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LeBlanc
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Issue 4 Summer 1998
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The Front Porch The Front Porch Are we listening? During the course of everyday life, I observe the need of good listening skills in our society. It is evident everywhere. In the supermarkets, department stores, medical offices, you name it. More often than not, we find it necessary to repeat our questions or requests to those whose services or products we need. Top of page Are we listening in the builder industry? For the most part, you bet. Through market research, companies have done a good job of listening to their prospective buyer’s concerns and preferences. More ‘included’ features have become the norm. Product design changes have resulted. Customer service has become more responsive. Many companies have adopted ‘zero defect’ policies when it comes time to deliver the home. These are just a few examples of the good that comes from listening to your buyers. Listening skills may be more important to sales agents’ success than all their speaking skills. No matter the market condition, strong or weak, sales agents must listen. What does it take to become a good listener? The following tips will help: Start with a clean slate. Experienced sales agents are challenged with preconceived ideas. You know what happens. The assumptions start from the moment the prospective buyer drives into the parking lot. What type of car are they driving? How are they dressed? Who takes the lead? The challenge is to listen objectively to the buyer’s point of view. What are their concerns? Why do they have them? Top of page Listen for the facts. Many times sales agents do not allow the prospective buyer the opportunity to fully explain their situation. They interrupt with an answer to a question they have heard hundreds of times. The problem is, have they really been listening to the right question, (concern), hundreds of times? This can lead to a defensive response rather than working with the buyer to find a solution. Empathize with the buyer’s situation. "Yes, I understand", can be very soothing words to someone who is going through the trauma of a housing change. Reflective listening. This is merely the ability to mirror back what the buyer has said. However, it is important to mirror back only the facts – not necessarily the emotion. When a buyer is angry or combative, it serves no purpose to respond in like kind. Use questions that open communication. That is, use open-ended questions. If the sales associate allows a one word answer, there is no gleaning of information. Without information, there is no why, when or how. Without this knowledge, there is no sale! Top of page At LeBlanc & Associates, we listen to your needs. We recently created an exciting and unique product called The Sales Tutorial®. To meet the challenge of sales agent evaluations and training continuum, we have merged the two needs together within one report. The advantages are many. The Sales Tutorial® is time and cost effective. It is agent and situation specific. It targets those areas that offer immediate training recommendations identified during the evaluation process. The Sales Tutorial® will become the agent’s personal sales coach. To obtain full information, give us a call. We will listen to your questions and show you the way to a highly effective sales team. LeBlanc & Associates Sales
Agents Evaluations The
Home Front edited by Carol Michela
Sales Drive the Machine by Jay Kerr When I first sat down and started this article for Mary, I wondered how I would be able to talk "on point" about successful construction/sales integration. Certainly, there are as many points of view as there are Builders, but I keep coming back to the same thought, "sales drives the machine". Don’t doubt it for one second. Top of page At DR Horton, we recognize that everything we do is done in support of our sales staff. Think about it, how many of the problems that are on your desk right now are sales related? The "machine" needs to accommodate the needs of the front line and that is where your sales people and product meet the consumer. Everyone in your organization is in "sales", (but that’s another discussion entirely...). The information needed to keep sales people in tune with their product/market doesn’t have to be particularly complicated, watch out for reports that get lives of their own. You know the one you get on Monday morning at the sales meeting that you just take back to the office and put in a drawer? If you are getting or distributing information that you don’t need, stop the process! Salespeople need to sell houses and they need very specific information to do that. If the system isn’t supporting the sales team’s effort, it’s wasting time and money. Top of page
