Builder - August 2008 - (Page 55)

SALES STRATEGIES TIPS AND TACTICS FOR SALES SUCCESS ■ EDITED BY PAT CURRY ASK First Five Minutes THE RIGHT QUESTIONS CONVERSATION STARTERS The ﬁrst words out of your mouth should never be, “Can I help you?” universal truth of new-home sales is that the ﬁrst ﬁve minutes with a prospective buyer can make or break the deal. With that in mind, you should have a plan to maximize the effectiveness of that initial exchange. To make the most of that time, you need to be prepared with knowledge of your product, location, builder, competition, and buyer, says Boca Raton, Fla.–based sales trainer Bob Schultz. That preparation includes a professional appearance and enthusiastic attitude. You don’t want to launch right into a sales presentation when customers arrive, though. First things ﬁrst; make them feel welcome. Casey Eycleshymer, community sales manager for Weiss Homes’ Ridgemont Crossing in Mishawaka, Ind., bakes fresh cookies every day for his customers. “We do that to set ourselves apart from other builders,” he says. A With or without snacks, the ﬁ rst few moments are a time to ﬁ nd a point of connection. Don’t know what to say? “This is why God invented the weather,” says Jeff Shore, president of Auburn, Calif.–based sales training organization ShoreSelect. “Talk about the car they’re driving or the clothes they’re wearing.” Another great opening question centers on their shopping experience. Both Shore and Schultz are fond of a question that goes something like, “So, you’re out looking at new homes. It’s fun, isn’t it?” Once the chit-chat is over, though, it’s time to ﬁnd out why the prospective customer is shopping for a new home. Stay away from questions such as, “So, what brings you out today?” or “What kind of a house are you looking for?” “People buy a home because they’re dissatisﬁed with something in their lives,” Shore says. “My ﬁrst question in the sales process is ‘Why are you moving?’ There’s a huge difference between a couple whose parents said, ‘You kids should buy a home; we’ll give you the down payment,’ a woman going through a divorce, and a person buying a third home.” Kim Chitwood, sales and marketing department manager in the Las Vegas division of William Lyon Homes, and Marisha Ramsay, regional sales director for Melbourne, Fla.–based Holiday Builders, both use thoughtful questions to ﬁ nd out what’s most important to their customers. Ramsay likes to ask, “As you were driving in the neighborhood, what were you hoping to ﬁ nd?” or “What’s prompted you to think about buying a new home?” Chitwood’s sales team members have been focusing on developing one question to ask buyers to quickly identify their emotional hot buttons. She likes “What do you want in your new home that you don’t have now?” and “Where is your gathering spot?” OPENING MANEUVERS What do you do if the ﬁrst thing the customer says is, “What kind of deals do you have?” or “I’m not buying today. I’m just looking”? Kitty Hawk, N.C.–based sales educator Myers Barnes calls those kinds of questions “opening maneuvers.” “If you’re not prepared to answer those questions in a positive response,” Barnes says, “you will lose the potential sale in the ﬁrst ﬁve minutes.” Barnes’ script for buyers who say they’re “just looking” acknowledges that position and explains that it’s your job to give customers good information so they can make an informed decision. (see page 56) As for the dreaded “discounts” question, W W W.BUILDERONLINE.COM augus t 2 0 08 B U I LD E R ■ 55

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Builder - August 2008

Builder - August 2008 Contents Editor’s Notes Bmail Book It Inside Story Success Stories Top Shelf Green House Sales Strategies Products Digital Home National Beat Seiders' Economy Trade Secrets: Staying Afloat Sign of the Times Missing Links Ad Index Last Word

Builder - August 2008

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