Blue M & M's & Betenbough Homes

Many times in life, it is the little things that make a big difference. We have the good fortune to work with wonderful sales teams from all across the world on a regular basis. We are very grateful for this opportunity to help improve lives by teaching proven techniques and processes that will increase sales, and also enrich the lives of those that work hard to implement them.

Earlier this year I returned from a sales training visit with Betenbough Homes in Lubbock Texas. My flight was cancelled due to an incoming blizzard, so I jumped on a plane to a different airport, rented a car and drove two hours in a snow storm getting in after 1 AM, for training that began that day at 8:30 AM.

When Troy, the Director of Sales asked if I had any specific needs, channeling my best Rock Star response, I joked that the room must never exceed 70 degrees, and that I must have only blue M & M’s!

A few weeks later I was shocked to receive in the mail an old fashioned gumball machine loaded with Blue M & M’s, each one inscribed with sayings from the class such as “Take the Shot” and “Ask for the Sale”, and “Coach Roland”. Along with a handwritten note thanking me for the extra effort in making it to the class.

How do you think I felt? Exactly, very special and truly grateful that this team led so ably, by Troy, Kerry and Ron had taken the time to express their gratitude, especially in such a unique and meaningful way. There is no coincidence that this team has an average closing ratio of approximately 1 sale per 4 customers!

Let me ask, how are you showing gratitude to your customers, co-workers and people in your daily life? As I like to say “Gratitude is my favorite Attitude”, in sales it’s the only one that counts! Not only is going above and beyond appropriate in sales to help earn extra sales, and many more referrals, it is also the right thing to do, and will reap wonderful unexpected rewards.
The Ritz Carlton Franchise has the motto “Ladies and gentleman serving Ladies and Gentleman”. Are you rolling out the red carpet for your customers or is it a torn piece of vinyl?

We have discussed before treating your opportunity to sell brand new homes as a Franchise Opportunity.

If you would like our Free Self Evaluation Franchise test, please email to me at:

Roland@newhomespecialist.com

In the sales process in order to run your franchise successfully, you have to be “Interested not Interesting”. Here are four quick tips on how to accomplish that.

OPEN ENDED QUESTIONS
Ask Open ended questions. These are the ones that begin with How, What, When Where, Who, Tell me and Share with me. Get the customers talking and they are happy. When at a loss for what to say next, don’t worry about your next witty, charming and insightful retort, instead simply say:

“Tell me more about that.”

You’ll learn so much more this way, than by trying to dominate the conversation.

LISTEN
What did I say? I thought so, you have to listen! Some basic techniques are:
Make great eye contact – “Listen with your eyes!”
Have the right body language such as leaning in nodding and appearing interested.
Mirror and matching their personality style.
Use their name to soothe them.
Never interrupt them.
Reflect or repeat back the last thing that you heard them say.
Chunk back every thing you heard them say, (try to fill up all four fingers and your thumb with what you heard them say).
And last but not least, don’t answer that darned crack-berry that is attached to your ear!

As I like to say there is no such thing as multi-tasking in New Home Sales, you are either connecting with the customer or blowing the sale!

K.I.S.S.
Which stands for Keep it Simple and Straightforward. Oh yes it does! Research shows that the average human being can only focus for 48 seconds, so it is our job to make our point, involve the customer and move on before they lose interest.

Remember “Telling is not selling!”

EXCEED THEIR EXPECTATIONS
Find ways to surprise them by going above and beyond, both while your with your customers and during your Follow Through. Call them immediately after they have left and thank them for a wonderful visit, hand write notes (or if you have bad hand writing like me then use a font to replicate that authentic look), reference personal details that you have learned during your time with them. Later on, surprise top customers with surpsies such as sending them a review of a restaurant you think they may like, or sending them tickets to a movie that you know they will appreciate.

There is a gentleman called Todd Wiens, who is a community manager for the excellent team, at Ideal Homes in Norman Oklahoma. Todd almost always volunteers to drive me to the airport after training programs, and has sent me many unique cards over the years, that he made with photos of my son, wife and me using photos from my blogs. Above and beyond? Absolutely! I know how much this personal touch means to me, and also that this is how Todd also treats his customers. It is therefore no surprise how successful he is, especially with customer loyalty and referrals!

Many salespeople nowadays make photo scrap books on line of their customer’s homes as they are being built, which make perfect house warming gifts. Others open up websites for their customer so they can log in and monitor the progress of their home as it is being built. All of these examples may take a little extra effort, but are sure to create raving fans, extremely loyal customers and more sales!

ROLAND ON THE ROAD

Here are some of the wonderful builders and sales teams, and places that I have been recently.

Sunrise Homes, New Orleans

Sherrick Development, Edmonton, Alberta Canada

Minto Communities, Sun City Center, Florida

Betenbough Homes, Lubbock, Texas

Sales Heroes
From Handbags to Moneybags!

Our sales hero this blog is Carrie Wagner of Landmark Homes of TN, who used to sell expensive handbags in the mall, and now is successfully selling brand new homes in the Nashville area. Read what owner Gary Wisniewski says about Carrie:

Gents,
Carrie is on fire!!!! We need asbestos suits to work around her.
She just sold Home site #17 Hawthorn valley, has a meeting tonight for a pre-sale @ Normandy & a second meeting at Normandy for Home site #90
As Dr. Norman Vincent Peale has preached: “you can accomplish anything you desire with a Positive Mental Attitude”

Thanks,
Gary Wisniewski

Carrie was hired by Gary using our NHS ten step recruiting process. Unfortunately Carrie was supposed to have been an associate for a while but due to circumstances beyond anyone’s control, she was thrown into the deep end a little early. She almost quit, but read what she says about an epiphany she had while attending our New Homes Sales Boot Camp this May.

