Just as other professional performers give an overwhelming amount of time and attention to choreographing and practicing their openings, so should sales professionals. I would argue that sales rank as one of the most difficult types of performance art because the performance comes first, and then the audience decides whether to pay you or not.

I Need MORE Traffic! This common mantra of most new home sales teams is not necessarily wrong but rather shortsighted when centered solely on volume. Since home buyers start their home search online, the majority of new leads are derived from digital marketing and advertising. While lead generation is the fundamental measurement of success for most home builders, the lead information provided by most sources (including your website) is not very insightful.

The Assistant Buyer paradigm assumes that the sales counselor exists for the customer, not themselves. Many salespeople find this to stretch their thinking quite a bit, especially those who believe that sales is something they do to their customers rather than for and with their customers.

Fear comes in many forms. It could be fear of making the wrong decision. Fear of missing out on better terms. Fear of salespeople. Fear of what they hear in the media or from people they know. Fear of future regret. I could go on as the list of fears is seemingly endless

The important thing for you to understand is that fear is tied to one thing. Risk.

Why do you do what you do? The ‘thrill of the hunt? To make more money? To achieve #1 top performer status? To put your kids through college? These answers are not wrong or bad. And, yet, I wonder, is there something else…?

You may not have a video camera filming your presentation, but you have a mental game film that runs in your memory, which will work fine…if you access the film quickly enough. Here’s the problem. We tend to wrap up a sales conversation and return to our last task or next assignment. That is a huge wasted opportunity. Why not take just 30 seconds to review some game film?

Cost and fear are inhibiting factors. They hold the customer back from making a decision. In looking at what stops the sale, we have to begin with the first of those two issues, the issue that we call cost. The cost side of the equation accounts for things that are at least somewhat loosely measurable price, payment, terms, hassle, and time. All of those things fall into the category of cost.

Of course, the greatest of those costs for a home buyer is payment, not the price. That’s just a value gauge. It’s the monthly commitment that presents the greatest concern.

As salespeople, we must see objections not as deal-breakers but as obstacles in front of our customers. And it is your job to help your customer over those obstacles. I will demonstrate this shift in perspective using two scenarios of a salesperson and a customer amid the home buying process.

While a deep price cut can stimulate showings and sales, in general price cuts can create:
· Appraisal comp issues
· Existing homebuyer dissatisfaction
· Struggle to price future phases
· Additional concession requests from buyers
With financing, you can create the house payment of home costing thousands less that, dollar for dollar, is 4x as effective as a price cut. In addition, you’ll create housing affordability, lower income qualification, and increase purchasing power.

The Planned Surprise Strategy is a process based upon a remarkably simple premise. If you do what your customers expect, you get satisfied homebuyers. When you surprise your customers with unexpected experiences, you get elated home buyers.