Video Mystery Shopping Tips: Overselling? Underselling? How to ”mix” the perfect SALES cocktail!
Howard and I were at a party a few weeks ago, and the hostess offered to make me a cocktail prior to dinner. I accepted her gracious invitation and ordered up a vodka/club. A pretty simple drink, vodka and club soda…………not too hard to screw that up!
Anyway, when she returned with my drink I took a little sip and almost fainted! The drink was plenty heavy on the vodka, and way too light on the club soda. There was NO WAY I could drink it. It was just too strong for my taste!
This experience got me thinking about how new home sales associates *create the perfect new home sales cocktail* for their prospects. Most sales people understand the typical ingredients that go into creating the perfect recipe, but are they using the right amount of each ingredient???
New Home Sales Associates are trained to talk about the following during the sales presentation: the community, the floor plans, the home sites, the builder story, financing options and programs, and whatever other *new* program or promotion the builder has going on at the time. These ingredients, when mixed properly, create the perfect new home *cocktail*! However, like my host at the dinner party last week, some new home sales associates tend to add too much of one ingredient and not enough of another, which can be disastrous!
Each step of the sales presentation is important and deserves to be discussed; however, if you tend to go heavy on some parts and light on the others, you are not creating the perfect ‘mix’. So, how do you manage this process to ensure you are adding just the right amounts of information? For starters, ALWAYS ask the prospects how much time they have to spend with you. This will help you determine how much time to focus in each area. I have seen countless video mystery shops where the sales associate DID NOT ask the prospects’ time frame, and inevitably the prospects had to leave before the sales associate had the opportunity to get through the entire presentation.
I advise sales associates to prepare two variations of their sales presentation: the Cliff Note version and the Standard version.
The Cliff Note version is ideal for those prospects that have less than 30 minutes to spend with you. For example, a prospect that visits your new home community during their lunch hour and does not have the option to stay longer. During this version of the presentation, you will touch on all the key points, and then make sure to set up a follow-up appointment that will allow you to go into more explanation.
The Standard version of your sales presentation is probably the one you are most accustomed to giving. This presentation can last anywhere from 45 – 90 minutes. You have ample time to hit all the key areas of your presentation and do not have to feel rushed.
And, a final note about *creating* the perfect mix during your sales presentation……………ASK QUESTIONS! Find out what your prospects’ hot buttons are and focus on that; however, do not omit other information in order to do so. The builder’s story is just as important as the energy efficiency program, so be sure to add equal amounts of both. Like the vodka/club example…..you have to have the right combination of ALL ingredients in order to create the perfect new home sales cocktail! Cheers!