Hi Roland, Sales were great over the weekend! Valley! I can attribute my success mainly to mindset. Having the right attitude in your sales arena is very important. I struggle sometimes with self-confidence, and that can really defeat a salesperson.
New Home Sales Boot Camp really drove it home for me. At the time thatI participated in that program, I was at a crossroads. I realized during Boot Camp that I had two options: get fully on board with the New Home Sales training program at Normandy Heights, or leave. There was no middle ground. I'm certainly not a quitter, and this career is veryimportant to me, so I made up my mind. Boot Camp could not have come at a better time. I learned so much, and it really pushed me forward and prepared me for a fresh start in my new community. I'm so grateful for this incredible opportunity, and I know that with my determination and the training that Landmark is providing through your training program, the future holds some great things for me. My new home sales career combined with the valuable training has really changed my life for the better. Thanks for everything,
Carrie

Carrie hasn’t looked back. I reviewed her Mystery Video shop last month and she got an incredibly high score, and is continuing to exceed sales expectations for both herself and Gary.

Have a great month of selling and please continue to share your questions and successes.

Truly,

COACH ROLAND

Written By,

Roland Nairnsey

Senior Vice President Training and Development

Bob Schultz and the New Home Sales Specialists

2300 Glades Road, Suite 400 West Boca Raton, Fl 33431
561-368-1151

Roland@newhomespecialist.com

Newhomespecialist.com

TEAMWORK, THE KEY TO SUCCESS IN NEW HOME SALES & SOCCER

Growing up in London, soccer, or as we call it in England “footy”, has always been my favorite sport. Recently the USA Women’s Soccer team made it all the way to the FIFA World Cup final, where they were “pipped at the post” in an enthralling match, by a plucky Japanese team who came from behind twice and then won in a nail biting penalty shoot out. As much as I wanted the States to win, no one can begrudge the Japanese a victory after what they have endured this year.

As I watched the USA beat France to get in the finals of the Women’s World Cup, and before that beat the favorites Brazil in a memorable come from behind victory, it occurred to me how many similarities that soccer (otherwise known as the “Beautiful Game”) has to our profession of new home sales.

We only tend to remember the stunning individual performances such as in the USA-Brazil game Megan Rapinoe’s pin point cross to find Abby Wambach on the far post and Wambach’s perfect headed goal in the last seconds of overtime; or Hope Solo’s dramatic penalty save to seal the victory, and also give her vindication for being left out of the same game four years ago. However, the truth is that soccer is a true team sport where all eleven players on the field are important and cannot function without the other. This is how it so similar to the new home business.

The forwards, especially the striker or center forward, are given the job of scoring the goals, and just like salespeople are given the most credit for the success of the team. They are often highly emotional, charismatic types. They are on the front line, are highly visible and therefore usually well rewarded when successful.

Behind the forwards are the midfield players, they are the engine of the team, taking the ball from the defense and distributing it to the forwards, occasionally scoring themselves, and often getting back to defend as well. They are like the office team, and administrators strategizing, organizing and always striving for the success of the team.

Behind the midfield is the defense, they are given the job of protecting the goal to prevent the other side from scoring and making sure that the midfield is given the ball to set up offensive plays. Like the construction team, this requires solid, dependable types and is often unglamorous work with fairly small credit. However the defense like construction is the foundation of every great team.

The goalkeeper has a thankless task, rarely receiving that much credit for doing their job of preventing goals from being scored, but facing ridicule for making a mistake which would cause an easy goal to be scored against the team. Like customer service, their job is often taken for granted, yet if they make a mistake they are sorely missed.

Every team has a manager/coach and assistant coaches. They are like the sales managers engaging in market research and hiring the architects to build the best product, and then recruiting and training the best possible team.

At the top of the ladder is the owner or chairman. Just like the owner/developer/builder in construction, they are ultimately responsible for everything that happens. They will take well deserved credit for the success of the team, and make immediate changes to ensure the team thrives at its maximum potential.

Just like new home sales, players practice, and rehearse their positions continually, mastering a basic process. However before entering a game, the coaches will study the competition and come up with a game plan. Whether the teams adopt the formation of a 4-4-2, a 4-3-3- or a 3-5-2, the team will only enter into a game when they are fully prepared to be successful.

The bottom line is that the team cannot function and be successful without the total cooperation of the whole team. If a player starts to look tired, then the manager will warm up substitutes on the sidelines as a clear message that they can be replaced for the improvement of the team. Certain players may receive more attention than others, but the joy of the “beautiful game” is that the best group of individuals that functions as a TEAM will always win.

Well done to the ladies of Team USA and good luck at the London Olympics in 2012.


SALES HEROES

After our highly successful New Home Sales Boot Camp ® and Serious Sales and Marketing Profit Management (sm) programs In Delray Beach at the end of May, we received a slew of emails from attendees sharing their wonderful sales success stories. We love to hear this great news and always take sincere pride in all of your success. One stands out in particular, from Shawn Forth, a Builder from Oklahoma City who invested in both programs. Shawn is already a successful custom home builder but attended our programs looking to become more of a “quality volume builder” and also learn how to sell homes himself as well as build and run a successful sales operation.

Shawn is an understated gentleman, and I remember noticing every day that he was always one of the first in the training rooms and always placed himself in the front row. Whenever I scanned the audience I would always notice Shawn taking notes feverishly. Here is the email we just received from Shawn.

