Email This Article
Share on LinkedIn
On a normal day in your
model home, is the following scenario familiar?
A couple comes through your
model door; you introduce yourself, and extend an offer to help them. They
reply that they are "just looking," and you allow them the freedom to browse.
You then return to what you were doing, maybe reviewing some to-do items on
your computer or checking your list of contacts to be made. Possibly these
customers are the first ones through the door on this day, and you are still
getting the model opened up, lit up, and ready for guests. As they inspect one
room and then the next, you make yourself available to answer a question or two
they may have. At the end of the day, you close the doors, and perhaps you have
found an interested prospect, or perhaps not. The day may be a "normal" day in
the model, but should you ask yourself if your current sales approach is
achieving the results you want in terms of both sales dollars and satisfied customers?
Is there something else you can do to improve these outcomes?
If all this is familiar and
you are ready to try something new, consider adding a "retail flavor" to your
selling style. You can do this by making your model home a "model store!" Are you
and your model open for business?
Take a few minutes and
recall an instance where you as a customer walked away from a sale, extremely
pleased with your purchase, very impressed with the sales professional, and
excited about the entire sales interaction. Maybe you purchased a new suit, a
pair of shoes, or maybe it was a large purchase--even a car! You had a good
feeling about every detail of the purchase, told your friends about it, and
highly recommended this store and salesperson to them.
Can you recall and identify
some of the reasons why this retail buying experience was such a success (for
both you and the sales professional)? What attracted you to the store
initially? Did you receive an eye-catching advertisement or mailing or were you
were personally contacted? When you made your way to the store, were you impressed
by the exterior storefront displays and the neat, fully-stocked shelves inside?
Was your salesperson friendly, knowledgeable, helpful, and suggestive (but not
pushy)? You can take these "retail" attributes and put them to work in your
model home/model store.
When you arrived at your
model today, were you prepared ahead of time in hopes of increasing your model
traffic? Being a "retail-minded" professional, you would have made phone calls
or sent cards to personally invite people to come and visit your model. You
would have made sure the directions to the model were clear and correct and the
signage was easily visible. You would have promoted your product by reminding
your potential customers what you can offer them in terms of the product
itself, its location, its amenities, the neighborhood, the community, and any
current promotions that might be in place. This personal contact is the reason
that your model home/model store will be a destination for your customers, not
just a chance "drove by, saw the sign" visit. (We'll take these too, though!)
Before you unlock the front
door of your model, take a minute to view the outside of your "store front"
from all the angles your customers will see. Is the collective appearance of
the front door, front elevations, front yard (or side or back) and sidewalk neat,
pleasing and inviting? Is it the "retail display window" that will urge them to
come inside and look around and maybe buy? Your retail sales professionals will
without a doubt dress-up, clean-up, and fashion-up their storefront curb appeal
with painstaking effort and attention to detail. They know that what the
potential customers see will impress them because it is pleasing to their eye,
it piques their interest about the value of the merchandise, and it makes them
wonder if this product is a good "fit" for them. In your model home/model
store, you can pay the same attention to these "retail details." Make sure the
exterior site is manicured and inviting. Decorate outside with the appropriate
seasonal or holiday ornamentation, and carry this through to the inside as
well, with special attention to your arrangements, scents, and even provide a
tray of cookies and a cup of coffee.
Now it's 9 a.m. and your
first customers walk through the door. How will you greet them? Will you approach
them as they come through the door or will you wait for them to come to you at
your desk? In the retail world, the customer would be approached and greeted with
"Welcome to Mulcrone and Associates. I'm here to help you in any way; is there
something special you are looking for?" The most common response will be,
"Thank you, I'm just looking." This is okay! This response opens up your opportunity
to make a connection and get to work! You might say to them, "While you look,
let me point out a few details and special things about this home." This is
your chance to show them the value of the product, the community, and build
their relationship with you. Ask questions and find out what their interests and
desires are, and share your knowledge of the schools, shopping centers, fitness
clubs, etc. Be ready with all the information that will convince them that this
could be their home!
So the shopping adventure
has begun. In the retail world, the sales professional guides us to make sure
we see an item that we might have missed on our own, when we are "just
looking." This should hold true in your model home/model store as well. Guide
your guest's model visit from "Hello" to "How may I help you" to "Please come
back again; I enjoyed meeting you and talking with you today." Recall again for
a moment the positive sales experiences that stood out in your mind earlier.
Remember what it was that made them positive for you. Did your sales
professionals make you feel unique and important, and did they let you know
they appreciated your business? They earned your trust and you let them help
you make the right choices. When you completed the sales, did they come from
behind the register and hand you your purchases? Just think if at the end of a
visit, we walked our potential customers out the front door of the model,
putting a more personal "conclusion" to their tour.
Think about another very
important part of your positive sales experience memories. You trusted the sales
professionals to help in your selection because they were believable and
knowledgeable about the product they were selling. Being knowledgeable in all
areas of your product qualifies you as the expert, the one who can be trusted
to guide the customer to a sound purchase.
Sometimes during the day,
when there is a lull in your model traffic, use this time to tend to your desk and
phone business, but only after you have tended to the appearance of your model
showroom floor. When you walk through a department store, you will always see
someone folding, restocking, and rearranging. Instead of returning to your desk
when your model visitor has left, make it a habit to double check your model
store and observe what your next model visitor will see. Does the front
entryway need a quick sweep-up, or do you need to shake and fluff the rug?
Remember the power - both
positive and negative - of the first impression when your visitors walk through
the door. When you are satisfied with the model appearance, do a self check! Is
your appearance still as fresh and neat as it was at 9 a.m.? Make sure you are
"retail ready" at all times to offer every visitor the same great shopping
experience at your store. The "retail world" knows that a customer can show up
at the door and be ready, willing, and able to buy the moment the door opens
for business. Are you going to be ready for the early birds, or will they have
to wait for you? Get in the habit each day, at the end of the day, of systematically
closing the model store. Make sure it is clean and tidy, ready for the "driveway
visitor" the next day.
Okay, all you retail-minded
sales professionals, do not forget to restock the "back room." Don't be caught
without the needed business materials: model and community marketing
collateral, business cards, registration cards, and any other sales forms and related
handouts that will make this a memorable visit. Any materials your potential
buyers can take away with them will reinforce their recall of the time spent
with you, what they learned, and how they felt. Don't be caught with empty
shelves and have to utter the dreaded retail phrase reminiscent of, "Sorry, I
don't have that in your size." Keep your shelves stocked! Now, it's time to
restock your personal shelves, the ones that hold your energy, enthusiasm,
knowledge, and sales skills. The three R's in this case are Replenish, Refurbish,
and Refresh. Your personal shelves are the keys to your future and the reason
people will buy from you and not your competitor, so take time to replenish,
refurbish, and refresh yourself!
To have the best model
home/model store on the street and be the best sales professional in the "model
homes mall," remember to:
• Entice and invite your
visitors to your model, previous to each day and weekend.
• Dress up your storefront.
• Pay attention to "retail
details."
• Get them at "Hello," and
know that just looking is just great.
• Know your product and
community; be an expert.
• Refresh your showroom
floor.
• Open and close your store
each day knowing a "driveway visitor" could be waiting tomorrow.
• Restock your model store
and take stock of yourself!
Kerry Mulcrone MIRM, CSP, CMP, is president of
Mulcrone & Associates, a new home sales and sales training company based in
From Sales +
Marketing Ideas magazine, ©2008. Used with permission from the National
Association of Home Builders/Sales & Marketing Ideas, 1201 15th Street, NW,
Washington, DC 20005-2800.
Leave a comment