Click Power: Building Block #4 – The Marriage of Online and Onsite

This week week we’re discussing Building Block #4 in The Click Power System™ – the marriage of online and onsite. Building Block #1 is your website, Building Block #2 is driving traffic to your website, and Building Block #3 is online lead follow-up.

Building Block #4 is all about closing the sale. Your online experience and your offline experience must both WOW your customer. If your online experience is fantastic, but your sales person lacks the WOW factor, then you have let your customer down. The difference between your online and onsite customer service could make or break your sale. Some things to consider:

• How well do your new home sales counselors present, demonstrate, and close online shoppers?
• Do they take online appointments seriously? Do they understand the VALUE of an online prospect who takes the time to visit a retail location?

It is very difficult to entice an online shopper out of the desk chair. However, when the prospect does visit or agrees to an appointment, you must take that as a VERY positive buying signal. Online shoppers are more likely to buy than traditional walk-in traffic. Why? Because they’ve done extensive homework online before they walk into your office. Online shoppers know as much about your product as you do. They know as much about your competition as you do. They know your product’s specifications, price, and often, its limitations. They show up anyway and they want to buy.

The first step is for new home salespeople to ask, “Have you visited our website?”

Follow-up with, “What did you see that you liked?”

The answer to this next question provides tremendous insight into the buying motivation of the prospect and gives you a foundation to build upon. Once you learn what brought the shopper to you or why they are interested, you can work towards closing the sale.

• Think like the easy button. Helping people buy a home is about making it easy to buy. This requires a PROACTIVE sales approach. Remove obstacles for the buyer, whether real or imagined. You educate, counsel, and problem-solve until a path toward homeownership becomes clear.
• The new “e” meet and greet. More than any other step, the meet and greet impacts the online customer the most. Before the internet, meet and greets happened in person. Today it happens digitally. Website visitors look for many reasons to eliminate you during their search process. One reason they eliminate you is because of an unprofessional website that is hard to navigate.
• The new phone greeting. With so many of your website visitors calling for more information, it is important to maximize each phone call and set as many appointments as possible. When people call for more information, don’t just answer questions and allow them to hang up. Instead, engage them in a conversation that will move the sales cycle along.
• The new in-person greeting. “Have you visited our website?” is not just a question for callers anymore. Begin asking everyone who walks in without an appointment if they have visited your website. It’s a natural conversation starter and it also gives your sales presentation a clear path once they know what the prospect liked most about your company enough to visit in person.

Today’s post contains information found in Click Power, Meredith’s book written specifically for the new home building and residential real estate industry. It’s a comprehensive, digital marketing how-to guide for home builders. Meredith steps you through the sometimes overwhelming maze of web marketing and shows you how to optimize your potential online. Order it online at Amazon.com.

Categorised in: Home Builder Marketing & Sales, Marketing Mondays