Does Time in Home Matter? Closers Spend 2 Hours on Average

To better understand how the length of home visits relates to sales success, the Rilla team analyzed 62,685 conversations between September 1, 2023, and March 19, 2024.

The data showed a strong correlation between more time in the home and closed sales, with successful sales reps going well past the average home visit length of unsuccessful reps.

These professionals in the home remodeling industry were tasked with helping homeowners with big-ticket projects, such as replacing siding, windows, or roofing and doing complete bath or kitchen remodels.

So, at what point does the typical sales call turn into success? We share the breakdown here.

The Average Sales Call Is Not Enough

The first thing we can see from the data is that an average sales call for reps without a sale is 1 hour and 24 minutes.

Of the conversations we studied, 41,911 fell into this “not sold” bucket. It was the larger bucket in our study, with most sales reps not making sales at this average in-home visit length.

But when the average visit length was extended to 2 hours and 1 minute — just 30% longer — real change began to happen. This is the average visit length for the "sold" bucket — reps who were able to close a sale while inside the customer's home.

What It Takes to Stay in the Home

Home service sales are largely consultative, and conversations with the customer can be the difference maker. But it's not just what your reps say that results in a close; it's how they say it. Factors that turn a “no sale” into a “sale” include:

• Taking more time to listen to the customer
• Tailoring the message to the problems at hand
• Following the proven sales process provided by their trainers

By doing these things, sales reps appear more authentic, earn trust, and naturally extend the length of their sales calls.

Consider that the difference between the “sold” and “not sold” averages is just 37 minutes. For most reps, this is not a big deal. It may be the time it takes to thoroughly tour the home, ask additional questions, and — most of all — listen to what the homeowner is saying.

More Industries Can Benefit

Our research is clear: Longer visits matter for those selling windows or updating an outdated roof. They also matter for other service industry experts, such as HVAC teams and comfort advisors, who spend the majority of their customer service time inside a home.

If an industry does the bulk of its sales within the walls of a customer's home or garage, it's likely to benefit from longer sales calls.

Increase Home Visits the Right Way

Sales trainers and managers already know the tell-tale signs of a successful sales call, including longer customer talk time. It may mean following a specific sales process for different problems or even knowing the right upsells to make without coming across as unsympathetic.

These are nuanced situations, but there’s a right way to sell. A manager ride-along can often spot these opportunities and provide real-time feedback, helping to convert these "no sale" buckets to high-ticket sales.

Most companies don't have the time or resources for frequent ride-alongs, especially after initial onboarding. If there is time for one, it's likely focused on newer reps. More established reps who could use additional mentoring are left out of potential upskilling.

Rilla solves this problem by recording your reps’ sales calls and analyzing them according to your unique sales process. It helps you find missed opportunities in sales calls to focus on for future training. It's scalable for teams of all sizes and offers a more consistent and affordable experience than ride-alongs.

For example, it helps measure talk time, a top missed opportunity in a shortened sales call.

Is the customer getting a chance to be heard? Is the rep doing all the talking?

By adjusting this single metric, calls can be extended, and customers can feel a part of the process. (This is just one opportunity to discover.)

Ready to extend home visit time and turn those missed sales into wins? Read other customer stories on how to make your reps the best in the industry.