Wondering How to be a “Hall of Fame” Home Builder, Remodeler or Realtor? Why Not Copy How a REAL Hall of Famer did it…

I caught a radio interview with John Randle the other day- a former NFL defensive tackle that was just voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

With everything John had to go through, he never should of played in the NFL. Yet in 2010 he was voted, by his peers, as one of the best players to EVER play the game.

I couldn’t help but see the similarities in his story- with what we as home builders, Realtors and remodelers are up against on a daily basis.

There’s a few lessons we can all learn from John. Maybe you too can create a hall of fame business- against all odds.

~Rick

This was told to the 244 pound defensive tackle John Randle in 1990 at the Minnesota Vikings training camp by a coach.

John’s story starts in the little  town of Hearne, Texas- population 150. He was a self-proclaimed poor country kid that had to hitch hike home from practice every day.

He attended the small division II school of Texas A&I where he ALMOST went completely unnoticed.

After he went undrafted, a Minnesota Viking scout remembered catching one of his college games and invited John to attend training camp as an undrafted free agent.

The first thought on John’s mind was trying to last the entire 2 week camp. But as camp progressed he was overwhelmed by the chance to show the pro’s what he could do.

That chance was all he needed and John earned a roster spot on the team. He played in all 16 games his rookie year and earned a starting spot the following season.

After an injury sidelined him for part of the 1991 – 1992 season, John went on to play in 183 consecutive games. Over his 14 year career he amassed 137.5 sacks- tied for the number 6 most sacks of any NFL player.

Always Behind the 8 ball

Every game John played he was undersized. Just like every day you look for business- unemployment, low consumer confidence and tight credit are bigger and stronger than you are.

John developed 4 strategies to cope with his “market” and become one of the best to ever play the game…

Strategy #1: Leverage Your Coaches. A big heart and great attitude will only get you so far. John credits his coach’s for teaching him techniques that allowed him to stand out. He came in early and stayed late at practices- always looking for an edge.

I’m sure you work hard. But are you working smart? Are you leveraging the people in your life- or bringing others into your life that can give you that extra edge?

Strategy #2: The Law of Focus. John wouldn’t talk to his teammates before a game. He wouldn’t shake hands with any opposing players and he was superstitious. He had the same pregame rituals that HE felt gave him an edge.

Are you focusing on the activities that will bring your next buyer in the door? Or are you spending time doing things that are no longer relevant in this market? Everyone has the same amount of time in the day. How are you spending yours?

Strategy #3: Have a Secret Weapon. Speed was what John was known for. But he’ll tell you  what made him great was his hands.

“I used my hands to make sure guys couldn’t block me,” he said in his interview. “Nobody was expecting that.”

What do you do for your prospects that your competitors won’t do? How do you differentiate? Every owner and salesperson needs to push themselves to where they are uncomfortable.

You must constantly be developing your own secret weapons.

Strategy #4: What are You Saying? John was infamous for his “motor mouth.” He would study his opposing players and find out as much personal information as he could.

On Sunday he had his scripts all ready to go…

“I used trash talk to get into people’s heads and make them overplay, ” John commented. “One game Trent Dilfer was thrown out for beating on my chest because he was so upset at what I was saying to his offensive lineman.”

Now more than ever you need a carefully crafted verbal presentation. And it’s changed over what you needed just a few years ago. Many salespeople lose opportunities not because of outside forces. They lose buyers because they don’t pay attention to what they’re saying or asking.

It all comes down to objections…

During the radio interview John described how he got into the NFL. “Some guys get there in a limo. Some guys take a bus. I happened to walk.”

You’re just a country kid…

You didn’t go to the right college…

You didn’t get drafted…

You’re too small to play in the NFL…

These are nothing but objections. John learned to deal with them. And you can deal with the objections of the moment too.

You just need a big heart. The rest is easy…

Happy Selling!

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!

Hi guys!

Here’s Rob Fritz of Custom One Homes talking about how he has sold…

• 2 models
• 5 to-be-builts
• Over 4.5 million in volume
• And he has another 4 plan deposits

…in 7 months-  during a recession.

Rob has some great insight into his sales process and what he is doing different in 2009 than he did in years before.

To find out the specific strategies Rob uses click here>>

Here’s a little Q&A with Rob that we didn’t put on the video…

Question: Rob, what would you say to any home builder or remodeler (or their sales people) that feel like every prospect they talk to is only interested in price, or doesn’t want to do anything, wait for the market to get better, etc.

Rob: “If your company’s niche is to be the low price leader you have to expect people will focus on price. My builder’s position is not a low price leader. I focus on creating a perceived value that is DIFFERENT than the other guy- both as a salesperson and in the model home presentation (home design & the model shopping experience).

