Help!! My OSC is Making Too Much Money!
As a new home builder did you really just tell me that? Did you really just say that? The worst thing you can do in this current climate is to throttle your OSC income or change the way they are compensated because you feel like they are, “Making too much money.”
Don’t kill your unicorn.
There is a misconception sometimes when appointments increase – that “anyone can do this job.” Get that out of your head right now! I mean it. Your online sales counselors are over worked, and the only thing that keeps them going sometimes, is the knowledge that the more they do, the more they make.
There are several factors that motivate well trained OSC’s:
- Work Ethic
- Perfectionism
- Control Issues
- OCD when it comes to organization
- Loyalty
- Company Culture
- Accolades
- And Yes, MONEY
Because we constantly say an OSC isn’t a “sales agent” there is a misnomer that they are somehow an office worker. And so, when an OSC starts earning more than your average employee who is administering your contracts, or making sure production is on point, or sitting down with customers for design appointments… for some reason you begin to question what they get paid.
Here’s an example – An OSC program with one seasoned OSC who was trained about 3 years ago and has always been a high producer in to the high 30-40% range. At the onset of COVID and the increase in leads coming through online sales they pulled a sales assistant and put her on as a junior OSC. In the 3rd quarter the OSC program represented 60% of sales 79% came from the seasoned OSC and 21% came from the person thrown into the fire hose. We tried to implement a “Quick Start” training program, but ultimately the skills, confidence, and abilities weren’t there. A lovely person for sure, but not cut out to be an OSC.
20-60-20 Rule
You want your OSC program set up with intention. I always say:
20% of buyers will buy from you no matter what – You have what they want, where they want it, when they want it.
20% of buyers won’t buy from you no matter what – they aren’t qualified, or you aren’t selling what they want.
60% of buyers will or won’t buy from you depending on what you do – This is where hiring the right person as an OSC and training them with intention comes in and setting up all the proper expectations from the top down on how the program will run.
When you understand that your OSC’s are constantly building rapport and tapping into that 60% you will understand that they deserve the money they make. If you don’t believe me, take over their job for a couple of days. Like all day and night. Sometimes you just need to walk in their shoes.
2020 has seen a huge increase in OSC workload
It only stands to reason that a position that is compensated by productivity is going to earn more. That’s what your sales agents do. This is not an occasion to reduce an online sales counselor’s opportunity to earn money. In fact, when I help a builder hire an OSC we often say there is no ceiling on the amount of money you can make. If they start moving into 6 figures it means they’ve earned it.
For every appointment and sale your OSC is helping with you are making more money.
They are putting forth their full effort. Many of them have been up until midnight many a night worrying about things slipping through the cracks. Many have kept themselves from quitting because they know they are making a lot of money for all their efforts…
I know that this year has been a weird one and all across the country we’ve seen builders have to throttle their sales. If that’s happening, we have to dive deep and see how we can rework certain aspects of all the sales programs including the OSCs. That’s where bringing in the consultants to start brainstorming really can be advantageous vs. halting the money flow to those who work hard for it.