- Prior to opening, the sales staff should spend several days role-playing the selling process in the sales office and model homes.
- Videotape a sample sales presentation by each sales person. They can take these home and study them, looking for opportunities to improve mannerisms, expressions, posture and voice.
- Hold weekly company-wide sales meetings, usually on Monday mornings, alternating the location between a central facility, such as a home office, and one of the sales offices. Ask each of the sales people, in rotation, to lead a meeting on alternate weeks; they choose their own topics for these meetings. The meetings led by the sales manager should concentrate on motivation and training and can include outside speakers such as a lender, supplier, trainer or motivational speaker. These meetings are never the place to discuss sales goals or performance; they should always provide a positive atmosphere for personal improvement.
- Hold weekly meetings in each sales office with the sales team, or salesperson, in that office, to review the traffic and sales and analyze how to turn visitors into purchasers.
- The sales staff should be “shopped” so that they have the benefit of knowing how the buyers view their performance. This process should never be used to determine the ability of sales persons. The shops should be recorded on audiotape so that they can be reviewed and discussed privately with the sales manager, concentrating on opportunities for improvement.
- Hold company-wide sales training meetings on a semi-annual basis, usually at an off-site location, featuring an outside sales trainer or motivational speaker. If budgeting for this is a problem, you can pool your resources with other local builders.
- Require your sales people to be active members of their local sales and marketing council, serving on committees and regularly attending their programs and functions. This is an excellent networking and referral opportunity and a great source of information on the market.
- The same holds true for the local board of Realtors®; sales people should be active members.
Every sales team member should enroll in the CSP course, which is an essential introduction to the concepts of properly selling new homes. The two advanced CSP programs — “House Construction as a Selling Tool” and “Essential Closing Strategies” — provide wonderful additions to the basic knowledge and skills that every salesperson needs.
There are several excellent professional sales trainers who can work with your staff through off-site seminars, on-site presentations and one-on-one training. Sales expertise can also be found in books, audiotapes and videos. NAHB’s convention and regional builder conferences offer outstanding sales programs.
Remember that the performance of your sales staff will only be as good as the sales management. The sales manager should be in the field, visit the communities on a regular basis, personally assist the sales staff in making sales and not be sitting in the home office doing paperwork.
Daniel Levitan, MIRM, CMP, CSP, SHMS, RAM, CPB, is president of Levitan & Associates, a Florida-based firm providing marketing and strategic consulting to builders, developers and lenders throughout the country. He is a past president and multi-term trustee of the Institute of Residential Marketing, a past three-term trustee of the National Council on Seniors Housing and winner of the Bill Molster, John P. Hall and IRM’s Excellence in Education awards. He can be contacted by e-mail, or phone him at 954-473-4244.
For additional cutting-edge sales and marketing information, subscribe to NAHB’s Sales and Marketing Ideas magazine. Call 800-368-5242 x8192 or click here to subscribe or order a copy. Click here to learn about membership benefits of the National Sales and Marketing Council and the Institute of Residential Marketing.
BuilderBooks.com offers a variety of sales and marketing publications online. To view or purchase these publications, click here.
University of Housing Offers Sales and Marketing Designations
The NAHB University of Housing offers designation programs specifically for sales and marketing professionals. For more information on these programs, click here, or call 800-368-5242 x8EDU.
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