Do You Convert - Internet Marketing for Home Builders - Latest Comments

Re: 7 Steps to Unify Online and Onsite Sales

Mike Lyon — Sun, 16 Oct 2011 17:36:34 -0000

Great feedback from the trenches Laurie.

Re: 7 Steps to Unify Online and Onsite Sales

Laurie — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 22:08:18 -0000

This is great, Mike! What works for our team is training the brand-new onsite agents on the value of online sales counselors from the very beginning, through our Sales Trainer. The new onsite agents get excited over the process during training; I have noticed they are so thrilled when they get their first hand-off, knowing that there is a 1 in 3 chance it will result in a sale for them! Hopefully, this excitement infuses into the seasoned onsite agents, and they start to get hungry for more of those promising hand-offs as well.

Re: (video) Lead Generation – Managing Your Outbound Activities

Loan modification — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 06:21:10 -0000

This topic is the favorite of marketing leaders.Am still working on it to find how to achieve lead generation. Thanks for the post and video.

Re: 10 Reasons Why Your Online Sales Program is Failing

Mike Lyon — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 11:07:39 -0000

Hi Laura - save a tree, just forward the address to their email :) You could also copy and paste into word and then print. Or hit "file">"print" from your browser. Thanks for passing it on!

Re: 10 Reasons Why Your Online Sales Program is Failing

Laura O'Bryant — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 10:51:17 -0000

I have tried to print this out to give to management, is there another place to get this so it will print?

Re: (video) What Are Your Model Hours?

Mike Lyon — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 13:29:50 -0000

Thanks for sharing Rick!

Re: (video) What Are Your Model Hours?

Rick Storlie — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 11:43:33 -0000

Mike,

I love the thinking. You are so right. Great idea and I'm going to share the post with my database.

Re: (video) What Are Your Model Hours?

Mike Lyon — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 17:34:26 -0000

Shayne - thanks for taking the time to write this response. You are exactly right - deals are happening in the flesh. Let me know how it goes taking the hours off of your website. Thanks!

Re: (video) What Are Your Model Hours?

Shayne Templet — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 15:01:45 -0000

I understand where the controversy comes in with your idea. I think that one of the biggest hurdles builders are facing in this tough (and I mean TOUGH) market is having the guts to get outside of the "box" and outside of their comfort zone. There is only one way (in my humble opinion) to close deals right now, and that is BY APPOINTMENT FACE TO FACE. You have taken a 20 second phone call, and turned it into something of value that a skilled New Home Sales Professional can sink their teeth into. Not only that, but in some way you are creating urgency by showing the prospect your busy, and the best way for them to get solid info is by an appointment. I'm emailing my webmaster right now to remove the hours off of our site. Great thinking here Mike!

Sincerely,
Shayne Templet
Chief Operating Officer
Woodland Homes of Huntsville, Inc.

Re: (video) What Are Your Model Hours?

Mike Lyon — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 09:42:52 -0000

Glad you like it Ronda. Means a lot from the girls who are on the cover of Linchpin.

Re: (video) What Are Your Model Hours?

Ronda Conger — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 19:21:44 -0000

Mike Lyon WE are CRUSHING on you and this post!! Love the CBH Girls

Re: Managing your Calendar

Mike Lyon — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 07:35:30 -0000

Thanks for the note Butch.

Re: Managing your Calendar

Butch Wahlsmith — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 17:24:09 -0000

Thank you for the nudge, your timing was perfect and appreciated.

Re: How To Generate Your Own Leads

Curbtoalley — Sat, 20 Aug 2011 14:44:32 -0000

When I was hired into this industry back in the 1990's the edict was, "we spend a great deal of money to deliver quality traffic to your model park, be here, own your community and secure the sale."

Managment at several companies (Pulte/Centex; KB Home; Ryland; as well as smaller family owned companies such at Mercedes Homes out of Florida -- and I doubt Mercedes will be around much longer--) have since changed their tune, "We need YOU to go and secure your own (clearing throat "our") business."

