Builder - December 2008 - (Page 42) SALES STRATEGIES by the competition, especially if your sales pace picks up. Before those knock-offs appear, says Trellis, you should already be ready to launch the next wave of innovative thinking into the market. An even greater sustainability tactic is to create a culture that is not only distinctive in the market, but also more difficult to replicate. Being loyal to the customer, the craft, and the company, Trellis says, as well as streamlining the sales and mortgage loan processes and delivering consistently great customer service, is far more sustainable for long-term success than a limited-offer discount or giveaway deal—no matter the market conditions.—R.B. INTERNATIONAL SALES British Invasion UK natives leverage a weak dollar to buy homes here. B M Be Aggressive etter brush up on your British accent, put on some tea, and start following Manchester United. According to NAHB International (www.nahb.org/international), British citizens are taking advantage of a weak U.S. dollar, falling home prices in desirable markets, and comparably low closing costs to purchase housing here as either second homes, buy-torent properties, or investments. Interest in U.S. real estate by British buyers, as indicated by Internet searches for available properties, has grown 50 percent to a monthly average of 190,000 searches, according to Rightmove Overseas (www. rightmove.co.uk), a U.K.-based real estate portal. As of October, the company’s Web site listed nearly 2,500 properties in the States, with more than half of those in Florida, primarily in the Orlando market. The heightened interest and activity (and sales) have made the U.S. the third most popular country for Britons buying international real estate, behind France and Spain.—R.B. ore than half of your sales force lacks the personality to sell successfully in current market conditions, according to “Separating the Best From the Rest,” a white paper based on a series of nationwide studies involving 3,000 housing industry professionals issued by Atlantabased consultancy Berke Group. The results point to a pair of core personality traits that top sales performers generally have in common: sociability and assertiveness—and knowing how to strike the proper balance for each trait to attract and keep but not sour a sale. Top performers are also very systematic and are able to quickly summon solutions that address buyer needs and concerns. The white paper also offers tips for finding these nuggets amid the rock pile, including avoiding manager bias (hiring people with similar personalities and problem-solving tactics as the boss), creating clear job descriptions and performance targets, conducting periodic assessments, and using structured interview techniques to identify desired behavioral traits. Download the white paper for free at www. berkegroup.com.—R.B. MARKETING Pooling Resources Builders in healthy housing markets work together to get the word out. N ot every housing market is sinking. In fact, there are several pockets where sales, prices, and production remain relatively steady. The problem is that local media, particularly newspapers, rely on nationally syndicated reports about housing, which can paint a less than rosy picture of the market, perhaps souring potential buyers. Builders in Connecticut and Madison County, Ala., respectively, decided to go on the offensive to get their success stories in the local media and counter coverage of the national scene. The state HBA of Connecticut, for instance, shares various industry and related statistics, forecasts, and indicators with its local chapter EOs (executive officers) and other staff to create a uniformly informed front for the media and members. Reps from the state chapters also maintain regular contact with reporters and editors, offering mem- bers as sources for articles and providing state and local statistics to weave into syndicated stories. The Fairfield County (Conn.) chapter also hosted a panel discussion about local media coverage that attracted reporters and members—and resulted in an article about the relative health of their market. In Alabama, meanwhile, builders and brokers pooled their financial resources to launch a Web site and concurrent advertising and public relations campaign under the banner, “Every market is different … . Ours is healthy!” Kicked off in mid-April to coincide with an annual tour of homes (where visitors received a flyer promoting the top 10 reasons to buy now), the effort included a press conference at which HBA executives presented local housing trends and statistics, which at the time indicated that sales were at 98 percent of list prices with a 7.8 percent increase in property values.—R.B. GOT A SALES TIP? FOR MORE SALES AND MARKETING STORIES, VISIT W W W.BUILDERONLINE.COM/SALES. E-MAIL PAT CURRY AT: pcurry@hanley wood.com 42 ■ B U I LD E R de ce m ber 2008 W W W.BUILDERONLINE.COM http://rightmove.co.uk http://rightmove.co.uk http://www.nahb.org/international http://www.berkegroup.com http://www.berkegroup.com http://WWW.BUILDERONLINE.COM/SALES http://WWW.BUILDERONLINE.COM
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