Top 5 Answers Online Professionals Need to Know:
1. “We Need a Home Priced at $400,000 That Can Close in August” – Online sales consultants need to be able to sort inventory homes with prices AND delivery dates across all communities.
2. “We Want an Oversized Homesite on a Lake” – Knowledge of the unique aspects of homesites in all communities is essential.
3. “We Found the Perfect Floorplan – But It’s Out of Our Price Range” – “No problem, we offer that same floorplan in a community a little farther away, but at $40,000 less than the community you were looking.
4. “What Are the Fees?” – Many fees and taxes are not listed on websites. Online consultants need detailed working knowledge to assist customers on a real time basis.
5. “What Kind of Finances Do We Need to Purchase a Home?” – While online sales typical job is to set an appointment with an onsite sales agent, sometimes job #1 is to get the customer in touch with your in-house lender.
For most homebuilders, the first point of contact for 40+% of customers are with the online sales consultant. It is hard to overstate the impact that a good first impression makes on the company as well as how a poor experience can torpedo any future relationship on doing business. While much has been written and seminars designed on how to optimize sales techniques for online sales agents, many concierges fall short with the information they provide and see themselves simply as a verbal resuscitation of the company’s website.
The working knowledge that an online sales consultant must possess is a multiple of the onsite sales professional. Onsite agents have only one community to sell and “have to sell what they have to sell.” Online agents are typically responsible for multiple communities and must quickly direct customers to the community with the best fit for their needs. Online oversite for multiple communities requires a far greater working knowledge as well as the ability to think quickly on your feet.
The most basic example is the customer or Realtor who has both a price and deliver date need. Elite online sales consultants are able to give quick answers that sort through data across all communities. Customer; “We need a home for $400,000 that can close in August.” Online sales “Great we have two homes that meet your price and move-in requirements. Let’s talk about location and other needs and see where we can set your appointment.”
The ability to provide a real-time sort of prices and delivery dates is what makes a concierge invaluable to the top Realtors. They look for timesaving ways to quickly steer them to communities that offer prices and delivery dates needed by their customers. Providing real time answers to inventory price and delivery questions makes top Realtors call you first. Simply repeating what’s on the website is a waste of their time.
Other must knows include the uniqueness’s of homesites, fees and even basics on how much down payments you’ll need to purchase a home. While selling skills is essential, knowledge base is “where the rubber meets the road.” Research shows that customers are more than 8 times as likely to act on an answer provided within 30 seconds as one given within two hours. Setting high standards for required knowledge and regular testing of their working familiarity will make your Company’s first impression one that establishes a great future relationship.