New Woman-Centric Associates Program for the Minnesota (MN) Consortium of Home Builders and Remodelers!
May 30, 2009 by Coach Rick · 4 Comments
Check out the MN Home Builders Consortium
3 Quick Questions for You…
1. Do you work in the home building or remodeling industry and would like quit competing on price alone?
2. Would you love to leverage your website for new leads?
3. Does the idea of increasing your sales conversion rate sound appealing?
Dear associate to the home building industry,
“People don’t change until the pain of staying the same outweighs the pain of the change.”
I love that quote. The only constant in life is change and today’s economy dictates that we must change and adapt to the new way of selling homes and our services/product to home builders.
You have an opportunity to learn a system that allows you to do just that. It’s called Woman-Centric Matters and there are about 100 home builders, remodelers and other businesses across the country utilizing it to make sales and grow their business no matter what the economy. Now you have an opportunity to take advantage too!
Watch the video below to get a better idea of the program…
Get more information by clicking here>>
3. You’ll have another differentiation point over your competitors for other contractor business.
Check out the MN Woman-Centric Consortium of Home Builders web site>>
If you attended our informational webinar or would like to see it for the first time, I’ve recorded the video and it will be posted on my web site very soon.
Get an overview flyer of the program by clicking here…wc-associate-flyer1
We will be holding a final “Think Tank” webinar on Wednesday July 15th, 2009 from 9:00 – 12:30.
If you’d like to attend that so you can get the entire overview of the program, please post a comment below and we will send you an informational kit to review prior to the webinar.
If there’s a day that doesn’t work- please let me know.
As always, please contact me with any thoughts or questions at 952-895-5566.
Related Posts:
How To Beat Your Competition
May 29, 2009 by Coach Rick · Leave a Comment
Whenever I am exposed to a business today, whether it is online, over the phone or in person, I pay close attention to the dynamics at play. What is my first impression? How do I feel when I scroll through a website, talk to a representative or walk into a store? If you’re like me, you can anticipate the kind of experience you will have within the first 15 seconds.
Why is it that 85 – 90% of the time I am disappointed? Either the website is difficult to navigate or there are problems at checkout. The sales associate/representative isn’t very knowledgeable or doesn’t listen well or has an accent that I can’t understand over the phone. The store is dirty, poorly lit, no one is around to help me find what I need or it takes forever to make a purchase.
As a home builder and new home salesperson, your primary competition today is not another builder or the used home down the street. Your competition today is something very different indeed…
“Who or what is your primary competition today?”
Why am I disappointed with the companies I patronize 85 – 90% of the time? It’s not because I am a consultant that studies industry and best practices. Most consumers feel exactly like me. The reason we are dissatisfied is that we compare the best companies to all industries. In other words, if we thoroughly enjoy the experience we have at our favorite coffee shop, we compare that experience to taking our vehicle in for an oil change, dining out, buying groceries – and shopping for a new home.
We live in a highly specialized economy today. With a few clicks of a mouse, we can find the exact business or product we need. All this has led to a trend of creating micro niche companies. That is, businesses that have evolved into highly specialized companies that appeal to a relatively small group of consumers. This specialization has led to niche businesses that recognize and understand consumers far better than ever before, and they provide buying experiences that are far superior to the rest of the market. These are the top 10-15% of companies you enjoy dealing with; the ones you compare to everyone else.
“How does this work in home building?”
The Builders Association of the Twin Cities’ (BATC) annual Parade of Homessm is the largest in the country. According to research done by BATC and Merillat Cabinets, a home shopper will visit an average of 14 different homes and spend about nine minutes in each. Now I don’t know about you, but when I look at just four different models I can’t remember one from the other. How can we expect the consumer to recall the differences between 14 model homes and home builders?
Don’t try to be better. Be different!
If you are a quality home builder or quality salesperson – congratulations! You meet the minimum requirements to be in business today. The reason consumers get confused after looking at 14 different models is that every salesperson is touting that they are better. However, the consumers asks, “How do I know you are better when every model I visit, the salesperson tells me they are better?” Herein lies our problem…
Your biggest obstacle to overcome is not the competition down the street. It is the customer’s indifference toward your homes and the experience – or the lack of it – you provide.
Instead of trying to “one up” your competition, why not develop a niche within the industry and do something different, not better. Ask any home builder or their sales representative why someone should choose them over the competition, and invariably the phrase “we build quality homes” comes up. If the consumer hears this continually, then the only real differentiator between home builders is price. And if you’re not the lowest price, you are out of luck!
Why not become a specialty home builder and/or salesperson?
