Virtual Event
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…
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Bridging the Gap Between Digital Marketing and Your Online Sales Team
Online Sales can’t happen in a bubble. There are two areas where an online sales counselor does not have control of the customer journey and the sales process. The first is at the very start which is generating the leads. The last is at the very end which is closing the deal. This is why I often say online sales is the crossroads between marketing and sales. When implementing an online sales program the most…
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What Does No Lead Left Behind Really Mean?
While the online sales program has evolved a lot over the past 20 years since it first started to show up as a position for new home builders, there are some things that remain the same. Though we have gotten away from some of these things over the last couple of years. It’s time for a few reminders. Remember, the online sales counselor is NOT a secretary, and their true role is to develop the…
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Why Training Isn’t an Option No Matter Who You Are
Back in my college and immediate post college days I was a bartender. I actually fell back on bartending on and off for 15 years as I traveled around the world. I had the opportunity to work in a variety of settings from nightclubs to restaurants, to pubs, to bars, to comedy clubs… I even worked on the party boats out of Boston Harbor and casinos in Las Vegas. I knew how to make drinks.…
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Sharpen Your Skills and Stay on Top of Changes in the Market
As the market normalizes and it takes more effort to make a sale, it’s more important than ever before to be on top of your game. For OSCs this means working on your phone skills, your follow-up skills, your database prospecting, your metrics, and your overall re-commitment to the duties of an OSC. What are we talking about when we say Phone Skills? Well, up until recently anyone and everyone was banging down the door…
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How to Implement and Audit an OSC Program
In the last couple of years there has been an absolute scramble to get online sales counselor programs up and running. Some were done thoughtfully and strategically with proper goals, objectives, and training. Others were thrown together with a ball of twine and some duct tape. Now is the time the true programs will shine, and the ones that were done hastily will suffer. This is why auditing and training will become so important. The…
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Chat Girl: Ms. Marvel or The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
Did I catch your attention? Are you wondering more about my TV watching and how this could possibly relate to Online Sales? Today I got a call from Chat Girl, and it was eye-opening and reinforcing why online sales training is so important and why you can’t just slap a Band-Aid on it. Some builders don’t have Online Sales Programs, but they do have live chat on their website. Some builders have OSC programs and…
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OSC Tools and Tech For A Changing Market – Here’s the Replay
If you missed the Anewgo webinar hosted by Anya Chrisanthon on jun 14th featuring myself, Heidi Schroeder, from Lasso ECI, and Cory Masters at Beacon Homes you missed a lot of fun and insights, We covered some great tools and tech you may want to be using on your website for customer engagement. These techniques and tools are great for OSCs to implement for lead nurturing and creating a strong customer journey. Don’t let me…
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I Bet You’re Kicking Yourself
As the market cools for some builders across the country, some builders are kicking themselves and upping realtor compensation. I feel like I’m having Deja Vu. I came into the new home sales industry in 2006, just as the last hot market in the early aughts began to cool. When I started to work in a builder’s office, I came to understand that the real estate agent community was very distrustful of builders, or outright…
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Don’t Kill Your Unicorn
“They Are Cutting My Pay!” The worst text ever to get from a friend who is an online sales counselor. I’ve been there. I know it’s a gut punch. I remember that punch. Back in 2009 when I was an OSC, after two years of fighting the market downturn, my pay got restructured and I was expected to work just as hard, with no bonuses or incentives. Lucky for that builder I had a very…
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