MARKETING TOOLKIT

Engaging With and Converting Your Prospects

Outcomes, not the number of leads, are now the measure and definition of success.

When prospective buyers start visiting the homes and neighborhoods they found online, it’s a clear sign they’re ready for builders to engage with them and become their trusted guide on their journey to homeownership. Now that they’re taking the next step toward selecting and purchasing a home, it’s time for you to meet buyers’ needs on an individual level.

Give buyers an on-demand experience

When today’s consumer clicks a button online, they expect magic to happen immediately. What happens after a prospect clicks to contact you for more information about your listings? Who responds and when? If you don’t respond quickly, that buyer will move on, and you’ll have lost a sale. So, it’s critical for builders to respond quickly when buyers reach out.

So, it’s critical for builders to respond quickly when buyers reach out: Of those new construction buyers who contact a sales center, nearly half (46%) expect a response within a few hours or less.¹

Managing leads is a full-time job, not one that you or your team can do between other tasks. An online sales counselor can follow up on those inquiries and cultivate leads so your sales team can focus on bringing in buyers for a tour and converting them to sales. They help guide and set expectations and are often a key point of brand interaction between builder and buyer.

Get your sales team on the same page

Once you’ve caught buyers’ interest through your listings, how can you draw them in further and ensure they keep considering a new construction home?

Your salespeople are your best asset for converting leads to prospects and prospects to buyers. Make sure you manage your team effectively so that everyone approaches their common goal with consistency and measurable results.

That includes tasks like:

• Standardizing the sales conversation so that every sales rep schedules a home tour
• Identifying your differentiators and ensuring your sales reps can knowledgeably discuss them with buyers
• Providing your sales reps with simple, consistent questions so they can establish rapport with home shoppers
• Using a checklist to stay top of mind with prospective buyers after a model home tour
  Aligning on a data collection process to capture important walk-in and attribution data in your customer relationship management (CRM) system

Earn buyers' trust by educating them

Part of becoming a guide on their home-buying journey is educating buyers on what to expect at each stage and how to conquer their fears, which can alleviate the stress of making such a big decision.

For example, we know that buyers often have misconceptions about the cost and value of a new construction home. Why not debunk those myths once and for all as you take them on a tour through your model home?

Your sales center staff can also provide them with resources that further shine a light on the home-buying process, including:

here are many more resources and best practices  that will align your sales center staff to better engage prospects so that you can increase your conversion rate.

Finally, never underestimate the power of social media. Prospective buyers are already hanging out there, searching for, discussing, designing and buying homes. Take the opportunity to jump into the conversation with content that both engages and educates them:

• Include eye candy like people enjoying the lifestyle that your homes and communities offers.
• Delve into personal interests such as local news or neighborhood facts, or conduct a fun poll about favorite home styles.
• Offer industry knowledge like tips and advice, market trends, and housing data.

A successful outcome — a great experience and a wonderful new home — starts with a strong relationship with the buyer: The connection you and your team make with buyers is the reason they choose you.  

Pro tip: Today’s savvy home shoppers desire your laser-focused attention and are hyper aware of how they are treated by different brands; they want to partner with a builder who gets them. To stand out from the competition and win the buyer, you and your sales team must deliver personalized, emotionally satisfying experiences.