Knock, Knock, Is Anybody There?

If you have been out to any model centers lately, increasingly the answer is no. Recently I was doing some competitive community analysis for a client. I visited 6 communities in 3 different counties. Of these communities, many with 6 or more model centers in them, I saw 1 sales agent, 2 construction managers, 1model sitter, and the rest of the models were locked up tight. Now bear in mind, the number one rule in sales is: You’ve Gotta Show Up! You can’t sell anything if you aren’t there; so, why isn’t anybody home?

An informal poll of builders revealed some really surprising answers:

• "It was the sales agent’s day off and budget cuts prevent adequate coverage."
• "There was a meeting at the main office."
• "The builder was surprised that no one was there; an agent was assigned, but with management cuts no one was available to check."
• "Agents are allowed to cross-sell into multiple communities, so the assumption was made that all the agents were just in another community."
• "We don’t have enough staff to cover that community full time or at all."

HUH???? Seriously??? Sales are what we all really need now, right? So why on earth wouldn’t we put trained professionals in the places where they are most likely to be able to make a sale?

All of us are struggling with budget and staff cuts, but doesn’t this seem like a catch 22? We have to cut staff because we don’t have enough sales. As a reminder, well-trained sales professionals (those who execute sales) do not COST the company money; they MAKE the company money.

With your competitors increasingly laying off their top producers, isn’t now the time to hire for top talent? What about a trainee program? Do you have a second string in training? Studies have increasingly shown the benefits to the company when a few trainees are added to a sales force. Not only does the company get adequate coverage, but trainees can cause your first string to get more innovative because they feel the heat of having an eager beaver right on their heels.

What is your recruitment and training plan? Do you have a system in place that allows you to consistently recruit, hire, and train the best? Hiring is just like any other business practice, you have to have a system and follow that system.

While you are in the process of ramping up your sales force, you still need to have a temporary plan to cover the models. This plan may need to be a little out of the box. Perhaps your managers can work in those models to cover the sales associate’s days off. Of course those associates will need to know how to work with a customer and recognize a potential sale. What about your construction team? Have you trained them on how to work with the customer and possibly recognize the sale? Whether you realize it or not, often times your construction manager is the only company representative the potential customer actually sees when they are out in your communities. Doesn’t it make sense to prepare them?

It is expensive to drive traffic to your community, so can you really afford to have your potential customers saying, "Knock, knock, is anybody there?"

*Kimberly Mackey, MCSP, CMP, Realtor® is the founder of Creative Sales Solutions. A company dedicated to providing the Sales and Leadership Solutions You Need Right Now. For contact information and for a free subscription to SOLUTIONS E-newsletter, please visit www.creativesalesnow.com.