Chapter One: Marketing

Marketing any product or service is the key to success. This chapter provides the required information on how to establish a solid foundation from which to grow. Information is provided on creating a business plan and establishing rapport with clients. The author reviews and explains a variety of marketing tools such as networking, trade associations and direct mail. The chapter explains the pitfalls of advertising. It also provides useful information on what sort of service business is best suited for you and how best to build your business quickly.

Chapter Two: Customer Sales

This chapter contains valuable information on selling. It explains who to contact, what to say, how to inspect for bidding purposes, how much to charge and how to recognize Closing Signals. It further explains how to overcome common objections, price various types of jobs, and how to develop a dependable repeat customer base.

Chapter Three: Telephone Sales

Mr. Ackland is a highly successful telemarketer. He passes on over thirty years experience, explaining in clear easy-to-follow language, what to say, what to listen for, and who to talk to. This chapter provides scripts of telemarketing dialogue for the reader to either simply read or modify for local conditions. Information is also included on how to overcome objections and handle complaints over the phone.

Chapter Four: Complaints

In any business, but especially in the service industry, complaints will arise from time to time. The ability of the owners and staff to quickly and smoothly deal with complaints will not only help maintain your market but also prove to your customers that they have found a company that really is concerned about serving them. This is will keep them loyal to you for years to come. This chapter give straight talk about complaints, what are their hidden causes, how to overcome them, why they are one of your best marketing tools, and how to turn a disadvantage into an advantage.

Chapter Five: Bidding Forms

For any company paperwork is a necessary evil, but with the forms in this book you can have a clean, easily understood paper trail for every job. Included is a System Information Sheet which itemizes the various components of an exhaust system, a Cleaning Proposal Form which ensures you are covering all of your bases when bidding a job, a Job Service Report which explains both what the crew is supposed to do and what the crew did do. Over the years these forms will come to represent a history of your customer base and prove to be a very valuable asset for a number of reasons, find out why in the conclusion of this chapter.

This professionally printed 115+ page bound manual is printed as a companion to Phil Ackland's Kitchen Exhaust Cleaning and Certification Manual. Together the set provides a well rounded reference library of practical information on selling and servicing commercial exhaust systems. However, this book will be a valuable addition to anyone in the service industry, regardless of what service they provide.