A Word About Management It seems to me that the more people that are involved in the process, the more chance there is for poor communication and error. I have worked in organizations on both sides of this equation. Remember the school game where 20 children stand in a line and pass a sentence from one to the next? Remember how the message changed? It’s that simple, keep the management pyramid flat, keep the reports concise, keep the information relevant and keep your eye on the goal. Resist the we "need more people syndrome". Everyone in the organization needs to work together. There’s a revolutionary thought! You’d be surprised how many organizations right here in our back yard don’t understand that. It makes me physically cringe every time I hear someone say, "that’s a sales thing..." or "those construction people..." or, "what does the office know...". There can’t be room for the Sales v. Construction v. Office mentality. Set up teams that understand what needs to be done, focus on supporting each other with information, set and share goals, encourage communication and hire the best people you can find. Stand back. Top of page
Construction Schedules Construction schedules need to be simple to read, updated, discussed and distributed weekly. When they change, it needs to be brought to everyone’s attention and discussed. These schedules need to show clear cut-off dates for various option selections, we bulk these cut off's in three categories, Framing-Finishes-Flooring. With the exception of weather delays, (thank you El Nino), there is almost no excuse to not be able to tell a buyer that they will be moving in 30 days. What does the team need to know? Are the buyers loan approved? Have they finaled their flooring selections? When can flooring start? Are the options installed? How long will the flooring installation take? When is the house ready for flooring to start? Is there a final inspection (C of O filed/VA inspection)? Have the meters been set? When can the house be walked by the buyer? When will escrow close? All this information needs to be readily accessible by everyone involved in the process. It should appear on the "escrow flow" report, but it also should be looked at and discussed regularly. The field team at the site and the support in the office need to work together and communicate! Telling salespeople that they can’t talk to field people is the craziest thing I’ve ever heard. If you get to that point, you have the wrong people. Sales people need information. The reports need to serve the process. When I was a superintendent, I saw the value of working closely with my salesperson. Ultimately we were married and now have four children, but that’s another story... Top of page
Options Face it, they’re here to stay. The builder that can figure it out can not only make money but also use it as a sales tool; the one that can’t is destined to alienate buyers and lose money. What side of that equation do you want to be on? Again, everyone needs to understand that it is a way of life. Managing options does not need to be complicated and it can be done in any number of ways but the key is keeping it simple and under control. We sell options in the models and we do it two different ways. In homes where we expect to sell a wider range of options, one designated person-not the site sales person(!)-meets with the buyers at the model home complex, helps with selections, and actually writes the P.O.’s. This eliminates confusion. On projects where we expect the option selection process to be less complex, we have the sales people sell the options. Project specific assistant contract administrators process the option order forms in the office. If there is a request for something we don’t normally offer, the PA or the Superintendent has the ability to price it out, apply a margin and return it to the Salesperson. Short of building a heli-pad or a boat deck, we try to accommodate any reasonable request. The key to our success to date is that we have kept it simple and not allowed it to dominate what it is we do - build, sell and close homes. Top of page
Warranty The warranty program starts in the sales office. Buyers need to have their questions and concerns answered in a professional and comfortable manner. The pre and post closing handling of a buyer is a HUGE concept that is sometimes lost or overlooked. If it is not done correctly, the builder will face an uphill battle forever. I am amazed how many people miss the opportunity to create a potential "client for life." Don’t be afraid to say, "I don’t know..." to a buyer’s question. Find out the answer and call them back. There is nothing worse than making up an answer and it will always come back to bite you later. Always return your phone calls. Never miss an opportunity to build a buyer’s confidence in you, your homes and your builder. In my career I have had some really wonderful opportunities to do a wide range of jobs and work with some of the most talented people in our business. They have been unselfish in sharing their talents. The one thing I have really learned is that we are all sales people and we are all ultimately responsible to our customers. I am constantly surprised that more people don’t realize that sales, day-in/day-out, is clearly the hardest but most important job in our business. It takes a certain kind of person to answer the bell every single day. It’s perfectly clear to us at DR Horton that "Sales Drives the Machine." by