If I get asked about price right away in the relationship I shelve that and ask them, ‘first let’s talk about your goals and see if we have what you’re interested in.’ Then I go back into my needs analysis and find out what their hot buttons are. Only when they become emotionally involved do I talk about price.

If people are telling me they want to wait or not do anything I try to find out why they are at the model in the first place? I ask them what they will gain by waiting or what will be different a year from now. If people are out looking there is something that is not right with their current home lifestyle. I try to figure what that is and then help them see the advantages of moving up in today’s market.

I also like to share stories of other people in similar circumstances and how I’ve been able to help them. This usually encourages them when they realize they aren’t the ONLY people wanting to make a housing change.”

Question: You started your new home sales career “self-trained” or really without training. What impact has a proven new home sales process had on you over the last 3 years?

Rob: “It’s given me the confidence to be the guide and leader with my customers and take them down the right path. They (customers) take me off course a lot. With my training I can get them back on course and move the sale forward.

I’ve gotten a lot of discipline from my training. It’s not always fun to study and train but I do what I have to when I have to do it. For instance, closing is not at the end, it’s all along the way. My training allows me to do all the pre-close initiatives I need to in order to improve my odds of closing the sale at the end.”

Question: What would you tell anyone in new home or remodeling sales that has never had any formal training and is intimidated about changing their selling style?

Rob:  “If you’re intimidated to invest in yourself, learn a new sales process and change your selling style you’ll really be intimidated when you have to change into a new industry. I can’t sell the way I used to either. Buyers are constantly gaining knowledge and the market is always changing. I have to change faster than they do and the only way to do that is to constantly grow and improve through training.”

If you want to hear more from Rob and get your hands on the same techniques and strategies he uses…

Click here for the information>>

Happy Selling!

Rick

P.S. If you’re thinking Rob’s working in a really good market or has a distinct price advantage over his competitors- think again. He deals with foreclosures, short sales and desperate builders slashing prices JUST LIKE YOU.

These techniques work! Check them out for yourself>>

“So Just How Will Social Networking Help Me?”

I get this question a lot when I talk to prospective clients about Multi-Step Marketing and Selling. Social networking is playing a larger role in how you sell and market new homes and remodeling services today. In fact, it’s playing a larger role in how every SUCCESSFUL business has repositioned themselves.

To get you started (or maybe you already are), I’m giving away a DVD set and Workbook of my newest course, The Ultimate System for Transforming Cold Prospects into Hot Leads to the next 100 people that become a fan on my New Home Sales Coach Facebook page.

Why would you want to do this?

We’ll, besides the chance to win the manual and DVD set worth $135, I’m posting juicy little tidbits on Facebook that you won’t see in any of my email updates.

Not on Facebook yet?

No problem, just follow this link and set up a profile>>. It takes about 2 minutes and when you’re done, search for New Home Sales Coach and click on the “Become a fan button.”

It’s that easy. Remember, I’m limiting this to the next 100 fans so don’t wait around (I stole this idea from Myers Barnes and he added 100 in a couple of hours!).

Click here to become a fan (and don’t forget to leave me a message while you’re there).

Happy Selling!

P.S. If you win and would like to credit the $135 towards attending yours truly teaching Transforming Cold Prospects into Hot Leads at my next Sales Symposium on Septmeber 1st, 2009, just send me a note and I’ll take care of the details.

What’s Working in Today’s Market…

Are you a member of the Builders Association of Minnesota (BAM)?

Would you like some help in your marketing and sales efforts?

How about finding out how to double or triple your sales?

If you are an associate, home builder or remodeler, you have a once-in-a-lifetime (no B.S.!) chance to discover a system that is selling today.

I’ll be traveling the state of Minnesota the week of May 19^th – 22^nd with three other speakers to show you how builders and remodelers are transforming their websites into lead generating machines using the Woman-Centric philosophy.

Some of these builders have doubled and even quadrupled their sales!

Check out this case study and download a FREE e-guide to see how it’s being done>>

BAM has put together a first rate event “Tune Up & Jump Start: Best New Ideas For Reinventing Your Business” which delivers five of the most interesting speakers on four different days around the state giving you helpful information on topics to help you reinvent your business for the new economy.

All events will be held from 8AM – 12PM (Paul Foresman and me will be speaking from 8:00 – 9:30) , and the dates and locations are listed below. I think most of the sessions will be Free but you need to call your local home builder association to find out. The numbers are below…

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Prior Lake

To register call 651-697-1954

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

St. Cloud

To register call 320-251-4382

Thursday, May 21, 2009

Brainerd

To register call 218-829-4982

Friday, May 22, 2009

Duluth

To register call 218-722-5707

**Also, a FREE ENERGY CODE CLASS “Major Changes to the New Residential Energy Code: Overview and Open Q & A Session” will be held in the afternoon from 1:00 pm – 2:30 pm for all members, building code officials, licensed residential contractors, HVAC contractors and insulation contractors.