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Are we there yet? How many times have young children asked this question while driving with their parents to wherever the journey is taking them. It could be 10 minutes into the trip or 1 hour. It makes no difference. Parents do their best to assure young children that they are almost there. It usually doesn’t work because as with most things in life, time is relative to each of us. When we are young, time needs to move faster for us. We are impatient and we just can’t wait to get ‘there’. As we get older, the ‘there’ comes along too fast.
Sometimes impatience stays with us into our adult years. In our adult years we find other ways to ask if we are ‘there’ yet. As we set goals in our lives, we need to know if we are reaching them. If not, why not? Since we can’t always rely on parents or others to assure us if we are getting there, we need to turn to ourselves for an honest assessment. Ouch.
In our industry, the question of ‘are we there yet’ applies in many ways. Overall, we want to know if we are at the bottom of this recessed market and when the turn around will start. Depending on which part of the country you are in, there might be a ‘there’ with a light at the end of the tunnel. In other markets, the ‘there’ is very distant. For agents, with proper assistance and training, they can realize their sales goals. But it takes work and discipline and impatience doesn’t serve us well.
Sales agents must really ask themselves the ‘there’ question. This takes a lot of professional ‘ouch’ time to truly assess their own selling skills. Once an agent receives their evaluation report and/or video profile to review, he/she must take this process to their own personal classroom. The first step is just an overall review. The second step is to review the evaluation with their manager and honestly discuss how they can improve in certain areas. Then the hardest step is to review their evaluation again and break it down into technical parts and take the personal aspect out of it. One colleague aptly states that you view your video the first time to ‘get over yourself’. Reading your report and viewing your video must
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be as objective as if you are assessing someone else. (LeBlanc & Associates offers our accounts a self evaluation guide for agents to use. Feel free to request a copy to distribute to your sales team).
Evaluation reports are not always black and white. While scores are a good indicator of overall performance, they are not the whole answer. I always remind my accounts that scores equate to just the technical side of the sales presentation. Equate scores to the foundation and framework of a home. They are essential and necessary. However, what makes a house a home in terms of the emotional ‘gotcha’ is the elevation. The elevation in the sales presentation is how the agent delivers the technical skills. This is the critical part in reviewing an agent’s video and/or report. Everyone involved in the review process must look and assess beyond the score. View and listen to your agent. How is the information delivered and obtained? Is the agent relaxed? Outgoing? Enthusiastic? Able to gain the trust of the prospective buyer? Able to get the buyer to provide information in a conversational manner vs. the 20 question drill process? Is the agent involved in the total process? Body language? The list goes on but this is crucial information that makes an agent excel in their profession. This is how a sale is created.
Self evaluation is not an easy process. However, once the effort is made and new skills are put in place, an agent will see the light at the end of the tunnel and know the answer to the ‘there’ question.
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I just saw a great quote by Dana Kovach of Kovach Marketing in Newport Beach.
Dana was commenting on the program of some clever builders to combine buyer-retention events with prospect-motivation events. The idea is to have them attend the same venue, at the same time, and allow the buyers-in-backlog to bond with each other as well as their potential new neighbors and give them their own, personal reasons for deciding to live here. This has an obvious leverage impact on the events budget. But it also adds another tool to the sales process.
Dana's quote:
Buyers are the best sales team you can inspire.
WOW!! That's as simple as it is profound. How often do we tap into that resource...one that is likely just waiting to be asked? Of COURSE, there are bound to be cancellations. If we have no cancellations, we are not serving our prospects well enough. But we should not simply give up on those who might cancel. Keep them involved. All buyers-in-backlog. Having a predictable book of business will make you noticeable to lenders, equity partners, etc. It also reinforces your (normal) sales team and the trade partners who rely on closings to be successful. Every buyer-in-backlog is a precious commodity. Take their buying temperature often. Ask for their help in making new sales...by referrals and by their own comments to the prospects they will meet at your events. They can be involved in choosing their own neighbors!
Keep in touch and keep in business. It's that simple.
Thanks, Dana, for a wise observation!
Dave Harding is President of HARDintelligence.com a sales training resource for homebuilders nationwide. He is the NAHB Sales Manager of the Year 2004 and a member of Who’s Who-- the Industry’s Finest. He can be reached at 949. 315. 5890 or HARD@HARDintelligence.com. See www.thehardintelligence.blogspot.com
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The market is down. Housing is off. Nobody’s buying. I might as well flip burgers.
