Success in sales comes from success in leadership

Myers Barnes new home sales leadershipThis current housing market is like nothing most sales professionals have ever experienced. But while your team is out taking sales (see my last post), they still need managers to lead them…because this robust market isn’t going to last forever. Success in sales comes from success in leadership.

When the sales pace slows down, will your team be ready to transition back to being the influencers you need them to be? Think of it like coming back from a vacation to “the real world”. You need to re-acclimate. Here are some ways you can keep your new home sales professionals sharp.

Create a sales action plan, not just sales goals. It’s not enough to just set the bar for monthly new homes sales for each member of your sales team. Help them build a blueprint to achieve those goals—and exceed them. Discuss strategy for cultivating leads, presenting a differential new home demonstration, and communicating with their prospects.

A sales goal tells them how much you expect of them. An action plan tells them how to get there.

Ensure accountability. Are your salespeople following through on what they promised to do? Are YOU?

Accountability is essential in building trust, which is a critical factor in the relationships you have with your buyers. Hold yourself accountable for your actions and you demonstrate integrity. 

Mistakes happen. Opportunities are missed. But the past can’t be changed, so don’t waste time and energy on finger-pointing. Instead, work with your team on finding solutions to prevent a recurrence. Then, move on.

Maintain strong communication. With so much happening virtually, it’s more important than ever to keep in touch with each member of your sales team as well as the group as a whole. Check in with them daily, ask if they need help with any issues, and motivate and inspire. Make sure everyone knows you’re available and committed to supporting their success.

Provide ongoing sales training. Never stop learning! If this past year has taught us anything, it’s that life can change in an instant. We are blessed in new home sales that this challenging situation has created an enthusiastic market for our homebuilders. But if you were in the business during the Great Recession, you know the opposite can happen. Invest in sales training for your team. Give them links to articles and ebooks worth reading. Encourage a passion for learning because it’s the gateway to success in life.

Work closely with your marketing team. Your sales team relies on leads. Are your marketers giving them what they need? A successful lead generation system finds and qualifies leads, optimizing the time for your sales professionals to do their jobs. You should have a strong website with plenty of quality content—emphasis on “quality”. Make sure you’re adding new content, like photos, videos, virtual tours, blog posts, and testimonials. New content tells the search engines that you’re active so they boost your place on the SERPs (search engine results page).

If you need advice, direction, or help with your content, let me know.

Your role as a sales manager is to empower each sales professional and to bring them together so that they function as a team. Whether you see it or not, they rely on you for your leadership skills. When they don’t get that from you, they’ll look elsewhere.

 

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