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| Bob Hafer,
MIRM, CSP |
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Great sales presentations start with smart goals
The home building market has changed. Gone are the days when you could show up at your model home and expect to write a sale. Gone are the days when prospects were willing to wait until you had time to meet with them. Gone are the days when you could wonder haphazardly through a sales presentation.
To succeed in today’s market, you must be prepared to build rapport, discover and qualify, build value, demonstrate home and homesite, handle resistance, close and follow-up. In other words, to succeed today, you must get back to the basics of good old-fashioned selling. This month’s newsletter is designed to remind you that every great sales presentation starts with smart goals connected to your sales presentation.
Wise words from the Cheshire cat
Consider for a moment the wise words the Cheshire cat says to Alice in Alice in Wonderland. To set the scene, Alice is lost when she happens upon a fork in the road. She sees a Cheshire cat sitting in a tree. She says to the cat, “Which way do I go?” The cats replies, “Where do you want to go?” Alice replies, “I don’t know.” In turn, the Cheshire cat replies, “If you don’t know where you are going, any road will get you there”. These words provide you with important insight you can use today – to succeed in our challenging market you must know exactly where you want every sales presentation to go.
Hope is not a strategy
A few years ago I was asked to shadow a group of salespeople in Central Florida. The builder had heard me speak and he liked what he heard. He felt good about his sales force but like all successful builders he wondered if his salespeople could do better. He felt my ideas about new home selling could improve the sales techniques his salespeople where employing. He and I talked about the assignment and we agreed that I would observe his salespeople in actual selling situations before holding any teaching classes.
This was a great assignment for me because I got to observe salespeople and customers interacting with each other. Many times you learn more by just watching and listening than by doing.
In total, there where twenty-three salespeople I shadowed over two weeks. Each salesperson understood new home selling. They all greeted, qualified, demonstrated and built value in the community. However, no one attempted to close or establish a follow-up process. When I asked the salespeople why they didn’t attempt to close, no one could give me a good answer. When I asked what they were going to do next, almost all said, “Just wait and hope.” This answer got me to thinking – is that what most salespeople do – wait and hope? One thing my 36 years of new home selling has taught me is that hope is not a strategy.
Choice not chance determines success
On the plane ride back home I thought a lot about what I observed. I witnessed salespeople greet, qualify and discover, build value and demonstrate, and over come some objections. It began to dawn on me that what the salespeople where doing was using selling skills that were learned or read in a book. While they performed these skills well, I felt something was missing. I kept returning to my question, “What are you going to do now?” If you recall, the answer was, “Wait and hope.”
Webster defines hope as ‘cherishing a desire with anticipation’. The question that needs to be answered is what where these salespeople desiring with anticipation.
When I investigated it further I was told that they hoped people would return. In other words, these salespeople where leaving their success to chance. I know that the only thing that moves people toward success is making the right choices. If people leave success to chance, they almost promise themselves failure.
Once this became clear to me I began to realize it wasn’t selling skills I needed to teach these salespeople, it was how to set sales presentation goals. These salespeople knew how to sell. What they didn’t understand is that in order to succeed they needed to combine their selling skills with specific sales presentation goals. Without sales presentation goals a salesperson may have great selling skills but these skills may lead them nowhere.
Sales presentation goals
The next two articles will provide you with two of the six sales presentation goals I developed for these salespeople. I offer them to you now, because I know they will make a difference in today’s challenging market. My advice is to write these goals down in a location where you can see them daily. Put them in place where you are reminded that success is dependent on making the right choice – and having specific sales presentation goals is a major step toward making the right choice. Remember in life ‘choice not chance’ determines success. Begin now to make the right choices.
Send to a friend
Before reading the next two articles I have a favor to ask. I want you to send this newsletter to 5 people who you feel will benefit from the ideas and principles included. My goal is to send this newsletter to at least 1000 people monthly. To achieve this goal I need your help. At the bottom of the newsletter you will find a ‘Send to a Friend’ button. Just click and follow the easy introductions. Thank you in advance for helping me and your friends achieve their goals. It is appreciated!
Robert E. Hafer Seminars
To learn more about Robert E. Hafer seminars and workshops and purchase Building Results – The Ultimate How-To Guide For New Homes Sales, visit click here, email Bob at Send Emailor call 972-795-5926.
Good Luck and Good Selling!
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The plan
There are six sales presentation goals. This month’s newsletter will introduce you to the first two goals. November’s newsletter will highlight sales presentation goals three and four. December’s newsletter will focus on the fifth and sixth goals and provide a reminder review of the other four sales presentation goals. By using this plan you can integrate the ideas into your sales presentation strategy naturally.