Remember the top 10-15% of businesses that set the stage for everyone else? That is your goal today. Set yourself apart from the mass market of home building and home selling by focusing on a niche. Understand your consumer better than anyone else and you will become the standard by which everyone else compares.
Happy Selling!
Related Posts:
Want to Be Remarkable? Create Your “Stop Doing” List
May 29, 2009 by Coach Rick · Leave a Comment
In college, I worked part time as a personal trainer. If you belong to a health club or have ever joined a health club, you know that January is “join” month because so many people resolve to lose that extra 15 pounds. Our club was really busy until about late March. Then nearly 90% of the people that joined in January stopped coming.
One of the secrets of beating the market and outselling your competition is pretty much the same as maintaining a healthy lifestyle. If you only focus on what you need to do, you will never reach your goal. Why? Because you first need to fix what you aren’t doing well in order to make any meaningful changes in your life. The same is true in business. Following are the most important questions I ask home builders and sales people today.
1. Are you fixated on the market? The market will not help you in 2008. In fact projections are, the market will only work against you. Stop reading about how bad things are. Avoid listening to the news and anyone who says you can’t be successful in 2008.
2. Who are you in 2008? You won’t be successful in 2008 by being who you were yesterday or today. Our industry has changed and will continue to change. Are you changing with it? Better yet, are you changing faster than the industry is?
3. Where is your focus? Most homebuilders are still centered on building a “quality” home. I hate to burst your bubble, but just building a quality home is not going to cut it any more. Your focus needs to be 100% on your customer.
4. Are you playing it safe? Understand this. Safe is boring and average. Homebuyers in 2008 will not buy average. They want extraordinary. And I’m not just talking price. Our knee jerk reaction for these times is to hunker down and weather the storm. That kind of strategy will bury you in the mountains of offerings — and lead to a slow, painful decline and potential death.
5. Are you worried that if you try something it may not work? Sam Walton built Wal-Mart around the “Ready-Fire-Aim” methodology. Sure he had ideas that didn’t work. When they didn’t, he tried something else until he found what did. The faster you fail at something, the faster you find what works. My suggestion? “Fail forward fast!”
So now that you know what to stop doing, where in the world should you start? You can begin by asking yourself these questions:
1. What can I do to beat the market?
2. How can I better focus on my customers?
3. If I don’t play it safe, what should I do?
Happy Selling !
Related Posts:
Revolution!
May 29, 2009 by Coach Rick · 1 Comment
As I sat in front of the second customer in a two week period last October that told me “all home builders are the same,” the brutal reality came crashing down on me: Everything Has Changed. Yes, I was working with a well known, well regarded 30+ year home builder, but, to the customer, we were just another price quote. Between 2004 and 2007, every rule has changed. Indeed, it’s time for a Revolution!
Prior to writing this article, I went back and reviewed an article I wrote in November of 2006 called Seven Ideas for 2007. The article had many good, solid, boilerplate ideas that are still relevant for 2008. The problem is, even though the information is only one year old, it’s no longer enough for a year of changes in our new home market.
Are you angry?
Are you angry yet? Everything you knew (or thought you knew) has changed. And don’t give me the standard ‘this is like it was back in the early 80′s’ hyperbole. Our current climate has absolutely no similarities to that market (think interest rates, unemployment, media, lending and national home builders). The reason I ask if you are angry is because angry people are ready for a Revolution. Angry people are ready for change. Think 2008 is doom and gloom? Think again. Think opportunity.
Idea #1- Burn Baby Burn. In 1519, Capitan Hernando Cortes and a small army left the Spanish held island of Cuba and set out on one of the greatest conquests in the history of the world. Cortes was going to accomplish his goals no matter the consequences. He put to death some of those who opposed him, got himself appointed Capitan-General in order to get out from under Diego Velazquez’s authority, and even destroyed his fleet in an attempt to motivate his men to adapt to his at-all-costs attitude. The destruction of the ships has been widely studied and is still debated today.
Here’s the idea: In – in order to move forward, you can’t go back. The first list you need to create in 2008 is your “Stop Doing” list. I suggest:
1. Redefine who you are today and what you want to be tomorrow. The market will not build your business for you now or in the future.
2. Stop focusing on your houses (more on this later).
3. Stop treating your customers as you have always treated them.
4. Stop being ordinary (much more on this later).
5. Stop holding on to ideas that worked in the past.
6. Stop worrying about failure and fail forward fast.
Past Success = Enemy of Future Success
Idea #2- Your competition…today. Think mass retail with me for a moment, specifically discount store chains. On one end we have Wal-Mart (low price leader) and on the other end we have Target (more expensive but a pretty cool shopping experience). The problem with the majority of home builders today is that they fall into the Kmart category (stuck in the middle). They’re not as cheap as the national home builders, yet there is absolutely nothing compelling about their home designs or the customer experience. The customer looks and says, ‘they aren’t the lowest price so I won’t buy them.’ Thus we believe that we have a price problem when we really have a differentiation problem.
