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Friday, February 1, 2008
Are You Kiddin' Me
Feb 1 2008 8:53AM | Permalink | Email this | Comments (4) |
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In my last episode, I talked about the differences between a “large sale” and a “small sale”. Matter of fact here’s what I said:
I’ve talked to too many customers and visited with too many sales people, The results are in. What worked then … doesn’t work now. The market has changed and so have your customers. And why shouldn’t they?
You didn’t need to do much selling over the last five to ten years? Your customers took care of everything. All you had to do is have product … and you had a good chance of making the sale. Now times have changed.
What worked a few years ago doesn’t work now. And for a reason … a real good reason. Customers have changed how they shop and make their final decision. And because of that … builders are suffering. Which means builders are beginning to realize that their way of selling … maybe isn’t the best.
Now more than ever before, builders are starting to realize that they have to think about things they’ve never had to think about. Especially things that have to do with their sales process. Let’s think about selling in a fundamental way.
Some products cost a lot of money and some don’t. And if that’s the case, your customer’s decision process can’t be the same for both. Take a look at what I mean:
| Products that don't cost a lot of money | Products that cost a lot of money |
| Single visit decision | Multiple visit decision |
| Decide alone | Multiple decision-makers |
| Not much to think about | Many parts and decision pieces |
| No decision risk | High decision risk |
| Can return product | Cannot return product |
| Emotion-based decision | The decision must make sense |
Large decisions and small decisions are different. And that means the sales process needs to be different. In a small sale, the “close” is the most important part of the sale. In a large sale, everything “leading up to the close” is the most important part of the sale. It makes closing easier.
I reviewed their shopping report noticing that the “scoring weights” were slanted heavily toward closing. Geez … anyone can ask for the sale or use dozens of trial closes. And research shows that.
It’s the people that are utilizing the new value building techniques that are actually making the sales in today’s market.
Reader Comments
at 2/4/2008 3:13:31 PM, Jeff Peterson - Sales Counselor said:
Rick, I think what makes selling different in today's market is that buyers are more educated. With the internet, buyers are able to do their own research, see floorplans, get pricing information, see locations, etc. Most of the time when a buyer is really ready to make a decision, they have done their homework before ever visiting the community. My job is simply holding their hand through the contract to close. Just my thoughts on today's buyer.
at 2/6/2008 12:47:29 PM, Iain Reekie said:
Rick, I agree that "value will prevail", however, I learned something from an old friend in the business- Bob Hafer....that good salespeople must commit to participate in the buyers experience by truly asking laser questions that help the salesperson understand their prospect's mission. Do we really understand the motivation of the person standing in front of us...not just bedroom count, two-story versus single story etc., but the why's of the buyer's quest.
at 4/3/2008 1:57:55 PM, cp said:
It still comes down to traffic. If you don't have people, you can't sell. One age old adage is prospecting beyond what marketing is currently being done by the builder. Most seasoned agents aren't willing to venture out...they keep waiting for the good 'ol days. People want the warm personalized guidance from a friend not a continuous cold-blooded closing. It takes more time, but the sales are there. The prospect just wants to "feel" good about their decision. They cannot seem to make that decision until the see the face & feel the builder thru the sales person.
at 5/22/2008 12:46:07 AM, W.G. said:
Everyone go read "The Common Denominator of Success". Search it and read it. Successful people do the things that people that fail dont do. Simple as that (assuming decent skills).
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