Exposing Common Sales Myths

It seems that, over the years, a great number of well-intended sales trainers - as well as sales managers - have perpetrated a number of sales myths. The concepts may have been true at the time they originated - or at least perceived to be true - but in today's economy where change, technology and value are driving the customers, they are no longer valid. I'll offer a few of the most common myths with my interpretation as to why they are myths, not truths, and what the reality truly is. You be the judge and decide for yourself what makes the most sense to you.

1. Myth: Sales is a numbers game. If you see enough people, you will make enough sales.

Truth: Bull! Sales is not a numbers game. Professional selling is qualified numbers.

If you see enough of the right people (qualified prospects and referrals), you will make lots of sales. If your only selling strategy is to see lots of people, qualified or otherwise, eventually you are going to get more rejection than you can probably handle and will either quit or fail.

The debunking of "sales is a numbers game" is not intended to give you permission to not make lots of sales presentations. Instead, you should make it your first priority and continuing mission to spend your valuable selling time with those people who are qualified to buy.

Pressed down and shaken together, what is a qualified prospect? It's simple. Your prospect must like the community, its location, the new homes/home sites, as well as have the money, credit history, emotional desire and authority to purchase within a reasonable time frame. Period.

2. Myth: He's a natural born salesperson.

Truth: Were you born to sell? You've heard it before and have probably said it: "That guy's a natural born salesperson." That's truly one of the biggest fallacies in sales. Selling is a science. And, since it's a science, it's an acquired skill, and the salesperson whom you thought was "born to sell" actually painstakingly developed the skills by learning and applying the science.

3. Myth: Our prospects want the cheapest price per square foot or the best deal.

Truth: It is a misconception that, in the case of a new home or home site, customers are only concerned with the cheapest price. First, you must come to the realization that a new home is one of the most significant investments of their lives (emotionally and financially) and no one makes the most significant investment of their lives with their only buying criteria being that it's cheap.

Granted, you will hear frustrating responses early on, such as, "Will you take less than the listed price?" or "We're looking for a deal" or the classic, "Your competition is cheaper." What you must realize is that, when your customers balk at price, they merely want you to justify your home's/home site's value to them.

Today's smart homebuyers have more in mind than just a cheap price and they are comparing the following list of benefits to your competition's:

• Delivery: A person who has a pressing timeframe to move is not in a position to negotiate.

   

• Location: By survey, the number one consideration your prospect will have while shopping is the geographic range. The three keys to real estate have been and always will be, "Location, Location, Location." As the late Dave Stone said, "People will always sacrifice price per square foot and amenities for the right location."

   

• Quality: Keep this adage in mind: "Perception is reality." To your prospect, all homes are created equal, and quality can only be conveyed by a salesperson who creates differentials by demonstration.

   

• Proof: Are your testimonials and endorsements more convincing than your competition's?

   

• Features: Do you offer more features that are included in the price than your competition? Do you convey the benefits to support the features? Do the features you include exceed the competition's upgrades and options?

   

• Service: Rest assured, the subliminal fear in the prospect's mind is "getting stuck." Calm those fears by reassuring the prospect that service is a priority and you won't set sail after the sale. Follow the advice of author Harry F. Banks, who said, "Good will plus good service brings sales success that no competition can possibly undersell."

   

• Guarantees: Are your guarantees etched in stone? What are your warranties?

   

• Amenities: Amenities are the outside contributions the developer builds to enhance the desirability of a community. Your mission is to be inventive and ingeniously demonstrate the amenities prior to the selection of a home or homesite.

Others will always sell their homes or home sites for less. Any low-level order-taker can give away his or her homes, but the great salesperson not only conveys value, but also creates value by shattering the idea that the most significant investment of someone's life should be bought with a "cheap" mindset.

4. Myth: Everyone buys for essentially the same reason.

Truth: People buy a new home or home site for their reasons, not yours. Hot-button selling is based on the 80/20 rule, which states that 80% of the buying decision will be based upon 20% of the neighborhood's/home's features. In other words, if your homes have ten product features with benefits, your job is to find the one or two features that represent key benefits that uniquely appeal to the individual.

5. Myth: People buy from people they like.

Truth: People buy from people they trust. It is the level of trust between the prospect and the salesperson that provides the cohesiveness necessary to establish a beneficial relationship. Think about this: How can you like someone if you do not first trust that person?

Don't shoot yourself in the foot by believing in myths. So many salespeople could be much more successful than they are. Don't be one of them. All that is needed is a willingness to change your attitude and stop beliefs that fuel destructive thinking and result in counterproductive behaviors.

How about doing a little mental housecleaning this spring? Get rid of excess emotional baggage. Polish up those selling skills. Remove mindless clutter. Sweep away lethargic cobwebs. Shake off those feelings of failure. And replace those myths with visions of success.