Model home demonstration is a sales skill. It can be learned. It SHOULD be learned. I’ve seen too many new home sales professionals take a totally wrong approach with a buyer. You don’t show a new home. Demonstrate it!
Think about this. You walk into an auto dealer’s showroom. Does a salesperson hand you the keys to test-drive a car without first explaining its features and benefits? Even if you have done all your research on a vehicle and just want to get behind the wheel, a true salesperson doesn’t let that happen.
Because that’s not selling. That salesperson isn’t leaving anything to chance. The good ones make sure they cover everything so that when you finally get behind the wheel, you’re completely convinced and ready to buy.
If you’re getting up in front of a group to make a sales presentation, do you skip to the closing slide without guiding the audience through the important details?
That’s not influencing the outcome.
Active selling during the demonstration
So, how are you communicating the qualities of a new home that matter to your buyer? With differential demonstration.
Differential demonstration is a process to expertly guide a prospective homebuyer through the model home tour. The path and script are carefully prepared to control the flow of the conversation. You don’t leave it up to the buyer to wander around while you answer their questions. You insert the talking points at the right time during the model home tour, and build the excitement to a crescendo. You know what needs to be covered and ensure that you present those features and benefits.
What elements go into differential demonstration?
It’s a process. There are steps to follow. Here are the basic model home tour elements that every new home sales professional must include in differential demonstration.
- The most effective route to guide your homebuyer through a model home
- The features and benefits to highlight, and when to present them
- Questions and ideas to pose to build the connection with the home
- The builder’s brand differentiators
- The right way to demonstrate a homesite and neighborhood
If you’re nodding your head and telling yourself, “Yes, I do all that,” then I suggest you might want to open your mind a bit. Maybe you cover the basic components, but are you doing it in the right order? Is your verbiage delivering the impact you want? And have you really covered every single item you should, at the right time, and with the right message?
Before you can dazzle your buyer with your negotiation skills, you need to build their interest to give yourself an edge. As a highly skilled new home sales professional, you accomplish that objective with differential demonstration.
In 2015, I developed a workbook, Differential Demonstration: How to Effectively Show a House” to explain the critical process to new home sales professionals. I’m currently updating the content and will have a new edition available soon. Contact me to reserve your copy.