When integration occurs, you are functioning more at the habitual level. The new behavior becomes yours. It becomes a part of you. It is you and you are it. This is not something you can force. Like sleep, integration comes naturally and becomes part of you naturally.
So, get ready you are about to embark on a journey that will improve the results of every sales presentation. Relax and enjoy the journey.
Visit motivation
New home prospects have two types of motivation: visit motivation and buying motivation. The first and most important sales presentation goal is visit motivation. The following story provides some insight into why understanding visit motivation is so important.
A few years ago I was working with a builder in Cincinnati. One of the salespeople asked me how to get someone’s name if it was not offered during an introduction. I asked the salesperson to role-play with me. I took the role of the salesperson. I introduced myself and asked how I might be of service. The salesperson replied that he was just looking. I thanked him for looking here and inquired about his situation by asking if this is something he is considering doing now? He replied by telling me that he was thinking about building a home and was just looking for design ideas. I asked if he had ever built a home or acted as a general contractor before. He replied no, but he felt he could organize and supervise the construction of a new home. I responded by saying that people do sometimes change their mind, would it be okay if I stayed in touch with him. He agreed. I then said the only thing I need is your name.
In this story the salesperson wanted to know how to get someone’s name. I showed him how to do it, but more importantly, I demonstrated how to learn someone’s ‘visit motivation’. Which one do you think is more important? Hopefully, you answered ‘visit motivation’. When you stop and think about it, what difference does it make if you learn someone’s name, if you don’t first understand their ‘visit motivation’. By understanding the purpose of the visit, you are able to meet prospects exactly where they are. And that’s what builds rapport the fastest – meeting people where they are.
How to achieve the first sales presentation goal
It’s simple – just ask this question. Is this something you are considering doing now? That’s all there is to it. You decide when it’s appropriate to ask the question. You can ask it during the initial greeting or you can bring it up after you have established rapport. The choice is yours to make.
Once you ask the question expect to get a vague response. It may sound something like this, “Well, maybe. We’re not sure. We just started looking.” Don’t worry. Expect people to give you a vague answer. The purpose of this question is to position you to provide the reason you asked. What follows is an example that illustrates how this question works.
Salesperson: "Is this something you are considering doing now?"
Customer: "Maybe, we’re not sure, we have a home to sell."
Salesperson: "The reason I asked is because I have some wonderful incentives to share, if this is something you’re doing now."
Once you provide the reason for asking the prospect will reveal their real visit motivation. Most prospects, if they’re serious, will want to know about your incentives. Remember as humans we share many things in common – and one big thing we share is we all want to know ‘what’s in it for me’.
The purpose of this question is to bring your sales presentation into balance. You and your prospect have similar goals: you want to sell a home and your prospect wants to buy a home. If this is not true, you are better off knowing sooner than later. And this question let’s you know if your prospect is serious or just curious.
So begin now to integrate the question, “Is this something you are considering doing now?” into every sales presentation. Be sure to follow up the question with the reason you asked the question. Then listen carefully because your prospect will let you know their real ‘visit motivation’.
Send to a friend
Before reading the next last article, I have a favor to ask. I want you to send this newsletter to 5 people who you feel will benefit from the ideas and principles included. If you’ve already done it, thanks! My goal is to send this newsletter to at least 1000 people monthly. To achieve this goal I need your help. At the bottom of the newsletter you will find a ‘Send to a Friend’ button. Just click and follow the easy introductions. Thank you in advance for helping me and your friends achieve their goals. It is appreciated!
Robert E. Hafer Seminars
To learn more about Robert E. Hafer seminars and workshops and purchase Building Results – The Ultimate How-To Guide For New Homes Sales, visit click here, email Bob at Send Emailor call 972-795-5926.
Good Luck and Good Selling!
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The second sales presentation goal
The second sales presentation goal is ‘ask precise questions’. In new home selling, people do things for their reasons and in their own way. One important job is to discover and understand those reasons. I have often said that if I could give salespeople a gift it would be the ability to ask well-formed precise questions.
My experience is that sales consultants don't ask the right questions. Most salespeople, because of sales training, focus questions on what they 'need to know' versus what is important to the customer. And this is a huge mistake.
NLP training has taught me that there are three points of view. The first is your own; the second is another person’s and the third is an observer. Most sales training focuses on the first point of view. People are taught to sell from their own perspective.
What I want you to consider is selling from the buyer’s 'point of view'. The truth is most prospect’s do not care if you know where they live, work, how big their family is and whether they currently own or rent. And they sure don’t want you to know how much money they earn and debt they carry. What they do want you to know is what's important to them. When you develop questions that uncover a prospect’s decision-making criteria you set yourself apart from competition.
For you, what is important about …?
