TLC

SELLING RRP IS EASIER WHEN YOU
CREATE A SERVICE IDENTITY

Your success depends on how you present yourself to the marketplace. It makes sense that every business that wants to embrace the RRP lead containment rule needs to create a service identity. To help their contractors, AWDI created a the TLC® service identity — registered as a Certification Mark —enjoying the same status as Energy Star, UL Labs and other marks that stand for a proper way of doing business. Certification Marks are licensed for use and require commitment by the licensee to perform services in strict accordance with the Certification mark’s standards. The RRP Certification Mark and in-home identity like TLC Service Provider as an example of how we recommend you identify the business in the marketplace and using something like this as a sales tool.

The T and the L and the C, stand for Total Lead Containment, TLC sounds a lot like "Tender Loving Care." It's an ideal way to be a little more warm and fuzzy to consumer when you start talking about the things that you are going to do to protect their home and their children, etcetera.

Once you create an identity like that, it becomes easier to create a pitch, a presentation built around TLC service. The RRP Business Manual from AWDIincludes a sample of a presentation built around TLC in the Appendix as an example. The points are made about Total Lead Containment, 100% family protection. Picture of mom, dad, and the kids, talking about how you as a company care about their health, care about their welfare. You are the kind of company that they should be dealing with, because you are not only going to protect the investment of their home, bring them other advantages through from your products, but you are also going to care about the health and safety of the people who live there.

You are have to talk about the new containment and cleaning requirements, because as you know, you are required to deliver the Renovate Right Brochure to every prospect in their home, where the home potentially contains lead. The EPA wants every owner and occupant of a pre-1978 dwelling that they may be exposed to toxic levels of lead and your work may make raise the danger level while you work. Use this to your advantage as much as possible. If there is a danger, you are the one who can mitigate it and remove it. The brochure makes the case for you that the lead was there before you came, and that you would be the one who can remove it.

Because you are EPA Certified and and offer TLC Service, you will get your customer to trade their worry for confidence. And you explain that lead really is an issue, and that while they cannot see it, lead dust contamination is serious. Use a Sweet'N Low packet to demonstrate that if you had the same amount of lead dust in that packet as there is Sweet'N Low powder in there, and you spread that in a house doing the renovation, that amount of dust would contaminate 25,000 square feet of living space. 25,000!

Explain that chips are not good, but the dust is the most toxic state for lead, and dust is easily created every single day - not just when renovations disturb parts of the home. Explain to them that, for instance, when operating windows, (because there's friction of sliding them up, down, over), significant amounts of lead dust is created every time that the sash slides. 

Having seen how much powder is in the packet, it's not hard to imagine that opening and closing their windows on a daily basis is contaminating their house in a large way and therefore, they should be considering TLC service as an example. And help them understand that children like to suck on windowsills and other lead coated materials because lead tastes sweet.

To put your customer at ease, explain everything as a positive situation. Like any home improvement, you are offering to eliminate the problem (energy loss, old plumbing, inefficient kitchen layout, leaking sink - etc.) and provide a long-lasting solution. That's why they called you. Dealing with the presence of lead dust is not different. You are the professional who is going to solve the problem and provide the long lasting solution.

Explain everything you can in positive detail. They will be impressed. And, it's important for them to understand the complexity, and why a professional is needed. It's a comfort to know what is going to happen, and that the solution is available to them.

This is a powerful approach. AWDI has included a sample 10 point presentation on TLC for window replacement in their RRP Business Manual. Also included is a brochure concept on TLC. The idea is to walk the family through the discovery and the process resulting in total peace of mind. Something similar can be made for any home improvement project requiring RRP.

The point will be made, that in addition to the home improvement they desire, they are also getting priceless peace of mind for their family.


WINDOW FITTERS GUILD — AWDI, LLC.
11231 US HIGHWAY ONE - SUITE 382
NORTH PALM BEACH, FL 33408
561-935-6572 — FAX 561-420-0142
info@awdi.com