Do you sell laptops but you find it difficult to convince customers to pay extra for warranties? If YES, here are 11 tips on how to sell warranties on laptops. Warranties can be said to be pledges made by product manufacturers to repair or replace products in the event of damage.
Though most products like electronics, cars and other such valuables usually come with manufacturer’s warranty that protects the products against damage for a certain period of time, but these days, product retailer now offer extended warranty in addition to what manufacturers offer.
What is an Extended Warranty?
An extended warranty, sometimes called a service agreement, a service contract, or a maintenance agreement, is a prolonged warranty offered to consumers in addition to the standard warranty that is provided by manufacturers on new items.
The extended warranty may be offered by the warranty administrator, the retailer or the manufacturer. Warranties which are sold through retailers such as Best Buy and other related stores may include significant commission for the retailer as a result of reverse competition.
Extended warranties come with a lot of benefits such as they allow consumers to avoid the anxiety and financial loss due to an unexpectedly high repair bill. Second, if a product breaks, consumers do not have to invest time to search for a company to undertake the repairs, they can easily take it back to the retailers.
Again, if the product cannot be repaired due to extensive damage, if it just packed up or blew up, it will be replaced. Extended warranties also mitigate the concern of consumers being “ripped off” on the repair, because service companies have an incentive to fix the problem efficiently.
But despite these awesome benefits, customers are very skeptical when presented with the chance to purchase extended warranties for their devices, like computers. Even now, there are plenty of mixed views as to how worthwhile it is for consumers to pay for something they might never need, or already be covered.
While there have been unscrupulous activities in the past with regards to the sale of extended warranties, but today, these services are scrutinized far more closely than ever before, and not just by consumers. Reputable warranty providers are authorized and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, which means that consumers are protected against fraudulent and mis-sold policies.
The policies must deliver on their promises, and these are required to be clear and transparent and be sold correctly. Regarding the skepticism people have when they are faced with the idea of buying extended warranties, it now behooves on you, the seller to know the best approach to sell your warranties.
If you are a sales person selling something like computers and you are not having much luck, or are even afraid to broach the topic of extended warranties to your customers, we have provided you some tips that will enable you better market these extended protection services that come with your computers.
How to Successfully Sell Warranties on Laptops to Customers
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Tell every customer about the plan
There is not use assuming that your customers that are buying computers would not agree to buy the warranty plan that comes with it without even telling them about it. Your job is to sell these plans to every customer that makes a purchase from you.
Some customers may be more skeptical than others, and some people will say No out of habit, but many people are open to the idea of buying a warrantee, providing they’re not already covered by another insurance plan, and the proposition makes sense and has clear benefits, then they will go for it. The key here is to tell every single customer about extended warranty and not make unfounded assumptions.
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Convince them that they need it
Yes, some customers need to some conviction before they agree that they need something. This is where your skills as a salesperson come into play. You should show them what they are losing and what they stand to gain if they buy the plan.
For example, lets assume that you are dealing with a $200.00 laptop with a factory warranty of 90 days labor and one year on parts with a $75.00 ESP for 3 years. You can tell the customer, “So Sir, are you saying that you would rather spend $200.00 twice for a total of $400.00 and still end up with only 90 days of warranty?”
“Doesn’t $2.08 ($75.00 over 36 months) per month make more sense than $11.11 per month to know that it will always perform at peak efficiency? And, if at any time it’s not repairable, we’ll throw it away for you and the next one is on us.”
It depends on how you make your argument, but if your pitch is presented convincingly, you will always make a sale.
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Timing is everything
It’s no good ‘reminding’ someone that you can offer them a five-year service plan for a few extra pounds when they’re at the till paying for their computer. In order to make customers feel comfortable with the idea that they may have to pay a bit more for extra protection, and to allow enough time to show the benefits of extended warranty properly, you need to bring it into the conversation early, usually around the time you start to get interest on the product you’re demonstrating.
Try it. Don’t spring it on customers suddenly but test them first, see how receptive they are. If you get your timing right, you are more likely to make a sale.
4. See the warranties in the same light as the product
It is very beneficial for you to think of your extended warranty in the same way you would see a boxed product a customer can take off the shelf and pay for at the till. It may sound too simple, but you need to remind yourself that an extended warranty has features and benefits the same as anything else on your shop floor, so as you sell the benefits, link them back to your customers’ needs and manage their objections.
Selling your warranties would be easier if you view them as shop products that need it be sold. At least, it would give you better motivation.
