“We want more leads!”

That’s the mantra of every sales team in virtually any industry.  Sales is considered a ‘numbers game,’ and no matter how effective the company’s marketing might be, it’s never enough to quiet the sales force.

But ‘more leads’ doesn’t necessarily mean more sales.  If you don’t have an effective sales process – one that matches the way prospects shop, compare and buy, than generating more leads will be a waste of your marketing dollars.

I have a different mantra: No lead left behind.  “Most builders don’t need more leads, they just need to do a better job converting the leads they already have and increase their conversion ratios.

Watch the podcast below to find out more about how convert the leads you have and increase your conversion ratios!

Having troubles viewing the Podcast? Listen to the audio here: Builder Radio Audio

Conversion Targets:

• 20% of online leads should convert to kept appointments
• 30% of appointments should convert to sales
• 2 – 3 times higher conversion rate from online shoppers than walk-ins
• Online leads should ultimately account for 25% of all company sales

Online Lead Response Rates:

• 40% of leads from your website or online sources will respond to follow-up
• 60% won’t respond
• Implement short-term and long-term follow-up process

Follow-up Processes:

• To get an appointment:  7-9 touches in 30-45 days
• “Customers never complain about too much follow-up”
•  “Every email is an excuse for a phone call; every phone call is an excuse for an email.”
• Engage in a way that is personal and relevant to the individual.
  • Send relevant info via email; call to tell that you sent it.
  • Financing info; links to video; update site info…

 Point:  Stay in front of your prospects with information that helps them move forward and encourages them to do so.

Web form:  Ask for phone number but don’t make it required. 30% will include it.

Online Sales Counselor:

• 5x more effective in converting appointments.
• Specialists trained in online communications
• Respond to inquiries within 1 minute
• Singular goal – fast and relevant follow-up to set 1^st appointment
• Must be great with email and phone communications
• Allows on-site sales professionals to spend more time with qualified buyers.

Similar Posts:

• Don’t Hide Behind Email – Pick Up The Phone
• Q.A. How to get a response from “generic” leads
• OSC Job Functions – Part 3 of 5
• Lead Resuscitation: How To Revive Your Prospects (video)
• Making the most of every online advertising dollar

1) Fresh Prince is awesome (I’ve been working on my “Carlton Dance” for a long time)

2) She is really excited about this position (Double AWESOME!)

Read Sharon’s FB Post below, to see how she entered her journey as a an ISC (if you aren’t familiar with the theme song to the classic series “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” I suggest checking it out before reading!

“Now this is the story all about how

My life got flipped, turned upside down

And I’d like to take a minute just sit right there

I’ll tell you how I became the Internet Sales Concierge

 

West Pittsburgh PA, born and raised,

As an assistant is how I spend most of my days.

Chillin’ out, maxin’, doin’ work for MH

All inputtin’ data in VTiger for a wage

When a couple a guys, they came up with a plan

I was just gettin’ used to bein’ part of the sales clan

I got one little question from the bosses upstairs who said

“How’d you like to be the next Internet Sales Concierge”

 

I thought for a second and when it became clear

I realized the job fit me, and I looked in the mirror

If anything I could say the pay was real fair

I said, “yes I’ll take it so long as I still get health care”.

 

I set up my new my office and I work from home too

And I get up and start workin’, barely hang with my boo

But I’m settin’ appointments for my sales peeps out there

And I’m hookin’ them up to sell homes everywhere”

About Sharon

Sharon Williams is an internet sales and marketing innovator specializing in the new home industry. She is the Internet Sales Concierge at Maronda Homes — a housing giant headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Sharon believes that successful selling isn’t about what you want, it is about doing the right thing for everyone involved and building relationships.

 Similar Posts:

• Ugandan Prince Email – It’s Not Spam.
• Spinning Your Web – BuilderOnline Article
• List your homes online for FREE
• Video Interview – CBH Homes Shiny New Awesome
• Online Real Estate Ad Spending to Nearly Double by 2010

By Cyndi Wright – Project Manager at Mike Lyon Group

It has been months of planning and preparation here at the office for the big day.  After all of this hard work, the time has finally come for the Supercharged Sales Managers Conference. And despite seeing all of the planning from the back end… I have absolutely NO IDEA what to expect! This will be my first time attending a Sales Conference, and I’m very eager to see what all of the hype is about.

