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LeBlanc
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Issue 9 Fall 1999
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The Front Porch The Millennium. With all the hype about the year 2000, it is almost impossible to determine the real meaning of what is about to happen to our lives. True to our country's enterprising marketing approach to all things sellable, we now have everything from millennium yogurt to millennium homes. I think the follow-up act in 2001 will be hard pressed to maintain this momentum. However, I do have faith in our nation's marketing specialists and look forward to their campaigns of "The Millenium . . . continuing saga." Top of page I was reading an article the other day in the New Homes section of our local newspaper. The heading about The Millennium was: Momentous Event? Or A Moment In Time? Well, for New Year's Eve parties, cruise ship lines, champagne suppliers, parents of newborn babies, to name a few, it will certainly be a momentous event. As outlined in the article, cities around the world are building all types of super structures for the momentous event. This is good for contractors. For the rest of us, I believe it will be just a moment in time. The headline caught my attention as for those of us in the assessment and training of sales agents, we have continually stressed how a sale is a process, not a singular event. No, we do not have millennium sales. We have moments in time. Top of page Closing the sale doesn't take magic. It takes some basic steps that I have outlined below.
Reassure the prospective buyer. To avoid buyer's remorse, you need to reinforce that they have made a wise decision. Stress the benefits they will enjoy by selecting your homes and your community. And don't forget to check back periodically to find out how things are going. So enjoy your millennium parties. But let's forget the hype in our sales offices and stay focused on the basics of what it takes to sell homes.
Who's Minding The Store? A
recent area of concern is how the buyer is being treated by
a builder's many vendors. Once the difficulty of the sale is
overcome, the challenge of buyer selections begins. So now you
send them off to the design center people, the landscape Several of our accounts call on LeBlanc & Associates to verify this half of the sales process. We will design an appropriate report to meet the unique criteria for this type of assignment. Don't
let others undermine your sale. Give us a call! Perception Is Everything Although two competing candy shops had the same prices, neighborhood kids preferred one store over the other. When asked why, the kids said, "Because the 'good' store always gives more candy. The girl in the other store takes candy away." True? Not really. In the "good" store, the owner would make sure to put a small amount of candy on the scale, then kept adding to it. In the "bad" store, the owner would pile a heaping amount of candy on the scale, and then take it off until it hit the right weight. The same amount of candy was sold, but perception is everything. How do prospective buyers perceive your homes? Are they the "good" homes or the "bad" homes? LeBlanc & Associates can conduct Exit Surveys at your communities to determine how prospective buyers perceive your homes. Give us a call! "Life
is like long division. You take a risk, Melinda
French Gates, "It
does not matter how slowly you go, so long as you do not stop." What is a picture worth? Many
companies have been requesting a series of video shops for their
sales teams. LeBlanc & Associates now provides this valuable
service. Through a full video presentation, we take the denial
aspect out of the evaluation process. Give us a call! Misnomers, Malaprops and Mottos From a Career in our Humorous Business Amen-i-"tease": The sales promise of wonderful community pools, clubhouses and recreational facili-tease that never seem to appear when the sales efforts need them. "AMEN!"-i-ties: Their arrival date, delivered by the receiver or the bank in order to avoid class action (class action is itself an oxymoron) lawsuit. Bears, Owls, Lions, and Turtles: My own president's version of enter-train-ment (q.v.) Top of page Blandscaping: What most jurisdictions insist on seeing along a "scenic" route. Beige-mail: The extra-ordinary influence wielded by Home Owners Associations, compelling builders to deliver more and more homes with less and less individuality. Buy-a-grams: Customers' doodling with dollar signs when we are doing a pre-qual on site. Top of page Edge-u-cation: The practice of travelling to a seaside location, taking in a seminar that has no new values and creates no new sales, but allows a tax deduction. Enter-train-ment: The humorous seminars by Charles Clarke III (Bulls, Owls, Lambs & Tigers) that aid in sales, brings smiles to sales professionals and sales to builders. Lie-a-grams: Those mass-mailed cards that actually thank visitors for interrupting our novel reading and personal phone calls on site. Lie-ro-glyphics: The easy to read maps, produced by a major national homebuilder, that show every one of its communities is near every amenity, every employment center, every traffic artery and which map bears no relationship to distance, direction or driving patterns. Non-tre-preneur: The want-tre-preneur (q.v.) one year later, realizing what "on his own" really means as he walks (his new truck having been repossessed) to a job interview with his old employer. Poached tension system: The type of slab often used in challenging site conditions. Top of page Silence fiction movie: Those charismatic videos, shown in sales offices, featuring perfectly-fit, perfect people, with perfect teeth, often riding perfectly clean bicycles, apparently to demonstrate that most people should not move here. Why-a-gram: Those nasty notes from the sales manager asking a site sales professional what could possibly have been in her head in recommending that sale that later failed. Want-tre-preneur: The superintendent who decides he can go "out on his own" and do less, earn more, dress better and drive a newer truck. See Non-trepeneur. Top of page Can
you identify? Dave Harding is Director of Marketing & Sales at Kaufman & Broad, a national trainer of new home salespeople, and a tongue-in-cheek observer of the homebuilding business. by
David Harding, Exchequer Consulting Corporation What Should Your Title Company Do For You? By Eve Hager As the nation's oldest and second largest title company with close to $2 billion in assets, Commonwealth Title focuses on the customer service skills of its personnel. Since title company fees are virtually all the same, within a few dollars, the personal attention given to each customer becomes paramount in attracting and keeping business. Top of page At
the heart of service is the representative who interacts with
the builder, sales agent, escrow, and lender in any given situation
to resolve title issues. And in those states requiring Department
of Real Estate approval of subdivisions, an in-house coordinator
is available at no charge to ensure compliance with state laws
regulating common interest subdivisions. Our experienced commercial
and residential escrow staff stay A sampling of some of the services you can expect from your Commonwealth title representative include:
Of critical interest to many clients is the ability of a title company to do business across state lines. Land America National Commercial Services (NCS) is the title industry's preeminent provider for coordinated services on commercial real estate transactions. Top of page Regardless of the size of the transaction or the number and location of sites involved, NCS title professionals provide customized service. Knowledge of current real estate-related laws and local customs, requirements and practices is an important component of NCS teamwork with the end result being no glitches, no delays and no surprises. As your Commonwealth Title Representative, Eve Hager is committed to serving your needs and will respond to you immediately. If I can answer any questions for you please call me at (800) 500-TITLE. Thanks! Thanks to you, our valued clients, our business keeps growing! Therefore, LeBlanc & Associates will be moving to new office space on October 15th. Our telephone numbers will remain the same. Please make note of our new address: 5055
Avenida Encinas, Suite 101 This site designed and hosted by Expedionet,
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