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October is here, which means we are officially entering the last quarter of the year. And I think this is a really important time to ask ourselves a question: What are we going to do with the next 90 days? There is a lot of uncertainty in our industry right now. Interest rates, affordability, consumer confidence, traffic and the economy are all creating questions about what the rest of this year will look like and what we can expect when we head into the spring selling season. We can’t control…
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The Builder Marketing Summit has wrapped up for another year, and after two fast and furious days in Dallas, I walked away energized, full of ideas and, as always, wishing there had been just a little more time to talk with everyone. This was my fourth year joining Greg Bray of Blue Tangerine and Kevin Weitzel of Outhouse for the Summit, where they once again gave me free rein to lead the Online Sales Counselor track. That opportunity means a lot to me because there simply aren’t many industry events…
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Recently, a seasoned OSC reached out to me because she knows I do mystery shops. She also knows about the Annual Mystery Shop Report we conduct every year to get a pulse on the state of the industry when it comes to customer experience and the customer journey. She had been mystery shopped. On a Saturday. Her day off. Actually, it was the beginning of a four-day weekend for her. And as a solo OSC, she needs to take time off. Gone are the days when we should expect an…
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Why an AI Tool Isn’t the Same as an AI Strategy AI is everywhere in new home sales right now. Chatbots, automated follow-up, texting, dialers, lead nurturing, appointment setting. There are some incredible tools available, and I am certainly not anti-AI. Used correctly, AI can help us respond faster, manage more opportunities and take some of the repetitive work off our plates. But buying an AI tool is not the same thing as having an AI strategy. You don’t just buy it, unbox it, plug it into your website or…
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One of the first things I ask for when I start working with a new builder has nothing to do with conversion rates, lead response times, or appointment-setting percentages. Well okay I ask for all of that stuff. But I also ask for this… I ask to see every follow-up sequence living inside their CRM. The automated emails. The texts. The videos. The call tasks. Everything. Why? Because before I can coach an Online Sales Counselor, I want to understand what the buyer is experiencing. Every email, every text message,…
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“Everyone knows something you don’t… learn from them.” It’s a simple phrase, but one that’s resonated with me for decades. I’m not even sure where I first heard it, but it’s become part of who I am and how I approach life. Long before Blue Gypsy. Long before I was speaking at conferences or teaching classes. Before I ever became an Online Sales Counselor. It’s a mindset I’ve carried with me from experience to experience…country to country. I learned it years ago while traveling the world. Every place I visited…
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In our last blog post about One Team, One Experience I talked heavily about alignment. If the move from online to onsite is done well, it should feel natural from the buyer’s perspective. Exciting, even. The OSC should be building anticipation, not creating confusion. It should sound more like: “I’d love for you to meet my good friend; they’re going to have a much better handle on those specific house questions and help you take the next step.” That is a handoff. Not: “Here’s the appointment. Good luck.…
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Earlier this month, I had the pleasure of joining an NAHB Shop Talk with a title so good I figured it deserved a blog post of its own: One Team, One Experience: Turning Spring Traffic into Sales. When a topic is this relevant, this timely, and this painfully familiar to anyone in home building, you don’t just leave it neatly tucked inside a one-hour conversation. You bring it back out, dust it off, and say, “Alright, let’s talk about what this really means.” The discussion was moderated by Kelly Fink,…
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I feel like I make a post about this almost every year… but spring cleaning isn’t just for closets, junk drawers, and that cup holder in your car full of receipts, hair ties, mystery crumbs, and old empty coffee cups from Starbucks. It’s for your follow-up too. Let’s be honest… somewhere in that CRM is a sales process you built with the best of intentions and then never looked at again. She’s out there. Collecting dust. Sending old emails. Possibly embarrassing you. This time of year, is the perfect excuse…
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Alright, friends. We’re closing out March Debunking AI Month with one more thing I need to get off my chest: I am deeply skeptical of these micro learning AI courses that keep popping up all over my social feed. You know the ones. “Learn 47 AI tools in 28 days!” “Become an AI power user by next Tuesday!” “Master the future with our daily 10-minute lessons!” Meanwhile I’m over here thinking… who has time to collect apps like they’re Pokémon? What do I need 10…or 28 different tools? And more…
Social Media Suicide May Only Be A Mouse Click Away:Think Before You Tweet
I just read a great blog post by Sara Meany of Comet Branding, 7 Surefire Ways to Sabotage Your Professional Brand in Social Media. For the most part I think these are 7 very solid points about professional branding. When you have a social presence out in the online stream of information, both your own personal presence as well as your company’s brand, you have a certain responsibility to think before you talk (Write, blog,…
I’ve Known Beaches….But Social Media By The Beach?