From: Shawn Forth
Sent: Thursday, June 30, 2011 11:45 PM
To: Bob Schultz
Cc: Roland Nairnsey
Subject: Thank you
Bob/ Roland, I want to thank you for changing my mindset to that of a sales professional. While I have a long way to go, I am already seeing the fruits of the seeds you planted during your New Home Sales Boot Camp I just attended. I sold another home tonight, and it was the first physical visit by the customer. I had spoken with them on the phone, they visited my website and walked the home prior to coming into the office, so just as you told us, “people can and will buy on what appears to be the first visit.” After going through the presentation, visiting the home under construction (100+ degrees), answering multiple objections, asking for the sale multiple times, I finally wrote the agreement at 9:30 pm effective on Tuesday (she forgot her check book).
One sale is not a record, but it is the 4th since my visit to Florida just six weeks ago. I would not have had the tools or the persistence to work with these customers for 3 1/2 hours prior to meeting you and your staff.
Thank you again,
Shawn


This year we have been all over the USA and Canada training wonderful sales people. Recently I was in Vancouver Washington, and had the great pleasure of working again with the delightful team at New Tradition Homes. Here is a photo of the team.




A few days after I returned, I received this exciting email from Jessica Hollandsworth, a salesperson at their Tri-Cities division. For Jessica’s courage in implementing what she learned so quickly, she is also a sales hero.

From: Jessica Hollandsworth Sent: Monday, June 27, 2011 3:42 PM
To: Roland Nairnsey
Subject: Just thought you would like to know
Roland,
I just wanted to let you know that Anne and I used the training that you taught us on Friday and Saturday....It was awesome!
I myself had a lady on Saturday morning come in just to look at our product, and she was referred to us from a current homeowner....I showed her the model, then walked her through a floor plan that is what she talked about fitting her needs, we then drove to the 3 home sites that would work for her specifications as well...then she came back and priced out her home. In the process she started crying because she really didn't think she would ever get to this point of owning a home again. She fell in love with New Traditions and I have an appointment with her on Wednesday to write the purchase and sale.
I also had a family come in Saturday afternoon that had previously came in. They knew what floor plan they wanted but wanted to walk through our model again. Within 10 minutes I had them sitting at my desk pricing them out and at the end used the phrase "is this the type of home you would like to own?" and they said yes and wrote up!!!
It was a great weekend and it was really great being able to use the different training techniques, and seeing how they work!!! Thank you
Jessica Hollandsworth,
Professional Sales Representative for New Tradition Homes

Congratulations to Shawn and Jessica and all of you across the world that are working so hard in this challenging market and working “smart” by investing in training to ensure that you are maximizing your sales success.


Lastly, for those who are interested in my lad Max, here is an updated picture of the little fella. He just turned three and continues to brighten every moment of our lives. We are so blessed and grateful.

Have a great month of selling and please continue to share your questions and successes.

Truly

Coach Roland

www.NewHomeSpecialist.com

Written By Roland Nairnsey

Senior Vice President Training and Development
Bob Schultz and the New Home Sales Specialists
2300 Glades Road, Suite 400 West
Boca Raton, Fl 33431

Tel: 561-368-1151

Roland@newhomespecialist.com

HOW TO RUN YOUR NEW HOME SALES FRANCHISE - PART 2

THIS CUP CAKE HELPED MAKE SALES - LEARN HOW

The topic of running your own new home sales franchise is so detailed, that I had to break it into two parts for you. (We'll get to the cup cake in a moment, I promise!) Here is part two.

FINANCING
In most value ranges the total investment in the home is somewhat arbitrary to the customer, what they care more about is their monthly investment. Make sure that you have at least a basic knowledge of financing, or a simple system, to be able to show your customers what their home, on their homesite with all of their luxury goodies will be; with a highly affordable monthly investment, and watch your sales increase!

KNOWLEDGE OF THE COMPETITION
“Know thy competition as well as thy know thyself.” Visit in person at least once a month and on line, and create a binder with updated info. Sir Francis Bacon famously said, “Knowledge itself is power”. I am saying, “The lack of knowledge, causes unnecessary stress and lost sales!”

With this updated information, you can positively compare your builder against the competition, and you will be able prevent your buyers from using this as an excuse for delaying action, and compromising your prices. Most importantly you can make the sale now, not perhaps some time in the future.

OBJECTIONS
Prepare ahead of time with all the objections you may hear. Pick the top ten, then use our NHS 6 step formula for managing objections, and again keep them in a binder in your sales office. This way you will be prepared to answer any objection that in the past could have given the customer a reason for delay. You can now be proactive as apposed to reactive, and make more sales.

For more info on the 6 step formula you can either go back to previous blogs or watch this little video of me at one of the International Builders Show, discussing customers buts! When I say buts, I mean their objections of course, what were you thinking?

Click on the photo to see part 1, and then be sure to watch parts 2 and 3 as well on You Tube.

FOLLOW THROUGH
Dedicate at least an hour a day to follow through with your customers. Rank your customers as Bob Schultz says; “By what you know about them, not just what you feel”. Use a CRM system and create a daily follow through regimen. We even have a follow through System called CAP with Builder 1440.

If you are interested please email me at roland@newhomespecialist.com and I will give you the contact info you need.

PROSPECTING
Also dedicate at last an hour a day to the various prospecting targets. The rule is that at least two thirds of your qualified traffic should be self generated. First identify the targets then create a daily prospecting regimen. This is topic is so important, that we will discuss it in more detail in another blog. By the way, this is where the cup cake will come in handy!

