How to Sell Double Glazing in Today's Market, When Every Window Looks the Same

There are two brochures on the kitchen table before you've sat down. Same white uPVC, same A-rated glass, and a page about chambers and U-values nobody's read past the first line. The kettle's on. You've got about two minutes before she asks what yours cost.

That's double glazing now.

If you want to know how to sell double glazing in today's market, start by accepting that your window isn't going to win it for you. Every decent company in the area can fit a good window. The one that wins finds out why this family wants new windows, this year, and sells them that. A warm front room. Knowing the house is secure at night. A home they're proud to pull up outside. The frames and the glass are just how you get them there.

Nobody cares about frame thickness

I've been selling home improvements for more than 40 years, and I'll be honest with you, windows are a harder sell than most. Rip out a 1980s window, put a new white one in, and unless you've got a trained eye you'd hardly notice from the pavement.

So reps fill the gap with spec. Multi-chamber profiles, warm edge spacers, locking points. All true. And the customer's eyes glaze over, because they don't care about any of it. They care about what's in it for them.

Most salespeople sell the flight. The customer's buying the destination.

Be the doctor first

A doctor who reaches for the prescription pad the second you sit down is dangerous. A good one asks what's wrong first. Windows are no different.

"Can you quote me for some windows?" is the surface. Underneath there's always a reason, and you won't find it with a tape measure. So ask. "What's got you thinking about changing them now?" You'll usually get "They're old and a bit draughty." Don't accept that and start measuring. "Tell me about the draughts. Which rooms? Describe what the front room's like on a January evening."

Now you're getting somewhere. The mum who won't sit in the bay in winter. Condensation running down the bedroom glass every morning. The patio door that sticks so badly they've stopped using it. That's gold, and they've just handed it to you. Pick up every bit.

What people really buy windows for

Strip it back and I find it's nearly always warmth, security or pride.

Warmth is the obvious one, but let them say it. I might say, "So at the moment you're heating the room, and a fair bit of it's going straight back out through the glass. You're heating the sky, really." Then ask how that sits with them when the bill lands.

Security is the one reps forget. If the old windows are beaded on the outside, I'll ask, "Has anyone ever mentioned that with the beads on the outside, someone could pop them off and lift the glass straight out?" Some people know. Plenty don't. Either way the conversation's moved off plastic and on to whether the family's sleeping safe at night. That's a transformation, even if nobody can see it from the road.

And pride. If they're going from white to grey or black, now you've got something they can see. Never tell them the house looks tatty. Take a picture of the front, show them what it'll look like in the new colour, and walk them outside. "Have a look at the house. Now have a look at this. What do you think?" Then keep quiet and let them look.

Park the price for a minute

Everyone says price matters, and it does. So I park it. "Let's set price to one side for a minute. Other than price, what's the most important thing for you in choosing who does this?"

If they're stuck, help them. Fitting dates? Style? A company with the reviews to show for it? If they haven't read your reviews, read them together on your phone. Do their homework with them.

And turn your statements into questions. Don't tell them yours are the best windows on the market. Ask, "Are you after the best windows on the market?" Half the time you'll hear "No, we just want a good solid window at a fair price." Lovely. Now you know exactly what you're selling, and you didn't have to guess.

Frame it like you've come to do business

Customers expect a window rep to measure up, leave a price and ring three times. So the get out of jail card's out before you're through the door: "You can measure up, but we're not deciding anything today."

Fine. Agree with it, then frame the appointment. "I've come to do business with you today, and I also understand some people like to think things over. Is that fair?" Then: "If you see what you like, from a company you trust, at a price that works and in a timeframe that suits, are you the sort of people who'd make a decision?" If they say yes to that and you still drive off with nothing, the ball got dropped somewhere, and it usually wasn't by them.

That's the Frame step in the 7 Steps to Sales Mastery. Most window reps skip it.

If there are two of them, give them a bit of space too. A lot of "we'll think about it" really means "we haven't had a minute to talk without you sat there." Pop out to the van for ten minutes to sort your drawings. Often they only need to look at each other and nod.

A home improvement sales rep I coach, in the first four days of one August, ran 15 appointments and made 10 sales, 8 of them on the day, £50k in sales.

That's one person's result, not a promise. But it shows what can happen when a rep stops leading with the product and sticks to a proper structure.

Where most window reps go wrong

They blame the market. Customers can get three prices without leaving the sofa. That's only a problem if you look the same as the other two. Measure up, talk frames, leave a number, and you're one line on their spreadsheet. The cheapest line usually wins.

Talk about their house, their family, their winter. Make them tell you why it matters. Nobody can compare you like for like on a conversation the other firms never had.

If you'd like to see where your double glazing sales are leaking, take the free 2-minute Sales Leak Assessment and book a free 30-minute discovery call.