Your biggest obstacle to overcome is not the competition down the street. Your obstacle is the customer’s indifference toward your homes and the experience (or lack thereof) you provide.
Idea #3- Design please. “If a product’s future is unlikely to be remarkable – if you can’t imagine a future in which people are once again fascinated by your product – it’s time to realize that the game has changed,” Seth Godin from the book Purple Cow .
“The best design solves problems, but if you can weld that to the cool factor, then you have a home run,” Mark Schurman of Herman Miller, manufacturer of the $750 Aeron office chair.
Here are your design questions for 2008. What one thing does your home have that is the absolute best in the micro market you compete in? What problems will your home(s) solve for the customers you serve? If you can’t walk through your home(s) and answer those questions, how will your customers be able to?
Idea #4- Brand=Talent. “It’s been said that the most important decision an organization can make isn’t what to do, but who’s going to do it. That means that before you charge headfirst into the changes necessary to take it to the next level, you’d better decide if everyone on the train is really on board with their entire heart and soul,” Joe Calloway from the book Becoming a Category of One.
A lot has been written about branding your company over the years. Your brand is not an external thing created by an advertising campaign. Each individual within your organization creates your brand by what comes from their hearts.
Therefore, do whatever you have to do to keep the most talented folks around and don’t be afraid to weed out those that don’t fit into your revolution.
Idea #5- Go Green (just don’t pay more). According to Renegade Marketing, “Going Green” is a top 10 marketing trend for 2008. The good news for most homebuilders is that many of their current practices and products are already green. They just aren’t advertising it.
About 40% of the consumer market is interested in products that make their home safer, use less energy and tread lightly on the earth; they just don’t want to pay more for it. And when you do find the few people that will pay more, the payback needs to be in five years or less. Here’s the idea: Show them what you are already doing that is green (even if everyone else is also doing it). Think 2X6 exterior walls!
Idea #6- What are you selling, really? It’s a home, not a house, right? If you think people buy your homes because you are a “quality” home builder, think again. In today’s economy, every home builder brings a quality home to the marketplace. The builders that don’t are gone or will be gone soon. Quality is an entry level factor.
If your buyer’s are not buying a “quality” home, then just what are they buying? I suggest they are buying an emotional connection to your brand through a personal relationship.
In 2008, the salespeople that will sell the most homes are the ones that will discover more about their customer’s problems and get closer to them than anyone else. These salespeople will create an individual, thoughtfully staged experience and transform their customers ONE AT A TIME.
Don’t think marketing to the masses.
Think marketing person to person.
Idea #7- Women Rule! For any man reading this, let’s take a crash course:
- Women are directing the finances in nearly 70% of all U.S. households.
- Women purchase 62% of all new vehicles and influence another 30% of decisions.
- More than 80% of NFL products are sold to women.
- Women make 83% of all consumer purchases.
- Women directly purchase or have controlling influence in the purchase of 91% of all new homes.
Women in the U.S. make up the largest economy in the world. Need any more proof? A recent article in the Star Tribune about the buying habits of women vs. men when it comes to luxury cars reveals some stark contrasts. “Ask a man what automotive luxury means and chances are he’ll mention horsepower, handling and gadgetry. For a woman, there’s nothing more luxurious – in cars as in life – than safety, service and being taken seriously.
Are you designing homes and experiences that appeal to the women in your target market? Revolution me boy!
Idea #8 – Believe. At a seminar a few years ago, I learned there are four types of people in the workplace: the critics and the skeptics, the laughers and the mockers, the perplexed and the believers.
In my work with home builders and their sales staffs I am privileged to work with some believers. These folks get it. They believe in the systems I teach and they implement the strategies on an on-going basis.
They sacrifice daily and understand they can’t be all things to all people but they can focus on, say and do one thing. They become absolutely excellent at it. In other words, they do small, remarkable things on a daily basis.
“Don’t be boring. Safe is risky. Very good is bad.”
- Seth Godin
“Blame no one. Expect Nothing. Do something.”
-Bill Parcels, 2 time Superbowl Champion Head Coach
Happy Selling and Happy New Year!
Related Posts:
Lessons From a Two Year-Old
May 29, 2009 by Coach Rick · 2 Comments
I love my sister-in-law dearly but I always have to laugh about how different she is from my wife. My wife Nancy is quiet and reserved and Linda loves to talk. As most mothers, she loves to talk about her kids.