EXPERIENCE
Lets take a leaf out Starbucks Corporation playbook, as they were one of the first companies to realize that people would pay more (way more!!!) for their product if they created an inviting environment in which to enjoy it. Prior to their arrival on the national scene we were used to paying less than a dollar for a basic cup of Joe. They created a memorable experience with comfy sofas, cool music, even cooler people writing the next great American novel on their lab tops, enjoying trendy lighting, and over 77,000 (actual number) choices of beverages. Best of all, they even write your name on your unique double mocha, extra skinny, no foam, triple shot, extra hot, Grande latte!

Ask yourself are you creating anywhere close to such a positive experience for your customers. The Ritz Carlton, one of the most luxurious hotel chains in the World, has the company motto:

"Ladies and Gentleman, Serving Ladies and gentleman.”

We should feel and act the same way. When people walk into your model have you created a “Welcome Home Atmosphere” ? Lights on, cheerful breezy music in the background (no radio ads, or politics ruining the moment!), pleasant aroma, and yes refreshments please.

We human beings love free food. When I go to the car dealership to have my car serviced, they have a coffee machine and free cake and cookies. I could be on the biggest diet, but I am like a kid in a candy shop, and never have the willpower to resist free food. Please adopt a service mentality and spoil your customers, so that they’ll keep you on their inclusion list.

The same concept applies with Realtors, make sure that they understand that you are "Realtor Friendly" destination where they and their clients will receive bottled water or coffee, cookies, and a space for them to make their future appointments, as well as great service from the new home sales professional, and both Realtor showings and sales will increase.

Now that we understand what it takes to run a New Home Sales Franchise, are you ready to commit? It is up to you to implement, to attain excellence. Aristotle said;

“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then is not an act, but a habit.”

So now is the perfect time to dedicate yourself to start turning your actions into skills that will then become the habits that will sustain you for a life time of transformative success.

*For a copy of our patented New Home Specialist “Franchise Checklist” form, "The Features and Benefits" form, or simply to ask any questions please free to email me at: roland@newhomespecialist.com.

SOUTH EAST BUILDERS CONFERENCE 2010

Bob and I had the distinct pleasure at the end of July of speaking with Kimberly Mackey at the Sales Summit at SEBC. It was a great program packed with important information on Myth Busting and how to both prospect and sell homes in this market. The large audience was eager and enthusiastic. A big thank you to Kimberly and all of the organizers for a great event, that we were honored to be part of.

SALES HEROES

We have been working with the incredible team at Shea Homes in Charlotte for quite a while. Recently we have been working on Prospecting and teaching the sales team to generate their own qualified traffic.

One of the specific target areas (out of over 20) of course is Realtors, and with the help of John Shea and Director of Sales & Marketing Michelle Scott, we have created an in depth Realtor outreach program. This is something near and dear to my heart, for as a new home salesperson, I was diligent in my relationship building with Realtors and developed a strategy for dropping off food on a regular basis, and then hosting Broker Breakfasts at Brokers sales offices at least once a month; which I sustained for over ten years. Needless to say my Realtor referrals were incredible, which helped greatly increase my personal sales.

At Shea Homes each Sales person created their own Realtor Farm list and then set about implementing our multi stepped outreach program. Like a lot of cities, In Charlotte there were challenges as many of the Real Estate offices didn't want to hear from new home salespeople, especially if they didn't have the listings from that builder.

I truly admire Merdyth's creativity and persistence. Let's read what she said in a recent email to me.

From: Meredyth Holdenrid
Sent: Tuesday, August 24, 2010 1:29 PM
To: Roland Nairnsey
Cc: Michele Scott
Subject: Realtor Outreach Success Story!

Hi Roland!

I wanted to let you know about a resent success story that happened to me since kicking off our Realtor Outreach Program.

At Shea Homes we have implemented an escalating commission program for our local Realtors. To let the Realtors know about the program we have been delivering Shea Blue cupcakes to each office. Every cupcake has a flag on it that says “Ask about Shea Homes Escalating Commission program!” It also contains the Builder Representative’s name and cell phone number.

I delivered the first batch of cupcakes to a local Real Estate office on a Monday, not knowing that the office was closed for a holiday. An agent was leaving so she kindly let me in where I proceeded to set up the cupcakes in their break room.

Two weeks later I visited the same office and was turned away by the receptionist because Shea Homes was not a “preferred vendor”. Two days later, three agents from the same office showed up to my model home asking about the escalating commission program. They had seen the cupcakes in their break room and were excited enough to come out and visit in person. All three agents were very impressed with our community and our extra services to them (allowing them to use an office if they are in the area, snacks and water just for them, etc.).

I am currently working on getting more of their agents out to my community. In the meantime I’m still visiting my other offices regularly because it’s proven that Realtor Outreach will only lead to future sales!

Have a wonderful week!

Meredyth Holdenrid

Builder Representative

Shea Homes At Riviera

This is what her boss, Michelle Scott said about Meredyth, also in an email to me.

Meredyth has been one of the most aggressive Agents on our team with regards to our new Realtor program. Many Agents may have avoided the offices that they didn’t think they could get in, but Meredyth chose to try anyway. That’s one of the qualities that I love about her.