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Make use of special promotions
Another tip you can employ to sell warranties with computers is to utilize special promotions. You can use special promotions to force you and your team to include Protection Plans in the sales process. You can create a promotion that will enable customers to get the warranty for 50% off if you didn’t offer it before check out.
You will definitely get an increase in sales rate because your salespeople will know that if they didn’t present the Protection Plan, the cost would be charged against their commission. After a few people are penalized, other sales people would sit up.
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Believe in the warrantee you have for sale
You need to believe in your warrantee to close more sales. If you don’t, you won’t build trust with your customers, and you will only close sales based on fear and pressure. Believe it or not, but customers would know if you do not trust the warranty you are selling to them.
To increase your trust in the extended warranty you are selling, you may have to ask your warranty department for feedback on customer claims. When you hear about “real-life” experiences customers have had, it will give the confidence that the program you are selling has value.
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Be professional
Industry research has proven that 25% of customers who come into your store will purchase an extended warranty if it is offered to them in a positive and professional manner. So, as a salesperson, you need to be professional when approaching your customers. You must know all about the warrantee you are offering, and try as much as possible not to pressure your customers.
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Be familiar with the prices
It’s amazing how many times salespeople will try to close the customer on the sale of protection plans without knowing the actual price. Of course it’s one of the top questions most customers will ask, right after “what does it cover” or statements like “those things are a rip off” or “no thanks”. The sales person just stands there with a stunned look on their face, and no idea what to say other than “it’s a good deal, can I write it up for you?”
To prevent this from happening, you must know the price of what you are offering. As an aid, you can post the price on the product specification card. Even better, quote the computer with a Protection Plan as a total solution (warranty, cables, install) and then quote it again as a monthly payment. It makes the purchase seem much more reasonable for the customer.
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Know what is covered and what is not
If you don’t know the features, and most importantly the benefits of the warrantee you are offering, there is no way you can appear credible to your customer. Customers make purchase decisions based on emotion, and trust in you as a sales consultant – they have to “feel” what will happen if they purchase the plan. Also, they need to “feel” what the pain might be if they don’t. But most importantly, they need to like you and trust you.
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Present the plan to the buyer as soon as possible
If you want to be effective at selling extended warranty plans, you must never wait till the last minute before introducing the plans to your customer. If you want to really rock at selling warrantee plans, you need to take the consultative sales approach and lead the customer to their buying decision.
It makes no sense to chase a customer into the parking lot to close the warrantee sale. It would not only irritate the customer, but show you off as being unprofessional. Practice your pitch – role play with your fellow salespeople on how to present the core product and the related services. You need to be knowledgeable, trustworthy, and credible.
11. Don’t look desperate
There is this thing about desperation that puts people off. If you are desperate to sell your warrantee plan, you customers would sense that either the computer you are trying to sell them is defective in some way, or you are trying to rip them off with the warrantee.
Either ways, you can easily lose not only the sale of the warrantee, but the sale of the computer too. You just need to present the facts as it is, showing off all the merits of the plan, then leave the customer to make his or her decision. Trying to be a hardball might rebound on you.
Some Customer’s Objections to Buying Warranties And How To Tackle Them
If you have been a sales person for sometime, you must have come across the various ways customers object to the sale of a warrantee. Here are ways to tackle some of those objections.
a. It’s not in my budget
This is one of the common things people say when they come to buy computers and they are presented with a warrantee plan. Yes, it may not have been in their budget, but that does not mean that they cannot afford it. You can approach the situation by telling them;
“Sir, I believe your budget is designed to control costs. If you get this warrantee, you will never be surprised by an unexpected repair bill.”
b. I may not keep this computer that long
Some customers may say that they will not keep the product for the length of the warrantee. This is where you should remind them that the protection clause is transferable. You can say;
“Sir, the ESP is transferable which can actually add to the value of the system at sale time.”
c. I think the manufacturer’s warranty is enough
Be assured that quite a few people will raise this objection, and in all honesty, it is a valid assumption. But you need to remind the customer that not all parts of the computer are protected in the manufacturers warrantee. You can say;
“Sir, let me show you the parts that are not covered in the manufacturers “limited” warranty.” “With my ESP there are no parts exclusions.”
d. I’m thinking about moving out of the area
Customers think that if they move, they would no longer have access to the warrantee they purchased. This is where you get to dispel this thought by telling them affiliate store they can visit and present their warranties if they run into any issue. You can say;
“Sir, our plan is covered by over 12,000 affiliate shops in all 50 states of the united states.