According to Remodeling Magazine, 15-20% of sales appointments are one-leggers, or sales appointments with only one homeowner present. One-leggers are a challenging sale, to the point where some companies refuse to book one-leggers altogether. Rather than losing 20%+ of possible business, you can re-work your appointment setting script to prevent one-leggers before they happen!

Once your phone team has confirmed that a potential customer is interested in a sales appointment, adding one line to your script gives lets you ensure both homeowners will be present. Right after you ask for contact information and an address, after a customer is fully committed in their own mind to meeting your sales team, ask them this:

“And are you the sole homeowner?”

This question completely innocuous. By asking at the tail end of your conversation, you are posing a modest request after the customer has already mentally committed to the appointment. If the customer does have a co-owner, ask for their contact information as well. Then, call before the appointment to confirm that they will be present. By calling to confirm with both homeowners, you are giving your sales team the best possible odds to meet the whole family and close the sale in one meeting.

Don’t ask this question

Contractors often approach this question from the wrong direction. They ask early in their conversation with a prospective customer if their better half will be there. The trouble with asking “will your husband/wife be available?” is that those questions can be misconstrued. It’s very common for remodelers to get dinged with one-star Yelp rants over this, and nothing is more frustrating than getting a bad review from a non-customer!

With the right script, you are giving your phone reps the tools they need to be persuasive and book appointments with both homeowners present. Download our phone scripting guide below to improve your process and win more sales over the phone!