Jun 9 2009 9:39AM | Permalink | Email this | Comments (0) |

By Rick Heaston

As simple as it seems, continuous improvement baffles me. No, not because it's hard to understand, that's the easy part. It's different than that. I'm baffled that such a simple concept can create so many different interpretations. Maybe it's too simple.

Robert Cook in his book, The Other Ninety Percent, explains continuous improvement by comparing the difference between those that compete and those that excel.

"To compete means to run in the same race, in the same way as everyone else … always knowing that someone must lose for you to win. Your goal is to get across the finish line first by any 'fair' means."

"To excel means to continually reach beyond the best you have ever given because doing so matters to you personally. It means that you’re continuously trying to...Read More

May 28 2009 12:14PM | Permalink | Email this | Comments (0) |

By Rick Heaston

I recently came across a quote that I just had to share with you. Even though it came from outside the industry, it fits perfectly with how you need to approach new home sales. Here it is:

A person that doesn’t make mistakes … doesn’t make much.

How appropriate for today’s selling climate. Matter of fact, the same words have been quoted numerous times before, but only in different ways.

Charles Deming, father of the modern quality movement, believed that any improvement program must clearly “Celebrate mistakes”. Beyond Deming, there’s Thomas Edison, inventor of the electric light bulb. He claims that his 200 failures was the one thing that made his final attempt successful. Which brings me to my point.

You’re not learning or perfecting your sales skills unless...Read More

May 15 2009 8:12AM | Permalink | Email this | Comments (1) |

By Rick Heaston

Now, more than any time in recent history, each and every sale counts. But what am I telling you; you’re “living” it every day. And besides, if you’re not hearing it from your manager, you’re hearing it from their manager, and if not there, feeling it in your pocketbook.

All of this caused me to think about some way that I might be able to help. And to me, that means asking questions and getting you to think “out of the box”. From there, you can reach your own conclusions.

Yeah, I could tell you that you need to be better at follow up, do more tours, get out on site, be a better closer, and all those “yada-yada” sales tactics you’ve heard a million times. So I’ll be right to the point.

What causes sales tactics work or not work?

Is it because...Read More

May 11 2009 12:53PM | Permalink | Email this | Comments (0) |

By Rick Heaston

Some time ago I wrote about registration cards and their role in collecting information. After being off my soapbox for quite some time, I feel compelled to jump back up and do some more ranting and raving.

In the last month or so, I found myself doing competitive shops for a builder I was working with in Texas. I was amazed, to say the least. It was like I was talking to a bunch of robots. Sure, there was an original “Jane or Joe” every once in a while, but they didn’t represent the rule, they were the exception.

Let me start my by saying, if you haven’t read Spin Selling, you need to read it. It’ll forever change your view of selling and how you deal with your customers.

For those who don’t know, Spin Selling, by Neil Rackham, takes a look at the differences between selling a product that costs a lot o...Read More

Apr 24 2009 8:04AM | Permalink | Email this | Comments (1) |

By Rick Heaston

Consumer research conclusively proves that rapport has the least to do with a customer’s final decision than any other part of the selling process. So why do sales associates believe otherwise? I know the answer, but I’ll make five or six people really mad, so I’ll just continue and forget the reasons. Here goes.

I’m sick and tired of hearing about the meet and greet phase of the critical path. You know what I mean, the claim that building rapport is the key to making a sale, or you have to sell yourself before a customer will buy from you. What a bunch of bunk.

All you have to do is look at things from your customer’s point of view and I’m sure you’ll change your mind. And to do that, means you’ll have to think like your customer thinks. Just consider their agenda and what they’re trying to accomplis...Read More

Apr 21 2009 3:48PM | Permalink | Email this | Comments (0) |

By Rick Heaston

As I travel around North America, I’m more and more convinced that most sales people have flipped the switch and continue to fly on autopilot. What do I mean by that? I mean that they’re going through the motions and selling like they’ve always sold.

How do I know? That’s an easy one for me to answer; they told me so. They didn’t say it in so many words, but they “spoke volumes” in their answers to my questions … questions about selling in today’s marketplace.

I asked sales people a couple of different questions. First, if they were doing anything different today than they were a few years ago. And second, I asked them how it was working. Their answers were consistent.

Sales associates told me they were using the same process, but working harder at it. And in answer to my second questi...Read More

Apr 1 2009 10:40AM | Permalink | Email this | Comments (0) |

By Rick Heaston

Some time ago I wrote about registration cards and their role in collecting information. After being off my soapbox for quite a bit of time, I feel compelled to jump up again and do some more ranting and raving.

In the last month or so, I found myself doing competitive shops for a builder I was working with in Texas. I was amazed, to say the least. It was like I was talking to a bunch of robots. Sure, there was an original “Joe or Jane” every once in a while, but they didn’t represent the rule, they were the exception.

Let me start my by saying, if you haven’t read Spin Selling, you need to read it. It’ll forever change your view of selling and how you deal with your customers.

For those who don’t know, Spin Selling, by Neil Rackham, takes a look at the differences between selling a pro...Read More

Mar 20 2009 2:13PM | Permalink | Email this | Comments (0) |

By Rick Heaston

Details are important, now more than ever before. A recent visit to Texas convinced me my statement is true. After visiting a few different builders, I had to say to myself, “Geez, who’d want to buy a home from these guys”? Which prompts another question.

