Sales Tip 127: “Great Ideas for Realtor Open Houses”

I have staged many Open Houses over the years for all different types of product. There are three key ingredients that have been utilized to draw decent crowds: 1) Make sure you have some inventory that can be sold and closed quickly - a realtor does not want to wait for a commission check. Clearly state your referral policies and plan for making prompt payment. 2) Don't settle for an invitation or flyer to bring people. Visit some Realtor office meetings and extend a personal invitation along with a product preview - invite the agents to bring a prospect along. Follow up with telephone reminders… just like your doctor’s office does. 3) Food!

Here are some ideas from around the country that have garnered success. Try incorporating some of these ideas into your next Realtor Open House:

1. We did "A Taste of the Town" in our model home. We sent out nice invitations, paired wine with very fancy hors d’oeuvres,  and  featured a high end art gallery. It was a packed house and a BIG success!

2. In my new community I am hosting a Realtor Dusty Shoe model preview and so far have a good RSVP list. I will serve lunch and take them to a model under construction.

3. Hold a “ PICTURE PERFECT” Luncheon for a top-producing Realtor Office.....We had a Professional Photographer present who took pictures of all of the Realtors so they could update their Business cards and Websites etc.....it was a real big hit!!!!

4. We have found that many local retailers or restaurants are willing to offer discounted or free products to reach the audience - many times it is good to contact the public relations firms in the area who specialize in restaurants for coordination. This can help with offering food or a raffle with a limited budget.

Sales Tip 126: "Earn the Right to Close"

Closing is not just a moment in time when we ask for the check or sale. It is the total process that leads the customer from one decision to the next. Earning the right to close is an important ingredient in the sales process. We must successfully complete the stages that set up the close in order for the close to be natural. We want to create an atmosphere where the customer would be surprised if we didn’t ask for the sale. The more decisions we get from the customer along the way, the more natural the close will be. Three things that must happened before the close can occur:


• Rapport: A comfortable trusting relationship must be formed before closing can take place

• Enthusiasm: You must believe in your product and love what you are doing

• Qualifying: Before you close you must determine the following -
 Do they need it?

 Can they afford it?

 Can they use it?

 Do they want it and are they willing to make the sacrifices to get it?

Sales Tip 125: “The Power of Thoughtfulness”

Think about the one who got away. They came into your community with certain expectations that you were not able to offer, say, a wooded homesite. After the prospect saw you he went to a competitor who told him you are sold out of wooded homesites so if that’s what he wants he needs to buy from him. When you call to follow-up 3 days later the prospect is not inclined to even answer the call because he knows you do not have what he wants. By now he has received your card with a great relevant article you were previously discussing. He feels bad just letting you go to voice mail after all the work you have put into this sale, so he picks up to tell you he’s decided to buy from the competitor. Now you have another opportunity to sell that prospect a home that you never would have had if he didn’t feel he owed you a conversation to tell you he was buying someplace else. This is a powerful concept and it’s easy to put into motion. Here is a sample of things you can do for your prospects that they would appreciate enough to reciprocate the gesture:
• Send a picture of their favorite room in the model

• Doing research in the area for them. Are they into adult softball leagues? Do they need a short term rental? How about info on gym memberships? You do the leg work for them

• Send a birthday card or get well card if one of their family members is ill

• Congratulations cards if they were recently engaged

Sales Tip 124: “Listening Keys in Negotiations”

• Give your full attention – you can’t listen and do anything else at the same time

• Don’t interrupt or do all of the talking

• Discourage side remarks and distractions in the conversation

• Don’t cut off listening when something hard comes up

• Practice listening to ideas you consider uninteresting – try to repeat what you’ve heard

• Summarize the speakers main points, the details will fall into place

Sales Tip 123: " Tables Turned… Your Turn to Teach”

Have you ever been asked to give a presentation or teach a class for your colleagues? It is known that the best way to learn something is to teach it. So pick a topic you know a little about and ask your manager if you can teach it at the next sales meeting (allowing 2-10 minutes for this topic). The advantages are phenomenal:

• You simply learn better when you teach. As a teacher your take a far more responsible attitude towards learning

• When you teach something you feel good about, you increase the likelihood of living it. Teaching creates a social support system, a social expectation for you to “walk the talk.”

• When you teach what you learn, you promote bonding in the relationship. Every time you have an authentic teaching experience with another person and good comes of it, that new learning experience causes teacher and student to become bonded.

• When you teach something that you are learning, it hones the change and growth process for yourself. It makes change legitimate. You see yourself (and others see you) in a new light; and when you see yourself in a new light you experience more and faster growth.

So go ahead… take a step up and share your good knowledge with those around you.

Sales Tip 122: “Avoid Information Gaps and You’ll Get the Sale”

Don’t let yourself get caught not knowing the following:

• Do I have all the information about  the buyer's needs?

• Do I need information about the customer’s buying procedure?

• Do I need information about the competition including a “No Buy” option?

• Do I need information about potential resistance?

The last question is the most important. Remember that people don’t resist their own ideas…only ideas that someone else is trying to foist on them – ideas that they don’t own. The most successful sales people are the ones that have answers to all of the above questions and successfully gets the prospects to “Own” the idea of buying a new home.

Sales Tip 121: “Testimonials – How to Get Them and Use Them"

• Ask

• Say “thank you” for their testimonial and let them know how much it means to you.

• Community Surveys – send out your own

• Extraordinary customer service – give it

• Make copies of your surveys and have them available for prospects to check out

• Make a Community Fact book about your community and put testimonials in the book

• Leave Community Books out – Leave them in places in model other than in Sales Office for customers to peruse

• If you plan a community event, invite happy homeowners to attend… watch them talk up the neighborhood! Introduce neighbors to each other to create a sense of community