Video Mystery Shopping: The Results are in for the 2011 Benchmark Survey!
Each year we put together a Video Mystery Shop Performance Comparison Survey for our New Homebuilding clients that allows them to see where they rank nationwide among other builders in the following areas:
- Prospect Registration
- Telling the Builder’s Story
- Demonstrating the Model
- Demonstrating the Homesite/or Inventory Home if applicable
- Asking directly for the SALE
- Following up with the prospect
This much anticipated survey tracks the results of ALL of the video mystery shops Melinda Brody and Company has done for the year. All scores are compiled and then assigned a percentage to show our clients where they stand in comparison with other builders across the country.
In 2011, we shopped 41 different builders, so we are very confident that our survey is an excellent representation of what’s happening in the industry with ALL builders. This is not only a great tool for our builder clients; it is also an excellent way to track trends and other important data pertinent to the home building industry.
Now, while we can’t share the results of the entire survey with you, we can share a couple of trends that we noticed when putting this survey together. We think you will be surprised by some of the results!
The Good
The good news is that more sales associates are actually registering their prospects! A whopping 98.78% of ALL sales associates who were shopped did indeed have their prospects fill out a registration card. This is great news, especially when you consider traffic has been down in most areas. And, remember, follow up is IMPOSSIBLE without a registration card!
The Bad
The bad news is most of our new home sales associates have still not mastered the art of telling their builder’s story. Only 54.85% of all sales associates knew how to effectively differentiate their builders and point out why they are the preferred builder. This is a critical element in the sales process. You’ve got to make your prospects WANT to build their new home with you!
The Ugly
The most shocking result this year from our survey was the percentage of sales people who are actually asking directly for the sale! Two-thirds (66%) of the sales associates who we video shopped did NOT ask for the sale. That means only 33% did! We know that many sales associates feel uncomfortable asking for the sale, but come on people…..it’s your JOB. If you don’t ask for the sale, the answer is ALWAYS no.
So, there you have it! Of course the actual survey goes into much more detail on all of these statistics, but the bottom line it…….there are some major areas for improvement with sales associates across the country. By including proper training, coaching and video shopping into your sales budget, you can improve sales techniques, closing ratios, and YOUR bottom line.
