Over the past few weeks we’ve explored several important profit leaks showing that staffing is very important. We’ve talked about CRM to track sales activity, we’ve talked about paying honest attention to conversion rates, and we’ve talked about having a recruiting system. Now remember, selling is not a typical Monday through Friday, 9-to-5 job. And it’s certainly not easy. You can hit the nail on the head with these other three aspects and still fall short if you don’t have adequate staffing.
New home sales is a profession that requires accommodating the homebuyer’s convenience rather than your company’s determined schedules. In new home sales, that means working weekends. Period.
Staff up for traffic:
The law of traffic: The greater the traffic, the lower the conversion. The lower the traffic, the greater the conversion. Can one salesperson sell and manage 10 to 15 prospects per week? If they have 10 to 15 a week, that equates to 40 to 60 a month. Seriously, can anyone effectively handle 40 to 60 traffic units in a month?
What about high traffic neighborhoods (15 to 25 in high traffic areas)? Now we are talking 60 to 100 traffic units in a month!
With 10 to 15 traffic units a week, you have a benchmark that is measurable for one salesperson.
Weekends are statistically the busiest days of the week. Make sure you have adequate coverage. Give weekdays off, not weekends. Or, incent with Weekend Rewards: Meet your goal and you earn a weekend off.
What’s the formula? One salesperson, two salespeople, or a salesperson with an assistant? Or, the Intern Strategy: A person earning the sales position?
Shared model centers versus shared compensation: “Share the floor, not the compensation”
Two people sharing the same model.
You have to retain two A players. An A and B player will not work.
Question: If an A or B player will not work, what can an assistant be at best? Since they do not close, an assistant can only be thought of as a C player. Think interns, not assistants (Coverage versus representation).
Staff your virtual model home (website) with an accessible Online Sales Counselor (OSC).
BOTTOM LINE: Cutting corners on proper staffing cuts profit opportunity.
And DON’T Cut Corners on your marketing initiatives. See both posts on marketing in the new home industry.
