As new home sales professionals, the goal is get the purchaser to say "Yes" and to purchase our homes. However, before we can make a sale, we must first master the fundamentals (or more accurately the "Five Must Knows"). To be able to effectively sell new homes, you must master the fundamentals of five areas including the product, the market, the prospect's needs, the sales process and one's own skills. When you have mastered these fundamentals, you will then be able to position your property and make a sales presentations that is most likely to achieve your object - which is to sell your property.
Know your Product
The first step in mastering the fundamentals is to gain sufficient knowledge of your product (i.e. the properties you are selling) in order to be able to best match customer needs and wants with what you are capable of offering and what is readily available. Product knowledge includes such items as:
• Basic Unit Information: # of rooms, # of baths, types of systems, square footage, type of utilities, etc.
• Financial Information: sales price, price per square foot, real estate taxes, HOA fees and estimated insurance costs.
• Selection and Upgrades: appliances, flooring selections, tile selections, cabinets, countertops, crown molding, door pulls and handles, sound systems, and other upgrades.
• Development Amenities: parking, storage, common areas, fitness facilities, security and fire protection systems, concierge services, condominium services, and utilities.
• Other Company Developments: Each of your company's developments has its own benefits and appeals to a segment of the market. Where possible, you can and should cross-sell. Some prospects may tour a particular development looking for particular amenity and may be unaware that you have other developments that may be better suited to their housing needs. Whether or not your company splits commissions for cross-development referrals, it is still a good practice. You establish a good relationship with the customers and you develop a referral relationship with another sales associate.
• Builder History: The history of the builder is often overlooked. Although floor plans and pricing are important, these items are the least able to be differentiated between competitors. The builder's history can be a strong point of differentiation. Here are some things to consider: local versus national, geographic service areas, small versus large builders, etc. When you know the history, you can refocus your sales presentation to take advantage of the builder's history. For example, a small local builder can leverage the fact that they can better handle customization, shorter building cycles, personalized service, commitment to the community, etc. A national builder may focus on synergies, cost savings, high level of customer service, staying power, etc.
Know your Market
After you have mastered the property information, then the second step is to gain sufficient knowledge of your market. Often, the new sales associates focus only on the facts and figures of their homes. However, although these items are important, knowing your market is equally and even more important to address customer objections and concerns.
• Market Information: Prospects enter your display with preconceived opinions of the market. Often, these opinions are based on national news stories that don't reflect the conditions in the local market. It is important to have a good working knowledge of your market or submarket including comparable sales, recent sales within your development, prices per square foot for new construction, sales prices as percentage of list prices, median prices, average annualized price appreciation, etc. Without this information, you will not be able to counteract prospects who desire to offer 10%, 20% or more off the list price just because they read an article that said "It's a buyer's market out there."
• Community Information: You should have a strong knowledge of the immediate neighborhood and adjoining neighborhoods including such items as parks, restaurants, businesses, churches, schools, neighborhood associations, proximity to highways, and proximity to sporting, concert and art venues. Knowing some history of the area may be beneficial as well. You should also be aware of proposed or planned developments within the general neighborhood. Often, you are selling a life style as well as a home. The "life style" sale offers a strong emotional appeal that isn't simply based on the facts and figures of the home.
• Competitor Information: You should have a general awareness of competing developments including pricing, standards, upgrades, parking, amenities, etc. This information is crucial to meeting objections and effectively differentiating your property from competing properties.
Know your Sales Process
After you have mastered the property information and market information, the third step is that you must know your sales process and systems. You must start by reviewing your website, advertising and marketing materials. Often, a prospect has a basic understanding of the property or development before they even visit the property. Their knowledge should not surpass your knowledge regarding the property. After you have reviewed the marketing materials, you should next master your sales contract, disclosures and related forms. You should be able to provide concise explanations of the terms and conditions of the sale contract, disclosures and other forms. In addition to the sales contract, you must understand and be able to guide the customer through the construction process as well as the sales process. If you fail to understand the construction process, you may promise something that you can't deliver. Often, a purchaser may ask about customization. If you don't understand when construction materials are purchased or manufacturing lead times, you may not understand the impact that changes will have on the delivery date. By mastering all aspects of the sales process from execution of the sales contract to closing, you will be better equipped to identify problems before they arise and to effectively manage customer expectations to insure a smooth closing.
Know your Purchasers
After you have mastered the sales process, the fourth step is to understand your buyer profile and the needs of your current prospects. The buyer profile is necessary because it provides you with a road map as to how to position the property based on prior successful sales. More importantly, you must actively listen to your prospects. By actively listening to prospects, you will be able to effectively "build a relationship" with your prospective buyers, clarify their housing needs and wants, match their needs and wants with the available units, and know when to close the sale.
Know Yourself
The fifth and final step is to know yourself and your skills. To be successful in sales, you need to work to understand your own motivators, your own areas in need of improvement, your own strengths and weaknesses, and your most/least effective work patterns and processes. You need to know and realize how and when you are personally creating barriers that hinder your success. After receiving a "no sale" response, you should take the time to critically analyze your sales approach, solicit comments from other members of the sales team, and refine your sales approach. It can range from lack of preparation to poor organization to untimely or unresponsive communication. By taking these steps to engage in self-examination, you may uncover key blind spots that may be hindering your sales performance.
By mastering the "five must knows", you will project professionalism and excellence and instill confidence in the prospect necessary to overcome objections and produce more sales.
Note: The opinions and statements contained herein represent my personal opinions and observations. These blog entries are not reviewed, endorsed or approved for publication by Gilded Age, L.L.C., Gilded Age Sales, L.L.C. or Preservation Real Estate Advisors, L.L.C
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