One night at dinner Linda was discussing how good of a swimmer her daughter Abby had become since switching swim schools to Foss. At the time, I paid little attention to the fact that she was a good swimmer but the more she spoke about Foss, the more I listened. My daughter was nearly ready to take swimming lessons and Linda convinced us Foss was the place to go (not to mention, Foss had a school five minutes from home).
A few months later I found myself at the edge of the pool at the Foss swim school with my two year old daughter Breanna. My wife told me that this is a dad’s job since neither she, nor any of the other moms, wanted to get into a bathing suit and have all the dopy dads stare at them. She was right; everyone else in my group was a dopy dad!
My daughter had a love/hate affair with the water and tonight she was thrilled with the prospect of going to swimming lessons but not so thrilled with getting her hair wet. The sounds of crying from Breanna and all the other kids nearly rendered the swim instructor’s directions inaudible but at the end of the night, she asked all of us to come together and said the following:
“Guys we’re going to do the exact same routine we just did until the session is over.”
What happened to me next is what is technically called a moment of awareness. Suddenly I realized why Foss was such a great swim school. They have convenient locations to their target market (me); they have a great process and great instructors that follow that process to the tee. And they understand the mother of all learning, repetition.
New Home Sales = Theatre
Every time we greet a guest to one of our model homes we are on stage performing. Yet, how often do we rehearse our presentations? Even when we do rehearse them, do we do it repeatedly until we can do it in our sleep?
One of my clients has a 12 year old boy who is a hockey stud. He never has to ask him to practice. In fact, he has a tough time, “getting the stick out of his hand.” Do you think there is a direct correlation to this? Of course there is. Any performer that is at the top of their game is there because of two reasons. The first is natural talent. The second is natural talent refined through practice.
Some salespeople do have natural talent and do get by without practice. But I will tell you this: I will take a salesperson with a little talent but tons of drive over one with tremendous talent and a little drive any day of the week.
When we are willing to make the sacrifice of learning and practice on a daily basis, the only thing holding us back is our own self limiting thoughts. Practice isn’t fun or exciting but it is what makes the difference between good and great.
After 8 weeks in the Foss program, Breanna, who didn’t want to go under water the first lesson, is now doing the back float, swimming under water 5-6 feet and getting out of the pool on her own. We’re still doing the same circuit every week and every week she makes a small improvement. Isn’t it funny that this simple lesson had to come from a two year old?
Happy Selling!
Related Posts:
The Tragedy of the Commons
May 29, 2009 by Coach Rick · Leave a Comment
So there we were in 2004, thinking we were on top of the world; we had it all figured out! We could do no wrong. Every piece of property we bought and developed was a winner; every home we built was a hot seller. We had a waiting list of prospects that would jump at our next new neighborhood and no matter what price we threw at them, they would accept it. Ah the good life!
What in the heck happened over the last three years? Some would say, ‘it’s the market.’ Others would add, ‘the whole subprime mess is to blame.’ Still others will comment ‘it’s a natural cycle. What goes up must come down.’ Obviously there is truth in all of these statements but I would like to suggest another idea, one where the solution and the cause are one in the same.
The Tragedy of the Commons is a type of social trap, often economic, that involves a conflict over resources between individual interests and the common good. A very simple example of this is our freeway system. Commuters have their own self interest at heart when they are traveling to and from work. Of course, they want to get to work in the fastest time possible so everyone uses the freeway. When this happens our freeway systems (the common good) become overwhelmed with traffic and cause everyone using them a much longer commute time.
How does this relate to the housing industry?
As a member of the home building/real estate industry, we all have the self interest of earning profits, preferably tremendous profits. Our resource and common good is the market we serve (and how we served it!). Obviously every market is a finite resource and for 6-7 years we tapped this resource for all we were worth. In other words, we had a field full of trees and we as homebuilders and developers cut down all the trees.
Consider the differences between our current housing downturn to that of previous cycles:
1. We now have national homebuilders with enough capital to discount their product by $100,000 and more.
2. Never before have we built so many homes on speculation.
3. Never before have we had such lenient lending practices (you fog the mirror, you get a mortgage).
4. We have 24 hour news sources and the internet to tell consumers just how bad the markets are.
This is the Law of Unintended Consequences rearing its ugly head. Take the above four points and ask yourself ‘why’ are we doing these things. Consider…
-If we didn’t keep building the same old designs in the same old neighborhoods, we wouldn’t have to discount them thousands of dollars to sell them. How does an automobile manufacturer sell new cars for more money? Change the design!!
