Elevating The Customer Experience In Your Show Home

In the competitive realm of home sales, gaining an advantage is crucial—it can transform a showhome from a quiet space to a hub of activity. Excelling in the skill of captivating walk-in customers at showhomes isn’t just smart; it’s imperative in the dynamic housing market.

By crafting that all-important first impression, greeting visitors with warmth, and fostering an atmosphere of welcome, salespeople can open doors to conversations that may very well lead to the dotted line of a sale.

We've spent the last few weeks mystery-shopping dozens of home builders in the Edmonton, Alberta market and we've seen it all - the good, the bad, and the ugly.

This article is a round-up of our observations and suggested best practices that make the best first impression on walk-in customers and lay the groundwork for successful relationships.

Setting the Stage: Greeting Walk-In Customers

Picture this: a potential buyer crosses the threshold of your showhome. This moment—fleetingly small yet incalculably significant—sets the tone for the customer's experience. How do you put your best foot forward and make an unforgettable first impression?

Welcome The Visitor to Your Showhome

A heartfelt greeting, paired with an authentic smile, serves as a powerful emblem that can instantly ignite a connection from the very beginning.

"Hi! Welcome to ABC Homes! How are you today?"

You would be surprised how few salespeople do this. The first thing out of your mouth sets the tone for the entire experience for a walk-in prospect.

Stand Up and Get Out From Behind Your Desk

Sitting behind your desk gives the impression that the walk-in prospect isn't worthy of your time, that we are interrupting your day, or that you are already sizing us up and you don't think we're a legitimate prospect. There is a time and place for sitting at your desk and engaging a prospect, but this isn't it.

Sitting across the desk from a salesperson feels... well... salesy. But it's not selling time yet. As a visitor, we've gone to the extent of getting off our duff to come into your showhome. You should do the same! It's a small, but meaningful gesture.

Introduce Yourself

You would be shocked to learn how many salespeople don't introduce themselves. They'll talk to a prospect for 20 minutes or more and nobody knows who they are talking to. So extend your hand and introduce yourself.

"My name is Anna. And you are?"

The prospect will tell you their name. Now use it!

"Nice to meet you, John. Welcome, Marlena."

Awesome! Now you're on a first-name basis. The sweetest thing to a person's ears is hearing their own name. Marketers know this and have capitalized on it for years.

Creating an inviting atmosphere transcends mere aesthetics; it engages psychological principles. The interplay of lighting, cleanliness, and a vibe of attentiveness communicates to guests that they have entered a remarkable space. Additionally, the nuances of a salesperson's attire and body language serve as unspoken assurances of their professionalism and respect.

But most importantly, if you nail this part, you're already in the Top 10% of hew home salespeople and laid the foundation for making a memorable impression.

Engaging Customers: Questions and Discovery

Next, we dive into the core of engagement, where skillfully crafted open-ended questions open windows into the customer's needs and wants. Through active listening, these responses are transformed into blueprints guiding your interactions. This ensures customers are presented with models and features that align perfectly with their desires.

Ask A High-Level, Fact-Finding Question

Start with a basic, high-level question. Something like:

"So what brings you in today?"

Listen to the prospect's response and repeat it back to them. This is called active listening.

"So you've outgrown your current home and you're in the market for a new home. Is that right?"

Wait for the prospect to confirm. This reinforces to the prospect that you heard and understood them - another essential building block of a great professional relationship.

Dig Deeper To Uncover Their Pain

Next, you want to ask a question to go a layer deeper. Something like:

"So what's wrong with your current home?" OR "What don't you like about your current home?"

People are usually pretty quick to reveal what's got them out looking for a new home. Listen to the queues they provide. They may talk about not having enough bedrooms, too little space, that they no longer like their neighbourhood - there are endless responses they might give. But we want to dig deeper into that.

Let's say this prospect tells you that they only have one main bathroom in their place. Dig into that further:

"So why is only having one main bathroom a problem?"

What you're after here is finding out the actual pain point behind the problem.

