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In a recent issue of the magazine, Housing Giants, there was an article entitled "It's An Image Problem" which espoused the message that closing systems were ineffective, unwarranted, and unwanted by the consumer. Needless to say, this did not set well with me, so I issued a response to the editor of the magazine ...
The housing industry is indeed battered and bruised, frustrated and confused about how to sell today's often contrary buyer. The article, "It's An Image Problem" only serves to mount the malaise - big time. This message is clearly an attempt by the writer to bash results-oriented closing systems, to divide and conquer. It won't work because knowledgeable builders, sales managers, consultants, and sales trainers will see it for what it is - nonsense! Let me briefly speak to each point.
Statement: "Salespeople today have an image problem."
Answer: Not where I come from. They only have a problem if they can't close sales and put profits on the books.
Statement: "Sales training programs are at the root of the problem."
Answer: I have a consensus with my clients that sales training doesn't cost money, it makes money. One client agreed for years that one dollar invested in sales training brought his company ten dollars in additional, profitable revenue.
Statement: "Technique training (sales training) is where the out-of-town guru arrives with a bag of tricks and says you need to close harder, earlier, and more often."
Answer: Wasn't it the American Management Association who said that in the sale of big ticket items, 80% of all sales are made after the 5th closing attempt - and the problem is that most salespeople know three ways to close but only use two!
Statement: "How many times have you seen a new salesperson put in a community with virtually no training? And ... knock 'em dead as far as making sales."
Answer: With 51 years experience in new home sales to rely upon, my answer is ..."Hardly ever" - unless the market made the salesperson, which occurred in the not too distant past.
Statement: "Today's customers are equally put off by too much information and too much pressure."
Answer: If a salesperson asks the right questions and listens appropriately, (listening is not a skill, it is an attitude) they exercise "Buy pressure" - a positive event exercised by leading auction houses, not high pressure (a negative event where a salesperson asks a buyer to purchase before product 1-of-A-Kind has been confirmed).
Statement: "The last thing they (customers) want to hear is blah, blah, blah, about your cabinets, countertops, and insulation."
Answer: Sorry, that's the heart of the selling problem today. They don't hear enough about product differentiation.
Statement: "There's too much proof that asking for the sale doesn't work."
Answer: My goodness, if that's true, then why was yours truly able to close 10 million dollars of Florida condominiums to an overseas buyer Friday, May 1, by putting an urgency deadline of May 9th for contracts, written with consideration, and then, by asking three times for the order. The premise is simple! If you don't ask, you don't get!
Let's set the record straight. Closing the sale - done properly - is alive and well and by all measurements does not tarnish a salesperson's image. I invite this writer to debate this subject with me on any world stage at any time. So do others like Bob Schultz. Let's not perpetuate this disinformation. Let's focus on the right ways to sell new homes.
Tom Richey was recently the recipient of the NAHB "Legend of Residential Marketing" Award. An industry icon, Tom has spent 40 years in the industry training the most successful sales managers and sales teams.
The housing industry is indeed battered and bruised, frustrated and confused about how to sell today's often contrary buyer. The article, "It's An Image Problem" only serves to mount the malaise - big time. This message is clearly an attempt by the writer to bash results-oriented closing systems, to divide and conquer. It won't work because knowledgeable builders, sales managers, consultants, and sales trainers will see it for what it is - nonsense! Let me briefly speak to each point.
Statement: "Salespeople today have an image problem."
Answer: Not where I come from. They only have a problem if they can't close sales and put profits on the books.
Statement: "Sales training programs are at the root of the problem."
Answer: I have a consensus with my clients that sales training doesn't cost money, it makes money. One client agreed for years that one dollar invested in sales training brought his company ten dollars in additional, profitable revenue.
Statement: "Technique training (sales training) is where the out-of-town guru arrives with a bag of tricks and says you need to close harder, earlier, and more often."
Answer: Wasn't it the American Management Association who said that in the sale of big ticket items, 80% of all sales are made after the 5th closing attempt - and the problem is that most salespeople know three ways to close but only use two!
Statement: "How many times have you seen a new salesperson put in a community with virtually no training? And ... knock 'em dead as far as making sales."
Answer: With 51 years experience in new home sales to rely upon, my answer is ..."Hardly ever" - unless the market made the salesperson, which occurred in the not too distant past.
Statement: "Today's customers are equally put off by too much information and too much pressure."
Answer: If a salesperson asks the right questions and listens appropriately, (listening is not a skill, it is an attitude) they exercise "Buy pressure" - a positive event exercised by leading auction houses, not high pressure (a negative event where a salesperson asks a buyer to purchase before product 1-of-A-Kind has been confirmed).
Statement: "The last thing they (customers) want to hear is blah, blah, blah, about your cabinets, countertops, and insulation."
Answer: Sorry, that's the heart of the selling problem today. They don't hear enough about product differentiation.
Statement: "There's too much proof that asking for the sale doesn't work."
Answer: My goodness, if that's true, then why was yours truly able to close 10 million dollars of Florida condominiums to an overseas buyer Friday, May 1, by putting an urgency deadline of May 9th for contracts, written with consideration, and then, by asking three times for the order. The premise is simple! If you don't ask, you don't get!
Let's set the record straight. Closing the sale - done properly - is alive and well and by all measurements does not tarnish a salesperson's image. I invite this writer to debate this subject with me on any world stage at any time. So do others like Bob Schultz. Let's not perpetuate this disinformation. Let's focus on the right ways to sell new homes.
Tom Richey was recently the recipient of the NAHB "Legend of Residential Marketing" Award. An industry icon, Tom has spent 40 years in the industry training the most successful sales managers and sales teams.
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