Melinda Brody

According to sales trainer Jeffrey Gitomer, the average salesperson spends about $800 each year on self-improvement including workshops, books, tapes, seminars, etc. to help them stay motivated and raise the bar for performing in the top ranks of their profession.

Here are some tips on how to maximize the seminar experience and increase your ROI (return on investment).

1. Don't sit with people you came with. When I speak to HBA's, I notice all the companies sit together-realtors, builders, mortgage brokers, etc. A critical part of the seminar "ROI" is to network and meet others who you can help and they, in turn, can help you. Get out of your comfort zone and sit at a table where you don't know anyone.
2. Bring plenty of business cards. There is usually a drawing and you can network with others at the breaks and during meals.
3. Come prepared. Look at the topic and prepare some questions that you would like addressed. This is YOUR chance to ask the expert.
4. Participate! Ask questions; get involved. The seminar is only as good as what you put into it. The more involved, the more you walk away with gems that will help your business right away.
5. Introduce yourself to the speaker and ask them your specific question if time allows. Just give the speaker time to get ready before the seminar and break time to unwind and rest their voice.
6. Take notes and bring a pen. This sounds obvious but often, I see attendees walk into a seminar sans pen! As the speaker is presenting, keep a separate page for your "action" items so you can begin implementing after the program.
7. Keep an open mind. Don't have a "heard it all, seen it all" mentality. Ask yourself, "How good am I at______?"
8. Take the information presented and say, "How will this apply to what I do?"
9. At the end of the seminar, find three ideas you will apply and develop an action plan with how to execute and when.
10. Share your "take-a-ways" with someone else that will be your "phone buddy" and hold you accountable.

Have a plan ready for the next seminar you attend and I guarantee you will be signing up for more in 2009!

Melinda Brody, MIRM has been inspiring and evaluating salespeople for almost two decades. She offers sales seminars, keynotes and video mystery shopping services for builders across North America.

Published FHBA.com

Time to get a strategy to increase sales. This is the year to sell better, increase referrals, bond with more realtors, make more follow up calls and be totally focused on helping the homeless own a brand new home.

Let's begin with a simple Goal worksheet that will help DRIVE sales upward.

Step 1: D = Define Your Goal: Would you think of driving cross-country with out a road map? In order to hit a target or goal, you need to define a clear, specific road to get there. Putting your goal in the past tense sets up a mental picture of accomplishment. Instead of "I will sell 10 homes this month". Try, "I have sold 10 homes this month."

Step 2: R = Roadblocks Will Come Up.: When you plan a road trip and call AAA, they send a "trip tik"" This handy map outlines the direct, best roads that connect you to your destination. Along the way, it warns of roadblocks, construction, detours, poor road conditions, excess traffic etc, so you can adjust your travels according.

When you plan your goal, you must prepare yourself for roadblocks along the way. Slow or unqualified traffic, rate increase, indecisive prospects, lack of follow up, etc may be on your list. Identify the top five things that will be a roadblock to your sales goal. For each roadblock, identify a solution. For example, if you have slow or no traffic, develop a marketing strategy to increase traffic - call realtors, call past customers for referrals, attend Chamber of Commerce events, give out flyers to renters, etc.

Step 3: I = Initiate on Action Plan: As you plan your trip, it will flow a lot smoother if you have an action plan. Most of us, have an idea of what sights we will be seeing on which days. Some events, such as a play, require advance tickets. We usually don't "wing it" unless we're spending a week at the beach.

As you identify solutions to your roadblocks, initiate on action plan of activities to make things happen. This plan needs to be very specific and with deadlines. For example;

Roadblock = slow or unqualified traffic
Solution = Increase realtor and buyer referrals, marketing flyers, follow-up.

Action Plan

Monday - Visit 5 Real Estate offices/speak at sales meeting.
Tuesday - Call 5 Buyers for referrals
Wednesday - 10 prospects follow-up contacts
Thursday - Chamber of Commerce Breakfast (bring flyers)
Friday - Call 5 buyers for referrals

Vary your activities each day and repeat each week. If you miss an action item, add it to the next day's activities.

