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:…
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…
Quick Tip Tuesday – Getting the Most Out of Educational Opportunities
Both online sales counselors and leadership can benefit from opportunities like IBSx. It’s important to take the time to expand knowledge and explore new possibilities when trying to constantly refine and improve your online sales program. This year with IBS education being presented in an online format – IBSx (thanks Pandemic!) this is an opportunity for many more to attend what used to be only an in-person event. For more information on signing up for…
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,…
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…
Quick Tip Tuesday: Possession vs. Ownership
This may be controversial in some circles but I feel this is a really important part of online lead management. If you are familiar at all with the online sales program — and lets face it, if you weren’t you wouldn’t be here — then you know that an online sales counselors job is to set appointments for the site agents inn the model homes. But I’ve realized over the years that there…
Online Sales Counselors Need to be The CRM Expert for New Home Builders
I am a coach, a mentor, a trainer, a consultant. I am not technical support or here to set up your Customer Relationship Management tool (CRM.) Why? Because the only way to become an expert in your CRM is to dive in, learn it, break it, fix it, and as Nike used to say, Just Do It! When I work with builders, one of the most important foundational tools they will ever use with their…
Eat That Frog – Time Blocking for Online Sales Counselor Success
The other day I was in a mentoring session with one of my new trainees. She’s fantastic! She is a sponge and absorbs everything I teach her. She has been thrown into a very busy OSC program with lots of leads being generated. Already we are realizing that we are at 50 leads per week which really means we need a 2nd OSC. But I digress. One of the hardest things about an OSC’s job…
2020 Vision: It’s a Game Changer – Webinar September 11
Is your follow up your weakest link? I’m a guest this week on the 2020 Vision: It’s a Game Changer series – by Kimberly Mackey Founder and consultant at New Homes Solutions Consulting and Carol Morgan Founder of Denim Marketing. Myself, and Ben Marks – President of Melinda Brody & Company – in conjunction with Denim Marketing recently completed putting together the results from a 3o day mystery shop of 50 builders across the country!…
Don’t Burn Out Your Online Sales Counselor
Look, I’ve been doing this since 2007. Back when I began as an OSC we did not have the same kind of marketing and lead generation as we do now. I worked for a builder that sold about 350 or more homes per year, and back then we said if an OSC was doing 20-25% of overall sales for the company they were doing a great job. As a producer hitting 32% of overall sales…
What’s Happening: Events in September
September is always a busy time of the year! But lots of conferences, summits, webinars and podcasts have recently been released or are coming soon in the month of September, which is always great for learning and industry education. I’m lucky enough to participate in some of them! Now through the end of the year, SEBC – This year the Southeast Building Conference went virtual and has all their education available through the end of…