My First Impressions

Walking into the conference room, I’m impressed. A TON of books and giveaways are arranged in front of every spot and the setup is world class. All in all, the room looks very professional and…fun! Not at all like the stuffy, boring, conference set up I was expecting (much to my delight).

And the Conference Begins

Mike Lyon welcomes the crowd and introduces  Myers Barnes, and I’m immediately stuck on every word. I look around the room, and see the same response from the rest of the crowd. Myers talks to the crowd as if he is one of us. He walks around the room, makes eye contact, and calls people out by name. I find my notebook filling up as I scribble fervently.

Next up, Mike Lyon takes the stage and I  watched the crowd sit on the edge of their seat, as he introduced new data and statistics that will have a huge impact on how builders do business in 2013. The bottom line, technology and the online landscape has forever changed how we market and sell homes.

Day 2 – Winding down….or not!

The next day at breakfast, I enjoyed conversing to the 100+ other attendees about how excited they were for this day’s events. These feelings mirrored mines exactly. More real world info, best practices and of course – an iPad giveaway.

I was surprised to see the same energy on Day 2, as the first day! After all of the information shared on Day 1, I couldn’t believe there was so much more to learn! And, shockingly of all, the momentum NEVER DIED!

I was astounded by the conference as a whole. The positivity and excitement felt in the air let me know that my fellow attendees shared my sentiments.

I can’t wait for next year!Similar Posts:

• PCBC 2011 – Join Us Live!
• The 2010 International Builders’ Show
• Free Webinar – Crack the Code to +30% Close Ratios
• International Builders’ Show – 2012
• Builders Unite for Social Media and Internet Training

UPDATE: PCBC uploaded the video from the show – it’s embedded below. or just watch it here. (Careful, there is some strong language)

Be sure to tweet this out and send him some love too: Hey @garyvee, just watched your interview w/ @mikelyon Thanks for the spiritual kick to the head http://bit.ly/MVxKKa

Bonus: Keynote from PCBC

Mike: Hey, Mike Lyon here, and I just happened to run into this guy. I don’t know if you know him. It’s Gary Vaynerchuk, how you doing, man?

Gary: Good, Mike. How are you?

Mike: Good to have you here. I’ve got a question for you. For anybody out there selling homes today, what does the “thank you” economy mean to them? How does that translate?

Gary: You know, whether you’re selling trinkets, wine, like my background, or big things, like homes, the fact of the matter is, in a 2012 world, the bulls@#$ radar of the consumer is greater than ever. And so giving effort, and understanding that pouring dollars into archaic platforms that no longer convert (print) I mean when was the last time you went to the Yellow Pages? All these avenues that people are trying to bring attention to their businesses and yet, there’s nobody there anymore, and putting it into the end consumer and understanding that your next . . . especially when I think about home buying, and you think about the demo of Facebook’s growth. When you think about 25 to 45-year-olds in Facebook, how much of their attention, you’re talking about 6 hours a day, on average, for some female demos on Facebook. This is where the attention is. No matter what you sell; home or wine or anything else, you’re looking for the attention of the consumer, and playing where the consumer is matters.

Now here’s where the thank you part of all this economy comes in. You actually have to care. The days of bullshitting, the days of like, “Oh, we forgot to tell you that there’s a radiation tower next door,” the days of, you know, that stuff  are over. Anything extreme to that, even little things like not being authentic about the hardwood floors you used, are over. The honesty of the 1920s, ’30s, and ’40s are back. I like to always say, “The more our world goes Jetsons, the people that act like the Flintstones are going to win.” Tweet This Remember that statement. Understand to put your dollars, your working dollars, in places where people are. That combo, that cross-section, that’s success.

Mike: So how do you think you would tell them to get their customers to talk about you? How do you get them to do things that are going to be different?

Gary:  You parent them. You care about them first.

