5 Tips to Master Your Sales Presentation & Ace Your Next Video Shop!
As the Sales Coach and Trainer for Melinda Brody & Company, one of the nation’s premier video mystery shopping firms, I have watched thousands of video shops completed by new home sales professionals. Trust me when I tell you I have “seen it all”, the GOOD, the BAD, and the UGLY.
The highest scoring video shops always have one thing in common; they incorporate the following 5 strategies every time. So, here you have my five tips that will help you MASTER your sales presentation.
- You had me at Hello – Remember, you only get one chance to make a great first impression. How you meet and greet your prospects sets the stage for the entire presentation. Be sure to make them feel welcome!
- Stand up to greet them
- Shake their hand
- Use their names
- Introduce them to you, your builder, and your community
- Be enthusiastic! (and SMILE)
- Getting to know you – After the initial introduction, most sales people immediately launch in to a full dissertation about their community and their homes. (We call this Feature Dumping!) It is more important at this time to get to know your prospects, discovery their wants and needs, ask questions….and LISTEN. Here’s what you need to know:
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- Current living and $$ financial situation
- Information about the family
- Occupation
- Lifestyle – Hobbies – Recreation
- Dreams for the new space
- Discover their WHY
- What’s Important to you? This my favorite question to ask during the sales presentation because if you ask it…..your prospects will tell you everything you need to know to sell them a home! You need to sell your prospects three things….a Home, a Community, and a Home site. So, doesn’t it make sense to ask them what’s important to THEM? If they tell you a 1 story open floor plan with a formal dining room, in a community with a clubhouse, on a conservation home site is important to them, then that’s what you know you need to show them!
- Your Brand – Chances are your prospects are looking at multiple home builders before making their final decision. So, it’s your job to be a brand ambassador and create a compelling builder’s story! What is your builder’s USP (Unique Selling Proposition)? This sets you apart from the competition. Ask your prospects if they have ever built a new home before. If they answer yes, ask them what they liked and/or disliked about the experience. This simple question will provide you with their ‘hot buttons’ when it comes to talking about your builder.
- Overcome Objections – Chances are that you will be presented with objections from your prospects during your presentation. This is a GOOD thing! Your prospects are looking to you to help them solve the problem, or in other words, overcome the objection. When you are faced with an objection, follow these four simple steps:
- Show Empathy – “I can certainly appreciate and understand that.”
- Clarify – “Tell me more about that”, “What is it specifically you dislike about the kitchen?”
- Offer Solutions – “I have an idea that might work for you”
- Confirm – “Will that work for you?”
When you master these 5 tips/techniques, you will become more comfortable asking for the sale because you have earned the right to ask. Remember, closing is not pushy, annoying, or obnoxious. If you do everything leading up to the close – build rapport, qualify/discovery, tell your builder’s story, overcome objections….you will have earned the right to ask!
If you don’t ask….the answer is always NO.
Video Mystery Shopping: Be Your Personal Best
Over the past few months I have noticed a DANGEROUS new trend among new home sales associates. They are working themselves TO DEATH! I spoke to one sales associate last month that said she had not taken a day off in over 28 days. Another sales associate told me he had not gone on a ‘real’ vacation in over 2 years! And yet another told me she had not worked out or gone to the gym in 6 months and had subsequently gained 35 lbs. because of it! I hear stories like these almost on a daily basis!
OK, people…here is your wakeup call! It’s time to start taking care of yourselves! How can you be expected to perform at your best if you are not taking the time to relax, recharge, and rest! Let’s start with your smart phone…..it’s OK to turn it off at night. I have actually heard sales associates tell me they SLEEP with their phones. I don’t know about you, but I have never heard of a new home sales emergency taking place at 2 a.m. Suggestion: set a designated time each night to turn your phone off! Also, if you are in the practice of keeping your phone on when you are eating dinner with your family, at least put it on silence or vibrate. If calls come in, let it go to voice mail and return the call later.
Secondly, most new home sales associates are given two days off during the week. These are called ‘days off’ for a reason. You are not supposed to work. However, almost every sales associate I speak with says they literally work through their days off. I certainly understand if you have to check voice mail, return a few emails, or maybe even write a contract on a day off, but your entire day off should not be about working. Suggestion: set aside an hour in the morning and an hour in the evening to do these tasks (excect the contract writing!). Also, plan something special for your day off. It can be as simple as reading a book, getting a massage, or having lunch with a friend. Enjoy your time!
Third, don’t put your health in jeopardy. I know it can be easy to blow off exercising, but it is important that you take care of you. Suggestion: use a day timer or calendar program and SCHEDULE your exercise the same way you would schedule an important appointment. Also, when it comes to eating properly (going through a Mickey D’s drive-through does not count as healthy!) plan ahead for the week. Suggestion: Always have healthy snacks on hand in the sales office. Also, when you do your weekly grocery shopping have a plan for what you will be eating for lunch and dinner for the entire week.
Some of these suggestions might sound elementary to you; however, I can promise you that by incorporating them into your life you will improve your well-being! New home sales is not an easy job. It can be stressful, demanding, and overwhelming. So, it’s up to you to set boundaries and standards by which to live!
Video Mystery Shopping: Meeting Unrecognized Needs
In Maslow’s Hierarchy of Customer Service, he discusses the 3 levels of service.
Level one is Meeting Expectations. For example, you need to purchase toothpaste. So, you go to Walgreens and buy a tube of Colgate. Your expectation has been met, and you are satisfied. Not a thrilling or memorable experience, but you got what you came to get. You are satisfied.
Level two is when you not only meet expectations, but you also Meet Desires! This is the level where most new home sales associates are. You meet with your prospects; ask questions to determine what they are looking for in their new home. You then find them the home that successfully meets their desires. This creates a loyal customer!
However, the third level of Maslow’s Hierarchy is referred to as creating a ‘transformation’. This is when you meet your prospects Unrecognized Needs. This creates EVANGELISM!
What is an unrecognized need? It’s a need that your prospects never knew they had! You can only get to this level of service by finding out everything you can about your prospects and how they live. This takes more than basic discovery and questioning. It takes empathy, understanding and out of the box thinking. Let me give you an example, in a shop I watched last month the SA was working with a couple. They had scheduled their first meeting, but the husband was unable to attend the first meeting due to health issues.
The SA spent about 20 minutes at the beginning of the presentation asking questions, and building trust and rapport. The wife shared with the SA that the husband had some long term health issues that would eventually cause him to be in a wheel chair. The SA began discussing options on how to build the home so that it would accommodate his future health needs. She even went so far as to suggest the option of adding a hidden elevator in the home. The wife was ecstatic! She had not thought about these options and was thrilled with the recommendations. The SA had met unrecognized needs for her buyers. This is your job as a new home sales associate. In doing so, you will create Evangelism with YOUR buyers!
