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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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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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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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Every year I walk into the International Builders’ Show with the same challenge. There is simply too much good content. IBS is one of the few places where you can find yourself staring at your schedule thinking, “I want to be in three different rooms at the same time.” Between sales, marketing, technology, leadership, and customer experience sessions, there is always more to learn than any one person can realistically absorb in three days. That’s honestly part of why I keep coming back. This year is no exception. I’m especially…
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It’s finally here! My new book, Attract, Engage, Convert is now available on Amazon and I couldn’t be more excited! This book is for builders, OSCs, marketing teams, sales leaders, and anyone trying to make sense of what really works and how to set up a successful OSC program. It’s built from nearly two decades in the trenches, helping builders and OSCs create meaningful, intentional online sales programs. And it was a labor of love. Even better, builders are already buying copies for their OSC teams. That’s exactly what I hoped…
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If you’re considering launching an Online Sales Counselor (OSC) program, or reviving one that’s stalled, you may be tempted by the promise of outsourcing. The idea of offloading the responsibility of nurturing your digital leads to a third-party service may sound like a time-saving solution. But here’s the hard truth: There is no easy button when it comes to creating a successful OSC program. Whether you bring your OSC in-house or contract the role out, the same requirements apply: learning your tools, your process, your product, your people, and most…
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When margins are tight, it’s tempting to look for places to cut costs. Too often, the OSC program ends up on the chopping block. On paper, removing a salary line or trimming bonuses may look like savings. In reality, it’s one of the most expensive mistakes a builder can make. An OSC isn’t just another role. They are the engine that converts costly digital traffic into real appointments and closed sales. Without them, your marketing dollars evaporate, your conversion rates sink, and the homes you thought you’d sell this year…
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When it comes to building homes, every builder knows the phrase cost of doing business. But what’s less often discussed is the cost of not doing business the right way. Especially when it comes to your Online Sales Counselor (OSC) program. Profit Margins in Homebuilding According to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), the average net profit margin for builders was 7.0% in 2020 and rose to 8.7% in 2023, the highest in more than three decades. Public builders (like D.R. Horton, Pulte, Toll Brothers) often report consolidated net…
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…
Hiring is a Value Driven Proposition: Adding New Online Sales Programs or Revamping Old Ones
Lately, as I have been helping builders hire online sales counselors – either growing their teams, starting new ones, or revamping old programs – we are not only matching the right skill sets that are needed to become an OSC (Hint, it’s not the same as your site sales people.) We also are making sure they will fit with the company culture. My father taught me long ago that when your values align with the…
Change Isn’t Easy – But It’s An Important Part of Growth
Recently, I’ve undertaken a huge task. I’ve been updating all of my training materials and my online sales counselor training program. From the way it flows, to the way it’s presented – it’s undergone a complete refresh. But most importantly the content is the most up to date and progressive online sales training program I can possibly put out there in the world. The first online sales counselor program I ever created was 14 years…
Performance Vs. Stress: How to Create Peak Performing Online Sales Programs
I was talking with my father the other day and Performance vs. Stress is one of the topics he discusses with his mentees. My father has spent several decades mentoring CEOs of companies and provides great insights to help them improve their company culture and grow their businesses. So, it’s great that I have this wonderful insight in my own backyard. We were talking about the change in the market and how much more many…
Online Sales Counselor Training Isn’t About the Hours or Canned Packages
I get asked all the time by builders if I have an hourly rate or an hourly package they can purchase. I also have builders that ask me if I have a recorded set of lessons. The thing is I can’t track hours, and I can’t feel good about putting together pre-canned “education.” If someone wants something that is only 30 days or 3 months… I can’t in good faith do it. That’s just not…
No One is Dying: Ways to Manage Your Time as an OSC
With the onset of COVID and the current climate in the building industry, having time as an OSC is nonexistent. Homebuyers are forced to begin their search online whether they like it or not. Even prior to the pandemic, the internet has become the top source when searching for a new home. With the amount of volume that builders are seeing across the country, OSC’s are becoming more and more spread thin. Imagine you are…
A Love Affair with CRM: An OSC’s Real World Ups and Downs with 3 Different Programs
In honor of Valentine’s Day, we give you a brief love affair with Customer Relationship Management tools (CRMs) and how one OSC describes her relationship with them. We will remove names to protect the innocent and the guilty – both the OSC’s name, and the CRMs. But let’s just call this a cautionary tale. CRMs are the foundation of everything for successful online sales counselors. We know in life just as with any romance…
Engaging Questions that Make Your Job Easier
There are many facets to the role of an online sales counselor. OSC’s are the face of the company and are positioned to be that “guide” throughout the online sales process. The goal is to build trust, provide information and open up rapport with everyone who reaches out and shows interest. One aspect of that is being a great investigator. Investigation happens when the RIGHT questions are asked. OSC’s are trained to lead the…
Upcoming Events and Speaking Engagements for Blue Gypsy Inc.
The Month of February is packed full of events! Leah Fellows, the owner and online sales counselor trainer at Blue Gypsy Inc. will be speaking at several virtual events across the country. IBSx February 9-12 – Make sure to get your all access pass! With 100+ education sessions across 9 industry tracks there will be something for everyone. Don’t miss Adapt or Be Left Behind – Lessons Learned from Online Sales Counselors, as Leah Fellows,…
Have Online Sales Systems In Place BEFORE The Home Building Market Changes
Systems need to be in place if you want to grow and maintain during the highs and lows of the new home building market. People will always be buying real estate, it’s just their methods and what’s important to our buyers changes as the market fluctuates. This is the toughest point to get across in the new home building industry… maybe it’s true of all industries, but since I work in this one, this is…