Earlier this year, I had the great opportunity to present at the International Builders’ Show. As I was preparing, I sent out this message on Twitter: “Preparing the presentation for IBS, anything specific you would like to hear?” In no time, a user responded, “How about you only talk about the stuff that works.”

I laughed, and then realized that this response was right on. It’s easy to get caught up in theory and ideas, preaching instead of teaching. Often people know what they need to do, they just need “real world” examples to reinforce their knowledge and get them moving forward.

In that light, I’m taking this article to the street. I’m fortunate enough to have worked with some of the best Online Sales Counselors (OSC) across the nation. Let’s hear from these superstars on what makes them and their program so consistently successful.

“It’s all about fast, personal service,” Says Leah Kaiz, an OSC from Virginia. “I’ve found that people respond when they can tell you are genuinely there to help.”

One easy way to create higher response rates is to send emails that don’t look canned explains Leah, “I’m not a fan of pretty templates. When they arrive in my inbox, I know they weren’t designed uniquely for me. So do home buyers.”

Russ Klintworth, OSC for Simmons Homes reminds, “Not everyone will respond, it doesn’t mean they didn’t get the information. By sending more specific questions you increase your chance for a response.” Bottom line; don’t give up after just one email.

Kate Jacobs, OSC for American West Homes, using similar techniques says, “People like to talk about themselves. I ask something like ‘I’m curious, what’s changed in your life that has you out looking for a new home?’ Once I added that line in my emails, my response rate increased dramatically!”

Pay attention to customer feedback. When Elena Mora, the OSC for Ideal Homes, hears, “Wow! That was fast! I just sent my request less than a minute ago.” She knows she’s doing everything right.

Customers are impressed when you contact them while still on your website. Elena elaborates, “I respond to my leads in 5 minutes or less, and I have a rigorous follow-up system. I am here to help them with their home search.”

A few simple tricks can make the difference between providing information and creating consistently high conversion rates. Kate’s observation exhibits the need for a detailed personal follow-up system. “The buying cycle is so much longer now that the need for long term follow-up is so important!”

Each OSC has a detailed System. Russ knows follow-up isn’t a trick it’s common sense, “My goal is to answer every email and phone call promptly. The more knowledgeable you are about your product the better you interact with the prospective homebuyer.”

All OSC’s agree that in order to convert a conversation to an appointment, every communication needs to build a bridge from OSC to the onsite managers. “I often say things like ‘that is a great question for Jenny, our site manager, would you like me to set that up for you?’” Says Leah.

Elena explains, “I know which emails and calls they responded to, what they said, and what their hot buttons are so I can develop a script that will motivate them to come out to a model.”

Over the past few years as home search has changed so too has the role of an OSC. “I’ve found that social media has added to the richness of an OSC position. It gives multiple outlets to interact with past, present, and future homebuyers.” Says Leah.

Kate concurs, saying, “With social media taking off like it has, OSCs are seen now as the “face” of the company and serve as a true ambassador.”

“Maintaining a high web presence is key,” says Russ, “given the amount of time buyers now spend on the internet during their home search.”

Isn’t this great. These folks are so smart!

Sit in on a day-in-the-life of a successful OSC, and you’ll notice common traits among top achievers. Consistently high numbers are not luck of the draw. They aren’t due to the outdated belief that the same clients would be swingin’ through model doors anyway.

Let’s face it, those doors are not swingin’ like they used to. With 90% of buyers beginning their home search online, an OSC, implementing a proven process, will insure that qualified buyers mosey into that sales office.

Here are a few of the common traits I see all across the country:

Be quick on the draw. OSC’s know they are 100 times more likely to set an appointment if they catch a lead while still on their website. That means lightning fast response time. Firing off an email when a prospect is still on their computer engages the lead quickly with attentive customer service.

Use a Lead Management System and implement a process. Once contact is made and key information is identified, the OSC begins building a relationship. Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems allow OSC’s to create short-term or long-term follow-up consistent with the buyer’s specific needs.

Sell the appointment, not the home. In this position and process, the “close” is setting the appointment. Understanding how to ask and being prepared for the common objections that will follow gives the advantage to those who are ready. It may seem obvious, but that’s what separates people who send emails, from highly effective OSC’s who facilitate sales.

One thing to keep in mind, while not every builder can have a full-time OSC, you absolutely, positively, without question must assign someone within your organization the responsibility of fast follow-up with initial contact from a prospect.

At the International Builders’ Show this year, Myers Barnes, noted New Home Sales Trainer, made a great statement: “We aren’t producing any more customers this year. If you want more sales you are going to have to steal them from your competition” By responding fast and responding right to your internet leads, you will be able to do just that.

