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Slow Your Sales Pitch and Let Poetry Help Close the Sale
 Prospective buyers in today’s market are often confused and fearful of making a mistake. As a new-home sales professional, your job is to help them find their comfort zone, to put them at ease with their decision to buy.
To do this, you must help them take the edge off their decision-making by taking the time to understand their concerns and their dreams.
Unfortunately, I have found that in far too many sales offices, salespeople rush to close the sale and don’t really help their clients come to the decision to buy.
I see this happening all across the country because I am a sales trainer. But, lately, I see it through the eyes of a home shopper, too, because I am ready to begin life as an empty-nester and am willing to act on the right property.
Despite the clear message trainers and sales managers give to their salespeople to be more attentive to discovering the wants and needs of their customers and to be able to combat objections, I have found that many salespeople in this difficult market are, instead, concentrating on showing product and hoping the product strikes their buyer’s fancy.
I find this approach to new-home sales rather depressing.
As just about every salesperson should know already, the presentation should be made after greeting, bonding and discovery/qualifying the prospective home buyer. Yet all too often, the first thing I hear when I walk into a sales office nowadays is the “deal” the builder is offering.
Frankly, I and most other prospective buyers don’t care or want to hear about the deal until we know that the home meets our needs and fulfills our wishes.
So slow down your rush to “sell.” The traffic isn’t nearly what it used to be and you certainly have the time to spend with prospective buyers.
Conquer Your Fear of Discovery
I know that many salespeople have a fear of asking discovery questions that hinders their ability to guide their clients to a sale and that it’s easier to just show the product.
The following is a systematic path that can help overcome that fear:
- Take the time to listen to what your prospect says and watch their non-verbal signals.
- Relax and let your prospects do the talking. Let them tell you what excites them.
- Finally, present only the homes that interest them.
Telling folks to slow down, however, doesn’t always work. Giving them a tool that will help them slow down is generally more effective.
The Sales Quatrain: Four Stanzas That Will Help You Discover Your Prospects
I have developed a “sales quatrain” for new-home salespeople that is just such a tool.
I adapted it from my high school English class where I first learned about the quatrain ― a simple, systematic four-line poem or verse.
I’ve taken the quatrain’s formula and applied it to the question/discovery process in new-home sales. Instead of poetry, I substitute a series of casual questions that build upon each other and allow me to gain more knowledge about the customer’s interests and needs.
Applying the sales quatrain to your conversations with your prospects keeps the discussion casual and low-key — so you won’t scare your customer away. Yet, by using the sales quatrain, you’re always only a question away from the next step in closing the sale.
The following is an example of the sales quatrain in action:
- Stanza One: Start your conversation with an open-ended question that has nothing to do with the home purchase. Focus on small talk and keep the question non-threatening and about them.
The easiest way to start with an open-ended question is to begin with the words, “Tell me about.” For example, “I see you drive an Audi. Tell me about your car.”
Whatever answer they give you is important to them because that’s what they chose to talk about — so listen.
“Yeah, I love my Audi. It’s got Quattro all-wheel drive and makes me feel secure while driving through snow and ice with my family.”
- Stanza Two: Follow up with another open-ended question to clarify a point they made during the first stanza, in this instance, it’s winter driving. “So, driving safely in the winter is important to you. Do you often drive in the winter?”
“We love to ski and this car is terrific on snowy mountain roads. I wouldn’t trust my family’s safety to anything less.”
You just learned some valuable information about your prospect’s hobbies, interests and lifestyle.
- Stanza Three: Now, share something about yourself. Open up a bit. The more you reveal about yourself, the more comfortable your prospects will become and the more they will tell you about themselves.
“I know what you mean, I ski, too, and have a safe, reliable and sure-footed car that gets me through the season. But once or twice each winter, I get caught behind a car that’s stalled on a slippery mountain road. I hate that.”
Your sharing leads to stanza four.
