Meeting Customer Demands in the Trenches

Meeting Customer Demands in the Trenches

Jack Tester
Nexstar Coaching Manager

Homeowners and businesses across the country are replacing their clogged and disintegrating sewer mains while their landscaping stays in tact. In fact, plumbing contractor sales are going up because trenchless technology and techniques are going down-under.

Until recently, homeowners shied away from taking the plunge into sewer pipe repair because it was a messy and costly endeavor often involving multiple contractors in plumbing, excavating and landscaping trades.

Traditional trenching used to be the only solution for sewer pipe replacement, but now, trenchless pipe lining and bursting technology has hit the scene. Trenchless pipe replacement has great opportunity for homeowners to preserve their landscaping and street appeal while offering contractors a new business opportunity. Surprisingly, I’m finding the industry is not fluent in trenchless. Like homeowners, contractors have shied away from it because of the investment in new equipment and training to do it, including trained sales personnel who can talk the talk and explain the options and build trust among homeowners to earn the sale.

Pipe bursting is the easiest underground sewer pipe replacement technique to employ but not without thorough training. There remains a degree of risk that the pipe will still have to be dug due to unforeseen anomalies. Training will reduce that risk. You dig one or two access holes and run a wire rope lead through the old pipe. Attach a splitter head or bullet to one end. The new plastic pipe attaches to the splitter head. Pull the new pipe through on the other end and split the old one. This process maintains the same or one size larger diameter as the old pipe.

Pipe lining is more complicated. A resin-coated felt sleeve is pulled into the old sewer line and compressed against the pipe wall by an air-filled bladder. The bladder holds the felt in place until the resin cures. There are no joints and the life expectancy of the piping material is 50 years. The old pipe must be somewhat in tact for this process to work. The benefit is that often no access pits need to be dug.

We all know that when pipes reach 30 years, homeowners can start to have problems such as offsets with tree root intrusion. That’s why homes built in the 1970’s and earlier are a good target market because they’re due for inspection, which often leads to a trenchless sale.

Trenchless is a “win-win” for your customer and your business. As the coaching manager for Nexstar®, I help member companies across the country reap what they sow underground. They are learning how to sell sewer replacement through Nexstar’s proprietary training system and as a result, their pipe business is bursting and revenues are increasing at a dramatic pace. They are pulling sales of the future into sales today.

Remember that there is value in trenchless, so it’s important contractors convey the value and price accordingly.

Nexstar’s field practice system of showing the homeowner the condition of their line on a sewer camera is key to trenchless sales. When a call comes in for a backed up sewer main, a technician is promptly dispatched along with the field supervisor for the sewer division, to the customer’s home. They try to arrive at the home together and set up a camera to show the homeowner what’s causing the stoppage. If the problem is anything but an accidental flushing of a foreign object, they will likely recommend line replacement. The supervisor will offer both trench and trenchless replacement, but most often, after seeing how quick and non-disruptive underground repair and replacement is, a customer will opt for trenchless.

Trenchless creates a pipeline for profit, so seize the opportunity!

Jack Tester is Coaching Manager for Nexstar Network®, a world class business development and best practices organization that provides business training, systems and support to independent home service providers in the plumbing, electrical and HVAC trades. Nexstar members get rapid results, guided by experienced coaches, surefire systems and incredible peer connections. For more information, visit www.nexstarnetwork.com.