——–
This article originally appeared in Sales & Marketing Ideas MagazineSimilar Posts:

• Q.A. How to get a response from “generic” leads
• What is the best time to call leads?
• The Online Sales Counselor – Part 1 of 5
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• OSC Job Functions – Part 3 of 5

Be sure to stop over and check out the new podcast of an interview I did with my friends at www.builderradio.com

New Tools to Communicate with Your Prospects and Buyers.

Click Here to Listen Now >>

In this interview, we discuss the following strategies for upgrading your sales tools:

1. Lose the ‘Dumb Phone’

A smart phone, such as the iPhone, is like a Swiss Army Knife for communication. It’s always with you, so it’s easy to use to shoot a quick video of a customer or a home, or shoot pictures of a home, and then send them via email. Don’t forget your apps that keep you connected to all the social media outlets. You’ve got to have that ability in your phone to keep in touch and communicate in new ways.

2. Video

Video is the second most powerful form of communication; after face-to-face communication, there’s nothing better than video. Video can share expressions and emotions that you can’t share in an email or even over the phone where you lose that visual communication. Even though it’s still one-way, your buyers can see your excitement, energy and enthusiasm. So it’s very powerful.

3. Video Email

Video can be used to communicate with customers directly. There’s a great tool that I use called Eyejot.com. Video email gives you an opportunity to communicate more and better than your competitors. And the more you communicate, the better your chances are of making the sale. And by the way, a basic Eyejot.com account is free, so it doesn’t cost you anything to communicate on a much better level!

4. Social Networking

Social media is like word of mouth marketing on steroids. The first thing about social media is that it’s very broad; there are so many sites out there. The second thing people tell me is that they don’t have the time to engage in all the different social avenues. When you’re using social media, try to be efficient with it. Use your smart phone in your down time or in the evenings to make quick connections and have valuable conversations, and you’ll see the opportunities present themselves by using these new tools to better connect with Realtors, past customers and future buyers.
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Building a home is an experience, not a transaction. Alaina Money, Sales Manager at Garman Homes, has taken this reality to the masses with her blog, buildlikeagirl.biz. Having sold many homes, Alaina decided she needed to get the perspective of her buyers. Convinced it would make her a better sales manager, she went into the trenches with the construction crew and got an insider’s view into the process—and has been blogging about it.

Recently I had the chance to visit with Alaina —aka “A Money”—and Jim Garman via Skype about the experiences.

Alaina Money Interview

Link to Video

Jim Garman Interview

Link to Video

Lively, witty, fun, and informative, Alaina uses the blogging medium to give the outside world an inside look, not just at the home-building process, but of the people of Garman Homes. “Our best asset is our people and we want people to get to know us better. Then they know we’ll do the right thing,” Alaina told me. “The blog brings people into the experience—the good, the bad, and the ugly.”

Jim Garman, owner of Garman Homes, supports Alaina’s transparency because her openness is building trust. He says, “The generation that is going to be buying homes the next 10 years is all about transparency. They want to see the people behind the company. Alaina makes people feel like they are part of the adventure so they’re okay with a mistake here and there. Alaina has blogged about a few tough issues. At a larger company that blog might have been censored.”

In addition to transparency, Alaina infuses passion into her posts, which currently number 40, and counting. Jim says Alaina’s engaging blog “is not about selling homes. Being memorable is the most important thing. Marketing is about being memorable, which means taking a few risks.”

A few key points that Alaina feels are important to having a successful blog is to

1) Write in the style that you enjoy reading;
2) Make your blog honest and don’t be afraid to put it all out there; and
3) Pick a reliable partner who will provide productive feedback.

Using blogging and social media as a building block to making a good impression is an important aspect of marketing in our Web 2.0 world. A blog can be used for many years and implemented in marketing campaigns for unlimited use. A blog itself is free, but you have to invest your time and your passion. Build on a story that people want to follow. Your blog can be your blueprint to success!
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Great day at the International Builders’ Show. There is a lot of positive energy in the halls. I was able to ambush a few great folks on the first day.

Tim Costello, CEO of BHI (newhomesource.com and the newly formed Builders Digital Experience) who shared some great new tools available for builders (plus his story about driving Betty)

Jeff Shore talking about opportunities for builders to rethink their strategies for 2010 and overcoming addictions to “b-backs”

Finally, the good people at Graphic Language have a new “revolutionary marketing tool for homebuilders, real estate folks, and their agencies to broadcast, propagate, manage, and track new home listings online” that they are launching at the show – newhomefeed.com (Robert O’ Shaughnessy can explain)

Stay tuned for more videos coming as fast as I can upload over 3G…Similar Posts:

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Tune in for the full interview with Sarah Yaussi as we discuss blogging, Twitter, and Social Media goodness. Learn how you can create valuable content and spread it out amongst all the appropriate networks. We explore what this means for homebuilders and tips on how to use effectively. You can also view the follow-up article she wrote below the podcast player. Enjoy.