In this case, the prospect might talk about how there is often a line-up for the bathroom in the morning, and with two teenagers in the house, getting ready in the mornings can be a real hassle.

Agitate The Pain

They just told you one of their major pain points and reasons for needing a new home. So let's leverage it. Repeat back what they said using active listening, and "turn up the heat" a little bit.

"Oh wow. Yeah, I can just imagine how frustrating it would be having to wait your turn like that in the morning. You all probably need to get up earlier just to get ready to go."

The prospect will undoubtedly nod their head. That's the sign that they feel heard and understood.

Sell The Tour: Build Excitement and Tease The Solution

Next, we want to pre-frame the showhome tour using the information we've gathered so far. Using our previous example, this might look something like:

"The home you're about to tour is called the Zenith. It's a 4-bedroom, 3-bath home and is 2,200 square feet. You'll notice the bathroom on the upper floor has two sinks and is thoughtfully designed with the shower and toilet in a separate room. That means no more lineups for the bathroom in the morning!"

We've just teased a solution to their housing problem and built some excitement to view the home. Welcome them to take a look and let them know you're available to answer any questions they have when you're done.

Post-Tour Engagement: Fact Finding

Once they return from viewing the showhome, we want to engage them once again.

Ask For Feedback

Start with a high-level, open-ended question like:

"So, what did you think?"

Listen to their responses and use active listening to repeat back to them what they said. Then ask a more specific question such as:

"What did you like most about the home?"

This helps you uncover specific features they are drawn to in the showhome and things they may be looking for in their new home.

Next, ask a question specific to the main pain point you uncovered. Using our bathroom example, this might look like:

"What did you think of that upper-floor bathroom? Would that eliminate those frustrating morning lineups you have in your current home?"

We're planting the seed of this model being the solution to their main housing problem and frustration with their current home.

Next, we want to find out if there was anything about the home they didn't like. This helps you uncover more about their needs and wants.

"What didn't you like about the showhome?"

The prospect will tell you specific features or things that they didn't like. Maybe it's the open-to-above feature in the living room. Or maybe they felt the bedrooms were a little small. All of this feedback will help you narrow down the right model that will fit their needs.

Ask Them To Sit With You

At this point, this is where you take over as their advisor. And now is the time to sit knee-to-knee. You'll want to show them models that have the features they are looking for and let them know what options are available.

Ask High-Level Qualifying Questions

As you show the different models that might work for them, start to sprinkle in your qualifying questions. This helps you better understand their current position and needs. Ask questions like:

"So do you currently rent or own your home?"

Or...

"When would you like to be in a new home by?"

Questions like these help you determine their timeline and ability to buy, or whether they want to build new or if a quick possession home would be more suitable for them.

Act As An Advisor

It's important to position yourself as an advisor when doing home sales. This isn't being an expert in your product offering - that is a given. You need to know your product info.

Being an advisor is helping educate them in the buying process and sharing things that they should be on the lookout for.

Maybe they aren't familiar with the differences between a draw or a completion mortgage. Or maybe they don't understand what a zero lot line means. Our industry uses a lot of jargon that buyers don't understand and it's easy to use those terms and overwhelm people. So take every opportunity you can to educate your prospects so that they feel comfortable and well-informed.

This step positions you differently from all of the other salespeople trying to sell homes.

Ethical Collection of Contact Information

Building value is paramount before even considering the request for a customer’s contact details. When value is evident, providing contact information becomes a natural progression, not a presumptuous ask.

Give a Valid Reason For Asking

First of all, don't tell someone that you're not going to contact them in an attempt to lower the friction of asking if you do intend to follow up with them. That's being untruthful and will destroy your credibility and any trust you've built with them.

Second, be clear regarding how their information will be used. With explicit consent, customers feel in control, trusting that their privacy will be safeguarded. If you want to send them updates or put them on your newsletter list, say so. And tell them what the benefit is to them.