-If we hadn’t bought or developed such large groups of lots at a time, we wouldn’t build speculative homes as an attempt to move them (of course this cycle continues to be our number one problem).
-If we wouldn’t have allowed marginal borrowers to purchase these homes with very marginal mortgage products, we wouldn’t be in the foreclosure mess we are now. Does anyone remember 28/36% qualifying ratios? I remember loans going through with a mortgage ratio 60% of the customer’s income and zero down. Now we’re surprised that these people are in foreclosure!
-If we had trained our salespeople to educate consumers as to the benefits of today’s market and the dangers of “herd mentality” we could deal with the confidence issue posed from the media and show them what really matters, improving their lifestyle today.
Our current market woes are the direct results of our own actions and inactions. We are 100% responsible.
I know this may be hard to swallow and accept but we as an industry must acknowledge this glaring fact. I remember sitting in a seminar two years ago where the speaker told a story of a developer selling homes in Florida. He told of a conversation where the developer said, “I knew the end was near when local Realtors were purchasing our homes and flipping them to investors prior to closing.”
How does this relate to your own business?
Remember the definition of The Tragedy of the Commons: A type of social trap, often economic, that involves a conflict over resources between individual interests and the common good. Your business is a bunch of individuals (with their own interests) trying to sell and build homes (the common good for the company). Here is my question: How are your own practices and procedures, or lack thereof, keeping you from selling homes?
A Quality Builder!
I hate the word “quality” with my entire being. If I could have one word removed from new home terminology it would be the word “quality”. Why? Have you ever met or seen a home builder that didn’t promote themselves as a quality home builder? The word quality is the number one reason why consumers think all of our offerings are the same. You have to be a “quality” homebuilder just to play the game! And by the way, what does quality mean to today’s consumer? If your answer is tight miter joints you are sadly mistaken. To a consumer, quality means the following:
1. You are building in the best neighborhoods
2. You have professional salespeople that create and deliver memorable experiences every time they interact with a prospect or customer.
3. Everyone in your organization knows what everyone else in the organization does and how this impacts the customer.
4. Your construction people know the difference between talking to your trades and talking to your customers.
5. Everyone in your organization knows why you are the best and will do whatever it takes to exceed a customer’s expectations.
In other words, the customer trusts you and has an open and consistent line of communication with the key individuals in your organization.
Every homebuilder has some disconnects and mixed messages that are received by the customer or prospect. The more you have, the less likely you are to make a sale or gain a referral. As an industry, we can’t go back and fix our mistakes of the past. As a company, we can:
1. Identify our “quality” issues and fix what ails us.
2. We can make sure the individuals within our organization are not working against one another, costing us the Unanticipated Consequences of missed sales and referrals.
If we are to sell homes today, and sell them for a profit, each individual home builder must fanatically review what experience their customers have with their salespeople and staff. We must eliminate any hurdles that we, as a company, are placing in front of the customer that are keeping them from owning our homes.
We all can become great, we just need to decide to do it. I hope your decision is the right one.
Happy Selling!
Related Posts:
She Gave In
May 29, 2009 by Coach Rick · Leave a Comment
I’ll never forget the feeling I had on that fateful day in July of 2001. I was fairly new to the world or power boating (I say “I”, even though my wife Nancy was the co-owner of our boat, because this was my baby) and was enjoying another great weekend of fun cruising down the Mississippi River.
We were just returning from a weekend trip to Lake City, MN and heading back to the Marina when I saw the tachometer on the port motor all of a sudden rev way up and then die. I pulled back on the throttles and tried to re-start the motor and there was nothing. My worst fear had come true; we had blown a motor and not only would there be an obnoxious repair bill but we were in the middle of boating season and now out of business. My heart sank.
After delivering the boat to the repair shop we got a call from the service manager later that week confirming the news. We needed a new motor and it would take weeks to get one at a cost of about $5,000. Our boating season for the summer was done and so was our bank account (notice now I say “our” when it was time to pony up and fix it). I was officially in a walking depression.
A couple of days later our salesperson from the marina called to offer his condolences and said he had an idea for us. I called him back to inquire on the idea and he suggested that there might be a way to put us in a different boat and the marina would assume the responsibility of fixing our old boat. Needless to say, I was intrigued!
The boat we owned was a 1994 Formula Fastech 303. It was 30 feet long, had a sleeping area, port-a-potty, refrigerator, sink and camper top. We could pull into a marina and hook up to shore power and all the systems would run off of that, saving our batteries. Oh, and did I mention it would do about 67 mph?
