GarageDoorBossPro Blog — Running a Garage Door Business

Selling a Yearly Tune-Up Plan at the End of a Garage Door Repair Call

The best time to offer a tune-up plan is right after a repair. The door is working again, the customer is relieved, and they have just been reminded that garage doors do break. A tech who says a few honest words at that moment will sign up more plan customers than any postcard.

The Moment After the Fix

What goes into a plan and how it is priced is covered in Building Tune-Up Plan Revenue in a Garage Door Business. This article is about the conversation that gets customers onto it.

Most techs do not think of themselves as salespeople, and they should not have to be. The goal is not a pitch. It is a short, true explanation of what the plan is and why it might help, offered once, with no pressure. Customers can tell the difference.

What the Tech Can Say

Give your techs a few lines in their own words. Something like:

• “While I was here I looked over the rest of the door. Rollers are getting worn but they have some time left.”
• “A lot of folks put the door on our yearly tune-up so we come back and check everything once a year. It's $129 and plan customers get a reduced service call if anything breaks.” (Use your own price and perks.)
• “No pressure. I'll leave a note and the office can set it up if you want.”

That is enough. Honest, specific, no scare tactics. Never tell a customer their door is about to fail if it is not.

Show, Do Not Just Tell

The door safety inspection checklist on the tech app is a good tool here. On a repair call the tech can run through springs, cables and drums, rollers, hinges and brackets, tracks, balance, the auto-reverse safety test, photo-eye sensors, opener force and limits and the rest, set a condition, and write recommendations. The office can print a Garage Door Safety Inspection report for the homeowner.

A customer holding a report that says “Needs attention: rollers worn, bottom seal cracked” understands why a yearly visit makes sense. Before and after photos from the job help too.

Make Signing Up Easy

The pitch fails if signing up is a hassle. There are a few easy paths:

• On the spot. If the customer says yes, the tech notes it on the job and the office adds the plan as recurring work every 365 days. If there is a card on file from the repair, the visit can be charged when it is completed next year.
• From the customer app. Customers can sign up for services and pricing, such as a yearly tune-up plan, and update their card themselves.
• From your website. A sign-up form with card capture flows into Form Responses, and one click converts a sign-up into a client.

Whichever path, the first tune-up visit comes due on its own and shows on the Waiting List map when it is due.

After Installs, Too

A new opener or a new door is a natural reason for a plan. The customer just made a real investment and wants it to last. Mention the tune-up when the job is done and include it in the install estimate as an optional line so the customer sees it before they approve. The equipment from the install is already saved on the house, so the first tune-up tech sees exactly what was put in.

Follow Up Without Nagging

Not everyone says yes on the spot. When the tech leaves a note like “Interested in tune-up plan, call next week,” the office can send a short text through two-way texting a few days later. One friendly follow-up is fine. Three is too many.

Tagging customers who were offered a plan and declined lets you try again in a natural moment, such as their next repair call, without bothering them in between.

Keep the Offer Consistent

Customers notice when one tech offers the plan and another never mentions it. Put the tune-up plan, its price and its perks in writing, and make sure every tech and the office describe it the same way. A tune-up plan on the service list means the price on the sign-up, the estimate and the invoice always match. If you change the perks, tell the whole team the same day so nobody promises last year's version to a new customer.

Reward Techs Fairly

If you want techs to offer plans, consider a small bonus for each plan they sign. Keep it modest so nobody is tempted to oversell. Track plan sign-ups by tech through the jobs and notes in the system, and mention good work at the weekly meeting. Plans signed today become steady visits next year, and repeat customers are more likely to leave reviews, which is the subject of Getting More Reviews for a Garage Door Company Without Pestering Customers.

To see how plans, the safety checklist and the customer app connect, visit the GarageDoorBossPro garage door business software page.