In order for prospects to make a purchase decision, you must gain agreement in six key decision-making categories: home, homesite, community, location, financing and builder. Starting now, I want you focus precise discovery questions around these six key categories. The responses represent your prospect’s decision-making criteria; when you’re able to satisfy a prospect’s criteria, you are in effect, satisfying what is motivating them.
It’s important that you ask this question exactly as I present it. Please understand the importance of exact wording. If you change the wording of this question, you will change the response you get.
Think of this question as a recipe for success. If you had a recipe for a great tasting chocolate cake, you wouldn’t change the ingredients because it would change the taste. That is exactly what will happen if you change the wording of this question.
The first precise question helps you uncover all the things that are important to your prospect about the home. The first precise question is as follows:
“For you, what is important about the home?”
Now let’s take a moment and examine the question.
- The question begins with, “For you”. Those two words immediately capture the attention of your prospect. People will listen because they want to know ‘what’s in it for me’.
- The question includes the word “What”. Questions that include the word ‘what’ do not lead your prospect in any specific direction and can not be answered with a simple yes or no.
- The question includes the word ‘important’ which causes your prospect to reveal what is valued.
- The question includes the word “Home” because that is what you want to focus on. The question could include the words, ‘homesite, community, location, financing, or builder.
Think about it – this first precise question focuses your prospect on thinking about what is important about the home. It lets your prospect know that you want to understand what you need to provide. Most importantly, it puts your prospect on notice that your sales presentation will focus on their needs rather than your own needs. Believe me – those are the ingredients for a successful sales presentation – a sales presentation that earns you the right to ask for the sale.
Is there anything else?
In Stephen Covey’s best seller, 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, he provides salespeople valuable advice. He tells his readers to “Seek first to understand to be understood.” Those seven words, if taken to heart, can mean the difference between success and failure. When you understand someone, you earn the right to influence that person.
Is there anything else?
You ask precise questions to understand a home buyer’s decision-making criteria. If that is all you did you would learn some of the things that are important, but if you really want to dig deep and discover all the conditions then you need to ask a second question.
The second precise question is, “Is there anything else?” This question is designed to help you ‘peel the onion’ back and learn more about your prospect’s wants and like-to-haves. It’s a simple question but very effective because it asks your prospect to think harder. And when you ‘peel the onion’ back, you discover your prospects’ buying motivations. When you understand buying motivations, you’ve discovered the key that unlocks the doorway to the sale.
Buying motivations
When you ask the question “Is there anything else?” you begin to uncover what is really motivating your prospect. Always remember prospects will usually describe the home they want in terms of style, size, price and features. However, what they want to achieve with their homes rarely is apparent. Ultimately, despite all the facts and features you give your prospect and all the specifications they give you, there will be one or two major motivations that trigger the decision to buy or not to buy. Buying motivations are emotional and difficult for most people to adequately express. It takes careful listening to uncover these buying motivations and correctly interpret them.
There are four primary buying motivations to listen for:
- Family
- Investment
- Convenience
- Prestige
One or all four of these motivations may be included in your prospect’s responses. It’s important to listen for what motivates your prospect. Purchasing a new home is never easy. The purchase initiates many changes in someone's life – and most people avoid change. By understanding what motivates a prospect, you can begin linking together all the reasons purchasing a new home will make life better. Asking good discovery questions helps you understand what motivates your prospect, and that’s like having a road map to follow that leads you directly to the sale.
Key to new home sales success – ask precise questions
So, start today to ask every prospect you meet the following two questions:
- For you, what is important about … ?(home, homesite, community, location, financing and builder)
- Is there anything else?
You will be amazed at the type of information you hear. A key to new home sales success is asking precise questions and listening to the response. Do both things well and you assure yourself additional sales and income.
Best wishes for a successful sales month
Thank you for reading the Building Results newsletter. I hope in some small way I make a difference in how you view the new home sales profession. I wish you much sales success this month. If I can ever be of any service to you, please do not hesitate to ask. And please visit my website frequently. I update my sales tips often. And be sure you sign my Guest Book. Until next month continue to make it GREAT!
Send to a friend
I have a favor to ask, I want you to send this newsletter to 5 people who you feel will benefit from the ideas and principles included. If you have already done it, thank you. My goal is to send this newsletter to at least 1000 people monthly. To achieve this goal I need your help. At the bottom of the newsletter you will find a ‘Send to a Friend’ button. Just click and follow the easy introductions. Thank you in advance for helping me and your friend achieve their goals. It is appreciated!
Robert E. Hafer Seminars
To learn more about Robert E. Hafer seminars and workshops and purchase Building Results – The Ultimate How-To Guide For New Homes Sales, visit click here, email Bob at Send Emailor call 972-795-5926.
Good Luck and Good Selling!
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