Welcome to the Barry Farah Show, serving you to sell more. Follow at Berry Farah. Hello, I hope you're doing well, and welcome back. Today's single skill is to explain what you found. Back in episode 10, we used the phrase, I found some things, you have some issues, but they're fixable. Then you stepped out to the truck to clean up, organize the pictures, and build the options. Now you're back at the table. And this is the moment when you explain what those things are. In just a minute, we're going to dive into the solutions, but first we need to explain the problem. If we skip this, the solution can feel arbitrary, expensive, or even premature. But if you explain the problem clearly, the solution begins to make sense. We're going to be direct, provide a complete explanation, and remain respectful. A quick note on demeanor: no drama, no apology, just a matter-of-fact tone that says, here is what I found. I've seen technicians and salespeople struggle here. You see this long list of these needed repairs or an expensive replacement, and you begin to hem and ah. You soften everything, you almost apologize for the findings as if the facts are your fault. That's not selling with integrity. You didn't create the problem. You were invited into their home to diagnose it. And if the system does have serious issues, you need to explain them. If the repair list is long, explain the list. If the equipment is sputtering toward the end of its useful life, say that plainly. Recall that integrity means whole or complete. You don't skip the problem or rush to the good, better, best packages. You serve the customer by explaining what's happening, why it matters, and what could happen if it's ignored. This is where the pictures and the videos help. Again, we're talking HVAC just to keep it simple, but this applies to any home service. If the coil is damaged, show the bent fins or the leak. If the capacitor has a bulging top cap, show it. If the contactor has pitted electrical points, show the video. If the insulation barely covers the floor joists, show that. Then explain what the picture means. A picture creates credibility, but the explanation creates understanding. You might say, see that swollen part right here? That shows that it's failing. You need it in order to start the motor. And that's enough. You're not twisting an arm or over-dramatizing. You're explaining something technical in plain, simple language. The picture is doing a whole lot of the convincing. This is not a performance, it's not a pressure move, it's just service. A strong explanation really has four pieces to it. Name what you found, show the evidence, explain what it means in normal language, and then explain why it matters. That keeps you in the advocate role and helps the customer see the situation clearly. Here's how that might sound. Got a comfort consultant that says, here's what I found. The system's running, but there are several issues we should talk through. I took some pictures so you can see exactly what I'm seeing. The customer will say, okay. And then the comfort consultant says, This first picture shows the condition of the coil. You can see where it's damaged here and where there's buildup here. When that happens, the system has to work a lot harder to move air and remove heat. Kind of pause. Nothing happens, then just keep going. This next picture shows the serial number and the age of the system. It's 18 years old. The average for this system, the average life for this system is 13. Also, do you see this measurement here on your attic insulation? It should come up to where my finger is on the tape measure. That gap between where it is and where it should be turns your attic into a heat reservoir, making your system work way too hard. Pause between these explanations. And here, like for example, if they asked, well, why is that? I thought heat always rises. Now that's great. They're engaged. Don't rush and don't condescend to them by how smart you are with all the things on heat. Just calmly explain. You're right with fluid and airflow. But with solid materials and direct contact, heat flows toward the cooler space in any direction, even downhill from your attic to your living room. Here's a diagram to show you what I mean. If you have to explain convection, radiation, and conduction, if that's what it takes to satisfy them, complete means you're prepared to answer even the engineer's type of questions. So the comfort consultant's finished all of that, and then he would say, So, before I walk you through the solutions, do you have any questions on the problem or the issues that need to be addressed? So you were truthful, you didn't minimize or inflate the problem. Integrity lives in accuracy. Say what's true. Show what you found and let the customer process the information. There's brain science behind this too. When the customer hears I found some things, a defensive reaction can kick in. They may think, how bad is this? Am I about to be manipulated? Clear pictures and solid explanations help lower that reaction so they can think clearly and assess the situation and make a good decision. I didn't always handle it this way. When I was selling siding to supplement some education costs, I thought showing the replacement samples was the ticket. But I skipped showing the customers where the current siding was peeling off. And only when I included proof of the problem did I become productive. So the micro steps here are simple. Explain the problem you found before the solution. Show the pictures, explain them in plain language. Connect each finding to some value like comfort or safety, reliability, efficiency, or just system life. Then pause before transitioning into the solutions. Here's a simple way to set things up. Before I walk through the options, let me show you what I found and what it means. That's simple. That gives the customer a roadmap. You're explaining the facts first and then the solutions. The takeaway is this you're not apologizing for what's true and you're not exaggerating. Explain it. Selling with integrity means we respectfully let the evidence speak. And then after the customer understands the problem, you're ready to present the solutions. Next time we're going to explain what a mandatory repair or a mandatory replacement is. And until then, tell the truth plainly, show what you found, and elevate the standard. I hope this helps you go out and make a difference today. Thank you for listening. Follow Barry Farah on your favorite podcast platform at Barry Farah.