Did you Miss the International Builders Show? Here’s a Shortcut for the 7 Best Ideas from the 2010 show…

I returned from the International Builder’s Show in Las Vegas last Friday at 1:20 in the morning. It rained for 4 days in the desert causing delays at the airport.

The weather inside the convention center, however, wasn’t all rain. There were some beautiful sunny ideas. Here is a list of the 7 best thoughts from the show. Enjoy!

~Rick

The Best of the Best

J Van Rose Jr. of Rose & Womble Realty New Homes Division on the key traits of salespeople in today’s housing market…

Tom Richey of Richey Resources commented on what type of training salespeople should be focusing on…

Brian Flook of The Brian Flook Group commented on how it’s more important to have quality names in your database vs. quantity.

This reminds me of a quote from another trainer…

Set a goal to build a list of 100 Qualified leads and make sure you know everything about them and they know everything about you and your company.

Mike Lyon of Do You Convert had 4 great ideas…

On how fast to follow up with e-leads…“5 minutes or less. Try to get back to them when they’re still on your website.”

Mike also commented on what percent of e-leads are viable, “80% won’t do anything so don’t get frustrated.”

On how long to follow up with leads…“Most salespeople don’t follow up for more than 1 month. Most buyers won’t buy for at least 3 months. Make sure you have a dedicated 12 week follow-up program.”

On social media…“Focus your social media efforts towards Realtors. Most of them are already using social media and will follow you or become a fan.”

Honorable Mentions

Myers Barnes of Myers Barnes and Associates was as dynamic as ever. He has been one of the most motivational and educational mentors of my past.

Jeff Shore of Shore Forrest did some great presentations and always has a unique and fresh perspective on the housing market.

You can watch a short video courtesy of Mike Lyon on Jeff’s perspective below

Multi-Step Marketing and Position Selling are some new buzz words I’ll be talking about August 25th, 2009 at the MN Builder/Remodeler Sales and Marketing Summit.

It’s happening at 2:00 and you can still walk in to register.

Get directions here>>

If you can’t make it, here’s 2 stages of marketing & selling you can’t ignore!

~Rick


Consider this…

• “Women initiate 80% of all home-improvement purchase decisions, especially when it comes to big-ticket orders like kitchen cabinets, flooring and bathrooms.” (Forbes, 2003).

• “Women directly purchase or have controlling influence in the purchase of 91% of all new homes.” (Smith-Dahmer Associates, NAHB IBS).

• “90% of all construction companies are owned by men.” (Bureau of Labor Statistics).

If you’re a home builder or remodeler, or sell for one, you WANT to pay attention to these 5 buying stages…

Discover a new home and remodeling sales system taylored to women>>

According to Marti Barletta, author of Marketing to Women and PrimeTime Women, when men and women buy as partners, women control at least four out of five stages of the purchasing process (well really all 5 but us men need to get our egos stroked a bit .

Stage I- The Kick-off
Who gets the idea, 8 or 9 times out of 10, to change their housing situation?

When a woman isn’t satisfied with her current living situation it stems from problems.

Do you understand her problems better than anyone else?

The consistent mistake I see builders and remodelers making is jumping to solutions before identifying problems. As a man, I know my problems are DRAMATICALLY different than those of my wife.

Stage II- Research
Now that she’s decided to make a housing change, who do you think does the research?

According to the National Association of Realtors, she’s turning online 87% of the time to begin her home search.

And when she is looking at your website she’s looking to ELIMINATE you, not include you. She’s also checking out blogs, social networking and “CROPing”….

“Before women go shopping, they go CROPing, looking for CRedible OPinions,” maintains Kelley Skoloda Partner and Director of Global Brand Marketing Practice of Ketchum public relations.

Do you the best way to leverage the opinions of your current & past female customers?

Do you know what kind of website appeals to a woman?

Are you interactive in social media? Do you know which types of social media will give you the biggest return?

Do you understand what type of knowledge your female prospects are looking for online?

The bottom line is the housing industry has an incredible disconnect with our primary target market….women.

Our male egos lead us to believe we understand women and how to market and sell to them just because we have in the past.

The FACT is the majority of our previous sales were propelled by an unsustainable seller’s market- the same market that is not returning anytime soon.

Like anything, a process can be learned. And for those that do learn a sales system that appeals to women, the results are dramatic!

Use this link to get the ONLY new home and remodeling sales system designed to appeal to a woman>>

Next week I’ll talk about the Purchase and Ownership Stages. Until then…

Happy Selling!

Are you Making it Harder to Sell and Don’t Even Know it?

The market is tough enough, wouldn’t you agree? Why then, would you make it even harder to market and sell your services today?

“What do you mean by that Rick?”

Does this sound familiar?

• Your marketing doesn’t work.

• The only thing your prospects are interested in is a low price.

• Your phone has quit ringing and your model traffic is near dead.

• The last ad you ran or postcard you mailed netted a whopping “0″ calls.

• The only thing you do is “bid” today.

You’re thinking it’s the market or just consumers in general. Maybe.

But what if you had something to do with it?

What if 90% of your problem was internal and not the external market?

Why You’re Not Selling What You Want

The reasons your not selling today are…

Your prospect’s think you’re just like every other builder AND you’re looking for your next customer, not your next prospect.

I don’t have time to get into it but if you want to know the answers to finding more prospects and converting more of them to customers, download my FREE e-guide:

6 Secrets to Maximizing Your Home Sales in Any Market Revealed (yes it’s FINALLY ready)

You can get it by clicking on this link>>

Did You Miss Me At the Becker Home Center Green Expo?

No worries, see a video of my presentation, How to Make More $Green by Building Green by clicking here>>.

You can even get a copy of my power point. Just click here (it’s FREE!)>>

Coming Soon to a Minnesota Town Near You!

I’m on the road March 19th – 22nd and speaking about how to transform builder websites into lead generation machines.

Paul Foresman of Design Basics will be speaking with me about market positioning using the Woman-Centric approach>>. We’re going to show everyone, step by step, how builders from across the country are having their best year’s yet.

Get more information and reserve your spot here>>

The last time we teamed up was at the International Builders Show and the attendees loved our message.

You can keep hoping or…

Show up, learn and start kicking some ass. It’s your choice. What will you do?

Happy Selling!

~Rick

P.S Don’t miss me out on the road! Get the details here>>

Helping contractors maximize sales in any market.  The New Home Sales Coach Transformational Sales System for home.builders and remodelers transforms dull and boring organizations into extraordinary and remarkable ones.

Click here>> and get Rick’s FREE e-guide 6 Secrets to Maximizing Your Home Sales in Any Market Revealed.

Ask Rick a question and he may feature it in an upcoming issue of Coach’s Corner>>