Me too!!! Research shows that a customer bought in by a Realtor is far more likely to be qualified to buy than a customer that walks in by themselves (in most cases). And that the conversion ratio with customers bought in by Realtors, is typically on average three to four Realtor visits to lead to a sale, as opposed to many more visits with non- Realtor generated traffic. So as long as our builders are in agreement that it is OK for us to reach out to more Realtors, then it makes sense to make that part of our daily routine. With these statistics in mind, Merdyths 3 cup cakes probably led to a sale. What a return on investment and again congratulations to Meredyth for your passion and persistence.

Again as I promised on my very first blog, there will always be a photo of my young toddler Max. Let face it, we all work so hard, so that we can have the reward of coming home and spending quality time with our loved ones.

I believe here he is channelling a little James Dean!

Thanks again for the opportunity to share these ideas with you.

Please feel free to write with questions, comments and to get your free forms at: Roland@newhomespecialist.com or follow the prompts and leave your message on this blog; and also please share YOUR success stories.

Have a terrific month of selling homes.

Coach Roland

Written by
Roland Nairnsey
Senior Vice President, Training & Development
Bob Schultz and The New Home Specialists
2300 Glades Road
Boca Raton, FL 33431
Tel: 561-368-1151

Newhomespecialist.com

HOW TO RUN YOUR NEW HOME SALES FRANCHISE - PART 1

The legendary guitarist from a bygone era Jimi Hendrix, was famous for asking, “Are you experienced?” . The question today for new home sales people across the country is “Are you creating a memorable positive experience for your customers?”

We need to think of the opportunity to sell new homes as a “Franchise Opportunity”. Our builders have invested anywhere from a couple of hundred thousand dollars for a single model, to many millions of dollars for planned communities. How much are they charging us to run their franchise? A big fat zero! However, what do they expect in return? A Franchise mentality and the accountability that comes with it.

If you take the word Enthusiasm, and underline the last four letters. (IASM) As Bob Schultz says that stands for I Am Sold Myself, and also I believe it stands for I AM SELF MOTIVATED. The most successful New Home Salespeople (and Realtors managing new home sales) in the country, are the ones that take ownership of their communities.

We have to be prepared for our success. Lets look at what this entails in the world of new home Selling.

"Before anything else, preparation is the key to success"
Alexander Graham Bell

APPEARANCE
Every day you need to check the appearance of your community, models, available homes, and home sites to make sure they are in tip top shape. By the way, if they aren’t who ultimately pays the price? That’s right; we do the New Home Salesperson/Franchisee, because of the lost sales that result! Add to that list our own appearance; make sure that we are professional at all times, and never in conflict with our message. If you are in doubt there are many excellent books on the topic of professional appearance, we would be happy to recommend.

For a copy of our patented New Home Specialist Franchise Checklist form, please email to me at roland@newhomespecialist.com

SIGNAGE
Can people find you, and is it obvious that you are open when you are open? Are your website, phone number and hours of operation clearly visible when you drive by your model?

Also does you signage create a compelling reason to buy now, such as “Grand Opening”, “Grand Close Out’, “End of Summer/Holiday Savings”; the kind of statements that create subtle urgency.

I managed a community in South Florida where at one time we had a sign with a countdown board with the exact number of remaining opportunities. Since “Perception is Reality”, it was both a conversation piece, and helped to greatly accelerate the pace of the close out.

COLLATERAL MATERIAL
Is it professional and easily accessible to you? We don’t believe in giving out a full brochure at the beginning because your customers won’t need you at the end. Besides at the end we should have narrowed down their choices to one home and homesite (Condominium/Townhome) which is the information they need. Remember that “Confusion leads to Indecision”, so don’t overwhelm them in their packet with too many choices.

Also don’t leave out a bunch of fliers for your customers to pick up. All you are doing is enabling the customer to go around you. As a franchise owner keep control of the sales process, and be the “gatekeeper” of the important information.

MARKETING PROPS
We greatly believe in following a formal sales process, proven beyond any doubt to increase sales. However if you don’t have the appropriate props to support your message, it can be almost counter productive. Remember that “Telling is not selling” and we believe in a “Presentation that is PLANNED not canned.” The essential props to support this are:
Map of the Area or Aerial Photo - both Macro and Micro, clearly labeled with the benefits of the area. Use this to learn about your customer’s location hot buttons, Such as schools, work, recreation etc.
Community Map - Showing the features and benefits of your community.
Builder Story – Photos and bullet points to prove how you are different and better than your competition.

SILENT SALES TOOLS
Show on you community map the number of sold homes with neat red dots or little houses. Also create statements in writing, such as Grand Opening, Grand Close out 87% sold Out, X number of exciting opportunities and put it in writing near the community map.

The grand daddy of all Silent Sales tools are Sold Signs, so make sure that you lather up your community with proof of your success. As Joe Namath said “It ain’t bragging, if you can back it up!

I always used to make a little ceremony with my customers of either going out and putting the sold sign in the ground together (Or putting a sticker across the sign, if the ground was too hard), and photographing them standing by it. I would then put a copy in a frame for them, or email it to them, and keep a copy in my scrap book on my desk. If the weather is bad then photograph them putting their red sticker on the community map. So many of my students across the country have shared with me, that they have found that “Celebrating the Sale” this way creates a great memory point for their customers, and also helps proactively prevent potential buyer’s remorse.

SALES PROCESS & PRODUCT KNOWLEDGE
Prepare your complete sales presentation, write it out, and then practice for at last an hour a day, before your customers arrive in your sales arena.

“If you’re not practicing, somebody else is, somewhere,
and they’ll be ready to take your job.”
Brooke Robinson
American professional baseball player

A little harsh but true. As Legendary Coach Vince Lombardi said:

“Only perfect practice, makes perfect.”

