The Prospecting Machine
Prospecting: defined.
I recently heard a “business definition” that made me stop in my tracks.
Why? Because it applies DIRECTLY to our roles as Online Sales Counselors.
The definition was of the word “prospecting.” Simple enough, right? From a business perspective, it’s defined as “Finding new potential customers who have the ability, authority and willingness to purchase.” All good things, right?
Think about it this way: at any given time, there is a certain percentage of the population looking to purchase a new home. From there, a certain percentage of those folks will respond to your builder’s promotional information—and respond by submitting an online lead or calling directly.
From there, you’re officially in PROSPECTING mode—and the good news is that the entire strategy for success can be boiled down into a few simple steps:
1. Start QUALIFYING prospects.
Your first job is to find out if a potential customer is a “true prospect” or not. That’s pretty simple; just start a conversation—either offline or online—and proceed with qualifying questions such as area, timeframe, authority, wants/needs and financing. The longer you’ve been in business, the easier it’ll be to pick up on the signs that a customer is the real deal or not. Many of your “leads” may not respond at all, and that’s fine—you’re looking for the ones that DO.
2. Good information = good business.
Once you’ve whittled your prospect list down to the truly interested customer base, your next job is to provide them with quality information. Your goal is two-fold—to both build value to the potential client in your presentation and to weave your primary selling points into the conversation. Above all else, have your questions prepared, which will make it easier to listen to your prospect’s specific wants and needs.
3. Follow up—and be persistent.
Don’t be impatient; home-buying decisions are among the most important in people’s lives, and they take time. Just because a prospective customer doesn’t call back immediately doesn’t mean that they never will. Like any good sales associate, just do your absolute best to stay in touch and provide the right amount and quality of information. A sale is a moving target, and your job is to keep “firing away” until each target is in a position to buy—because then, they’ll think of you first.
4. Go for the appointment.
There’s only one logical place to go from here—and that’s asking for the personal, face-to-face appointment. As the saying goes, “if you can’t SITE the prospect, you can’t WRITE the contract.” Think about it. Would YOU make one of the most important financial decisions of your life without even meeting a salesperson or company face to face? It’s absolutely crucial to get each prospect in front of a living, caring sales executive—and your homes—to get them to take the next step.
It all starts with a pile of leads, and it’s our job to:
1. Narrow the list down to a subset of true buyers as quickly as possible.
2. Steer them to the right community, right home and right decision.
3. Always see “the big picture”—not just setting appointments, but nurturing prospects along the entire sales cycle.
Sounds fairly simple, right? It is.
All you need to do is get out there and start PROSPECTING—just like its defined.
What are your “Calls to Action”
Seth Godin put it best in his book Permission Marketing, “Your website should be 100 percent focused on signing up strangers to give you permission to market to them.” This can be achieved by providing specific “calls to action” on every page. Here are some great examples you can use:
• Contact us
• Request information
• Schedule an appointment
• Request current pricing
• Online Chat
• Ask the OSC a question
• Register for the builder online portfolio
• Sign up for the e-mail newsletter
• Request an eBrochure
• Priority registration for “coming soon” neighborhoods
• Realtor registration
Brainstorm ways to get customers to interact with you. What information do they want? What have they asked for the most in your previous interactions? Make sure that your “call to action” is clear and every page has some way for the customer to interact with you.
A standard conversion average to keep in mind is between .5 to 2 percent of your unique visitors. For example, if you have 1,000 unique visitors per month, you should expect to see between 5 and 20 people contact you, sign up for an online portfolio, register for a newsletter, etc. This is just a standard to start with as you strive to get those conversion rates up as high as possible. Make it your goal to get between 2 and 5 percent. Consistently tweak and test to determine what works best.
Remember, focus on increasing those conversions. While it is good to drive as much traffic to your website as possible, sometimes all it takes is a slight change in wording or “calls to action” to increase that conversion percentage – and usually that does not cost much. With only a slight increase in your conversion percentage, you can almost double the amount of leads you receive!
Redfin – Shakin’ it up
If you haven’t heard of Redfin yet, here you go – this video sums it up. A “online” brokerage business harnessing the web and providing a unique service to internet savvy customers. As a result, freaking out some Realtors (see 60 minutes video) in the process.
Myers Barnes – New Home Sales University Recap
Last week I attended the Myers Barnes New Home Sales University. What a great educational experience! I thoroughly enjoyed the 3 days of education and sales training along with the chance to associate with so many superstars from all over the nation. If you haven’t attended one of Myers’ conferences yet, you are missing out.
Here are my 4.5 reasons you must attend next year:
1) Excellent Content – Focused sales training for the homebuilding industry
2) Powerful Delivery – Never a dull moment in this house – Myers’ high energy keeps you engaged
3) Great Networking – There is something powerful about surrounding yourself with high achievers
4) Personal Development – Myers gets to the heart of the matter, encouraging a change that affects every aspect of your life
4.5) Sweet prizes and tasty food
It was great meeting everyone and I’ll see you next year!
OSC Compensation & Salary Structure – Part 5 of 5
One of the questions I am most frequently asked by a builder or sales manager is, “How much should I pay an OSC?” Usually, there is a slight cringe on their face because this is a new position that they will have to work into their budget. In fact, this is a large barrier for most builders. Typically, they are planning on hiring an administrative-type person who will handle the leads in addition to other tasks. They are planning on trying to keep the cost of salary as minimal as possible. That may work for smaller builders with leads less than 50 per month; but if you really want to convert more sales, you need to compensate the OSC in the same range as an Onsite Sales Agent.
Remember, this person has many of the same responsibilities as the Onsite Agent and will be increasing your sales 5 to 10 percent and ensuring that you do not lose sales to your competition. This is a new breed of salesperson and needs to be compensated accordingly.
You may be questioning my recommendations, but I have seen the difference in conversion rates of the OSC who is an “information giver” and those professionals who focus on “closing appointments.”
There are many ways to structure a compensation package for an OSC. You can either set up a straight commission package or a base salary plus commission. Commissions are to be paid per appointments (that are kept) and per contracts. By paying for appointments set and kept, the OSC will be motivated and focused on setting the appointment. This is the number one factor that leads to a sale.
Determining a salary structure is complicated and based on many factors that vary for each builder, such as the cost of living in that area and the job responsibilities of an OSC. Ultimately, you need to make sure the OSC is continually motivated by the commission structure and has a fair compensation that’s equal to an onsite sales agent.
Do not take the bonus out of the Onsite Agent’s commission.
This breeds contempt for the OSC and will taint the appointments. The OSC should be every Onsite Agent’s best friend. They should treat the appointments from the OSC like a Solid Gold, A++++, Super Hot Lead.
Over time, as the program grows, you will need to revisit the pay structure to confirm that it is fair. Also, there could be times where an OSC is not pulling his or her weight. You should be able to determine job effectiveness through tracking and reporting. I review measuring the effectiveness of your program in Chapter 12 of the my manual – Browsers to Buyers.
Read Part 4 of 5 – Hiring an Online Sales Counselor >>