Step 4: V = Visualize your Success: Can you smell the mountain air in North Carolina? Can you visualize yourself sipping wine at a vineyard in Napa valley? To increase my excitement, I put a picture in my bathroom of my next vacation, so I can visualize I'm already there. This forces me to focus on it everyday and remind me to save for this fabulous trip instead of spending money on clothes I truly don't need.

It's important to visualize your success in your mind's eye. Nothing is more powerful then seeing yourself enjoying the fruits of your labor. If you did sell 10 homes this month, how would that look and feel to you? Visualize being honored by your company as "salesperson of the month". Visualize 10 happy homeowners that are thrilled about owning one of your gorgeous new homes. Visualize you enjoying your extra earnings and scheduling a much needed vacation or finally buying that new convertible you've been dreaming of

Step 5: E = Enthusiasm is Everything: When you're on a road trip and your car stops, we immediately thing it's the engine. Sometimes it's as simple as you forgot to fill up the tank and you are now out of gas! Gas is the enthusiasm that runs your car (goals). If you set your goals develop solutions to roadblocks, write an action plan, but you have no gas (enthusiasm), your car (goals) is going nowhere. Enthusiasm is everything. If you have negative thoughts about your sales, such as:

It's slow this time of the year.
Our location is bad.
Our builder takes too long to build a home.
Rates have increased.

You need to put these negative thoughts in the back seat of your car. Better yet, open the car door and kick them out on the road.

Your enthusiasm is the main ingredient to DRIVE your sales goals. Turn your negative thoughts into reasons people should buy from you. As people approach your sales center, say to yourself. "Here comes my next buyer."

Well, that's the formula D.R.I.V.E Buckle up your seat belt and get ready for the expressway of sales success!

Melinda Brody, MIRM has been inspiring and evaluating salespeople for almost two decades. She offers sales seminars, keynotes and video mystery shopping services for builders across North America.

Century 21 has a slogan...
"Don't be a secret agent!"

In other words, GIVE OUT YOUR CARDS TO EVERYONE!

On-site salespeople need to get out, stop "sitting" their subdivision and learn to love the old fashioned skill of prospecting!

The 1/3, 1/3, 1/3 rule still applies: 1/3 of your traffic is generated by your builder, 1/3 the realtors bring in and 1/3 you go fishing for!

Prospects -

Ask everyone who visits if they have someone they know who also would love to live at your community.

Happy Owners -

Make it a habit to call a set number of home owners each week for referrals. Your home owners are your best bet for excellent referrals. They are already sold on your community. Get them to bring along their friends. Once client of ours sends a "Thank You for Visiting Us" letter to prospects with a postage paid postcard asking if they know anyone who would love living at their beautiful community!

Neighborhood Activities -

Think of all the community events you are involved in - PTA, church/synagogue, neighborhood association, gymnastics, soccer...the list goes on. Apply the 10 foot rule. Don't be obnoxious about it, but let everyone know that you are the one to see if they know of someone who needs a beautiful new home that is moving to your city.

Business Activities -

Are you active with your local Chamber of Commerce? I am very involved and am shocked when I attend events filled with doctors, dentists, CPA's and never bump into a new home salesperson. NEVER! Might this be a great group for you to network with? Someone once asked Bonnie and Clyde, "Why do you rob banks? Their answer was simple..."That's where the money is." Go where the prospects are.

In addition to chambers, check out Rotary, Kiwanis (all professional-usually doctors), Leads Clubs, Toastmasters, Charity boards. Many of these events happen on your days off and are food events, which are easy to get in and out.

Let's review some "networking" do's and don'ts. You are off to a chamber meeting...

1. Do bring a ton of cards - keep accessible in right pocket and put theirs in left.
2. Don't talk endlessly about yourself. Cliff notes only. Ask how they got started at their business and how you can help them.
3. Don't go for a slam dunk. Networking is l-o-n-g term. Building friendships. Being a matchmaker. Don't be impatient.
4. Don't focus on food and drink - you are there to "work the room". Eat quick or before you go. If in the food line, strike up conversation there, "How long have you been a member...?"
5. DO follow up, follow up, follow up! Sound Familiar! Jot down a few notes on back of business card and send note or better yet information of interest. Help them first.

