Foreclosures, short sales, resales…OH MY!
Can we control the Market?.NO
Can we control the buyers?.NO
Can we control the properties for sale including short sales, foreclosures and other builders’ discounted inventory?say it with me….NO!!
So, I ask, why are we endlessly obsessing about something of which we have NO CONTROL???
Then there’s your own feeling about what’s going on. You are buying into the media frenzy about the market woes. Put down the paper and turn off the news on tv…remember “ if it bleeds, it reads”. Take a news fast and go to news detox center. You won’t be out of the loop but you will simply give your head a break from the constant barrage of negativity.
Remember…..it’s GREAT market for buyers!!!
Prices have never been better
Selection has never been better
Interest rates have never been better….
Prospects will try to ask for the “deal” as they get out of their car….
There is ALWAYS someone offering something cheaper in the mind of the customer.
Your job becomes how do I sell value and overcome the “price” objection.
WE have totally neglected the value presentation and selling the builder’s USP>
If price was the only factor, we would all drive Yugo’s and buy generic toilet paper. L’Oreal’s expensive but worth it campaign would be a joke.
Last year, our firm shopped for 55 builders across North America.
One of the lowest scoring categories was the issue of selling the Builder’s uniqueness. In many cases, we didn’t even hear the builder’s name, let alone, their USP-Unique Selling Proposition.
If you honestly believe short sales, foreclosures and the builder down the street is your competition, you are in for a big wake up call.
Your biggest competition is the roof over their head NOW. They are not that unhappy. They are thinking of staying and remodeling. They are not sure they want to pack and move. They are unsure of their situation.
Your job becomes painting the picture of how their lives will improve when they move into your gorgeous new home in the new neighborhood, with the new parks and the new schools, etc. They may be worried and anxious about being laid off and not being able to afford to move. You need to reassure that NO ONE is really secure from a small business to a job in corporate America..the only job security is faith in yourself that you’re a survivor and you are resilient and you will figure out how to re-group. Don’t put your dream s on hold!! Life is too short and you never will know what’s around the corner.
You need them to verbalize all the things they HATE about their current home and neighborhood and start relating all the reasons why your home is the perfect choice.
Now, more than ever, you need to sell WHY ABC Homes??
What is unique and special about your builder that I want to put down the New Home Guide and stop looking.
It all starts with your OWN beliefs. How do YOU feel about the builder you sell?
If you’re not 1000% sold on the builder, it will be impossible to sell your prospects on them.
We hear the subtle difference on our video shops. It’s the “They” vs “We” discussions.
“They” are giving away $5000 in options this month”
“They are releasing 30 more home sites soon
Vs.
“We are selling homes daily…”
“We are offering special incentives on certain homes but first let’s discuss what exactly would fit your family….”
The use of the word “we” shows company loyalty. You, the salesperson, and your company, is one and the same.
When I discuss “Entrepreneurial Marketing”, I reinforce that successful salespeople act as if their community is their own business.
I will now quote form the book “Guts” Companies that blow the doors off business as usual by Kevin and Jackie Freiberg
This is the chapter entitled, “Gutsy leaders create a sense of ownership”
“When someone is thinking like an owner, he or she will ask”since this is MY business, how will I sell this product?” Owners step out from behind titles and job descriptions to act on behalf of the customer and the company. You never will hear them say “it’s not my job”,
So back to our title,
“Foreclosures, short sales and resales Oh MY””
Here are some specific action items that you can get busy with right now….
1.Take a personal inventory of your belief system towards your builder and your job as a new home consultant. Can you make the adjustment? Can you step up to the plate and really sell and negotiate? Are you going to be one of the last SR standing? Be brutally honest with yourself.
If not, time to go
2.Write 3 “USP’s about your builder. Begin each sentence with…
“we are the only builder in ________who ___________”
3. Make a commitment right now to knock the socks off your sales presentation by being so compelling, so interesting, so quirky, that your competition won’t have chance.
4. Make it a point to ask every prospect about their current home in GREAT detail and what they HATE about it. Whoever comes in your model center is certainly interested.
Get people to talk about their PAIN and you will surely GAIN!