- Stanza Four: After sharing a little about yourself, you should pose a simple closed-ended question that confirms their thought or position, such as, “Does that bother you, too?”
The questions in the first sales quartain can be about anything non-threatening — the weather, fall colors, the mall — that gets your prospect talking. However, avoid talking about politics, religion or anything controversial.
Keep Progressing Through Quatrains as You Build Rapport
Once you’ve completed your first quatrain, begin a second round of questions and as many others that are needed until you progess to questions about the type of home your prospect is considering. Let the sales quatrain set the pace and build the discovery.
When talking to your prospects, be curious. Never sound threatening or appear to be interrogating your prospects. The discovery process should be an easy, relaxing conversation.
Listen and respond to what your prospects say. Their responses will tell you where to take the conversation and builds rapport.
Tie your quatrains together, listen to the emotions behind your prospects' answers, watch their body language and non-verbal signals. When you do, you’ll have the confidence to know what home to show them and how to present it.
With the sales quatrain, you won't have to "sell" your prospects a home. Rather, you will be helping them "buy." Closing the sale becomes a non-event.
There is no trickery involved. You and your prospective buyers are only going through an honest, well-paced discovery. With the sales quatrain, you’ll never have to push a client into a home that isn’t right for them.
Practice Asking Open-Ended Questions and Learn How to Listen
But there is one major caveat to this sales method. You must practice asking true open-ended questions and learn how to patiently listen to your prospects' responses. If you try to rush the conversation and appear to be planning the next question while the prospects are answering a previous question, they will see right through you and look elsewhere for their new home.
You also will need an arsenal of thoughtful and well-rehearsed responses to any objection they may bring up so that you can respond comfortably and credibly. NAHB's “Back to Basics” online toolkit, which is available to members, is a great source of the information you will need to craft your messages.
If your prospects begin to vent about their frustrations and fears, let them. Let them share their dreams of what the perfect home would be, as well. Just relax and listen.
Wait until there is a real opportunity to share information then tell them only enough to get them talking again.
Don’t worry about how long this conversation might take. At some point, you will know when the time is right to show them a property ― and when you do, your presentation will be tailored specifically to their needs and wishes.
When you hear a few “wow” comments during your presentation, it is time to ask them to buy. If they then demur, you can truthfully discuss their reluctance and offer reasonable solutions to their concerns.
Homes no longer sell themselves. The sales quatrain will help you craft and set the pace for an effective sales process that focuses on listening to your prospects, building rapport and, ultimately, helping them buy.
Ross Robbins, MIRM, is an operations and marketing consultant with the Shinn Consulting | Lee Evans Group based in Littleton, Colo. He has been in the home building industry for more than 34 years, and currently teaches sales skills and management skills to builder clients around the country. For more information, e-mail Robbins, or call him at 303-972-7666.
 Options Selling Can Boost Sales, Make Lasting Impression
In “Option Selling for Profit: The Builder’s Guide to Generating Design Center Revenue and Profit,” authors Gina Gullo and Angela Rinaldi share their hands-on understanding of high-powered selling in the ever-expanding market of options for new homes.
By offering a range of options and upgrades, the design phase provides the best opportunity to make a lasting impression and ensure that buyers will favorably remember the entire buying experience.
To view or purchase this publication online, click here, or call 800-223-2665.
 Free NAHB Kit Gives Builders Back-to-Basics Tips to Navigate the Slowdown
What was once expected to be a relatively mild housing slump following three years of record new home construction and sales has given way to a significant downturn.
To help members navigate the uncharted waters of this slowdown, NAHB has compiled a comprehensive “Back to Basics” online toolkit — the best of the basics, the tried and true and the truly new. To access the toolkit, click here.
To access the “Back to Basics” toolkit, you must be an NAHB member and have a login to www.nahb.org. To create a login, go to www.nahb.org/login or click on the log-in button on the main menu bar.
For assistance, call the NAHB Member Service Center at 800-368-5242.
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