A big fat “thank you” to Sarah Yaussi, the Executive Editer of Big Builder for her participation in the Blogging lesson in the Social Media Boot Camp series. She also did a great wrap up and agreed to re-post here. Be sure to let her know how awesome she is by leaving a comment and following @bigbuilder on Twitter

Last week, I participated in an online seminar called “Social Media Boot Camp: Blogging – Building Your Home Base.” I was invited as a guest speaker by Mike Lyon of http://www.doyouconvert.com/ fame, who hosted the event. (I still love that he called me a social media ninja, although it means I may have to start dressing the part.)

I thought the topic of blogging was a particular good one because it seems as though builders are starting to catch on to the idea that blogs are an effective search engine optimization tool. Now, let me just talk about SEO for a second. Even though I can’t see you, I know some of your eyes are glazing over at the term. The kindergarten-level explanation is that a blog, like other social media outlets, can help your name pop up higher on the list of possible matches when someone does a Google search for something generic like, say, “new homes in Dallas.” (For a much more detailed and yet easy-to-read explanation, I suggest checking out this blog post; it does a great job explaining it all in plain English.)

But being able to stack the deck in your favor when it comes to search results is just one benefit to a blog. Others include:

• Simple to implement (there are many user-friendly templates)
• Low cost (some blog hosting services are free)
• News focused (fresh content drives Web traffic)
• Authoritative (looks very professional)
• Highly interactive (comment features are king)
• Spread easily (think RSS feeds)

Given this rather long list of benefits, I’ve been noticing a lot of builders launching blogs, both separate from their corporate Web sites and integrated into their existing sites.

But with a growing number of builders sold on the blog idea, “now what?” seems to be the big question. Many builders seem to be struggling with the content part of the equation–what to post, how often to post, how much to write, what kind of voice to have, and so on. If that sounds like you, let me share with you some of the advice, suggestions, and ideas that were doled out during the seminar.

1. What’s the best blog format? While some of the seminar participants used Blogger, most liked using WordPress. We built http://www.housingcrisis.com/ on a WordPress template and have been pretty happy with it. It’s not too hard to figure out how it works, and there are a ton of different template styles and themes. (A word of caution here: Some of the coolest looking blog templates require an enormous amount of content, so you may want to rein your imagination in to make it more manageable.)  

2. How often do I need to post? That’s a good question, and there’s no right answer. But remember that search engines absolutely love all that is fresh and juicy content, so the more often you post, the more likely you are to have success in driving traffic. Me personally, I’m trying to step up my blogging to two to three times a week. It’s a far cry from some of the best bloggers who post multiple times a day–one of my faves is Calculated Risk, who at the time I wrote this post had posted five times on his blog–but I think that’s a good goal given that my day job has a few other responsibilities. The bottom line: Content gets moldy fast, so new posts a couple times a week are probably the way to go.
3. What should I write about? I totally feel you on this one. There are definitely times when I open up a new Word doc, and it sits there blank for quite some time. And I’m sure it’s worse for people who aren’t naturally prolific writers. But that’s really where I say, “Loosen up!” Your next blog post is not your opus. (I have to remind myself of this all the time because as a journalist my natural tendency is to write stories with facts, figures, and quotes in them, and you don’t have to do that with a blog. A blog is more about personality and perspective, in my mind.) The shelf life of a blog post is so short that it doesn’t have to be a masterpiece. I liken a blog post to a paper cup; you use it once and then throw it out. Of course that doesn’t mean they should be messy and riddled with typos and grammatical errors. It just means stop stressing and get typing.

   As for topics, there are a million things to write about. Here are eight ideas that are a little more imaginative than “home for sale”:

• Real estate/home building
• Local economy
• Green building
• First-time buyers
• Financing
• Local events
• School districts
• Your employees (I think this is a good one that is hardly ever used)

We covered off on a lot more, but I think that’s pretty much the meat of the session. As a follow-up, I asked participants to point me to some of the blogs they were working or thought were good examples. Take a look!

• Peachtree Residential Properties: http://atlantaluxuryhomes.wordpress.com/
• Dealssentials: http://www.dealssentials.com/
• Zach Schabot: http://zachschabot.blogspot.com/
• Wanderings of a Wayward Online Sales Consultant: http://www.leahkaiz.blogspot.com/
• Stylecraft Builders: http://stylecraftbuilders.wordpress.com/
• NewHomesDirectory.com: http://blog.newhomesdirectory.com/
• Brookfield Homes San Diego: http://blog.brookfieldsd.com/hud-does-it-again/
• Housingcrisis.com: http://www.housingcrisis.com/
• Real Property Alpha: http://realpropertyalpha.com/
• Eastern Shore Housing: http://www.easternshorehousing.com/

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Rock n’ Roll! Sarah Yaussi, Big Builder Executive Editor and Social Media ninja will be joining us on next weeks Social Media Boot Camp. In the live training course, we will explore Blogging – Building Your Home Base.

