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LeBlanc
& Associates
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Issue 12 Summer 2000
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The Front Porch Things aren't what they used to be. Is this a familiar phrase you have heard over your lifetime from parents, grandparents, etc? I always remember this phrase being used in terms of "the younger generation." (Not as polite. Not as dedicated. Not as fill in the blank). I have to watch myself because at times I start to use that phrase. Must be a generational thing. Top of page When you start to think about it, things are definitely not what they used to be. For the most part, that is the good news. I for one am certainly glad that communications are not what they used to be a decade or two ago. Likewise for transportation, clothing, medicine, access to information and yes, housing. I grew up in a house that was built around the turn of the century. While many good things could be said about that house... size of rooms, large yard, distinctiveness, etc., you also have to think about the down side of those older homes: lack of energy efficiency for one. I can still hear my father ranting about the heating bills. How about selling homes? Are things different? Yes. And no. You have read my philosophy over these many editions of The Home Front about the essentials of a sales presentation not changing. The successful sales agent must always have a planned and focused path to the sale. I do not think that will ever change. An agent must always have a warm and friendly greeting and establish rapport. The agent must always determine the needs and wants of their buyer. They must always discover who their buyer is, their timing, their motivation, etc. And once they have established the need and the match, they must establish the excitement and value of their homes. And finally, they must create and close the sale. Top of page What is different? Many things. No longer can an agent take the 'hard sell' approach. In the buyer's eye and mind, that equates to car sales and time-share sales. Relationship selling must be incorporated into the sales presentation. (Please note I did not state replace, just incorporated). In our demand driven market, an agent finds it hard to actually sell. I have been told that agents are now in a sales management mode. They have 10 homes, 100 buyers and the bidding begins. How does the agent manage to keep all of them happy and in the buying process until the escrow closes 6 months (or longer) down the road? It is a challenge to the agents and sales management to insure that agents do not lose their selling edge. The agent must not lose his/her ability to treat their buyers with a full level of professionalism and courtesy. It is a challenge that is not always being met. Top of page This challenge translates into the evaluation process. There must always be an ongoing assessment of your sales team. As a company that assesses and evaluates the sales skills of agents, it is difficult at times to always use our traditional methods of rating an agent. One way LeBlanc & Associates has met this challenge is to offer our builder clients the option of the Video Profile. The dynamics of a color video of an agent's sales presentation cannot be underrated. Without the excuse of 'that is their interpretation,' the agent must now focus on how they present themselves, how they speak and how they react to the prospective buyer. In essence, you see the agent through your buyer's eyes. There are many effective ways to utilize the Video Profile. One is to have each of your sales agents review their video and then self evaluate themselves! LeBlanc & Associates frequently provides a self-evaluation guide for our clients to accommodate this process. Top of page Another way is to use the tapes of your superstars as an in-house training tool. It is one thing to talk about how your best agent handles a situation in a sales meeting. It is quite another to actually see and hear that agent in action. Sometimes management will respond, "I wouldn't want to intrude like that on my agents." Trust me, this is not an intrusion into your sales agents working lives. This is just a highly effective alternative to assess how agents sell and represent you, the builder. As the saying goes, things aren't what they used to be. Give us a call.
The Eyes Have It Why the video evaluation? Even with the best product and in the best of markets, success ultimately relies on the quality of representation in the sales centers. Through our Video Profile, we capture the agent's entire sales presentation through the eyes of the buyer. Top of page Get the whole picture. Through the Video Profile managers and agents are now able to see what our evaluation reports have been reporting. The denial aspect of the evaluation process is eliminated. Technically speaking, LeBlanc & Associates has direct control over the entire process. With the Video Profile, we continue our reputation of offering the best evaluation service in the industry. All our work is in-house, including a state-of-the-art editing suite. The end result? Quality videos by people who know the housing industry. Sorry . . . we don't do hamburger joints. Give us a call! Top Ten Rules For Better Customer Service By Greg Stolrow Involve everyone in your building company, and share your findings. For a superior customer service program to work, it requires sales, construction, closing, and the warranty department working together to enter and maintain all the data that they accumulate on each customer. That way anybody in the builder's organization can access a customer's record to bring up a history of likes, dislikes, customer service requests, problems, etc. When customers call the company with a concern or request, they will feel like everyone in the organization understands their problems - and in fact, they will. Establish processes for data collection - and stick with them! "Historically we've had a lot of data, but a lack of useful information," says Doug Sauder of Shea Homes' Northern California division. "Our goal is to have a system in place for capturing what the problems are, to establish a root cause and to have a feedback loop, whether it's back to purchasing, sales and marketing or construction." Then, he explains, they can avoid making the same mistakes again. Top of page Customer
service starts with the sales staff. When a salesperson sells
a home, Create
a detailed and useable item list and warranty tracking system.