Sure, the housing market is much different today than it was four years ago. But, how much of the down turn is due to real market conditions, and how much can be attributed to the perceptions of the marketplace? Even more important, whose perceptions are having the greatest impact on our sales – our customer’s or our own?
If your market is down by 25%, my question is, who is selling the other 75%? Somebody’s making those sales; is it you? If it’s not you, then why not?”
There are a number of very positive and exciting elements to the current market; we just need to take the time to look at it from a different perspective. Yet, salespeople have a tendency to think that their market is different. But, if the marketplace truly is different, how are you going to change it? Not, how is the marketplace going to adapt to you, but how are you going to adapt to the marketplace?
To purchase a new home, the fact still remains that it’s a highly emotional purchase. Now, the emotion is driven much by the individual’s perceptions – their perception of the marketplace; their perception of the builder; their perception of the housing industry; their perception of you, the salesperson. When they walk into that sales center, within the first 10 seconds they have a perception about you. So, what are you going to do to drive that perception in a positive manner? This all relates to why consumers buy new homes.
ATO: Acknowledge the Obvious: Go back and interview your last 12 buyers. 12 is the ‘magic number’ – 4 won’t work, 15 is too much. Ask a couple of simple questions. Ask, ‘Why did you buy from me? What was it about me that you saw that made you want to buy your house from me?’ After about 4 or 5 or 6, you’ll see a specific theme emerge. The theme that takes shape will alert you the perceptions that buyers hold regarding you, and what they were looking for when they decided to buy from you. It could be the way you explained things or that they just trusted you. Whatever it is, you need to know it and make sure that comes through when you speak with new prospects. (continued)
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The second question is, ‘What perception did you have to overcome or manage to make this decision?’ Again, you’re going to get a theme. Right now, the theme you will likely hear is, ‘Well, we’ve heard that right now is not a great time to buy, that we should wait a few months until the market bottoms out so we can get the best deal.’ Okay, so that is the perception. So, with ATO, you acknowledge the obvious. If that’s the common perception that buyers have, then with the next potential buyer that walks into your sales center, you acknowledge the obvious. In a few brief moments, after building rapport, you can say, ‘You’ve probably heard that is now is not the time to buy; that you should wait. Let me explain to you if I may why it is a buy-and-hold market now.’
If you take the time to go through this process of contacting and asking these two questions of your past buyers, two things will happen. Number one, it reconnects you with your buyer and you an understanding of the perception of the marketplace. Number two is you will get referrals.
Understanding perceptions tells us how to sell. Even now, so many salespeople want to sell amenities; they want to sell the 100% brick on the home, or whatever. That’s not why people buy. People want to buy because of the perception of what it does for their lifestyle, which goes back to our original point, that it’s a highly emotional purchase.
Earn the right to make the sale. Every sale that we make, we have to feel like we’ve earned the right. That’s the #1 reason that most salespeople will not ask for the sale. They feel like it’s pushy, intrusive, invasive, or manipulative to ask that final closing question to make the sale. And, the reason is because they don’t feel that they’ve earned the right. At a gut level they know they are going to hear ‘no’ because they haven’t done their homework.
We can use those same previous questions when speaking with new prospects. One of the first questions I ask is, ‘I’m very curious; why would you have me build your new home?’ Or, ‘Why would you buy from me?’ Now, the answers that you get from that question, they give you a jillion ways to go to help this person make this decision. If they start telling you, ‘The reason I would buy from you is because you did it for my neighbors,’ or ‘I’ve seen your community…’ now, they’ve just sold themselves. If they say, ‘I’m not sure I would buy from you,’ then that’s a great piece of information to know. The next thing you would say to them is, ‘Well, what information do I need to give you to help you make this decision?’ You’re going down the path to earn the right.
It’s your beliefs that control your sales, not the perceptions of the market. You have to set clear intentions. You must have a goal as to what you intend to happen. You must have the intentions that you’re going to be helpful, and that you’re going to sell at a profitable level.
You must also have clarity of intentions. In other words, you must be specific as to how much money you want to earn, how many homes you want to sell, who you want to purchase your home. If your intention is clear that you’re going to sell to families that want to live in your communities and that want to buy from you and are going to be completely ecstatic, you’re going to get that intention as well.
Paul Montelongo is the author of the new e-book, The Real Secrets to Selling New Homes in a Down Market – Or Any Market for that Matter!