Also prepare forms that list every feature in your homes from the outside in, along with their specific benefits and then any choices the customer may have. Keep this in a binder in your office and make sure you have it handy. Remember, “Features tell, Benefits sell”; so it is the benefit that will keep the customer coming back for more.

Also create internal forms for available home sites, or available locations in condominium and townhome sales, and available homes. This way you can “site” your customer on their first visit, and create the love for a “one of a kind”, that they will then fear losing; dramatically increasing your sales conversion ratio.

As much as we may hate to hear it Role Playing is such an essential part of our daily regimen as salespeople, to ensure that we have created the "muscle memory" on the practice field, so that we can perform at our highest level with real customers. Here are some photos of role playing with real sales teams across the country. Since I have written a few screenplays, I like to think of the sales process as though it were in three acts;

ACT 1

In the sales office practicing your Five Minute Drill (sm)

Here are Salespeople and Sales Associates at Minto enthusiastically role playing at Artesia in Sunrise , and Olympia in Wellington; both in South Florida.

ACT 2

In your models, role playing model demonstration

On the left role playing in the Kitchen with London Bay Homes in Naples, FL.
On the right "Asking for the sale" on the Closing Balcony" with Caruso Homes in Crofton, Maryland.

ACT 3
Closing role plays

Our friends at Heritage Homes in Fargo, ND role playing closing. Check out Lisa's hands flying!

The Franchise mentality in New Home Sales and Management is so important and there are so many elements to consider, that it is too much information for one blog. So I will post the rest of this article later this month. Stay tuned for Part 2.

*Meanwhile for a copy of our patented New Home Specialist “Franchise Checklist” form, The Features and Benefits form, or simply to ask any questions please free to email me at: roland@newhomespecialist.com

SALES HEROES

Find out later this month how Merrdyth Holdenrid at Shea Homes in Charlotte used this cup cake to make sales!

Lastly it wouldn't be a blog from me, if there wasn't an updated photo of my lad Max. Here he is looking very cool in blue.

Feel free to write with questions, comments and to get your free forms at: Roland@newhomespecialist.com

Have a terrific month of selling homes.

Coach Roland

Written by
Roland Nairnsey
Senior vice President, Training & Development
Bob Schultz and The New Home Specialists
2300 Glades Road
Boca Raton, FL 33431
Tel: 561-368-1151

Newhomespecialist.com

ARE YOU A CLOSING CHICKEN?

Firstly please accept my sincere apologies to all of our loyal Blog readers for the absence of posts. The good news, is that we have been swamped, travelling the country helping sales team to excel and beat their markets. Now it is time to get back to some serious blogging business.

Many of you benefited greatly from the National Stimulus Program, which caused a great surge in sales up until the end of April. After we temporarily drained our customer pipelines, it may have been anti-climatic realizing it was back to business as usual. Instead of being “down in the dumps” (setting aside any political agenda’s), we should all be appreciative for the opportunity to dramatically increase sales, deplete our inventory reserves, and increase our earnings. Now that it is over let’s get back to business as usual, and see how we can learn how to implement the essential level selling skills at the highest possible and most consistent level, so that every month feels like a permanent stimulus for you and your sales teams.

Interestingly 83% of respondent’s who attended our 2010 New Home Sales Camp ® that ended on May 6, enjoyed their best sales month of the year, immediately after attending the program. This statistic is even more remarkable when you consider that the press announced May as the worse month in 38 years for new home sales. We say this not to brag, but to inspire you that with the proper focus, training, and belief in yourself you can accomplish greatness on a consistent basis.

With that in mind let’s focus on closing. At a recent International Builders show, I used the prop of a chicken to make the bold statement that “We are not closing chickens; we just don’t know the words.”

Here is the link to the you tube video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3n3WjJqXy40

Having been a sales person for so long and being the compassionate fellow that I am, I always feel bad when I hear owners and managers complaining that their salespeople can’t close. Most times, what is lacking is the proper instruction followed up with rigorous role playing to ensure that we develop our closing skills and confidence.

Let’s explore the various kinds of closes there are, the words we should use, and
importantly when to use them.

MINI CLOSES

When should you close, and how often? Of course we all know from the very beginning when you first meet the customer, and throughout your presentation.

As I like to say:

"Mini closes lead to big sales!”
Roland Nairnsey

Research shows that the average human being can only focus for 48 seconds, how long did I say? Just checking. So with that in mind, every 48 second span of communication we need to share a feature, cap it with a pertinent benefit and then involve the customer.

The choice of these consistent involvement questions and phrases are endless.
Many times while on the road, I will ask sales teams to come up with as many of these as they can possibly think of. Below is a photo of Mary Beth who successfully sells homes for Caviness & Cates in North Carolina, with a dry erase board full of involvement phrases.



Here are just a few examples:

“Isn’t it” “Wouldn’t you agree?” “Couldn’t you imagine”, “How does that work/look feel?” “What do you think?” “Make sense?”

And of course so many more. Find the ones that you are comfortable with and start using them immediately. As a sales coach, I have found that so often we are saying smart things to our customer, but are not taking the time to “Fish for Feedback” by checking in with our customers, and see how they feel about what we just shared with them. When we learn to slow down, and trust our customers by inviting them into the process, the connection is huge and sales increase exponentially. Plus, you will have far more energy for your self and your next customer as you are allowing the customer to do far more of the talking.

ALTERNATE CHOICES

“Choices = Commitments = Closings.”
Roland Nairnsey

Give your customers a choice, (the simpler the better), they give you their commitment and you close them on their commitment. Before you know it, they have made four of five very important commitments to you, before they have even committed to buying a home.