So like in a Facebook fan page, instead of pushing out a listing for your project, how about asking people, “What confuses you about buying a new home?” What about bringing value? If you Google me, and I’m going to assume a lot of you don’t know who I am, I started a wine show to educate people. I was reviewing wine that my store sold and I was panning them, because I cared about being America’s Wine Guy, not about selling one more bottle of wine. When you start thinking long term, when you start thinking marathon, not sprint, especially, listen, I have a pulse on the economy. You guys are about to have another rise. We’re getting out of this s@34storm. Right? So, as you go to that world, building brand equity, as an authentic leader in your space, is going to really, really matter. Tweet This So bringing value, teaching people how to get a mortgage, you know, it’s a 360 thing. Teaching people the upside of this neighborhood because you already know another builder is building a shopping center down the street and a new school’s being built, and this is a good investment, that kind of authentic information. Giving people the public information that you would give your child about your project is a really smart business move.

Mike: That’s awesome. Looking forward to your keynote, man. It’s going to be awesome.

Gary: Looking forward to it.

Mike: And we’ll talk to you soon. Thanks for everything.

Gary: Take care.Similar Posts:

• PCBC 2013 – 4 Events you DON’T want to miss!
• One-On-One with Jeff Shore (video)
• Does Your Social Media Content Suck?
• Is anybody listening to me? How not to be boring online.
• Control Who Sees Your Posts on Facebook (video)

Presale Without Fail won’t be released until September 29th, but because you are so  special (and reading this blog) you can download it now. Just go to www.PreSaleWithoutFail.com and enter presale-lyon as your pre-release code. When you use the code you will be entered into a random drawing for one hour of Skype time with Kevin to answer any questions you have about how to implement this with your builder!

Kevin Oakley is a branding and marketing expert specializing in the new home industry. He is the Director of Marketing & Sales Training at Heartland Homes – a top 100 national builder (and Pittsburgh’s #1 custom home builder).  He believes results matter, brands are not dead, and that it’s not easy – but it is simple. Learn more at www.brandpossible.com Similar Posts:

• A Builder’s Online Strategy: Elicit a Response (Guest Post)
• Browsers to Buyers – 2nd Edition
• 64% of Agents Don’t Follow Up – Say What!
• The Fresh Princess of Internet Sales
• Is Follow Up a Lost Art? Survey says…

—–

Announcing the Launch of Homebuilders.com, the Ultimate Online Marketing & New Home Sales Resource Center dedicated to helping homebuilders and new home sales professionals succeed.

Homebuilders.com is unique to the marketplace in that 100% of its content zeroes in on the three major challenges facing homebuilders and industry professionals today – generating enough traffic, converting that traffic to sales, and creating profitable sales. Going beyond a discussion group, Homebuilders.com offers insight, advice and actionable know-how into what’s working and who’s doing it along with examples, case studies and feature interviews with leading builders across North America.

The landscape for marketing & selling in the homebuilding industry has changed so dramatically that we wanted to bring together a collective think-tank that captures the core elements for successful selling today — powerful marketing programs, building a motivated and productive sales team, creating websites that work, driving customers to your business online, integrating online marketing with onsite sales, and the key role technology plays in connecting with potential and existing homebuyers.

Learn how to create powerful marketing campaigns, drive customers to your website, capture leads and build a motivated sales team. Understand the components that make up a comprehensive marketing strategy and get real-world tips from the industry’s leading experts.

Homebuilders.com founders and editorial contributors include Myers Barnes of Myers Barnes & Associates, Mike Lyon, principal of Doyouconvert.com, Chip Johnson, CEO of Builder Designs, Jim Adams, founder & CEO of Newhomesdirectory.com, Dave Clements, founder & CEO of Lasso Data Systems

View the Full Press Release Here >>Similar Posts:

• International Builders’ Show – 2012
• Video Interviews from the International Builders’ Show
• Myers Barnes – New Home Sales University Recap
• Free Webinar – Crack the Code to +30% Close Ratios
• Guest Article: How to Treat Your Leads as Be-Backs

At a recent conference, we were discussing this again with Real Estate company owners so I posted a quick question on Facebook for some live responses. This sparked a nice little discussion and I love the comments from professionals all across the country. So much so – I thought I would just post the discussion here (removing names).

