Your sales process is essential to your team’s success. More specifically, establishing and following a sales process is the key. Just like you do a performance review of your team members, you should recheck your sales process, making sure every aspect supports your objectives.
What is a sales process?
I’ve spent years—decades—talking to builders, sales leaders, and new home sales teams about the sales process. Some of them have really good systems for guiding the prospect from the first meeting to the close. More importantly, they adhere to the process.
But I’ve also met too many pros in this group who haven’t invested in their sales process. They know what they have to do but haven’t defined each step, explaining why it matters and how to proceed with it according to the company’s accepted practices.
According to HubSpot, a leader in CRMs, “ A sales process is a series of actionable steps—unique to an organization—that salespeople follow.… Your sales process can set you apart from your competition—it’s a key component of your company’s identity. That’s why it serves you to be thoughtful and at least somewhat distinct when putting yours together.”
A sales process is scalable and sustainable. It doesn’t rely on one sales manager to be the sole advocate. The system must keep going, regardless of who is leading or engaged in the sales process.
Prospect.
Qualify.
Nurture.
Present.
Negotiate.
Close.
Why do you need to recheck your sales process?
If a sales process is scalable and sustainable, does it need to change?
The answer is a definite “maybe.”
Technology keeps advancing. We went from on-site sales to online sales in a heartbeat. The builders who were already prepared to work with buyers online had a distinct advantage.
Now, we’re seeing the burst of artificial intelligence (AI) sales tools giving another way for new home sales professionals to improve their effectiveness and productivity. ChatGPT is leading that AI charge. Does your sales training cover these new AI sales tools?
The buyers are changing. The new generations of homebuyers—Millennials and Gen Z—represent a big target for news home sales. They have a different mindset from their parents. The sales process itself doesn’t change but the interactions might. How do these buyers prefer to communicate? What are their priorities when it comes to buying a new home?
When you recheck your sales process, you identify key opportunities to sell better.
What’s working, what’s not, and why?
Analyze every step of the sales process. They must be actionable. Leave no room for interpretation for proceeding from one next to the step.
Within each step, look at the aspects that consistently work for your team.
- How are the conversion rates along the sales pipeline? Are your OSCs converting leads to appointments? Are the appointments kept? What’s the conversion rate for your onsite sales professionals?
- Have you experienced their approach to the first meeting?
- Do they all follow the same process for showing the model home?
- Are they having productive discussions about financing?
- How does each salesperson handle objections?
- What’s their follow-up process?
- Are they utilizing the CRM to its full potential?
Are your team members sticking to it?
No process will work if your new home sales professionals haven’t committed to it. Straying from the plan and ad libbing…those actions can’t exist within the framework of a carefully planned and tested sales process.
Talk to your team about the new home sales process you’re using. Where are they gaining the most benefit from expertly applying it? Ask them what help they need to improve—like sales training and sales tools.
We can all improve. Pursue knowledge. Practice your craft. Invest in sales training. And never take your sales process for granted!
Need help? I’m here.