Lesson #1: Build value and get the prospect emotionally attached
I showed up at the marina to meet Eric and he took me over to another warehouse where there sat the most beautiful red, white and blue 2000 Formula 353 Fastech. I tried to hide my drool from Eric but I think he caught me wiping my mouth out of the corner of his eye.
Brand spanking new this thing had everything including an enclosed stool with Vac-u-flush (for my wife) and twin 502 motors with about 1,000 horsepower (for her husband). I tried to act cool and looked over the boat and calmly asked, “How much?” He said, “Let’s go back to my office and take a look at some numbers.”
Lesson #2: Logically justify the sale with financing
Back at the office Eric pulled out a spreadsheet showing the trade in for our current boat, the cost of the new boat and some financing. Basically, they would pay off our old boat and assume the cost to fix the motor. Then, they had an interest buy down period for the new boat for the first two years that put our payment only a little higher than our current payment. Plus, the boat had warranties and they would throw in an extended warranty on the motors (do you think that was a hot button for me?).
Lesson #3: Get all decision makers on board
Driving home from the marina I was strategizing in my head how I could convince my wife to be another co-owner of my boat. When I presented the idea to her and went over the numbers I was shot down fast and furious (Eric’s only mistake was showing me the boat without my wife along. She wasn’t emotionally attached). I walked away from her sulking and slipped back into my walking depression.
After about two weeks of pleading and begging I finally got her to agree to come along and at least “look” at the boat. She was a lot stronger than me and thought the boat was ‘nice’ but that we didn’t ‘need’ a boat that big. Of course we didn’t need it. I wanted it!
Lesson #4: If at first they don’t buy, follow up, follow up and follow up again
The next few weeks seemed like years as I watched summer and my boating season slip away. Eric kept in touch with me with different finance scenarios and mailing some brochures over to our home. I could tell my wife was starting to soften and I finally pulled together our family budget and plugged in the new boat payment, showing her we could still live comfortably with our current salaries. Finally, the sweetest words in the world came to my ears one
night. “Alright, if you want your dumb boat, go ahead and get it. Just quit whining!” Nancy said after admitting defeat to my constant barrage.
Step #8 in the new home sales process, justify the sale with finance
The Critical Path to new home sales (in chronological order):
1. Preparation
2. Greeting-Attention
3. Discovery/Needs Analysis- Interest
4. Presentation- Interest
5. Demonstration- Desire
6. Select One- Desire
7. Objections- Action
8. Finance- Action
9. Closing- Action
10. Follow up- Action
11. Due Diligence- Action
12. Referrals- Action
I never would have gotten my new boat if Eric couldn’t lay out a spread sheet showing me it was only a few dollars a day more for my new boat. He used an interest rate buy down to help me get used to the payments and I had two years before my rate adjusted to the full amount. Can you do this with your homes?
The key ingredients to helping your prospects justify owning are:
1. How much house for how little per month. Unless your buyers are paying cash, always work off a monthly investment.
2. Tax advantages. Uncle Sam allows us to write off our mortgage interest and real estate taxes. Find out your buyer’s state and federal tax brackets and show them the savings on a monthly basis.
3. Potential appreciation. Even though many markets are flat, they won’t stay that way for long. Look up the average annual home appreciation in your market and break it down to the month.
Just like I wanted my new boat, your customers want your new home. A top notch salesperson knows the key to selling more homes is getting their prospect emotionally involved first and then help them logically justify the decision. Learn about finance and be ready to show your prospects, on paper, just how easy it is to get the home of their dreams!
Happy Selling!
P.S. The name of this article was the official name of our last boat “SheGaveIn.” A fitting name indeed!
Related Posts:
My Memorial Weekend Fun Run
May 22, 2009 by Coach Rick · Leave a Comment
Here’s my 8 mile fun run this weekend. I’m running with a friend that is training for a 1/2 marathon. Exercise is a lot like selling and business. If you don’t constantly challenge yourself (mind and body) to try new things you reach a plateau.
I haven’t run 8 miles for quite a while so I’ll be sore for a couple of days from the experience. But, once I’ve achieved this I know I’ll be in better shape and able to see the results of my training with increased energy and stamina.
Marketing, sales and business education are the same. You push yourself to learn new strategies, implement them and measure the results. Most of the time, just like exercise, it may take weeks and months to begin to see the effects. Six months, 1 year and more later you look back and say, ‘look how far I’ve come. They’re still so much more to accomplish but I’m so far ahead of where I was.’
Happy Selling!
Related Posts:
Beware of Popular Thinking
May 18, 2009 by Coach Rick · Leave a Comment
As a trainer, leader and manager, it is my job to stay positive and always be searching for new ideas and solutions. I want to share a little secret with all of you: I have the same feelings of insecurity, despair and disappointment that you all have. I have ridden the same emotional roller coaster that every home builder and new home specialist has. One advantage I have that some of you may not is that I avoid popular thinking. May I explain?
