Let’s get this out of the way right now: I am not a CRM implementation expert. My job is to train and strategize with Online Sales Counselors (OSCs) and companies to help them thrive in their roles and their adoption of the CRM across all departments. It’s important for the marketing, sales, and online salespeople to all be rowing in the same direction when it comes to big tools like the CRM. I’ll give you the ideas and the parameters, but I leave the nitty-gritty of CRM setup to the techies and specialists. What I do know is what a CRM should be able to do for you as an OSC in the homebuilding industry. It’s up to you to become the expert on the platform your company uses. And let’s be honest—often OSCs end up being the CRM experts in their companies. So, roll up your sleeves, dive in, and figure it out. Here’s the good news: there are resources everywhere. Your CRM likely has a support team, a knowledge base, and (bless the internet gods) YouTube. You can Google just about anything these days. Or—and here’s a crazy idea—you can play with it. Tinker, explore, and press all…
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Don’t Break The Process!
There’s been a marked slow down of walk-in traffic to models all across the country. With agents twiddling their thumbs in sales offices it may be tempting to ask the question why don’t we send the digital leads to them and eliminate the “middle man” The OSC? That would be a big mistake. Lead development is a process within the sales process. If done correctly we optimize sales. If done incorrectly, we flush marketing dollars…
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Quick Tip Tuesday: Don’t Forget About Proper Lead Nurturing
If we don’t do our lead nurturing correctly now, we will be regretting it later. While in the ever changing landscape of online sales, so much more has been thrown on the plate of an OSC, it’s important that we don’t forget the basics. The reasons why this position exists in the first place. To nurture leads and make sure that they are getting the feeling of a personalized experience with the builder, well before…
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Hiring the Right OSC Requires A Social Media Check
In today’s digital world, it’s important to be careful about what you put out in the world, especially publicly. Time and again we see people removed from their jobs because they’ve expressed a stance that their companies cannot abide by, nor do they want to be held accountable for in society. As online sales counselors in the new home building industry we are especially susceptible to this sort of scrutiny. the online sales counselor is…
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Guest Post: Capturing and Nurturing Leads in a Hot Market
Guest Blog Post by Lasso CRM With most builders experiencing a banner year, how you keep track of your leads is more important now than ever before. I don’t know if you can ever have too many leads, but if you’re not properly capturing and nurturing them, this is a problem. When times are good, it’s easy to forget the pain of the bad times and make excuses about why it’s not the right…
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Quick Tip Tuesday: One Size Doesn’t Fit All in Online Sales Counselors Programs and Training
It’s important to understand that a one-size-fits-all approach for online sales counselor programs is not beneficial to new home builders across the industry. First it’s important to see that training doesn’t happen in a bubble. There is an entire program set up required in order to create a successful online sales program. Sometimes we think if we just hire an OSC and train them, we’re good to go. To set yourself up for success you…
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I’m Not Just an Online Sales Counselor Trainer, I’m an OSC Advocate
Look. This post COVID climate is crazy. First it was crazy when everything went online and builders FINALLY started to embrace the role of the OSC, and those that had them thanked their lucky stars that they were able to pivot quickly. And now it’s crazy with the rising cost of materials, interest lists 100’s deep, and sales being limited because we can’t keep up with the backlog as we sell more homes than we…
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