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:…
Don’t Sacrifice Website Usability for Design
Websites are the online sales models for the new home building industry. You’ve probably heard that before. Just like models are constantly changing as we build new and better homes, close out communities, and start new models – your website too needs to grow and change, but one thing needs to remain the same. It needs to address the needs of your buyers and make the important things easy to find. Sometimes when we do…
Turnkey Solutions Sound Great… But Are They?
I often hear builders say they want a turnkey solution for online sales. Really, they want turnkey solutions for everything. The truth is, almost anything worth while takes time to learn and master. As most builders like to remind me, they are different from their competitors. While we don’t need to re-invent the wheel every time we start up a new online sales program, there will be nuances that are different and require a more…
Blue Gypsy Inc Doesn’t do “CRM Implementation,” We Teach “CRM Strategy”
Well, you know that old story, “If you give a man a fish he eats for a day, if you teach a man to fish, he can feed his whole village.” That’s how we feel about CRM implementation. There’s no doubt about it, CRM is complex. And there are SOOOOO many of them out there. They all have different features and ways to get to the same thing. When I think of the builders I…
IBS 2023 – One of the Best Educational Opportunities All Year Long
If you’ve never been to the International Builder’s Show, or when you do go, you spend most of your time walking the floor, there is an educational component that just shouldn’t be missed. This year I’ll be presenting two different topics on Online Sales in 2 different educational platforms. The 2023 builder show kicks off in Las Vegas, NV January 31st – February 2nd. However, there are also pre-show educational opportunities and some of those…
Digging Deep into Empathy and Asking the Right Questions
Developing relationships. When I first started as an OSC, I saw this as my focus. Develop authentic relationships with the people who call me or email me and ask me about a house. This was my strategy, and it helped me become a high producing OSC. “What?” you might ask, “Does that have to do with setting an appointment for sales?” Well, the people who called me and who were interested in more information in…
Thanks & Giving: Reflections Over the Past Year
November always seems to be the month of reflections. For a couple of reasons. There’s the obvious reason that it’s the month of Thanksgiving, and often we find ourselves thinking about what we are thankful for, the good things in our lives, but if you are at all like me you also reflect forward, to the coming year. It’s the perfect time in November to think about the closing of this year and what the…
Foundational Reflections for Successful OSC Programs
There are certain things that successful OSC programs need, and as we prepare for the coming year it’s time to make sure that we are doing the best we can with this important program. The Right Person or People in the Right Seats – I’d love to say that every online sales counselor is gold… but that’s just not true. Many of them can be with the right training and coaching. But sadly, there are…
Better Together: Reflections From the Tropical Sales Training Retreat
Every day this week in Florida, I’ve woken up at 2am. And then I start reflecting on the day, the week, and really this entire year. It’s amazing how much planning goes into an event like the Tropical Sales Retreat. And I also reflect on how grateful I am on so many levels. Grateful to Roland Nairnsey for taking me up on my offer to do an OSC track at the conference. Grateful for my…
The Rule of 3’s with a New Online Sales Counselor Program and Seasoned Agents
Adopting a new online sales counselor program can be like adopting a rescue dog. Not that the OSC is the rescue, the site sales agents are. Okay, okay, okay hear me out… I just recently started up a brand new full-time online sales program for a new home builder. For 8 years previously they had a part-time online sales counselor, and the program was not structured for optimum results. Tracking was off, the role was…
Debunking 5 Myths About Online Sales
As someone who started out in an online sales role for builders near the very early times (I like to call it back in the Stone Age) It’s time to debunk some myths about the online sales role. Myth #1 OSCs have only been around for about 10 years or so – While I started in the role back in 2007 which is 15 years ago, there were OSCs as far back as at least…