Let me define popular thinking with an analogy. You are scanning the business section of the newspaper and see an article on the next great stock pick. You take the advice of the author and buy the stock, only to see the value of the stock drop dramatically over the next weeks and months.
My personal experience with this type of thinking was investing $3,000 in the Munder Net Net mutual fund in 1999. This fund was a conglomerate of internet start up companies that we all know crashed and burned in 2000. I jumped on the “tech” bandwagon when everyone was already on it and I should have been on it before everyone else climbed on. In other words, I was following popular thinking.
Popular thinking as it relates to the new home industry sounds something like this: “Now isn’t a good time to sell my home. We’re going to wait for the market to get better.”
“The economy isn’t good and we think we should wait.”
“Nothing is selling in your neighborhood so we’re going to wait and see what happens,” or “Something must be wrong because no one is buying in your neighborhood.”
“I can’t get any traffic,” or “YOU have to do something to get me more traffic!”
In other words, popular thinking is buying into what the media, many of our own builders, salespeople and trades are saying about our current market. Ask yourself this question, ‘Am I a popular thinker?’ Here is your Litmus test:
1. Do you read the newspaper and commiserate with colleagues about how bad our current real estate market is?
2. Are you fixated on prices and believe your homes/home sites are too high?
3. Are you still waiting for the next Parade of HomesTM to save your year and make your sales for you?
4. Are you waiting for walk in traffic?
If you answered yes to any of the above questions, you are, at least partially, a popular thinker. In my 15 year career I have done a tremendous amount of study on change. Earlier in my career, I believed I could motivate people to change through the sheer force of my personality. I could not have been more wrong. I have discovered the only true way to get a person to change is to invite them to change their thinking and then they will change their behaviors.
Change your Thinking
If we want to eliminate popular thinking from our minds I encourage you to consider the following ideas:
1. Quit reading the newspaper and participating in activities that encourage popular thinking. Get away from negative people; quit watching the news and four hours of TV a night. Seek out magazines, books and people that will give you new ideas to incorporate into your business and personal life.
2. Start working on yourself. Look at how hard we work at our jobs but how little we actually work on ourselves. Imagine what you could become if you invested just one hour a day on personal development!
3. Get uncomfortable. If you keep on doing what you have always been doing, you will keep on getting what you have always been getting. Try new things that make you uncomfortable. This can be a simple as eating at a restaurant you have never been to before and notice how you are treated as a customer. Are there things you can learn and incorporate into your business?
4. Join a support group. Seek out and join a group of people that will encourage, give critical feedback and suggest new ideas. This could be a networking group such as Business Networking International, a local Chamber or Rotary club, Toastmasters or put together your own group of business associates. These clubs are all around you.
5. Write down your goals. Many of us have had very difficult years and are not satisfied with our sales to date. Write down realistic goals for the next 5 months knowing what you now know. Once you have identified those goals, set a stretch goal on top of that. Here is a hint on goal setting: start from the top down. That is, what do you need to do on a monthly, weekly and daily basis to make that next sale? Write it down and review it weekly.
6. Don’t reinvent the wheel. Every industry goes through cycles and the answers to our current challenges are already out there. One industry I like to study is retail. Look at what some of the most successful retailers are doing to create customers and generate referrals (By the way, do you think Target Corp. may have some ideas we can borrow?).
Another great resource is the local Sales and Marketing Council at the builders association and www.BuilderBooks.com.
Become a Shared Thinker
Shared thinking involves surrounding yourself with great people, mentors, authors and speakers and asking for help and ideas. Ask your customers about how they would improve your communications and home designs. They will tell you everything you need to know about your systems or lack thereof. Drop your ego and open yourself up to improvement and see how far it can take you!
One final note, beware of compromise. Compromise too often will take a great idea and dilute it to the point of mediocrity and make it average. You will face many naysayers’ on your journey to eliminate popular thinking. Once you have set your goals, never compromise and let popular thinking rain on your parade.
Related Posts:
By A Nose!
May 18, 2009 by Coach Rick · Leave a Comment
Why do some salespeople excel over others? Why do some always have follow up activities going on, regardless of how many prospects are coming in the door? Why is it that some salespeople consistently get higher customer satisfaction scores than those of their peers?
