What’s on your agenda this week? A little rejection perhaps? Maybe one or two closing remarks? Some high anxiety?

One of the common traits I’ve found among new home salespeople is that they worry about closing the sale. In fact, it bothers them so much that, according to statistics, 87% of them do not even do a simple close when a buyer walks into a model home. We also know that nearly 90% of salespeople don’t even get a registration card completed with an address, both buyers’ names, e-mail and phone number. Without that information, there is no follow-up opportunity.

Closing makes salespeople nervous. They fear rejection and feel overwhelmed at the thought of asking the buyer for a commitment.

So, here’s a thought. Forget the nervous breakdown. Have a breakthrough instead. Stop assuming new-home shoppers aren’t going to buy today. Start seeing them as half-way committed to owning one of your new homes. Then use one of my favorite simple closes:

You: “I sense you love this home. Am I correct?”

Buyers: “Well, yeah.”

You: “Then shall we make this one yours?”

That’s it. Nothing involved. This close puts buyers in the position of committing to purchase or telling you why they aren’t ready right now. Some will buy. Some won’t. So what? Either way, you’ve brought them to a point of decision.

This is a skills-based housing market today. To excel, you must overcome your fear of rejection. Ask those closing questions. Get follow-up information on everyone who enters your model home. Do it enough and it will become second nature.

To quote Aristotle, “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act; but a habit.”

Posted In: New Home Sales Training

Tags: Aristotle, closing techniques, email, fear of rejection, follow-up, housing market, New Home Sales

In his classic book, “The Magic of Thinking Big,” author and Ph.D David Schwartz writes, “To do anything, you must first believe it can be done.”

He explains that when you believe something is impossible, your mind goes to work backing up that premise and proving why it’s impossible. However, when you believe … really believe … something can be done, your mind goes to work to find ways to accomplish it.

Great baseball player Satchel Paige never told how old he was, although it was obvious he was up in years because he had been playing ball for so long. One day he was being pressured by reporters to tell his age.

“Satch, c’mon. Tell us how old you are,” a reporter coaxed.

Satchel turned the question around and asked the reporter, “If you did not know how old you were, how old would you be?”

To Satchel Paige, a person’s age didn’t define what they could accomplish. Both he and Schwartz knew the secret: It’s all in your head. What’s important is what you believe.

It’s about attitude and how you view the world through your mind’s eye. Look for the good and you’ll find it. Look for the bad and you’ll spot it everywhere. Perceive the housing market as favorable and it will awaken the optimist in you. See it as failing and your internal skeptic will detect signs of doomsday.

Depending upon what you believe, your mind will either apply the brakes or accelerate.

So, let me ask you: If you did not believe the housing market was down, how many homes would you sell this week?

Posted In: New Home Sales Training, Personal Development

Tags: believe, housing market, Satchel Paige, The Magic of Thinking Big

Sitting in the airport a few weeks ago waiting for my flight, I watched a little girl about six years old read a joke to her mother from a book she was holding.

“Knock. Knock,” the child said.
“Who’s there?” her mother replied.
“Opera.”
“Opera who?”
“Opera-tunity!” the girl said with enthusiasm.
Her mother laughed.

My stream-of-consciousness thinking went something like this:

Opera. Singing. It ain’t over until the fat lady sings. A colloquialism meaning don’t assume the outcome of something until it is actually finished. Not counting your chickens before they are hatched.

Opera-tunity. Opportunity. Knocking. Only once or until the door falls down?

I recalled that, while the expression “fat lady sings” is usually considered an opera quote relating to Brunnhilde’s final aria, many researchers believe it’s a remnant from the Victorian days. Conductors aboard steam trains would tell the young man stoking the engine, “Come on, boy. Put your back into it! It’s not over until the fat lady sings!” The “fat lady” being the train’s boiler and the “singing” being when her whistle blew, signaling that she was fully stoked.

Putting it all together and relating it to new home sales, I concluded that, regardless of what we hear in the media, the housing market isn’t done. In fact, it’s building up steam and we need to stay fully stoked … to put our backs into it … until the housing market is singing again.

Obviously, I was a little bored that day in the airport.

Posted In: Personal Development

Tags: housing market, New Home Sales, opportunity

Once upon a time in 2008, Mr. Litchen Little was sitting outside his favorite coffee shop when an acorn fell from a nearby tree and hit him on the head. At the time, Little was reading the housing section of his daily newspaper and the stats didn’t look good. Nationwide only 485,000 new homes had sold, which was a major drop from the 776,000 that sold in 2007 and the 1,052,000 new homes selling in 2006, the article said. “Wow!” Mr. Little exclaimed, picking up the acorn. “New home prices are falling just like this little nut.”

He jumped up and ran all over town proclaiming, “New home prices are falling! New
home prices are falling!” Many salespeople panicked; a few ignored him and went on
about their business. Mr. Little didn’t know what to do. As a new home salesperson, his
future was at risk.