I’ve known beaches…But I never knew social media and the beach went together until recently. And never did I think I’d be involved in planning a social media event at the beach! As a dive instructor and sailboat captain for 7 years I’ve known my share of beaches. I’ve done Tai Chi by the sea, and soaked in the ancient aura of the exotic tropical spice island of Zanzibar. I lived on the beach in…
Truth about Facebook and World Travel: Change is Difficult
Sometimes getting used to a new facebook layout is like changing countries while traveling. Right now, since facebook just did another switch-a-roo there’s been lots of moaning and groaning, and tips on how to “make it like it was.” I too am guilty of that, when it first changed I knew something wasn’t quite write, and I posted a status update grumbling. Face it, nobody likes change. Even traveling around the world, by its very…
Cross Marketing and Social Media: Two Peas in a Pod
Cross marketing and Social Media just go together like peanut butter and chocolate… I work for a local builder who buys local, hires local, lives local and stays local. I also do all the social media for the builder. Lately I’ve been on a quest to promote local businesses. It just makes sense. If you employ the 80-20 rule when using social media, you really only want to be talking about yourself 20% of the…
Can’t We All Get Along: I Think People Have Lost Their Minds
The current economy seems to have given people permission to lose all common sense. Especially in the realm of New Homes Sales. Apparently as long as you site “The economy” and the current state of the housing industry, you should be able to do anything you like. New rules seem to dictate that you should be able to ask new homes sales agents to show you property at all hours of the day or night…
Youtube Reality Check: No Limits, Watch Nick Vujicic
Youtube is crowded with entertaining mindless videos of cats caught on ceiling fans, manatees bumping into aquarium glass, and giant slides that will land you in a kiddie pool of water…but every once in a while you come across a gem that brings tears to your eyes and teaches you real life lessons. This is why social media can have such an amazing impact on our lives. I used to teach kids team building, leadership…
Are Jobs in Sailing And Real Estate Both 24 Hours A Day?
Why is it so difficult at times for buyer’s agents and new home sales agents to get on the same page? We all share a common goal, to help someone find their dream home. Doesn’t that makes us on the same team? Yet at times it’s like we are in two completely different professions. As an Online Sales Consultant for a new homes builder I deal with many different people all over the world on…
Facebook Vacation Tip: Diving in the Turks and Caicos
New Media and incredible vacations… I never would have thought they’d have much in common until recently. When the Aggressor Fleet hit 1000 fans on facebook they offered a special $1000 trip on the Turks and Caicos Aggressor. For a diver, a trip on any of Aggressor’s 12 luxury liveaboard dive boats is probably on the short list of trips we’d love to take. So when they offered an amazing deal of more than 50%…
Social Media, Scuba Diving, Fan Page, Fantastic Vacation!
Social media, scuba diving, facebook fan page, Aggressor, what do all these have in common? They are the elements that make up my next great vacation…and my dream job! During my diving days, I worked for a liveaboard dive boat called the Cayman Aggressor. Recently, while exploring job possibilities I did some preliminary chatting with a couple of liveaboard dive companies about doing their internet sales. I believe that my job as an online sales…