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Our Kudos to the following sales professionals who demonstrated excellence in sales this past quarter! This time around we had to limit our Kudos to those scoring 95 points or better. And our list is still very long!
Tamiko Warren
Polygon Homes
With a score of 99, Tamiko was near perfect. She is a confident, knowledgeable and personable sales associate who follows a proactive, logical sales presentation. She moves seamlessly into her closing sequence.
Marla Tafoya
Sundquist Homes
Another near perfect sales presentation was offered by Marla. With a score of 98 Marla also follows a logical, proactive sales presentation. Marla gets to know her buyer’s needs, fills those needs, creates value for her product, creates urgency and then asks for the sale.
Megan Wieblehaus
Sundquist Homes
This superstar offers an exceptional sales presentation. Megan’s style is comfortable, natural and engaging. She is sincere in wanting to meet the needs of her customer and not force her product on them.
Randy Anderson
Richmond American
Randy offered comprehensive information about his homes, community and the overall purchase process. He laid a solid foundation for the sale and then asked for his buyer’s purchase commitment.
Maria’s confidence in her builder and product along with her concern for her buyer’s needs made for an exceptional sales presentation. She demonstrates extensive knowledge, enthusiasm and determination. Of most importance, Maria created a reason to buy.
Gino Tinucci
Richmond American
Gino demonstrated excellence in all the essentials of a solid sales presentation. He stressed urgency, built value and created a reason to purchase. He is tenacious in his closing, professional in his demeanor and provided his buyer with an exemplary sales demonstration.
Mary Ann Kiefer
Braddock and Logan
Mary Ann stays focused on her buyer’s needs while maintaining a personable and comfortable rapport. She personalizes her sales presentation and uses a good closing sequence by continually checking with her buyer via trial closing questions.
Rachel Herring
K. Hovnanian
Rachel demonstrated an excellent ability to connect with her buyer and personalize the sale. It is obvious she enjoys her job and has pride in her builder, homes and community.
Dawn Brown
Sundquist Homes
Dawn presents herself as confident and knowledgeable. From the start of the presentation Dawn controls the entire sales process in a friendly, upbeat manner. Having done a solid job qualifying and presenting her product, Dawn twice attempted to close the sale.
Kristi Giacomazzi
Braddock and Logan
Kristi demonstrated solid knowledge of both her product and community. She creates a sense of excitement, creates value and states the benefits of her homes. Kristi effectively laid a foundation for the sale, and then confidently asked for it.
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Never has customer follow up been more important than today, when each person through the door should be immediately viewed as a precious commodity, as well as a valued customer. A minimum of four follow ups in the first week is the standard, namely: (1) the four-hour follow up, by phone; (2) a handwritten Thank You note, first 24 hours
Mark Winningham can be reached at Team Builder-JLS 425.458.6753 markw@teambuilderjls.com
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- SEEING IS BELIEVING. Eliminate the doubt. No matter what the market conditions may be, a community’s success ultimately relies on the quality of the sales agents. Video Profiles from LeBlanc & Associates capture each agent’s sales presentation, the good and the not-so-good, through the eyes of the buyer.
- TRAINING. Using a Video Profile from LeBlanc & Associates of you best agent(s) demonstrates what you expect from the rest of the sales team. What better way can an agent learn than from the best of their peers? The training aspect is then reinforced with our self-evaluation guide.
- TECHNICALLY SPEAKING. To maintain the highest quality of final product, all our work is done in-house. Our clients receive two DVDs of each sales encounter and have the option of either a fully processed or non-processed format.
- QUALITY. LeBlanc & Associates is established as the premiere company for sales agent evaluations. Our business is your business . . . new home sales. Our high level of training for our field techs provides the best capture rate of your agents. We know you are paying to see your agents – not the walls and windows of your sales office.
- WHY LEBLANC & ASSOCIATES? Have you tried the rest and found ill prepared field personnel? Have you seen more walls than agents? Do ceiling shots make you dizzy?
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- THEN BE PREPARED FOR THE BEST. GIVE US A CALL!
- LeBlanc & Associates
- 800.838.1779
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The Viewer
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How good are your agents?
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New Service!
LeBlanc & Associates now provides its clients the option of viewing their agent’s videos online from a secure link on our website. Each account is given a username and password to view each encounter from any computer at any location.
It’s easy! Give us a call!!
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■ Audio Evaluations
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