Sales All-Star: Kelly Lucente

Patrick L. O’Toole, Senior Editor
August 1, 2002
Professional Builder

	Company: Ryland Homes, Edina, Minn. Awards: NSMC Silver Award, Region 4 Salesperson of the Year, 2001; Ryland Homes’ Outstanding Sales Rep of the Year, 1999, 2000 2001 net sales units: 91 2001 net sales dollars: $16.1 million Average number of appointments per month: 25 "quality sites" Buyer referral rate: 30% Cancellation or bust-out rate: 20%

  Listen to audio clips

Kelly Lucente, a new home specialist with nine years of experience, first with Pulte Homes in Minnesota and then with Ryland, keeps up a feverish pace to sell the volume she does. She says it has to do with being motivated and directed. Selling mostly townhomes at a $200,000 price point, she is positioned at the sweet spot of her market, where most of the buyers are and traffic is high. But having sold 140 homes in 2000, a national one-year record for Ryland, she pushes for more activity despite the good traffic.

"I am a firm believer that the critical path is pretty rudimentary," she says. "If you are going to be a player at all in your own career path, you need to be able to do that in your sleep." With a background in marketing, she focuses on ways to "bring bodies through the door," by increasing referrals from Realtors and buyers and other "self-generating businesses" - including cold calling.

Once they're inside, she says, the key is to "build rapport" and make a connection with prospects. That connection makes the sale more often than the features and benefits of the product, she says.

Buyer Viewpoint: Katherine Forrester Kelly made the process fun. She was a great delight. She has a great enthusiasm for what she does, and that really shows through. My experiences in the past had really been more of a headache, so her enthusiasm, her smile and her education regarding the home buying process really encouraged me to buy from her and from Ryland. She treated me like I was her best client.

"A lot of times I hear people say that 'so-and-so has a better value, but I like you better,'" says Lucente. "And for me personally, that means more than slamming them on a first visit."

Audio Clips

  Kelly on her sales technique          Kelly on time management

You will need RealPlayer to listen to the audio clips. Download RealPlayer for free at www.real.com/player/index.html. (This link opens a new browser window.)