Video Mystery Shopping: Model Demonstration – Sell the Sizzle!
Have you ever heard the saying ‘Sell the Sizzle, Not the Steak’? For all of us in the new home building industry, I prefer to say ‘Romance the Home, Don’t Just Sell the Stone’. It means that benefits, not features, will ultimately make the sale. All homes have a roof, doors, bedrooms, bathrooms, etc…..you have to find a way to set your home apart from the competition.
It is important to realize that when prospective buyers come in to your sales office….they have a certain ‘lifestyle’ they are envisioning that will come with buying a new home. They aren’t just interested in buying four walls and a roof, with energy efficient features and lovely standard cabinets. They want to build and buy ‘their dream home’. It becomes your job is to *paint* a visual picture for them that will enable them to see themselves living in that home, enjoying that lifestyle! You’ve got to make them ‘fall in love’ with YOUR home, in YOUR community.
So, how do you do this? How to you shift from ‘feature dumping’ to ‘selling the sizzle’? Here are four simple tips that will get your prospects to fall in LOVE with your home!
The L.O.V.E theory…..
Listen – Ask your prospects about their lifestyle and what they enjoy doing. What do they like about their current residence? What would they change about their existing home? Why are they leaving? What is most important to them in a new home and a neighborhood? And then, shut up and LISTEN to their answers! I mean REALLY listen to them. Don’t interrupt them….Don’t tell them what YOU like….allow them to be open and honest with you. This is going to give you the most important piece of information you will need to make the sale. The information they share with you will allow you to craft a PERSONALIZED sales presentation to meet their specific needs, wants and desires.
Omit the Feature Dumping – As tempting as it is to tell your prospect every single bit of information you can about the home site, the quality construction, the building materials, and every single standard feature in the home (feature dumping); selectively create your presentation to focus of what is important to them. Your job here is to get them to fall in love with the home, not become an expert on the entire home building process! Also, if it isn’t important to them, it will have no bearing in making the sale. ASK your prospects: ‘What’s important to YOU in your new home?’
Visualize – Paint a visual picture of your prospects living in the home. Ask them if they can see themselves celebrating the holidays in their new family room. Find out what type of furniture they currently have and how they would place it in their new home. While in the kitchen, ask who does most of the cooking and then ask them if the kitchen works for their needs. When you take them to the home site, have them stand in their *future* backyard envisioning the big cook-out they are having with the neighbors! If they have children, discuss where they would put the swing set.
Engage – Get your prospects physically involved in your model demonstration! Before entering your model home (through the front door, of course!), hand your prospect the keys and allow THEM to unlock the door. Ask them to open the cabinets to feel the quality of the wood. Match your tempo with that of the prospects. Allow them to be the first to enter and leave each room. Let them set the pace of the model walk. Let them linger! The longer they linger, the closer they are to LOVE.