How easy is it to do business with you? In other words, is it easy to work with you and buy a home, or are there roadblocks that make it a hassle to shop and purchase from you?

I know your instant answer would be, “I’m easy to work with and it’s easy to buy from my company.” But is that the case? I’m going to “toss” you a few questions and let you be the judge. Here goes.

• How easy or hard is it to fill out your registration card? Is it a mile long? And is it information you really need in the first five minutes?
&...Read More

Mar 19 2009 12:54PM | Permalink | Email this | Comments (0) |

By Rick Heaston

I know what it’s like these days to be a new home salesperson. Tough to say the least. But even in tough times, selling new homes is a job that’s hard to beat.

I’m in Canada this week and was visiting with Bruce Angus, the sales manager with one of Edmonton’s leading builders. While driving between sales centers, talk turned to new home sales associates and the job of selling new homes. Here’s what we talked about.

Where in the world can you go and have an investor say I’ll:

• Give you your own franchise
• Provide you with model homes
• Landscape those models homes for you
• Provide you with inventory homes
• Merchandise your model homes for you
• Make sure you have land to build on
• Make sure you have up to date training ...Read More

Mar 16 2009 1:27PM | Permalink | Email this | Comments (1) |

By Rick Heaston

I met with a group of sales people last week and asked them what Closing the Sale meant to them. They provided me with some interesting answers. Here’s what they said:

• Getting your customer to say yes
• Asking for the sale
• Getting a yes and completing the paperwork
• Making the deal
• And so on

We talked further and it seemed that in a sales person’s world it was either boom or bust. It’s not that way at all and nothing could be further from the truth. Let me give you some different ideas that might help you to get further … faster.

According to Neil Rackham, author of Spin Selling, Closing the Sale can be broken down into four distinct parts:

• Sale … your customer agrees to move forward and complete the paper...Read More

Mar 12 2009 9:52AM | Permalink | Email this | Comments (2) |

By Rick Heaston

As bad as things seem, people are still purchasing homes. Sure, it’s not like it used to be, now it boils down to who is going to get the sale, you or your competition.

In the past, it seemed like there were almost as many buyers as there were builders. And making your numbers was pretty much a forgone conclusion. Now, as you know, that metric has drastically changed.

A few years ago, you and your four competitors might have had four buyers between you. Today, you have one buyer and the winner takes all. The big question is how do you become the winner and not the loser. My answer, as always, is simple. Outsell your competition.

I understand that discounting plays a huge role in the final outcome of a sale, but in most places pricing has normalized. And that brings us back to being a better sales associate than the guy across the st...Read More

Mar 9 2009 10:59AM | Permalink | Email this | Comments (0) |

By Rick Heaston

Have you ever considered how much you’re worth to your company? In other words, the value you add to your company’s goals and objectives. It may be more than you think.

These days, everything is important. Which means everything from value engineering to scheduling … and cycle time to service after the sale. And realize it or not, each small improvement in efficiency and effectiveness turns into big improvement to your company’s bottom line.

Outside of the homebuilding there’s also been a push to improvement … but with a different twist. These companies have developed a “rule” that they now live by. It governs every department and every person in the company and provides them with a focus for customer focus. Here it is:

Everything that touches a customer is the result of a process. ...Read More

Mar 6 2009 8:21AM | Permalink | Email this | Comments (0) |

By Rick Heaston

To be successful in today’s market you must “Think Like Your Customer”. And that requires some work. No … it requires lots of work. And all too often, it’s easier to do just the opposite … “Think Like a Sales Person”.

Thinking like your customer means plotting a chart that will capture their agenda at each step of their shopping process and matching it against your selling process.

Jan Carlzon, author of Moments of Truth, did the same thing years ago while he was at SAS Airlines. Simplistically, he looked at each point in his “sales” process where his employees might come in contact with a customer.

Next, he polled customers in order to understand what they expected at each predetermined touch point. From there it was easy for him to develop an easy to execute “sa...Read More

Mar 4 2009 8:08AM | Permalink | Email this | Comments (1) |

By Rick Heaston

Ram Charan, author of What the Customer Wants You To Know, talks about information. He says something like this, “Information-lots of detailed information, is at the heart of value creation selling.” Nothing new huh?

We’ve always been told that you have to have lots of information … and be able to present it … if you’re going to make it in sales. So what’s new you ask? Let’s go to Ram for the answer.

Charan goes on to say more about information … and here’s the twist. He states that it’s not about the information we can provide … it’s about the information that we are able to gather.

More specifically, Charan says it like this:

“It’s not just about the quantity of the information, it’s about the quality of ...Read More

Mar 2 2009 10:15AM | Permalink | Email this | Comments (0) |

By Rick Heaston

I ran into a salesperson in Texas yesterday and had a very interesting discussion. He had recently read one of the sales training books used frequently in this industry. It seemed that he was having trouble in two areas:

• Having people perceive enough value to visit again
• Having people perceive enough value to purchase

Wondering what might be wrong … I first walked with him through his models. Knowing the other builders in the area, I instantly knew that product and community wasn’t his problem.

From there I went in a different direction. I asked him to show me what techniques he was using to build value. He played the sales person and I played the customer. Here’s what happened.

After finding out what I was looking for in a new home and community, he launched into one of the best fea...Read More