He couldn’t throw himself into his work because this dark cloud was hanging over the
whole industry. He fretted and fumed for days before running into Lenny Penny.
“Lenny! I don’t know what to do! All the housing reports look bad … really bad. I’m
discouraged and scared that I won’t be able to make it in today’s economy,” Mr. Little
said.

Lenny Penny looked at him gently and very wisely said, “Listen Little. Just because it
looks impossible to you doesn’t mean it’s impossible for everyone. Those who will work
hard in today’s market will increase their potential for success; and if they can succeed,
then that’s proof that you can, too. Remember … great performance is preceded by
great preparation.”

Little thought about that. “Well, this is the profession I’ve chosen, so I should give it my
all or I should get out and try another career.”

He loudly proclaimed, “I must sacrifice much to accomplish much!” Folks standing
nearby looked at him strangely, but Little wasn’t short on enthusiasm. Although some
said he was a nut to go out on a limb like that, he didn’t hesitate; and from that day on,
Little was a big success in new home sales.

The Moral in Rhyme:
Don’t believe everything you’re told.
Don’t panic when you hear the news,
That prices have fallen down so far,
We’re singing the housing-market blues.
If others can succeed in sales,
That’s proof that you can do it, too.
It’s not a mountain you must conquer;
But the fear inside of you.

Posted In: New Home Sales Training, Personal Development

Tags: housing market, New Home Sales

Miss Gigi Rasshopper and Mrs. Tinee Ant shared an office in the same real estate company. Mrs. Ant worked hard all day long, scouting for leads, updating her web site, creating a vision board, organizing her goals and revising her mission statement. She called potential buyers, qualified them, followed up and asked for referrals. She filled her head and her bookshelves with print and audio books that taught her how to succeed in new home sales.

Miss Rasshopper watched her scurry about and laughed, saying, “Why do you work so hard, Mrs. Ant? Come, rest awhile and listen to this new song on my MP3 player. The days are sunny and warm. Why spend them driving buyers around or being shut up inside a model home?”

She paused, waiting for a response, then continued, “I’ve been where you are. Just look at my
new-home-salesperson-of-the-month plaques? I was top performer seven months in a row and was in the million-dollar club. Of course, that was five years ago and the housing market was a little different then, but still…”

Mrs. Ant just ignored her and kept working.

“You silly woman,” Miss Rasshopper said, sipping on a cool, green drink. “Don’t you know the
economy’s bad? You’re doing all this work, but the buyers just aren’t out there. So why not live a little and forget about new home sales for now?”

Her words fell on deaf ears because Mrs. Ant was on a mission. She had set a goal and she
only had 14 days left to achieve it.

Within a few weeks, the blue skies turned gray and the winds blew chilled air into the office as
Mrs. Ant came and went. Nights were long. No one was shopping for new homes … at least no
one Miss Rasshopper knew.

Mrs. Ant, on the other hand, was consistently bringing in commissions on homes she had sold. Her world was warm, comfortable and financially solid.

Miss Rasshopper decided the reason she wasn’t selling homes was because of her builder and
her broker, so she started hopping from one to another.

Mrs. Ant watched her go, but she didn’t hear her angry mumblings because she was too busy
listening to her MP3 and dancing to her favorite song, “I Will Survive!”

The Moral: The way to have nothing tomorrow is to do nothing today. Your past is
history and the present is a fleeting shadow that doesn’t last. Work for the future
because that is where you will live.

Posted In: New Home Sales Training, Personal Development

Tags: buyers, goal, housing market, real estate, referrals, sales

It’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood and here you are building your twentieth house on Duplicate Drive. Standing back, you survey your models. Each three-bedroom, two-bath home is identical with carbon-copy floor plans.

So what if a three-bedroom house doesn’t accommodate every family? So what if the homes aren’t customized? So what if there isn’t much of a market for a one-size-fits-all house?
This is how you’ve always built homes. You’re not big on change. Besides, the market should accommodate you.

In reality, builders of single-family homes wouldn’t dream of using identical blueprints for every model home. So why do they have a one-size-fits-all approach to selling their homes?

Too many builders still operate under the same blueprint they created in 2006 when the housing market had just started to cool. That blueprint is: To sell more homes, discount them.

So, they do. But what they lose sight of is the bottom line. Why build houses if you don’t make money?
“But I have to discount, Myers, to stay competitive,” they say.
Not really. Just like all buyers don’t want a three-bedroom ranch … all buyers aren’t looking for discounts.
Oh, sure, they’ll take one if you offer it; but what they’re really looking for is a home that will accommodate their needs, family, and income.

Instead of automatically discounting the home, take the time to sell buyers on its features and the many reasons your home will meet their needs.

That’s a blueprint for success…and profitability.

Posted In: New Home Sales Coach

Tags: building, buyers, housing market, myers barnes, new home sales coach, profitablity

It isn’t easy to make a profit in the construction industry; but it’s next to impossible to make one if you start discounting your home’s price before you even try to sell it. And yet that’s what many salespeople and builders do.