One of my favorite quotes from below “look for other ways to give your sellers their marketing placebo” This was echoed at the conference when a successful broker who hasn’t advertised in the paper in years said “take the marketing pacifier out of their mouth”

So here was the post and the feedback. What are your thoughts?

“Having a “robust” discussion about newspaper advertising w/ broker owners. Still a lot of companies committing a large part of their budget to the paper. What would you tell them?’

Numbers don’t lie… take an objective look at the money out versus money in, then make your decision.

As Bob Dylan once said “Oh the times they are a changin’”

Don’t give money to people that write bad things about you!

Have you heard of an iPad? Let me show you something…

The lowest quality prospect comes from print media!

I’d ask them how they measure success of their print ads. Do they accept the anecdotal evidence from their sales offices? How much do they pay per acquisition? I guarantee they can make that metric drop like a rock if they diverted most of that budget to digital!

Measure to manage and look for other ways to give your sellers their marketing placebo. Sellers get excited when you tell them their listing will be in the newspaper because they know you’re spending money to market their home – not because they really think that will sell it. The trouble comes in that most sellers also know that there is little to no fee for you to put their listing in the MLS… so you MUST go beyond that, but don’t go for the low hanging fruit with newspapers

I think at this time in our economy it’s hard to say what works. 90% of people start shopping online, yet in some regions (yes) print pulled. Numbers don’t lie. Most of our budget is online.

Call me, we changed our marketing mix and our market share keeps increasing with rerouting dollars.

We sell more than almost any competitor in LV and we don’t advertise in the paper at all – online is where it is at!

As far as branding, I would show people how we were different by NOT being in the outdated print material. They could still use it in a presentation, but I would use it to show a buyer what not to do. Then take them online live and show them your presence on the web.

Let the stats do the talking….

Agree with Frank. Here’s how we do it: set up a dedicated URL for each channel including print. Then, track each channel against five indicators of quality: total website traffic, time on site, pages viewed, return visits, and opt-inconversion. Seeing the numbers in print will do more convincing in 5m than 5 hours of trying to convince someone verbally that print is a terrible ROI.

Newspapers are dying. (from a Executive Editor of National Magazine)

Similar Posts:

• Paper to Web – The Exodus?
• Papers losing real estate ads to online
• 5 New Year’s Resolutions for Your Online Sales Program
• CRM Software – Whitepaper
• Marketing Tactics in a Downturn

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.
Similar Posts:

• Video Tools for Selling Homes (video)
• Batman Has an iPhone – Do You?
• Video Email – 2 Years Later
• Video Email – Eyejot Goes Mobile with New App
• Are You Too Busy To Blog?

Winning in a Web 2.0 World: A Social Media Workshop for Sales and Marketing >>

Date: June 8, 2010
Time: 10 AM- 4:30 PM

Description: The Rules of the Web are ever changing. In this full day session myself along with other industry leaders will help you get ahead on the game, know what the rules are, adhere to the process and make the most of the social media available to you.

Learning Outcomes:

Learn to use social networking sites in your favor and how to avoid social media suicide.

Register Now >>

Speakers:

	Mike Lyon, President, Mike Lyon Group, Inc
	Jim Adams, CEO, NewHomesDirectory.com
	Sarah Yaussi, Executive Editor, Hanley Wood - Big Builder
	Jeff Click, President, Jeff Click Homes
	Allison Buffom, Online Marketing Manager, SummerHill Homes

Similar Posts:

• The PCBC Sales Superstars
• Getting Social at the Triangle Sales and Marketing Council
• Builders Unite for Social Media and Internet Training
• Just Released – Social Media Guide for Real Estate
• Getting Social at the Building Industry Show

]]> http://www.doyouconvert.com/2010/05/11/pcbc_social_media/feed/ 1 http://www.doyouconvert.com/2009/07/31/builders-unite-for-social-media-and-internet-training/ http://www.doyouconvert.com/2009/07/31/builders-unite-for-social-media-and-internet-training/#comments Fri, 31 Jul 2009 14:36:39 +0000 Mike Lyon http://www.doyouconvert.com/blog/?p=701

This week was the first in the Social Media Boot Camp series and OSC University. It was a blast! We had over 75 attendees at the sessions.  It was my goal to create an active environment where we could come together not only to talk about best practices and how to execute, but also to network and learn from others in the industry.