One of the Keep careful records of your homeowners experience, from sales to construction and throughout the warranty period. Your customer service and warranty process can be crucial to your success. Make sure you have systems in place to track and analyze your customer service process so that you will come out on top. Be proactive - anticipate problems before they occur and notify your customers as soon as possible. By tracking your warranty items, you'll be anticipating some of these problems before your customers do, and you can notify those affected. Most automated tracking programs can generate a pre-written letter that can be customized to address different problems or issues. This can go a long way toward turning a disgruntled customer into a positive spokesperson for your company. Top of page Be
sure to allocate adequate resources for the customer service
data collection Know exactly where your problem areas are - and how to fix them! Tracking data on your customer service and warranty program can also reduce the possibility or the impact of litigation, says customer service consultant Joe Turner. In addition, tracking your data will help you recognize big problems before they occur. Top of page Make
your customer service department a part of the solution. After
you begin Record everything! This includes service requests, notes and photos. Use your computer for collection and reporting, use digital cameras to record damage, and use scanners for other documents. Greg Stolrow is executive vice president of Computers For Tracts, the leading provider of builder customer relations software with tools for prospect follow-up, customer care and home warranty, sales and escrow processing, and sales and traffic reporting. For more information, call (800) 523-9357. 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! What Do You Expect From Your Sales Team? By Manny Schatz, MIRM Home Front: Manny, defining the role of the sales professional has been an ongoing process over the years. More than just selling homes, how would you define the role of the on-site sales professional? Top of page Manny Schatz: Primarily, every sales agent must be responsible for his or her own franchise. Other than writing the sale, the agent's responsibilities include performing all of the administrative work, returning all telephone calls, and checking and opening all models prior to opening time of the sales office.Having said that, I should note that the builder and the sales professional are members of the same team. Each needs to have a full understanding of what they are responsible for and how they impact each other's performance. All involved parties need to ensure that the homebuyer's experience is a great one. HF: Many of us in this industry talk about the professionalism of the sales agent. Other than their physical appearance, sales skills, and how they treat the prospective buyer, what other issues should be considered under the umbrella term of professionalism? Top of page MS: It is the sales professional's responsibility to be completely and professionally prepared to sell the community at all times. This includes an in-depth knowledge of the builder's product and home sites. It also includes the competitor's product and home sites. The sales professionals need to ensure that all sales tools, displays and documents essential for selling are readily available in the sales center and are of presentation quality. HF: Traffic management is a task that some agents handle with ease, and others who fall short of handling at all. What do you recommend? MS: The builder needs to ensure that the proper tools are in place for the sales professional to be able to properly manage the prospect traffic during both slow and busy periods. It is the agent's responsibility to provide the builder with input as to what works and what does not work in this regard. The team needs to decide on the appropriate 'silent salesperson' tools to aid during the high traffic periods. HF: In the type of demand driven market we have been experiencing over the past two years or so, two aspects of the sales presentation are often overlooked. These are prospect registration and follow-up. What are your thoughts on these two issues? Top of page MS: This is probably the area of biggest dispute. Without registration, there is no follow-up. Registration is one area where most salespeople are weak. Few people purchase a home on their first visit. Without effective follow-up, the ability to generate an interested return prospect is lost. Follow up is the sole responsibility of the sales professional and should be considered one of their prime responsibilities. HF: Overall, what have you observed in sales centers during this recent market? MS: Unfortunately I have found that a proper greeting is usually non-existent; registration is irregular at best; and a genuine interest to serve is minimal. Based on the investment builders make in their communities, and the investment the homebuyer makes in the product, anything other than exceptional service should be entirely unacceptable. One basic philosophy should apply if you serve well, you will sell well. Top of page
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