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LeBlanc
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Issue 2 Winter 1997
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The Front Porch Change. For a small word, it is amazing the fear it can strike in our minds. While there are three constants in life, (death, taxes and change), few of us will accept any of them. Sometimes change is easy. We can change our hair color. We change our dress several times before we go out. Men will change a tie with ease. But most changes are avoided like the plague. These changes fall under the general category of "behavior modification". Does diet and exercise push your reject button? Top of page For those of us in the new home industry, we need to focus our attention on how to handle changes in an effortless manner. We deal with changes on several levels: Professional seminars to suggest different ways to deal with people as well as make us better at what we do. Product change. What worked yesterday isn’t selling today. We reach out to consultants for consumer and market information. Selling. Those of us who sell in this industry must always look for better ways to structure an effective sales presentation. Buyers.
Sometimes the people who make this industry possible are forgotten.
A change on housing is a traumatic experience. Think of your
moves over the years, I have had a few that I swear had a hex
placed on them! We are charged with making that change with
as little trauma as possible. In our last newsletter, I addressed the topic of sales agent evaluations and training. This, of course, is one way to identify what needs to be changed in our sales presentations. There have been many recent changes in the approach to new home sales. While our approach to buyers must be more ‘user friendly’, what we must avoid is throwing out the baby with the bath water. What we have done at LeBlanc & Associates is modify our evaluation reports to identify some of these changes. While still based upon the solid foundation skills of Critical Path selling, we have addressed other issues such as the whole purchase procedure. What comfort level is created for the buyer in the process? Product change is not always easy to accept. Some companies have had the foresight over the years to actively utilize exit surveys, focus groups, satisfaction surveys and other related marketing tools to fine tune their product. To constantly give the buyers a variation of the same old tired theme leaves a builder with standing inventory. We live in a world of instant gratification. If your product doesn’t grab their attention (visual and emotional), the buyers will go onto the next community to find their pleasure zone. Builders must constantly take the pulse of the buying market. It is crucial to not only know what they like, but also, why? Top of page For those of you who have resisted taking the steps to make these changes, we urge you to rethink your decisions. In today’s business world, we can’t afford the mindset of ‘we have no need of such services’. We all need to make changes. LeBlanc & Associates offers a comprehensive package of sales and marketing services to help you make some of these changes. When you are ready, give us a call. We would like to help you make those changes without the trauma. I hope you enjoy this edition of The Home Front. If you would like additional topics covered in later editions, or if you would like to be a contributor, please call, fax or e-mail your comments. Your input is important to our commitment to excellence! LeBlanc & Associates Sales
Agents Evaluations The
Home Front edited by Carol Michela Where to Find Great Salespeople by Dave Harding My friend and mentor, Dave Stone used to say that the clients of sales management are salespeople. Therefore, we should be always searching for more "clients". Wherever we can find enough of the best clients. Top of page Look
inward Your
existing customers have candidates to bring you more neighbors.
Unlike some, my preference was not to have salespeople selling
their own neighborhood. It is always beneficial to have these
salespeople sell their own builder, their own floor plans and
warranty program. If we accept that we are retailers of high-ticket
price items, we could adopt a retailer’s approach and have
discrete sign on site inviting interest for staffing our communities. Look
for staff where/when you look for customers Learn
by teaching Previous
staff? Hospitality
industry by
David Harding, Exchequer Consulting Corporation Design Center Front by Sheryl A. Chapman I
manage the Orange County design center for California Pacific
Homes in Newport Beach, CA. I am most fortunate to have my job.
