Self-Touring is the key to success in achieving your 2021 sales goals. Why? With so many homebuyers moving their purchasing timetable forward during 2020’s summer and fall pandemic sell-out, you’ll find every drive-buyer, every internet lead, every connection, every conversion will be precious in 2021. Self-touring done right will improve your in-community lead collection by 2-4x. Homebuyers will also be searching the internet for new homes nearby which offer the safety and convenience of self-touring.
However, are your team members and processes ready to launch a successful onsite lead collection strategy using self-touring access? Let’s look at five considerations that will make or break its launch—
Requirement 1 – Do you utilize OSCs in your sales process?
Online Sales Counselors are the perfect personnel for first-step following up with self-touring leads. Why? Because these prospects tour all hours of the day, often outside the typical onsite salesperson’s workhours. And speedy follow-up is extremely important: A recent 30-day study done by Leah Fellow of Blue Gypsy and others, they found a 391% conversion rate with a 1 minute response time! OSCs are builders’ “early birds”!
In addition, self-touring prospects often need the long-term nurturing strategies OSCs provide. OSCs have the long-view when it comes to sales, often with an undefeatable attitude. Onsite salespeople are used to short-horizon buyers and find long-term follow-up tedious even when they know it takes 8 – 12 touches to convert a lead.
Requirement 2 – Are you willing to promote self-service access to your base?
In many markets, homebuyers are searching for self-touring options. Are yours? Google “Self-tour homes for sale” and see if “Self-tour homes for sale near me” pops up in your Google options. If it does, better order a self-touring service like NterNow right away and start promoting it!
First, have a plan to launch the service via social posts by reaching out to Meredith Oliver of Meredith Communications who knows how to drive self-touring prospects to your community. Create a how-to video showing clients how they can self-tour your properties (like this one https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Txhk—J7c). On your website, place “Tour Now!” banners over the homes that are self-tour enabled. Collect customer’s testimonials about the safety and ease of DIY service and post them, especially during the pandemic.
Requirement 3— Are you faithfully using a CRM?
Angela McKay of ECI/Lasso says “a CRM should be your Book of Record”. It should contain the contact information of all your future home buyers and so holds the answer to your company’s future success. Keeping track of the huge number of leads generated from self-touring access in any other way is madness. Where else can you track home shoppers’ feature preferences, preferred method of contact, your touches, their family info, where they live right now, if they currently rent or own, if they are pre-qualified, where they are in their buyer journey? When all that info is collected from NterNow or other sources, your index card files and spreadsheets can’t help but fail.
When fully using a CRM, you create relationships with your prospects. With all the gathered info, you can create personalized, effective sales communications. Warm not cold follow-up creates sales!
Requirement 4 — Is your first follow-up touch by Call or Text?
Which do YOU check more often– your phone messages/texts or your email? Chris Hartley, VP of Sales & Marketing and a 40 Under 40 says “Realtors and prospects get 100s of emails today and they are too easy to ignore. But using a text—boom– they respond to us and will give us an answer. And they have a completely different level of respect for us because they see us as a technology-driven company integrating a better process for us to communicate with them. It’s the future of follow-up with homebuilding, hands down.”
With the self-touring service NterNow, visitors are asked if it’s okay if an agent reaches out to them and 92% say Yes! Don’t waste time emailing them–You need to talk with them! But first, immediately text: “ Hi Jim, So glad you’re touring our Manchester model right now. I’ll call you from 678-555-1212 in 5 minutes to tell you the about the special offer on that home. Enjoy self-touring! Lynne at PHI Homes” Why? Because when you call them, their phone screen will flash the cell number and “Maybe: Lynne at PHI Homes.” You’ve just increased your conversion rate exponentially. (Thank you, Smartphonesl)
Requirement 5 – Can you overcome the people obstacles?
Self-service touring changes the way homebuilders’ sales teams operate. Can you free your OSCs from non-sales duties to focus on the flurry ofnew leads from self-touring? Can your salespeople overcome their allergy to technology? Will they feel threatened that self-touring is taking away part of their job?
Can you convince them of the benefits of a home access technology like NterNow? Sales Solve Everything CEO Ralph Williams says, “Technology continues to get better, making it easier for salespeople to follow up, but some balk at the process.” So even when technology helps make sales easier, the fear of change makes adoption difficult.
And with the long run-up of sales since the downturn culminating into this crazy sell-out second half of 2020, salespeople have forgotten that “winter is coming”. Our salespeople have to turn away from gorging on the acorns and start packing away the nuts for what’s ahead. None of us know what’s in store in 2021 (but one certainty is NterNow can help you make your ’21 sales goals www.nternow.com)
How can you turn this corner with your sales team? Call on the sales training experts in the business for their help – Ralph Williams, Kerry Mulcrone, Kevin Oakley & Mike Lyons, Leah Fellows, Kimberly Mackey, Anya Chrisanthon and others. They will help you be the change you want to see in your sales world.