to replace those canceled appointments with same-day appointments that are very unlikely to be canceled.

“There is little chance these leads cancel after they are set,” says Beattie. “There is no time for life to happen and for something else to arise that’s more important than your visit.”

Beattie adds that “the customer usually has an urgent need if they’re willing to set an appointment for the same day."

This means fewer cancellations and a higher likelihood of selling the job that day.