For example:

SALES GENIUS
“Mr. and Mrs. Customer, we include maintenance free vinyl flooring,
we also offer ceramic tile or hardwood, which would you prefer?”

Once they respond, and then continue with:

SALES GENIUS
"Great when we go back to my office I will be happy
to make a note of that/price that out for you?”

In under thirty seconds, you just made an appointment to take them back that day to your sales office (After you go to the available home or homesite) for a recap and price out; or review of their luxury choices if you aren’t able to price anything for them. At the end of the price out, you will be able to show them the highly affordable monthly investment of their brand new home, with their luxury choices, and you will have earned the right to do what? That’s it…Ask for the Sale!

Give at least 5 alternate choices in a typical presentation and aim to bring back approximately 80-90% of your customers on a first visit for a recap and price out in person and sales again will increase dramatically.

PS. Unless they are out of State, never agree to email or fax your price out, only in person since buying is emotion backed by logic, they need to return to you. (See previous blog for specific “No enabling” dialogue.)

CLOSE AS YOU GO (sm)

“Closing is the process of helping others make
decisions that are good for them.”
Bob Schultz

Again instead of waiting until the end of your presentation with a random closing question that may feel like it is coming out of left field; learn to close as you go. Gain mini agreements, and build your Yes Bank (sm). At the end, your closing process will be a simple recapping of all the agreements you gained along the way.

In the sales office, close out your builder, location and community. During your model demonstration close out the front of the home, the kitchen, great room,
back yard (if there is one of course!), the downstairs, the owners retreat, and then the upstairs.

A word of caution, don’t make your closings statements too lofty or esoteric, because they become harder to agree with. So instead of saying, “Isn’t this the most amazing kitchen you’ve ever seen in your whole life?” Simply say:

SALES GENIUS
“How does the kitchen work/ look/feel?”

Much easier to agree to, and move the sale forward.

FINAL CLOSES

And here are we are, finally having earned the right to ask for the sale. How many times in a typical presentation. Between 5-7. Not in a row of course, that’s just begging! Let’s remember to keep it simple, and when culminating your model demo, close it out. Simply say:

SALES GENIUS
“Is this the (type)* of home you’d like to own?”

*If it is the model say type of home, if it is the available home itself then drop the word type.

When they say yes, then you will say:

SALES GENIUS
“Great, let’s go look at the available homes/ home sites!”

Notice we don’t say, “Would you like to go”, because the customer could say no. You need to become a “crazy home/homesite loving fool” and be walking out the door to get them sited on their first visit. Without them falling in love with the one of a kind homesite or home that could go away; there can be no authentic emotional urgency, and therefore no real fear of loss, that will lead to the sale.

Once you have narrowed down the home or homesite then of course we have nothing left to do but what? That’s it …Ask for the Sale. Instead of saying “Do you wanna tie it up/bind it?” Which is a little risqué if you ask me, instead simply say:

SALES GENIUS
"Now that you have found the home that you like,
Do you have any questions before we go back and review the paperwork?”

A genius question, as most people are conditioned to say “no”, when asked for the business. So in this case no is a good answer. If they have an objection manage it and ask again, if they are appearing pressured and not ready to go ahead, don’t pressure them instead offer to go back to your office for a recap. As I discussed in great detail in earlier blogs, at the end of your recap closing process you will be far more likely to have proactively managed any of their real concerns, and will have earned the right to now ask again, with a much greater likelihood of making the sale. Simply ask:

SALES GENIUS
"Do you have any questions before we begin the paperwork?”

Of course since so much of professional communication is body language, you will have a blank agreement on your desk and a pen in hand when you ask this question, so that you are clearly displaying your closing intent, but in a very friendly way.

Once you ask for the sale, you will typically get either the sale or an objection, so then you will manage their objection and then ask again. You can’t ask with the same words every time as that would be too transparent, so we need to practice the myriad ways in which we can ask for the sale. Not until we have asked between five to seven times can we be sure about our customer’s readiness and ability to buy that day, and then at least we can move straight to the appointment.

So now that we know more about the many types of closes as well as many of the words to say, we can throw away the Closing Chicken, and look our managers in the eyes and say, “I’m not a closing chicken, now I know the words?”

Please feel to write to me at:

roland@newhomespecialist.com

With any questions or for any clarification on any of the closes in discussed.

SALES HEROES

I normally select one or two salespeople from across the country who have gone above and beyond in their pursuit of sales excellence, to give them special recognition. But in this blog, I have decided to congratulate ALL of you. Yes, literally, any one reading this blog who is still in Home Sales and eager to hone your skills deserves a giant sized pat on the back from us. As I work with sales teams all across the country, I truly have a deep rooted respect for all of you for having the courage to stay in this business, during these incredibly adverse economic conditions in most of your markets. Especially, while so many others who may have jumped in during the good times, have already jumped back out for seemingly less challenging jobs.

The good news is that, now is the perfect time to perfect you skills, and the fact that you can sell successfully in these tough times, means that as others sadly fall by the wayside, you have a huge opportunity to gain market share, as well as refine your selling skills. Think about the huge advantage you will have when the market starts to get back to a faster pace. You will be perfectly positioned to reap the rewards, this time creating consistent and long lasting success for your self.

So kudos to all of you, you are ALL our sales heroes!

Lastly some updated photo’s of the lights of my life, my little toddler Max and beautiful wife Svitlana.

