How do you reach the ultimate goal (selling a home) with your customer or client? Do you have a systematic approach or a sales process that you follow each time you work with a potential buyer? At East West Realty, we believe in a Critical Path Sales Process and each part is equally as important as the other. Our sales philosophy is based on providing excellent customer service, going the extra mile for the customer and/or client and always striving to do the right thing. In today's world, it's critically important to always show respect and appreciation to our builder, the customer, to our co-broke agents, and the homeowner after the sale.
In the New Home sales arena, we do have a Critical Path for the sales process. It all starts with the initial meeting or contact with the customer when they enter our sales model or one of our Information Centers. The initial interview is a time to get to know the person, couple, or family....establish a common bond and trust & confidence in you, your company, and your community. There is an extensive list of interview questions that we ask and that's important if you are to truly help them discover the new home of their dreams.
After the initial "Greet and Meet" phase and the "Initial Interview", we like to cover a general overview of the community, presenting our features and benefits, weaving in various involvement questions to see what is most interesting our guests to our sales model/office. This "Presentation" phase is more of a conversational approach to better understand the needs and wants of the potential homebuyer. It helps us in our "Demonstration" of our new homes and homesites, and it is a guide as to how we will effectively demonstrate the property to the buyer. We also follow the "Bulls, Owls, Lambs, and Tigers" personality selling approach taught by Dr. Charles Clarke - "sell them the way they want to be sold" approach.
As we show our new homes and community to our prospects, we're pointing out the features and various benefits to the customer and their agent. We're also overcoming objections through effective story telling of real testimonials throughout the sales process. It's always better to explain why Joe and Mary Smith selected the Fairfax model in our community and how they felt when they were shopping for a new home...they commented how our community had the best club and pool complex of any place they looked...they love taking their kids to the neighborhood park and now they're so glad they moved here...etc.
We believe the Closing process is not some formal happening at the end of the sales process. Closing starts in the initial interview phase as you begin to set their expectations of how the experience will go with you. For example, you may hint that after they see the sales model, you'll point out the several cul-de-sac homesites to see which one is the best for their family.
Your approach is not to "sell them" a home, but "to give them all the information necessary about the community or new homes, to help them make the best decision for their family"...and also "to share some of the reasons why over 250 families have already chosen to 'get involved" with our community. How does that sound to you?" You're goal is to help them select the home that best fits their needs and to facilitate the custom home sales process for the builder.
Closing is a process that happens along the way, during demonstration..."of the two homes that we've seen so far, which one do you prefer?"...or "before we go onto the next home, is there an area of the home that you'd like to go back and see, I know this home has the Kitchen layout that you mentioned to me back in the Sales Center..."
There are many different ways to get the customer to respond affirmatively and help make the final decision easier to make. It's something that new home sales agents need to practice and work at. It's not always about price, and number of bedrooms when selling a home. It's often times about finding the right home, neighborhood/community for the homebuyer, and it's more than just how many square feet a home is.
What are they trying to achieve in this new home? What do they want to accomplish? What do they like or dislike about their current home? How do your new homes or your community match up with their wants, needs, and desires? Isn't it worth sitting down with one of our custom builders to help you achieve the right floor plan on the right homesite that you really want?
Doesn't it make sense to compare your new home options with this builder before you have to "settle" on something or move forward on a house somewhere else that is your second choice? (You have to be careful what you say and how you say it when there's a buyer's agent involved and you'll need to have this discussion with the agent. Hopefully you have the opportunity to work with an agent that has the client's best interests in mind, not theirs.)
After we've helped the buyer select the new home and helped them with their purchase (notice that we don't "sell people a home", by the way), we believe in strong customer service, follow up, and follow through with the customer. You need to earn the right to receive a referral from your customer or client and it's one of the reasons why we're entering our 40th year in developing quality communities in Virginia. (I've been with East West Communities for 24 of those years). "Follow through" is also a very important part of the Sales Process and our "Critical Path".
Finally, we recognize that Prospecting is part of our every week work activity that all of our agents must practice. We can't just rely on traditional forms of advertising and marketing. Active prospecting for new business is an ongoing activity and one that is needed for a successful replicatable sales process. Social media and technology is great, but selling is still a "one on one, face to face business". Establishing good customer relations and maintaining positive Realtor relationships is part of what causes more opportunities for our next home sale. We value our Realtor co-broking relationships and we work hard to show them our respect and appreciation. We welcome you to visit one of our four East West Communities if you're ever in the Hampton Roads area of Virginia!
For Information about East West Partners’ communities, visit www.eastwestcommunities.com. Discover the best in lifestyle communities at Founders Pointe, Eagle Harbor, Liberty Ridge, and The Riverfront at Harbour View. East West Realty Sales Centers are open 7 days a week on-site. Equal Housing Opportunity