This was a phenomenal kick-off and I look forward to the other 16 live training courses.

For those of you who still want to get involved, don’t worry – the first live events are recorded and will be available for review. You can view the details of the upcoming courses along with the dates here Social Media Boot Camp » and OSC University »

If you want to peak behind the curtain – check out the tweet streams on Twitter here:

Tweet Stream – Social Media Boot Camp »
Tweet Stream – OSC University »

Also, a few of the attendees have sent their takeaways from the first live training events. Take a moment to see what they have to say. Leah Kaiz even wrote a blog about it here »

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Social Media Boot Camp

Great job, I think you are providing a valuable service to home builders, especially those who haven’t yet started using Social Media.

Various tidbits that I think were valuable were:

• Don’t be afraid to start, it’s not that scary
• Start slow, get a feel for things, you can always build as you go
• Don’t get overwhelmed that there are 100′s of social sites, just start with the biggies (Facebook, Twitter, YouTube)
• Energize your base, start by connecting with your existing customers and Realtors (maybe send emails to invite them to join your social sites)
• Don’t spam with marketing messages, share valuable content (industry news, news about the economy, tax credit info, green building, charitable efforts)
• If you give a lot of valuable content, then it’s ok to slip in a little self-promotion here and there, still make it valuable though (Grand Openings, fun events, special incentives)
• Realize that your ROI is going to be different than traditional marketing channels (focus on building brand, awareness, building a community, interactions … etc)

Josh Fredrickson – Pulte – @pulte

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At Mike Lyon’s Social Media Boot Camp I gained perspective on how to successfully engage with others via social media tools and confirmed my philosophy that social media is a communication tool, not a sales tool, best done in conjunction with a well rounded and diversified marketing plan.

Erik Cofield, CGA, Vice President – BuildTopia – @buildtopia

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I enjoyed the session.  In the past, other conference call courses were mixed topics which turned out to be a waste of time.

Your class was very informative.  Obviously, the new social media is the place to be.  We are starting to get on board.  All the comments were right on the mark with our company requirements. 

Dinah King – M/I Homes – Internet Marketing Consultant

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OSC University

It was so refreshing to be in a "room" of people who totally understand my job, do it every day, and can stretch my imagination on better ways to do it.  I learned that I’m not alone in some of the barriers I come up against in trying to do the best job I can, and I learned (well I knew) that there is always so much more to learn when perfecting your skills in anything.  (Until you can hit 100% there’s always room for improvement!) 

Hey and if you haven’t already done so, take a look at my blog about the class yesterday.  http://leahkaiz.blogspot.com/ 

Leah Kaiz – Chesapeake Homes – Online Sales Counselor

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Awesome call today, although my head is spinning because I’m discovering so many areas for improvement in our online sales counselor program!  Worth the price of the entire series already.  I can’t wait for the next call.  Thanks!

Kathleen Murphy – Marketing Director – Peachtree Residential – @peachtreeres

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I am so glad I signed up for your course! Being the sole OSC for my division, I find my role sometimes rather isolating so it’s important for me to stay motivated and up-to-date on best practices in an ever-changing market. Your course certainly provides that opportunity for me.

I was especially impressed with the gathering of other seasoned professionals and gleaned a lot of valuable feedback and insight from each of them. I am very much looking forward to your future classes.

Claudine Koh, CSP – Online Consultant  – Standard Pacific Homes

Similar Posts:

• Sarah Yaussi from Big Builder as Social Media VIP Guest
• Just Released – New Online Training for Home Builders
• Getting Social at the Building Industry Show
• All Day Internet & Social Media Workshop: Home Builders Association of Northern California
• Podcast: Interview with Sarah Yaussi from Big Builder on Blogging, Twitter and Content

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