It’s a few weeks away – that season that keeps Atlantic and Gulf Coast residents and businesses on their toes: Atlantic Hurricane Season. Thankfully, the 2015 season forecasts issued by The Weather Channel and Colorado State predict the number of named storms to stay lower than the historical averages. These forecasts are likely to make it a bit harder on those industries, such as home repair and improvement, that typically see a spike in sales right before and during hurricane season. These industries will probably see prospects separate into two categories: grasshoppers and ants.

What’s This About Grasshoppers and Ants?

Those of you who love Aesop know what I’m talking about when it comes to grasshoppers and ants. In his fable, The Ant and the Grasshopper, Aesop teaches us an important moral: “It is best to prepare for the days of necessity.” The grasshopper plays away his summer days and enjoys himself instead of storing up food for the winter. Meanwhile, the ants work hard to get prepared. When winter arrives, the grasshopper sees the ants distributing their food each day to members of the mound while he, the grasshopper, goes hungry.

When calling homeowners and business owners about hurricane preparedness, you don’t want to necessarily share this story and scare them to death. However, you may want to have a script with questions and calls-to-action that appeal to each type. Plus, you will want to score these leads accordingly to prevent spending too much time on either.

Grasshoppers

It’s important that your script help you identify if you’ve got a grasshopper on the line and why he or she is a grasshopper. Perhaps there are budgetary issues. Maybe they are anticipating an upcoming move. However, many of these leads will be grasshoppers because they read the 2015 season predictions. A forecast of fewer storms coupled with never being hit by a storm lulls many people into a false sense of security. Consider these points in your call script:

  • “Fewer storms” doesn’t mean “lower intensity storms.” Have peace of mind through preparedness.
  • It’s less costly to prepare rather than rebuild. Here’s how we are better/less costly/quicker than the competition.
  • Even areas that don’t receive a direct strike, damage can occur from winds, rain, and flooding. It’s time to get any of those areas that are weak or damaged fixed before a hurricane makes it worse. Why not let us come out and give your house an inspection and free estimate?

If none of these reminders and helpful hints sway the grasshopper lead, add them to a lead nurturing campaign that keeps you on their radar throughout the year. During the hurricane season, you could send updates on the top products for preventing certain types of damage, what they should have in their preparedness kit, and more.

With grasshoppers, it’s all about educating them on what could happen and reminding them that the past isn’t always a great way to gauge what will happen in the future.

Ants

Those leads that fall into the ant category don’t necessarily need to hear all the things that a grasshopper does. In fact, the ants probably come to you or your competitors because they know they need to be ready. With ants, you don’t waste your time reminding them about how “fewer storms” doesn’t mean “less damaging storms.” Ants know this. They want to be prepared. Your sales scripts and emails need to highlight what separates your business from the competition.

The key to connecting with the ants is to:

  1. Respond to their inbound and online inquiries quickly.
  2. Listen for their questions online via Twitter, Google Alerts, and other social media platforms and forum sites.
  3. Reach out to past customers and prospects to check in and see how you can help them prepare this year. Ideally you should have them in a yearly email drip lead nurturing campaign building up to the start of the season.

Are You an Ant or a Grasshopper?

We’ve covered how to approach customers who may be ants and grasshoppers, but what about you? Are you prepared for selling to these two types of potential customers? Start your pre-season calling campaign off strong: take a VanillaSoft free trial. Our software will ensure you call the right lead at the right time and help you nurture leads that are not quite ready to buy.