The Sales Dream Team: Who Will Be My Role Model?

This article has been updated.

One of my prevous columns called ‘Beyond the call of commissions' was, in effect, a "lament." In it, I shared the frustration of many home builders who have tried in vain to crack the paradigm of the "typical salesperson" in this business. I laid out the problems they experienced trying to get salespeople to do more than simply focus on the customer sitting in front of them at this moment. These builders were wondering what they could do to change things in a genuine way. So I asked people to send me their ideas or success stories. I usually get 20 or 30 responses to a column—more if it’s controversial. That month, I got two. A couple of ideas, but no success stories. I had to conclude there weren’t any.

A Salesforce That Thinks Beyond Commissions?

Last week I ran into the problem three more times, which got me thinking again. Early in the week, I had lunch with a builder who told me about the huge and expensive appreciation dinner he'd planned for salespeople and real estate agents. Out of 150 written commitments to attend, about one-third of those invited actually showed up! Even those who got awards didn’t show. The builder said he ate so much shrimp that his cholesterol level soared to a record high. (I’m guessing it was more the stress from paying for all the food that went to waste.)

Later that week, I spent the day with a new operations director for another client, giving him my take on what contributes to a builder’s success. We decided to drive around his city and look at both his and competitors’ product at various stages of construction and talk to salespeople. We went to one model in a highly competitive area. The salesman had a slew of Salesperson of the Month plaques on the wall and a couple of Salesperson of the Year awards. I was prepared to be impressed. But his lack of knowledge stunned me. When we asked how his pricing compared with the builder's across the street (who was outselling him 2 to 1) the sales rep replied, "I dunno, I haven’t checked for over six months." He didn’t seem the least bit embarrassed. What’s wrong with this picture?

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Then I got a call from a VP at a regional builder in the West who happened to find my old column. He said it spoke to the issues he was facing and was calling me so I could share the heart-warming success stories I had heard. He had just committed to trying something totally different with his salesforce—he just didn’t know what it was. He wanted great examples from builders around the country, and I pride myself at always being a good and ready source for such examples. I had to tell him the truth: I didn’t have any.

Generally speaking, true product knowledge among salespeople in home building is marginal, at best. Sales reps should have a solid understanding of not just features and floor plans but what’s inside the walls as well. 

So here’s my question: Are there really not any great examples of a large salesforce becoming 100% fully engaged with a builder doing extraordinary things, or am I just hanging out with the wrong people? This is not to say that I haven’t met some astounding salespeople. I have. I’m thinking right now of Sally in Michigan, Jeff in Colorado, Anne in Florida. They are out there. But what I don’t see is a large group in one company that totally knocks my socks off. (I love having my socks knocked off.) Yet this has happened in construction, service, land development, finance, and accounting.

What a Sales Dream Team Should Have

What am I looking for? My sales dream team would have the following characteristics, behaviors, and results.

KNOWLEDGE

They would know and understand:

Their customer - who they are, why they want to live there, what they want to live in, what they are able to pay.

Their market - unique features of the community, demographics, what the competition is selling and for how much, what is working and what is not working.

Their product - not just features and floor plans, but a solid understanding of what’s inside the walls. Generally speaking, true product knowledge among salespeople in home building is marginal, at best. Yes, I think a salesperson should know the difference between a sill plate and a jack stud. (I’m not making many friends here, am I?)

COMMITMENT

Process improvement - continually involved in process improvement efforts of the organization, serving on teams trying to improve service, design, quality, process, and production.

Community Management - be a key member of a community management team that makes important decisions regarding their project at the local level.

Paperwork - contracts, color sheets, option requests, and any other paperwork would be done right the first time, every time. (Management should have a zero-tolerance policy in this area. The cost of mistakes is mind-boggling.)

ACTION

Street-level marketing - continually be searching for ways to generate leads and business, whether canvassing apartment complexes for first-time buyers, contacting corporate relocation offices for potential move-ups, or establishing strong relationships with the very best real estate agents and brokers. There are a million methods.

Managing the customer experience - Salespeople should see the customer as their essential responsibility all the way through the process, from traffic through warranty. This in no way interferes with the roles of construction, closing coordinators, service people, etc.—it supports them. But someone has to provide a continuous security blanket for customers who are making six-figure financial commitments, and the salesperson is in the best position to do it.

Throughout the entire homebuying process, someone has to provide a continuous security blanket for customers who are making six-figure financial commitments, and the salesperson is in the best position to do it.

Model presentation - The best salespeople see their models as extensions of themselves and are never satisfied with anything less than perfect. Does this put the onus on construction to match that level of perfection in each and every house? Absolutely.

Training - always exposing themselves to the best of what’s available, not just in sales techniques, but also in marketing and construction.

Sell houses - of course! But let’s put this last because of the simple fact that everyone else puts it first and as a result, rarely thinks of anything else.

There’s a lot more we could add, but that should get us started in the thought process. In summary, I think we have to do a lot better job recruiting, training and managing salespeople in this business. It may be time for some "tough love," as they say. Many builders were in the same boat with construction personnel 10 years ago and there has been remarkable, even dramatic progress. Why can’t we now do the same for sales? 

Originally published in Pro Builder magazine in April 2000.