Four years ago when the housing market was vibrant and hot, buyers would never have thought about asking for a discount. Today it’s a different story, of course. There are too many homes competing for the same buyers. So builders and their sales team start out on the defensive trying to justify their prices. They assume everyone is bargain shopping. Therefore, if they offer the lowest price, they will get the sale.

Despite what you may think, all home buyers are not shopping price. They aren’t looking for the cheapest house to buy. Deep down, they know they get what they pay for. If they pay too much, they lose a little money; but if they pay too little, they lose a whole lot more in terms of service, quality, warranties and property value.

What home buyers want is the best home for them and they would probably like to get it at a discount or with an incentive package thrown in. What you need to do is to illustrate how your home is the best one for them. Show off its features … sell its value … defend its price instead of justifying it.

Do it right and your buyers will wonder why your home doesn’t cost a whole lot more.

Posted In: New home sales marketing, New Home Sales Training

Tags: builders, features, housing market, profit, profit and loss, value

Foreclosure. In the new homes market, it’s the "F" word. The number of foreclosure filings in the U.S. rose by 81 percent in 2008 and by a whopping 225 percent from 2006. The housing market is flooded with the tsunami of perceived bargains. The key word here is "perceived.” There are several reasons that the "buyer beware" rule should be in effect when considering a foreclosed property:

1. Poor maintenance. If the owner wasn’t paying the mortgage, what makes you think he/she was investing in even the most basic upkeep?

2. As is. The "As Is" caveat could be costly for the buyer. A new home and its contents have warranties that protect the buyer. When buying a foreclosure, you get exactly what you pay for.

3. The angry owner. In the wake of a foreclosure, many former owners feel victimized by their situation. There are countless tales of homes being stripped of appliances, lighting fixtures, and even plumbing, all of which are removed in haste, and with no concern for the incoming dweller.

4. Hidden cost-cutters. If the foreclosed property is a new home, the builder was likely cutting many corners to avoid mounting more debt. What’s hidden under the drywall? "New" doesn’t necessarily mean a home is in excellent condition; it could mean that no one has yet discovered the creeping shortcuts.

5. Wasted time. Purchasing a foreclosure requires a mountain of paperwork and it can take months before you discover whether the bank accepts the deal. And what happens if your offer fails to make the cut? You begin the lengthy process again.

When your prospective buyer tosses down the "F" word like a gauntlet, pick it up and present the reasons why the foreclosed property is a questionable investment, at best. Then bestow upon them the many reasons that the new home you’re selling will deliver long-term value, satisfaction, comfort, and peace of mind.

Keep Selling,

Myers

Posted In: New Home Sales Management Training

Tags: foreclosure, housing market, myers barnes, new home sales management, New home sales marketing, new homes market

I was recently talking with a builder who was incensed by the demands of prospective buyers. "They want me to just throw in a furniture package with the deal," he sputtered.

I listened and empathized with his plight. I’ve heard this same frustration voiced by many builders, developers, and new homes sellers in this market. Buyers want ridiculous discount and absurd freebies in order to close the deal. They’ve been handed a market where the buyer dictates and they are feeling choked by the heightened demands.

Let’s take a look at the situation though. The leak in the housing market started to trickle in the first quarter of 2007. Now, 25 months later, the sellers are scurrying to plug that gaping hole in a market that is flooded with short sales and foreclosures. The media, real estate agents, and mortgage companies are telling these buyers that now is a great time to buy. Have you ever heard them advise buyers that it’s not a good time?

As a result of the economic crunch, buyers are making offers that would have been swatted away like a pesky bug just two years ago. But these buyers, while they may appear vulture-like in their approach, are not fools. They resisted the top-of-market buying frenzy, sat on the sidelines to gauge the action, and are now quite enlightened about the status quo of the buyer’s market. They’re ready to play the buying game like a battle to the death. What you call "absurd", these savvy buyers call "realistic."

My advice to you is to be prepared. Know that these crazy offers will come, and that they arise from hopes but not necessarily expectations. Sharpen your negotiating skills and respond to those offers respectfully—because at least you have an offer to negotiate! Communicate the value of your property and justify the price. Work harder to see where you can cut your margins and where your buyer is willing to bend. A ridiculous offer just means you have to work harder and smarter.

Myers

Posted In: Customer Service

Tags: builders, buyers market, developers, furniture package, housing market, myers barnes, negotiating skills, New Home Sales, new home sales management, New home sales marketing, New Home Sales Training, new homes, Real estate courses

Do you ever wonder how other marketplaces are performing?
Visit www.housingpredictor.com for an up-to-the-minute crystal ball forecast. By the way, the world as a whole really isn’t as bad as the media would lead you to believe. There are marketplaces that are prospering and faring well. Unfortunately, we are all normally fed the bad news. Keep visiting, we are committed to providing you with the good news, and solutions that will help you beat the market like a drum.

Thanks,Myers
Myers Barnes Associates, Inc.

Posted In: New Home Sales, New Home Sales Training

Tags: housing market, media, New Home Sales Training