Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/231807
SALES MANAGEMENT Closing Up Front Part 4 BY GRAYSON SCHWEPFINGER Last month's article explained that in order for the prospect to convert themselves from a looker into a buyer they must become comfortable with four things. 1. That you are a stable company. 2. That you sell quality homes. 3. That your financing or prices are flexible enough to meet their needs. 4. That you have a reliable service department. In order to do this I suggested you do a company story before any sales questions are asked. I listed three reasons for doing this up front, the most important one for this article is that it changes the way the prospect views you. A well written, and presented, company story makes you the housing professional they are looking for rather than the salesperson they fear and when this happens they stop lying to you. Assuming that you have done a good company story and are in a position to get accurate information from the prospect let's discuss what questions should be asked. There are three broad areas of concern when selling homes. First, where are they going to put it? Second, what does it have to look like? Third, how are they going to pay for it? (Notice that the money questions are last. These are the most difficult questions to get answered honestly so I want to develop as much trust as possible before I address this problem.) Before I get into these three areas in depth let me explain a very important point. My Matchmaker, or Interview form, has questions that I feel must be asked to professionally help the prospect find the home they are willing, and able, to buy. The point I want to make is that these are starter questions. They will get you into an area. You must be professional enough to know what additional questions should be asked depending upon the prospect's answer. The goal is not simply to get an answer but to understand the prospect's life style! As an example, let's start with where they are JANUARY 2014 28 THE JOURNAL going to put it, or what I call the Site Locator Information. The first question is, "How soon are you planning on making a housing change?" For this example let's assume the prospect tells you they aren't going to do anything for three months. This is an answer but doesn't tell you what you need to know to sell today. Your next question should identify what happens in three months. Simply ask the prospect, "What happens in three months?" Is the answer something you can use to close today? Examples might be their lease on the apartment they are renting is up in three months. Or they are being transferred into the area because of their job in three months. Or they sold their present home and the new owner wants to take possession in three months. Each one of these answers tells you the prospect has a limited amount of time that you can use in the close to convince them to make a decision today. You might point out that it will take two months to get delivery and the other month will be needed for delivery to their site and set up. (Please don't write me that I may not be telling the truth. If I order the home for delivery in two months that is how long it is going to take.) It's possible the answer might present a problem that will have to be overcome. Examples might be, they are waiting for their income tax refund. Or they have a CD that comes due in three months and they don't want to pay the penalty. In the case of the income tax I might decide to order a home that will be delivered after they get the money. If they already have the information to apply for the refund I may want to send them to my accountant for a rapid refund check. In the case of the CD I may decide to buy it at face value and build the penalty into the price. Your answer may be they are going to wait a year or two until they retire. In this case, after I make them love a home, I might point out the cost of waiting that long. As an example let's say they tell you they are going to wait 12 months. You might point out that in the last twelve months the cost of your homes have averaged X number of dollar increase and are likely to do so again in the next twelve months. If they are paying rent of $600.00 a month that's $7200.00 they are never going to see again that they could have invested in the home. If interest goes up 1% on a $50,000.00 home (let's say from 7% to 8%) that will increase the monthly payment by 79 cents per month, per thousand financed. This increases the total monthly Payment by $39.50, over 30 years by $14,220.00 or just over a 28% increase for waiting. If they tell you they are just looking and aren't in any big rush, ask them, "If I understand what you are saying if you found the right home you would probably invest in it you just don't care if that is now or three months from now. Is that right?" If they answer yes they just told you that they would buy today if they found the right home. You can see just knowing a date without knowing what happens on that date doesn't give you the information needed to attempt to sell today. Each one of the questions should go into this depth. If you aren't sure exactly what they mean by their answer continue to ask additional questions until you are sure. Until next month when we will continue with the list of questions, Good Selling! T J Mr. Schwepfinger is a nationally known speaker and member of the manufactured housing Hall of Fame. He specializes in sales and sales management training and can be reached for comments or more information at his e-mail schwep1@aol.com or his phone 610 533 4969. And his Website – graysonschwepfinger.com.