My ex-boss, E. Everette Huskey of Huskey Realty was a great motivator. He would get up at every sales meeting, hold up a newspaper, open it and say, "Somewhere in this paper is someone who needs a home...who will be the one to find them?"

Melinda Brody, MIRM has been inspiring and evaluating salespeople for almost two decades. She offers sales seminars, keynotes and video mystery shopping services for builders across North America.

National Speaker, Melinda Brody, will be presenting two programs at the 2009 International Builders Show held January 20-23^rd in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Melinda's 1st program will be January 20^th entitled "45 MORE Insider Secrets to Build a Dynamite Sales Team" which is an encore performance from 2008. Along with Jody Pilka and John Palumbo, Melinda will address how to Hire, Train and Motivate a dream team of top producers who sell new homes.

Melinda's 2^nd program will be January 21^st at the Management Summit, which, along with the Super Sales Rally, is the highest attended program of the convention each year. Melinda's topic will be "Entrepreneurial Marketing-Coaching your Team to Deliver Endless Traffic". She will speak to sales managers for builders who want to learn strategies to increase traffic to the model centers on a shoestring budget.

Melinda Brody and Co, Inc is a premier national sales training company helping builders sell more homes. Headquartered in Altamonte Springs (Orlando), Florida, the company offers video mystery shopping services, sales training, and audio/video training systems to the home building industry across North America. Recognized as one of the Top 25 Small Businesses by the Greater Orlando Chamber of Commerce, MBC recently celebrated its 22^nd year.

The International Builders' Show is the largest annual light construction show in the world - over a million-and-a-half square feet of the latest and most advanced building products and services ever assembled. See all of the latest innovations for yourself with hands-on demonstrations and working models in over 300 building industry categories at the National Association Home Builders' annual convention. For more information, go to buildershow.com

Melinda Brody and Company Inc. was established in 1986 and is headquartered in Orlando, FL. Specializing in the New Home Industry MB&C provides a full service solution to help new homebuilders sell more homes!

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Melinda Brody, MIRM
President
sell@melindabrody.com
407-294-7614 ext 301

After setting records for many years as a top closer in sales, and serving as a National Sales Trainer, Melinda formed her own sales training company offering high energy, "real world" sales seminars, mystery shopping, and training tools. She travels the country conducting seminars and inspiring new home sales representatives with her seminars exclusively tailored to the new homebuilder industry. Additionally, her "state of the art" video mystery shopping services have resulted in evaluating over 10,000 salespeople nationwide!

Melinda has a unique benefit of incorporating actual video clips of the best practices caught on tape into her sales seminars and sales training products. Not only can she teach new home consultants how to deliver the best presentation possible, she is able to demonstrate real people, in the field, doing it correctly. It is considered an honor to be showcased as one of the top performers in the nation.

Melinda has spoken at the Super Bowl Sales Rally, southeast Builder's conference, Western Builder's show and countless HBA's across North America. Her clients include many of the top production builders throughout the US and Canada such as Beazer Homes, D.R. Horton, K. Hovnanian, Lennar, Maronda Homes, Portrait Homes, Toll Brothers and many more.

Melinda is a prominent speaker for the Institute of Residential Marketing, a keynote speaker to national homebuilders and homebuilder associations, and the author of numerous sales articles for various trade publications. She is a Member of the Institute of Residential Marketing (MIRM), and the National Speakers Association (NSA). Her company is a six-time award winner of Major Achievement in Marketing Excellence (MAME) and was honored as one of the "Top 25 Small Businesses in Orlando" by the Greater Orlando Chamber of Commerce. Melinda Brody and Company recently celebrated its 21st anniversary.

Melinda has a complete team of talented individuals, who are committed to provide the best service to our clients and shoppers alike.

Click here to Meet Our Team