Add Value With a Content Offer

When asking for a prospect's contact information, the best way to lower their wall is to provide some kind of valuable content offer. You can work with your marketing team to help you come up with some premium content pieces you can use on the frontlines. Some ideas include:

• Industry Jargon Glossary: A simple cheatsheet that explains in plain language some of the confusing terms that prospects aren't familiar with like pocket size, zero lot lines, draw mortgage, completion mortgage, permit information, etc.
• Model comparison sheet: If you have a few similar models, you can create a one-page sheet that gives a high-level comparison between the models.
• Quick possession brochure: If you have spec homes available, a simple one-page sheet highlighting the options, finishes, colours, and estimated completion date can be valuable. Make sure to include images and the floor plan.
• Lot availability map: If you don't have physical copies you can give a prospect in the showhome, have a digital PDF showing which lots are available and which have spec homes.
• Needs vs Wants workbook: A printable sheet that a prospect can fill in and write down notes about things that are "must haves" versus "nice to haves".

Asking for a prospect's contact information so that you can provide them a piece of valuable content brings down their walls and sets the expectation that you will contact them in the future.

This is the easiest and most effective way to get a prospect's contact info.

Following Up: The Key to Nurturing Leads

Personalized follow-ups are the cornerstones of lead nurturing. Knowing when to follow up, and how frequently, can keep the flame of interest alive without overwhelming the potential buyer.

I could write an entire article just on how to follow up with a prospective homebuyer, but I'll save that for another time.

But the key to effective follow-up is checking in regularly and always looking for a way to deliver more value. The home buying journey requires the prospect to do a lot of research so leverage content your marketing team has created to always be helping your prospect to move forward.

Recognizing that the home buying journey can span several months to even years depending on the type of buyer or the stage of life they're at, you should be leveraging technology like HubSpot to help you keep on top of your prospects and follow-up consistently.

Take Every Prospect Seriously

More than 80% of the home-buying journey is done online today. That means when a prospective home buyer comes into your show home, they are 80% of the way towards making a decision. If they've gone to the effort to get in their vehicle and drive out to your show home, they should be considered a warm lead until you unqualify them.

But most importantly, you want to provide a remarkable customer experience that sets you and your company apart from all of the other options a home buyer has in the market. Remember that you're not just competing against the other builders in your area. You're also competing against the resale market.

Upgrading The Customer Experience

One of the best ways to check your customer experience and understand how to make improvements to it is to do video mystery shops on your showhomes.

A video mystery shop is when an experienced shopper who knows the industry goes undercover to visit a showhome and document their experience.

Video mystery shops can help you:

• evaluate sales interactions and customer service
• identify opportunities for coaching or training
• ensure sales techniques, product knowledge, and follow-up standards are consistent

Some companies will also mystery shop your competition so you can:

• gain insight on their positioning, sales tactics, and product offerings
• discover areas where they may be lacking or excelling in the market
• benchmark your own sales strategies and customer engagement tactics

If you're a home builder in the Edmonton area and you would like to chat more about this service, I welcome you to reach out or send me a DM.

Here's what Sterling Homes had to say about our video mystery shop service:

"Before integrating video mystery shops into our customer experience strategy, we lacked clarity on the effectiveness of our sales process and the service provided by our sales team.

We partnered with Velocity23 for their expertise in the home building industry and their proven track record in understanding the customer buying journey. Their discreet filming captured interactions between our sales team and prospective buyers, offering valuable insights into the customer experience.

These videos highlighted both strengths and areas for improvement within our sales team, enabling us to pinpoint training opportunities and refine our sales techniques. This led to better alignment with customer needs and an uptick in our closing ratios.

Additionally, we used Velocity23's service to shop our competitors, gaining insights into their sales strategies and refining our positioning in the market. Leveraging this feedback, we witnessed tangible improvements in customer satisfaction and sales performance.

I wholeheartedly recommend Velocity23's mystery shop services to any home builder seeking to enhance their understanding of the customer experience."

- Brent Bommes, Former VP, Sterling Homes Edmonton