A Sales Breakdown Uncovered
We recently mystery shopped more than 30 different seniors housing communities that are under development or management by a top-ranked company. In nearly every case, the staff was courteous, amenable and helpful. They were knowledgeable and communicative about their project, community benefits, available services and amenities and price structure.
The staffs gave interesting, informative tours of common areas. They guided prospects into the appropriate lifestyle choice. And they asked good qualifying questions about housing preferences and adequately assessed the prospects’ social needs and desires. But they couldn't close the sales.
So where was the breakdown? What we discovered was that in most cases, the sticking point centered on determining the prospects’ financial qualifications.
Many senior buyers are either on, or about to go on, fixed incomes. When buying their “last home,” these retirees are more focused than most home buyers on the costs involved in the purchase price, transitional financing options and home owners association fees.
Sales staff must be comfortable probing these issues and should be well informed about available options. That was not the case among many of the sales staff of the top-ranked company.
If salespeople don’t discuss these subjects face-to-face with prospects, they lose a vital opportunity to listen to objections, answer questions, provide reassurance and move another step closer to closing the sale.
Be Sure to Shop Your Competitors
Don’t just shop your staff. Mystery shop your competitors, too. You can be sure your prospects are checking out the competition. You need to find out what they are offering and how effective their sales staff is.
Each seniors community seems to present its homes and lifestyle options differently. Knowing how your competition sells itself and its projects allows you to revise your options packages or match incentives offered by competing communities.
Mystery shopping the competition also helps you to define and properly showcase your community’s strengths and unique characteristics.
Choosing the Right Mystery Shopping Company
The following are key questions to ask before selecting a research company to mystery shop your community, its sales staff and the competition:
- What are the mystery shoppers’ qualifications?
Check out the mystery shoppers’ profiles with the research company. Many times, the company will not reveal names but might give you a profile sheet so you can match the shoppers’ age, income and education level with your buyers. The shopper must be able to dress appropriately, drive the right car and have some knowledge of the local housing market in which you are doing business.
-
Do they have real industry experience or closely fit the profile of a resident or adult child influencer?
Ideally, mystery shoppers should come with a strong background in some aspect of the active adult or seniors housing industry. They may be retired professionals or salespeople or they may be consumers who, as adult children, may have influenced their parents’ decision to move to a new home or active adult or seniors community.
-
What type of training does the firm provide to the shoppers?
A research company should provide a training manual and video to familiarize its mystery shoppers with the aspects of sales that interest you and your company. They also need to brief shoppers on key issues that you wish to probe.
-
How much research is the firm willing to devote to understand your community and market area before going shopping?
Research companies should have the ability to research your local market online or through a network of local contacts. They also should review points of interest in your area, investigate the larger area companies and major employers and provide accurate contacts (both phone numbers and physical addresses). Having these resources will allow the shoppers to create plausible, convincing scenarios.
-
How believable is the scenario the shopper uses? Does it express urgency?
You shouldn’t view this type of work as a fabrication. Successful mystery shoppers are playing a role or acting a part that ultimately will enable your salespeople to be the best they can be. The scenario should reflect a degree of urgency with a definite timeline for a purchase or lease to test a salesperson’s closing skills.
-
What type of questionnaire and report will they use to show you the results of the shop?
The instrument used should have customizable features and all sales steps covered in a logical progression. The sales director should feel that comments and constructive criticism are presented in a manner that makes your sales staff feel they are being coached, not graded.
Remember, the final results will be used to create measurable benchmarks and a more effective quality control program.
-
What type of clients have they had in the past and what do those former clients say?
The research firm should be willing to share former clients as references, both from the management side and, if possible, from the salespeople who were coached. You should find out how much repeat business the firm receives, too.
Mystery shopping can help builders and developers design housing communities that gain wider market acceptance and create top-level sales forces. It can also help reduce marketing costs and bring an end to slow sales. I can live with that. How about you?
This is an excerpt from a longer article that appeared in the Fall 2003 issue of Seniors’ Housing News. Tracy Lux is president of Sarasota, FL-based Trace Marketing, Inc., a firm that specializes in housing targeted for mature buyers. Trace Marketing offers an array of marketing services, as well as sales training and executive search services. Lux is a frequent speaker at various industry conferences, including Building for Boomers & Beyond: Seniors Housing Symposium, and is an active member of the NAHB Seniors Housing Council. Lux can be reached at 941-377-3700 or tracylux@tracemarketing.com.
Learn More About Seniors Housing Through the Seniors Housing Council
To learn more about seniors housing or boomers, join the NAHB Seniors Housing Council. The council provides information, education, networking and recognition opportunities for its members and represents NAHB on seniors housing issues. For more details, e-mail Jeff Jenkins or call him at 800-368-5242 x8292.
BuilderBooks.com Has Publications About Seniors Housing
BuilderBooks.com offers a variety of publications about the seniors housing market. To view or purchase these publications, click here and type “seniors” in the search engine.
2004 Seniors Housing Symposium
To learn more about the seniors housing market, plan to attend the 2004 Seniors Housing Symposium, Building for Boomers & Beyond in Chicago from April 14-16. The symposium will focus on the lifestyle component of 50+ seniors housing.
[ Go to Top ]