In this market, any on site new home sales counselor still pitching through the peak through to our current market, is worth their weight in gold; Especially in the "harder" markets which required a higher level of selling skills vs. past "order taking" markets such as Florida, California and D.C. Metro

Remember "Rapport Building" Sales Training? Be friendly and they will buy from you. Where are all the cute and cuddly "I want to be your friend" sales counselors now? -- Soccer Practice watching the kiddos?

Great on site sales counselors have *always* been proactive about self marketing ; The weak and the order takers have simply been weeded out;

The issues most of us are faced with as employees within the homebuilding industry is that most builders aren't loyal to their employees or even their customers. (Google Mercedes Homes and see what they did under bankruptcy protection) Regardless if you are in sales, construction, or even higher up within' the structure. When "regime change" occurs, you loose talent, and opperational effectiveness. --How many builders are doing things *exactly* the same way as they were 5 or 6 years ago...just not as efficiently since they've cut their office and managment staff back to the bone?

If I a person is going to generate leads for their builder, to a greater degree than said builder can generate leads for their own communities, should that person really be tying themselves to a model park? Is it worth working every weekend and right up to the day before a Holiday, when one could just as easily go out and "self market" to the hilt, and set our own schedules as realtors?

We are seeing a trend here in the Texas market as top new home sales counselors are dropping out of the on site community and rolling into careers as realtors due to the flexibility and the higher income potential with fewer net sales.

Re: Keep Your Phone Skills Sharp (video)

Mike Lyon — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 14:16:04 -0000

Thanks for the note Chris! Good analogy with the 1000 lb weight.

Re: Keep Your Phone Skills Sharp (video)

Converyc — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 13:48:25 -0000

With walk in traffic down you can't afford not to sharpen you phone skills. The phone is one of the most powerful tool we as salespeople have. To some it feels like a 1000 lb weight and they can't seem to pick it up but just like lifting real weights the more you lift the easier it becomes. In time you'll become a phone pro and that can only add to your paycheck. Thanks To Mark Lyon's for the great info. Keep it coming Mark.

Chris C.
Maronda Homes
PSL FL

Re: Are You Too Busy To Blog?

Mike Lyon — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 14:47:13 -0000

Great point! See you soon.

Re: Are You Too Busy To Blog?

Kimberly Mackey — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 14:41:16 -0000

Amen, Mike. I am right there with you! This crazy business even has me taking it one step further when I realized how long it had been since I slowed down to read some of my favorite blogs. Gonna follow my own advice and block out that hour per day to get those creative juices going and interact--only good things happen when we do. Thanks for the reminder! (See you next month at SEBC!)

Re: Are You Too Busy To Blog?

Mike Lyon — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 15:50:09 -0000

Thanks Robert - always a challenge to keep the content flowing. That reminds me, I need to send out my request for a guest post.

Re: Are You Too Busy To Blog?

Robert — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 15:40:42 -0000

Thanks for the encouragement with these ideas.

Re: Book Review: Delivering Happiness the Zappos Story

Christina Meyer — Fri, 10 Jun 2011 10:15:13 -0000

I got the 2010 Culture Book from Zappos recently. I really appreciate what they do and how their culture is influencing and empowering tribes of leaders ready to build great cultures, too.

Re: How To Generate Your Own Leads

Mike Lyon — Tue, 17 May 2011 15:33:06 -0000

Thanks Kevin - I appreciate the feedback. Especially from you.

Re: How To Generate Your Own Leads

Kevin — Tue, 17 May 2011 15:03:51 -0000

Solid advice and good application. Thanks Mike

Re: Curing Your Phone Phobia: Selling Online Isn’t Just About Email

Mike Lyon — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 09:17:07 -0000

That's no little addition :) Great article Myers!

Re: Curing Your Phone Phobia: Selling Online Isn’t Just About Email

Mba — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 07:11:12 -0000

Mike, here is a little addition to your tips...something called Dialing for Dollars: http://www.myersbarnes.com/blo...