Jay Kerr, Division President, Have Faith - In You For better sales and productivity, become your number one fan by Ric Hernandez While feelings of self-worth and self- acceptance are important to everyone, salespeople with a healthy level of self-esteem stand to gain many professional benefits. When you have faith in yourself and your ability, you are better able to shake off rejection, sell effectively and project the air of confidence that gives the customer confidence in you. To lift your self-esteem up where it belongs, follow these 10 tips. Top of page 1. Use affirmations to enhance your self-esteem Raising self-esteem takes time and continuous reinforcement. Write down on a business card or index card a personal statement that you can read to yourself every morning and every night. 2. Make a list of your past successes Your list doesn’t have to consist only of huge accomplishments. List the little things as well. Review your list often and remind yourself that you earned and deserved each victory. 3. Make a list of your positive qualities Know your special abilities. Be generous. Write down 20 positive qualities that make you a valuable and competent person. Review it often. It will reinforce them. Top of page 4. Accept all compliments with "thank you" Don’t respond to a compliment with, "It was nothing", or, "I just got lucky." What kind of message are you sending to yourself - you aren’t worthy of praise? Take credit for your efforts and recognize your abilities. 5. Take advantage of the tools available to boost your self-esteem The material you allow to dominate your thoughts will soon take root and affect your behavior. Try exposing yourself to more positive motivating material, i.e. self- help in the local library, etc. 6. Associate with positive, supportive people Pick your friends wisely. People who are negative or always grumpy have to make others feel just as negative. So hang around people who accept you as you are, people who see the glass as half full. 7. Start giving more Helping someone else is the best way to pump yourself up and make you feel needed. Every week or month help friends, neighbors, hospitals, nursing homes, etc. 8. Get involved in activities you enjoy Whether it’s stamp collecting, surfing or sewing - a hobby or interest outside your family and career gives you one more forum for achievement. Top of page 9. Be true to yourself Practice honesty with yourself and in all you do. Set high standards and live up to them. Your road may be rougher, but you will be stronger for having traveled it on your own. 10. Take action! What you do with your life has a huge impact on how you feel about yourself. Step out of your comfort zone and take calculated risks and embrace challenges. It takes courage to take action. Don’t forget to set goals and outline a plan of action to achieve them. Remember that when you have a dream, you have to pursue it to make it a reality. The way you feel directly affects virtually every area of sales performance - from your ability to close effectively and withstand rejection, to the way your colleagues and customers perceive you and your product. When your self esteem rises your sales can’t be far behind. by
Ric Hernandez,
Performance Training for Sales Teams: The Product Seminar by Dave Harding Every sales team will have a stand-out demonstrator. She is often with the most product knowledge. Consider upgrading the product knowledge of your team to increase performance. Team up this person with a site construction expert to organize a product seminar. Usually a superintendent is happy to spend a day with the "suits." He can assist in coordinating major sub-trades to make 30-45 minute presentations followed by questions. Include framing, mechanical, insulation, roofing and your customer service manager on the "faculty." Perhaps, also the utility installers and landscapers. I’ve found vendors will often provide exhibits, gifts, trinkets or snacks. Top of page The seminar should be on an active site so the subs can point to their components and provide tips and benefit language to the people who sell them. Use a finished home or model as the classroom and homes, or sites under construction, as your laboratory. Remember, you will need hard hats and suitable clothing! I recommend an entire day spaced by frequent fresh air breaks en route to the ‘Laboratory’. Your traffic counts will determine which day is least harmful to close sites to prospects. Generally, it’s Friday. The confidence building in your salespeople will be obvious. Immediately after a product seminar I watched a sale being made because the salesperson was able to tell a relocating California prospect that our homes were built to 4.0 on the Richter scale. This was the only site that could quantify any earthquake proofing the one builder "cared enough to include." Irrelevant was the fact that 4.0 is Code; relevant was that no other site knew that! Top of page Be sure to thank all the participants and circulate an appreciation card for sales staff to sign and personalize. You may still see them years later on a vendor’s desk! It’s great goodwill at negligible cost. And, if your salesperson ever needs a favor, a quick turnaround, or some third-party objective advice to a prospect, the sub or vendor will almost always oblige. by
David Harding, Exchequer Consulting Corporation This site designed and hosted by Expedionet,
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