It’s rewarding and versatile and I’ve been "at
it" here for over twelve years. I thought I would share my
philosophy about buyer expectations at the design center level. My philosophy has categories. All three are critical to successfully and consistently providing quality service to a home buying customer. Category A Design Center Staff, Environment and Structure: First: Believe in your Company’s customer service position as you manage your design center. Hear both sides of all issues that may arise on a daily basis. Don’t make snap decisions. Don’t spend hours placing blame. Understand fully, the product your company creates, (yes, I said creates), is a HOME. Shelter is one of the "biggies" in life’s basics. Truly understand homes are not a luxury, they are a personal, private necessity. Top of page Second: Hire people who agree with you. Hire people who like and care about other people. Hire people who like themselves. They are out there! Third: Work for builder who supports its design center and recognizes the marketing value of its design center. Good design centers are a back-up tool to selling a house. I love the following quote: "We are all bread from the management we are bread from." How you are managed and you manage should have compatible parity to achieve that winning combination for excellent service to a home buyer. Top of page Fourth: Don’t be commission driven! Don’t get greedy! Understand the big picture is the profit and contentment from the home sold, not the 30% you may margin out (or not) on a room option. Don’t lose the war to win a battle. Fifth: Listen to your employees. Listen to their ideas and specifically give them recognition for the accomplishments they achieve. Don’t say: "Jane, you are really doing a good job". Rather say, "Jane, you were instrumental in making sure the Wilson’s fireplace stone was the correct shade of caramel". Remember, specific comments for a job well done feels GOOD. Also, it keeps people motivated and happy to be working for you and your design center. Sixth: Get along with sales personnel who sell your homes. If you think they have an easy job, trade places with them for one weekend. You may be surprised! Top of page Category B Expectation Steps: We have the environment in place above. Now, here comes the customer for his/her first appointment at the design center: First: Understand this fact: People are not themselves when they buy a home. They "go back" or return to normality sometime after they close escrow. A home is not purchased in one day. It is usually purchased in a minimum 90 day time frame "process". On the emotional level, remember the home buyer has just "slapped down" $5,000 to $10,000 deposit on Saturday to buy his/her dream home. On Sunday they wake up with what is commonly referred to as "buyer’s remorse". They are scared, grumpy, cautious, skeptical, suspicious, vulnerable, excited, apprehensive and guess what, they have to visit the builder’s design center by next Saturday, Yikes! Second: What are their expectations? Do they know? Do you? If we understand step #1 above, that people are not themselves, we have already met one expectation before we ever met our customer. This single understanding is critical in the service process. Third: What does the home buyer NEED? What does the home buyer WANT? By my analyzing your "needs", I don’t have any idea about what you may "want". If I am incorrect, any remote chance I had to bond with you is diminished before either one of us got to first base. Let’s take that thought to an appointment with Don and Mary Brown. You read their profile: he’s an attorney, she is an interior designer, no children, purchased a home with a sales price of $560,000. Top of page Here’s what some design centers may presume these customers NEED... Act like you are used to people like them. Have exotic tiles and wood out, anticipating they will want those. Act
as though you can presume what options they don’t want to
hear about. A complete breakdown of all option prices on one sheet of paper (prepared in advance). A thorough explanation by you, about you, your compensation, your company, "what we will cover today." Concern,
eye contact, control, the best value products and ready to speak
about all related benefits because you believe what you are saying
and believe in what you are selling. Fourth: The Cattle Call How
many times have you caught yourself asking or visiting this question?
"What project did you buy in?", "Do you know your
lot number and your phase?", "What stage of construction
is your lot in?" It’s rather hard and generic if we
relate to the fact these questions we are asking are about this
person’s heart-earned new home. Put yourself in the home
buyer’s shoes. Pretend like this house, 23 Strawberry Lane
is YOUR new home. Pretend like you just paid $10,000 down to buy
it. Now that you are pretending, ask yourself how someone in your
builder’s design center could have the audacity to say to
you, "If you cannot decide today on the cherry cabinets,
we will just have to standard cabinets in your house." Is
this what they WANT to hear? What about saying the same thing
this way? "You know, your new neighborhood is filled with
couples very near you ages. Five of the people buying a home on
your street selected cherry cabinets. We really need to order
the cabinets your home very soon. If cherry is what you WANT,
is there a way you can make that decision today?" If not,
may I call you in the morning, after you have had tonight to think
the price over?" My obvious point here is, it’s all
in the delivery. It’s all about having the ability to mirror
with others to the extent you can actually put yourself in their
shoes. Just care, it’s Home! Category C Human Balance Here are five helpful hints from my design center heart experiences: Remember there is humor in everything. Don’t give up, occasionally give in. Be prepared for changes in attitudes, latitudes and mankind, every minute of every day. Remember a house is just a house until you sprinkle some of your own spice upon it and help someone make it a home. Be
honest. The truth is easy to remember.
Observational Research - A Coming Trend by Joanne Berson What a novel ideal! Listening to the consumer has brought a tremendous amount of insight over the years. Companies, both large and small, have spent thousands of dollars on qualitative research. Focus groups and in-depth interviews have traditionally served valuable tact into the explicit and conscious. Top of page In contrast, observational research, generally defined as ethnographic studies that focus on consumer, plumb tacit or unconscious behavior and attitudes. The client receives much greater depth of information with observational research - often what’s most useful is the unconscious behavior and attitudes. How do you decide whether observational research is the way to go for your project? Ask yourself: Do traditional qualitative methods leave "holes" in your understanding of the consumer? Will a focus group setting limit your understanding of the "environment" of use? Top of page Are there other cultural factors that might have impact on this product/service that must be studied? Have
you tried traditional methods without success? by
Joanne Berson, This site designed and hosted by Expedionet,
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