Thanks for the great feedback from previous blogs and go out there and make a difference

Truly,

Coach Roland

Newhomespecialist.com

Written By Roland Nairnsey
Senior Vice President, Training & Development
Bob Schultz and the New Home Specialists
Roland@newhomespecialist.com

Start building your Legacy in 2010

So we all survived the economic storms of 2009.


Whatever your grandkids face in the future, you can now whip out the ultimate trump card and tell them “Aye laddie, you ain’t seen nothing my little whippersnapper; I went through the recession of 09, so stop you’re winging!”


(For some reason, I think in the voice of Mrs. Doubt Fire when I think about talking with my pretend grandkids, very strange!)

So now that 09 is behind us, it is time to focus and start planning for a more prosperous future. As Bob Schultz teaches there are four main levels for individuals and companies to strive. These are:

Survival

Stability

Success

Significance

Now that we have survived, those of us still in Real Estate sales need to ensure stability, by refusing to panic and implementing the essential systems and processes. Once we have accomplished this then success beckons, and unlike the success that may have been built on the false optimism of an investor driven bubble, we need to develop real sales skills, that will cause us to be successful through both good times and bad. Once you are satisfied that you and your company is successful then you need to look further forward and ask yourself “What is your legacy going to be?”, and how can you create significance.

Plato said, “Necessity is the mother of invention”, so I am saying, “Adversity is the mother of re-invention.”  The individual sales people, managers and owners across North America (and even as far away as Australia), that we have had the privilege of working with this year, who in spite of the economy have been successful; all have the same traits in common. Namely they are self motivated and refuse to rest on their laurels or talk about past glories. Instead, these salespeople and managers have buckled down and worked harder then ever with us on the correct sales processes and systems. Role playing has been embraced with more passion than I have even seen before. Owners have looked at their product, renegotiated with their trade partners and come out with products that represent Real Value, and have been selling many homes as a result.

As any one who reads this blog knows, my focus is not on myself but the success of our students worldwide. What puts a spring in my step and motivates me is YOUR success. Past Sales Heroes, such as Amy Willey in Delaware who literally spent all summer converting approximately 50% of the customers walking in the door (Yes 1 out of 2, not a typo!), and then came to our new Home Sales Boot Camp (sm) to further hone her skills! Ingrid Prang with Minto in South Florida who after an hour long coaching call and strategy session with me sold an eight hundred thousand dollar condo the next morning on the customers (drum roll please) first visit! Craig Stevens, a builder in Wilmington North Carolina, who re-tooled his homes to give more value, continued to embrace training with his team, and ourselves and has had one of his best years ever. Ted Hardeen, Broker and Manager of Coldwell Banker Seacoast in the same market who led 14 Realtors who represent builders to our Boot Camp this year, because they recognize the importance of being the best at what they do and differentiating themselves from their competition. Or Sales Manager Scott Baughman in Colorado Springs and Pueblo, who was forced to let his highly, trained sales team leave due to the economy and went back out in the field himself. He rolled up his sleeves, works every weekend and using our system which he helped teach to his team for five years, has been selling six or seven homes a month ever since!

To these heroes and all of you out there working hard in sales offices around the globe, congratulations you have survived. But now it is time to focus, decide what you want in 2010, and create your Significant Future.

Here is a quick recap of the last quarter, along with a few tips and free downloads. 

NEW HOME SALES BOOT CAMP (r) AND SERIOUS SALES AND MARKETING MANAGEMENT (Sm) WERE A HUGE SUCCESS! 

We had a great turnout for our training programs here in balmy Delray Beach Florida.

Here we are on our traditional Ice cream break at Ben and Jerry's.

Not only did Bob Schultz and myself cover Essential, Advanced and some Mastery level New Home Specialist processes and sales systems, we also had a workshop with NHS facilitator Millie Allen Eubanks, Time Management training with Charlie Scott of Woodland, O'brien and Scott, and an incredible motivational session with New York Times best selling author Jon Gordon. He and I are pictured below (I am the one in the tie).  He is writer of The Energy Bus, The No Complaining Rule, and Training Camp, all incredible books.

We just set the dates for the next Boot Camp which will be May 4,5, and 6, and Serious Sales and Marketing Management on May 6, 7 and 8,  2010. Jon Gordon will be joining us again and we would love to see you there.

 If you have any questions, including what you will learn, then please feel free to email me at;  roland@newhomespecialist.com.

ROLAND ON THE ROAD

ROLE PLAYING IN GREENVILLE NORTH CAROLINA WTH CAVINESS and CATES

Here I am (Sporting my one winter sweater) with Mitchell who is doing a great job of demonstrating the homesite to myself and Mary Beth, and below Homer is asking me for the sale while still in the available home. Great Job to all of the team!.

For info on how to role play effectively please write to me at roland@newhomespecialist.com.

INVOLVEMENT QUESTIONS WITH CARUSO HOMES

After reviewng their video shops, we coached on the areas that the team needed to work on the most on. Since involvement was an area to work on, I had the team write down the various simple words or phrases we can use to involve our customers. Below Nancy is standing next to the board with 54 involvement questions, a new world record!

Lastly it wouldn't be my blog if I didn't have a few photos of my little lad Max. I truly couldn't imagine surviving this year if it wasn't for the support from all of our friends and colleagues around the country, but especially the love and affection of my wonderful family, and for that I am truly blessed and very grateful!

Please feel free to post comments and ask any questions.

Wishing you a relaxing holiday season with you and your loved ones, and an abundant, healthy and happy New Year!

truly

Coach Roland

http://www.newhomespecialist.com/