As a sales trainer and coach I am constantly seeking the answer to those and similar questions. The 80/20 rule states that 20% of the new home salespeople will make 80% of the sales (and commissions!). On the other hand, 80% of the salespeople make only 20% of the sales. I’m guessing that those of you in the 80% group would like to figure out how to get into the top 20% or even top 10%. On May 19, 2007 I found some answers on just how to do that.
I’m not a horse racing fan but for some reason, the results of the 2007 Preakness caught my attention. There were two horses battling it out right to the end of the race. Street Sense, the lead horse, had taken a big lead against the rest of the group and looked like he would run away with the crown. But coming around the final turn, a horse named Curlin started to gain on Street Sense at every stride. They were neck and neck coming into the finish and it was Curlin, by a nose.
Now in my book, it didn’t matter if Curlin won by a nose or six lengths. He will go down in history as the winner and Street Sense will forever be second. After hearing this it hit me that in order to “win” in new home sales, we only have to persuade our prospects just a little bit more than our competitors. Consider these other thoughts I looked up:
1. The average margin of victory on the PGA tour over the last 25 years is less than three strokes.
2. An Olympic sprinter will train for six to ten hours a day, six days a week for three years for a race that usually lasts 10 seconds. In 2004, the difference between first place and fourth place in the Men’s 800 Meters was .71 seconds!
3. At 211 degrees, water is very hot but if you increase the heat by only one degree, water boils and turns to steam. Steam can power a locomotive! (For a great inspirational video on this concept, visit 212 movie.)
If you want to win at new home sales, that little bit of extra effort will put you in the winners’ circle (or in our case, at the closing table) more often than not.
Here is the key point: to get what you’ve never had you must do what you’ve never done!
Question: “How do I apply this ‘extra degree’ of effort to the new home sales process?
Answer: Read on!
In May, we discussed Presenting and Demonstrating. Our next two steps are Selecting One (creating urgency) and Objections. With Objections, we are moving into the Action phase of the Critical Path. This is really what separates the winners from the losers.
A=Attention
I= Interest
D= Desire
A= Action
The Critical Path to new home sales (in chronological order):
1. Preparation
2. Greeting-Attention
3. Discovery/Needs Analysis- Interest
4. Presentation- Interest
5. Demonstration- Desire
6. Select One- Desire
7. Objections- Action
8. Finance- Action
9. Closing- Action
10. Follow up- Action
11. Due Diligence- Action
12. Referrals- Action
Selecting One (creating urgency)
“If you don’t want this home there are two other families that do,” or “We’re selling one home per week at Wild Meadows so if you don’t reserve this site, there is a good chance it won’t be around two weeks from now.” The previous are statements that were heard far and wide between 1998 and 2004. As you all know, you can’t use them anymore. How do we create urgency in today’s market? By narrowing down each prospect to one specific home or homesite.
The only way to accomplish this is to create a Unique Selling Proposition (USP) for each home or homesite. Take a look at the following list of ways to distinguish your individual homes or sites from one another:
1. Price
2. Size
3. Style (flat, LO, WO)
4. Vegetation
5. Location within neighborhood (near park, amenities, larger homes)
6. View (trees, water, green space)
7. Orientation to sun
8. Easements (utility, drainage, conservation)
9. Cultural preferences (address, cul-de-sac)
10. Limitations (width, depth, water table)
Use this list to give every home/homesite you are selling some unique characteristics. The idea is you don’t have 20 sites available, you only have one or two that will work for your prospect. For more information on creating urgency, click here Creating Urgency.
Objections
I’ve got a great article on objections here Objections but today I wanted to share my favorite technique for dealing with objections in today’s market. It’s called, Just Suppose and here is how it works.
The next time you have selected one with a prospect and now you are moving into the objection phase of the sales process, try this.
Prospect: “We would buy from you if we could afford it,” or “If the (road, power line, gravel pit, etc.) weren’t there, we would buy.”
All Pro Salesperson: “Mrs. Prospect thank you so much for bringing that to my attention. In addition to (list objection), is there anything else that would keep you from owning today?”
If the prospect gives you another objection you say, “Besides that, is there anything else?”
If the prospect says “No, that is all,” you use the Just Suppose method.
All Pro Salesperson: “Mr. Prospect, just suppose (the road/view/power line) wasn’t there, would you want this home?” If they say yes, it’s a legitimate objection and you move to changing the base of the objection (list out all the positives of the home/neighborhood/community) and simply ask, ‘what is more important, you getting all the amenities you want at the budget you’ve determined or the fact that the view could be a bit better?”
Now, if they still say ‘no’ after you have removed the objection you have a smoke screen. Something else is wrong that they are not telling you or they are not a ready, willing and able buyer. It’s time to dig deeper!
Try this technique the next time you get an objection and see how good it works.
