Lead People to Minor Decisions

Successful closing is fundamentally an extension of the other steps in the sales process.  You must be proficient in all phases of new home selling if you hope to close consistently, therefore, a first move toward sharpening closing skills is to improve all selling skills, especially the ability to discover and qualify.  The more proficient you are in the critical area of questioning, the more successful you will be in closing.            

Lead people to minor decisions
The more customers' say "Yes", the harder it will be to say "No".  Get prospects to agree that your homes, home sites, community, location, financing and builder satisfy what is important to them.  Ask affirmative questions or tie-downs throughout your sales presentation and especially during discovery.  A tie-down question is any question that asks for an agreement. Use tie-down phrases such as these: "Don't you agree? Right? Isn't it? Can't you?" This is an easy way to lead customers into minor decisions, isn't it?  You can gently influence them to nod their head in agreement, can't you?  The result is a series of "Yes" responses that will lead to a closing, don't you agree?

Use trial closes to lead to the close
Throughout the sales presentation, test a prospect's mindset by asking trial close questions.  A trial close question is any question that requires the prospect to make a conditional commitment. Here is an example: "If you were to make a decision today, do you think you would prefer the white or oak cabinets?" If a prospect answers this question, you are moving toward a partial close. Your prospect hasn't bought the house but has purchased a color for the cabinets. Any decision a prospect makes represents a partial decision and when all minor decisions are combined, congratulations, you've earned the right to ask for the order.

Give people reasons to close now!
Today more than ever you have to generate a sense of urgency to buy, to buy today, otherwise your prospect's will want to think it over; and delay a decision until absolutely necessary.  Therefore, how you create urgency is very important to your sales performance and income.

Urgency is a function of time and personal motivations.  What may seem important to one prospect may not to another.  Some people, for example, will place little value on money, while others will jump to close if they learn that a price increase is imminent.  Not everyone will react the same way to the things you may say to stimulate urgency, so it's good to develop a range of  'timely messages' and there are at least five you might consider:

One of a kind
In my book, Building Results - The Ultimate How-To Guide for New Home Sales, I write that home sites represent a good opportunity to create urgency because land, views and amenities vary with each homesite.  Every homesite has its own inherent values based on its exact location and its orientation to other elements in the surrounding environment. This simple fact helps create a desire to own a particular homesite and emphasize the need to make a decision now; for fear that someone else will appreciate its value and decide to buy it first.  If others are looking at the same property, the tempo of decision-making can easily be accelerated.

Price increase
In new home selling, you always have the reality of increasing costs that ultimately must be passed on to homebuyers.  By using your knowledge of pending or anticipated price increases, you can encourage hesitant prospects to buy now.  If they wait, they'll have to pay more.    

Price increases also represent an opportunity for your prospect. If they buy before the increase, they earn instant equity. Always remind your customers that housing remains a great investment and the longer they wait to buy, the less equity they earn.  Urge your prospects to buy now and receive the benefit of price increases.

Financing
During the past few years, fluctuations in financing rates and closing costs have affected homebuyers.  Because of media attention, people are instantly aware of mortgage issues.  All you have to do is look at the attention the sub-prime market is receiving. You can use this awareness to create the urgency to buy now.  If your prospect waits, he runs the risk of less favorable borrowing conditions.  Prepare finance calculations ahead of time and show prospects how much more they will pay over a 15- or 30-year contract if they pay just ½ or 1 % more.

Living pleasure
The personal benefits of enjoying home ownership may be the most important force in motivating a prospect to act now, rather than wait.  People don't like to postpone pleasure, and you can capitalize on this universal desire.  Never forget that people buy on emotion and justify with logic. In other words sell the sizzle not the steak. People buy feelings - help people feel good by buying your home today!

Close constantly
If you do not close early and often, you run the risk of losing your prospect's respect.  Prospect's know why you are there; they expect you to close, they even expect you to close many times.  If you do not close repeatedly, they will see you as weak and unprofessional. When you close again and again, they will respect your drive and tenacity - even if they don't buy.  They may complain that you are pushing them too hard, but remember - if you don't push, you won't close.

Bob Hafer has been a leader in the new home building industry for 36 years. His extensive experience gives him unparalleled insight into the mysteries and marvels of new home sales. His background includes success in consulting, management,administration, sales, marketing, merchandising, research and sales training. View Bob's Profile for more details.