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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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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…
Guest Post: Capturing and Nurturing Leads in a Hot Market
Guest Blog Post by Lasso CRM With most builders experiencing a banner year, how you keep track of your leads is more important now than ever before. I don’t know if you can ever have too many leads, but if you’re not properly capturing and nurturing them, this is a problem. When times are good, it’s easy to forget the pain of the bad times and make excuses about why it’s not the right…
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…
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…
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,…
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…
3 Blue Gypsy Inc. Trained Online Sales Counselors Going For Gold at Nationals 2021
Three Blue Gypsy Inc. trained OSC’s have already been awarded silver for OSC of the year and are going for gold at the NAHB Nationals 2021. Awards and recognition are well deserved this year and that’s why I nominated Charla Ellenbrand at Elite Homes in Louisville, KY, Brittany Richardson at Epic Homes in Littleton, CO, and Kylie McCaleb at McCaleb Homes in Edmond, OK. Over the next couple of months I’ll be telling you their…
The Power of Abundance – Blue Gypsy Inc’s 5 Pillars for Helping Homebuilders
It’s interesting. I just had a conversation with someone in the home building industry and as always the topic of abundance came up. (Because I bring it up because it’s so important to me!) I am a STRONG believer in the powerful mindset of abundance. And yet, when I look at the 5 pillars on my website that support Blue Gypsy Inc., Abundance is nowhere to be found. But Wait! It is! It’s actually the…
Podcast: Kevin, Greg and I Chat About the Importance of Online Sales
Have you heard of The Home Builder Digital Marketing Podcast? Kevin Weizel at Outhouse – amazing interactive floor plans, digital renderings, and virtual tours for builders and Greg Bray at Blue Tangerine – incredible websites and marketing for new home builders, joined forces to bring you a great industry podcast chalked full of important information along with guests who can bring you insights into every aspect of the home building industry. It was a pleasure…