I have asked Sarah to share some strategies and secrets on how she continually creates valuable content to distribute across networks. A social network has little value for a business if you can’t create and distribute valuable content.

You won’t want to miss this session – Sarah is a unique professional and always has delivers killer information. See you virtually on Tuesday!
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I have the distinct pleasure of working with two fantastic people at top 100 builders.

Russ Klintworth is the OSC for Simmons Homes and Elena Mora works her magic as an OSC at Ideal Homes.

They both have high conversion rates and set a lot of appointments. Do you notice some similarities to what they attribute their success?

Thank you both for letting me interview you and post it here. Are you an OSC? What do you attribute your success to?

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By Steve McAuliffe, MIRM, CSP

How many of you have seen the movie Rocky?  Were you motivated? Did it make you feel good?  Would you have been as motivated if there was no music?

Music plays a big part in our lives.  Relaxing, Soothing, Motivating, Energizing.  It reminds you of the good times, good friends, and beautiful places.

It comes in all forms, from classical to hip-hop to electronic, and effects each of us in different ways.

Any time a new community or neighborhood is about to be announced there is a lot of new information to digest and share with your potential buyers. Let’s be reasonable.  You can’t learn everything overnight and even if you did, you wouldn’t have the time to formulate the information in to a concise and meaningful presentation.

That leaves us with our Music!  People will buy your music before your words.  What they are really listening to is your excitement, your belief, and your conviction level. 

And this is true whether you are at the beginning or end of a project.  Whether you are a hostess, secretary, sales professional, design coordinator, receptionist, or manager.

It’s your unique brand of enthusiasm.  It’s a burning desire from within that people want to be a part of.

When you walk into a room you either brighten it or dim it. If you brighten the room, that’s part of this desire that is burning within you.  People see it.  They want to be a part of it.  People are looking for someone to believe in… someone that believes in them.  It comes down to just becoming aware.  Keep your awareness level up and be aware of the energy you are portraying.  I can’t emphasize this enough.  Successful people are defined by their music, by their energy, and by the enthusiasm they show.  I’m not saying to go overboard and become giddy.  I’m talking about the ability to simply portray a relevant message.

Successful people do what unsuccessful people are not willing to do.  Successful people live out of their comfort zone.  Successful people play where the opportunity is.

Some of the wealthiest people in our industry stay intelligently ignorant.  What I mean by that is they don’t get caught up in all the latest sales technique fads and concepts that are constantly being lobbed at them.  Focus on your music, the rest will come.

Time For Band Camp!

Steve McAuliffe, MIRM, CSP, is Vice-President of Sales and Marketing for JMC Communities in St. Petersburg, Florida. He is past-president of the Contractors and Builders Association of Pinellas County, life director of the Tampa Bay Builders Association, director of both NAHB and FHBA, and licensed Florida Real Estate Broker (president of JMC Realty, Inc.). Steve served on both the IRM and NSMC Board of Trustees and served as chair of the MIRM Designation Promotion Committee for two years. A past SMC chair for FHBA and CBA, he has received NSMC Silver Marketing Director of the Year and MAME recognition over the years along with the John P. Hall Award at the 2003 SEBC. 
www.jmcdev.com, www.twitter.com/SteveMcAuliffe and www.SteveMcAuliffe.wordpress.com

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It was a the last day of PCBC and I had the chance to interview two companies.

First was Lynette Rogers, Product Marketing Manager for James Hardie. The are by far the most active building supplier in the social media space. You can check out all of their efforts on Facebook, Twitter, Youtube and LinkedIn They were also actively promoting their social media efforts at the booth and by tweeting updates from the floor.

We also hear from Jim Adams, CEO of NewHomesDirectory.com about their industry PR Site called NHDBuzz.com. A free site to post stories and releases.

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We had a great time at booth 2134 and the official #pcbc09 tweetup – spearheaded by Rob Bivens @rbiv from Golden State Lumber (yes, a supplier people!) I put together a quick video highlight of the event. I asked a few of the folks there how they and their companies were using Twitter.

At the tweetup:

@juliesenter
@allijb
@cassandragrauer
@rbiv
@jim_adams
@graphiclanguage
@carolruiz
@bialav
@hometeam
@wwpa
@summerhillhomes
@jonjonbailey

I feel like I have missed some. Were you there? Leave a comment.

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