The Handoff Should Feel Like a Warm Introduction, Not a Witness Protection Transfer

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:…

Can You Outsource Online Sales, Social Media and Blogging?

October 9, 2012

It isn’t always easy to keep up with the myriad of tasks you have on your plate as a business owner.  Can you outsource your blogging, social media, and online sales? These three important aspects of your homebuilding business are definitely elements that need to be expertly addressed.  If you have a small office, and would like to keep your overhead costs down on employment, outsourcing to an expert may be your answer.  But how…

Grassroots Efforts: Cold Calling Under Rated Along With Other Outbound Marketing

July 20, 2010

I know, you are all cringing right now. Yuck I hate it when someone calls me unsolicited and asks me to do something, pay something, buy something, or well…something! You hear so much about inbound marketing these days, is outbound marketing dead? Just one aspect of outbound marketing is cold calling. These days it seems that people are not only against cold calls, but they are into scheduling their phone calls as well. It is…

Is Lead Management The Same as Gardening?

June 11, 2010

The other day I attended my first networking luncheon in Northern Virginia. I just moved recently and now that I’m starting out from scratch, it’s an interesting process. Sometimes networking is a little bit like traveling around the world. There are set questions that people ask as soon as you meet them. With travel it was the where have have you been, where are you going how long are you traveling variety of question. But…

Question: Who Wears The Pants in The Home Shopping Process? Answer: The Buyer!

May 2, 2010

I’ve been shopping some builder websites for an international project I’m working on. Perhaps I’ll finally be able to combine both my love of travel and my love of selling houses, but more to come on that later. It amazes me how much money is obviously put into some of these websites, yet they aren’t getting their money back out. So far I’m on 72 hours out, and no follow up off of 3 different…

Buyer’s Market Misconception

April 24, 2010

Here is the gist of a current phone conversation I had with a potential buyer exhibiting a total lack of understanding as to what the term buyer’s market really means. The phone rings on an evening after 9:00 pm. Me: “Thank you for calling our builder today, my name is Leah, how may I help you?” Caller: “I’m looking at your community online and I want a 1 story house.”Me: “Great, we do have homes…

Slow Economy Shouldn’t Equal Slow Response Time

April 7, 2010

Just answer the phone. Just send an email! Do you ever get frustrated when you aren’t getting quick answers to your questions? Well think of how your customers feel when the same thing happens to them. Do you know why, as an online sales consultant, I have so many people thanking me for my quick response to their questions? It’s because I do just that… I RESPOND! It’s an interesting world we live in. Everything…

And the Miss Understanding…OSC’s Pay Attention, That’s Their Job!

January 16, 2010

In my last post I talked about an agent who put out a public tweet on losing a sale due to perceived lack of follow-up on the part of a customer… My intention was never to slam this agent nor make her look bad. (hence I kept the name out of it) And for the record, this is an excellent agent with an amazing track record. The point of my post, and if I missed…

"I Sell Houses, I Do Not Sell Attention."

January 13, 2010

Okay did that get your attention? Recently I was reading through my twitter feed and a real estate professional had this written in their feed lamenting the fact that they lost a sale because someone said their follow-up was poor. As an Online Sales Consultant, and Lead Gypsy (CEO) of my new business, Blue Gypsy, Inc. a lead management service for builders and real estate professionals, I can tell you that attention is exactly what…

Can’t We All Get Along: I Think People Have Lost Their Minds

October 17, 2009

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…

Are Jobs in Sailing And Real Estate Both 24 Hours A Day?

October 8, 2009

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…