New Home Sales Training Ideas to Boost Your Team

New Home Sales Training Ideas: The Formal Approach to Selling New Construction

The goal for any new home sales team is to sell more homes more profitability, but how can this be achieved at the point of sale? We have redefined the way new homes are sold and, as a result, have become the largest private seller of new homes in America.

Take New Home Star’s approach of looking through two core lenses for selling new homes — the Sales Funnel and the Critical Sales Path. These two methods provide the basic foundation to layer in more sophisticated processes. It allows us to drive consistent buyer experiences, streamline our operations, and continue advancing in the industry. As you read further, you will dive into our new home sales training ideas and learn that the single greatest attribute of a successful sales consultant is their ability to understand a buyer’s needs. In understanding these needs, you can effectively communicate how your product will meet these requirements and, in turn, provide benefits. Implementing these selling frameworks into your sales operations will enhance your journey of building a premium customer experience.

The Real Estate Sales Funnel: The emotional process buyers should follow when purchasing homes.

The Sales Funnel is the means by which buyers move through the decision-making process. This concept recognizes that, in order to get to the end of the funnel (to a decision), you must first start at the top and work down. In some cases, buyers will subconsciously go through the Sales Funnel. However, there are other buyers who you will need to guide through this process.

In order to navigate the Real Estate Sales Funnel effectively, you must first understand that all items need to be satisfied in a top-to-bottom order. For example, if a buyer loves a floor plan but hates the area, they will most likely not buy that home. Thus, the floor plan is trumped by the area in which it is located. So, before a buyer even considers a floor plan, they must first choose an area they wish to live in.

The steps of the Sales Funnel include:

Area: The region or part of town a home is located in.
Builder: The individual/group of people building a home.
Community: A group of people living in a specific area with unique characteristics.
Neighborhood: A specific area within a community.
Lifestyle: The way of life of an individual.
Floor Plan: The layout of a home.
Features: The included benefits in a home.
Homesite: A plot of land for a home.
Terms: Incentives, pricing information, policies, methods, and contracts.

The Sales Funnel demonstrates that new home sales associates sell more than a home. They are selling a dream encompassing all areas of the buyer's lifestyle. The decision to purchase a home is highly emotional and immensely personal. Successful new home sales professionals understand that they can tap into the buyer's emotions by being experts in all areas of the Sales Funnel.

New Home Sales Critical Path: The linear process you follow in order to obtain a sale effectively.

This new home sales training idea teaches sales associates to follow a Critical Path. This method has been around for decades and has stood the test of time as an effective strategy for winning sales. The Critical Path is the linear process in which you should take a buyer from greeting to contract signing. The Critical Path is divided into five sequential sections:

Welcome

Initial relationship building with your buyer

Discovery

In-depth learning about your buyer

Demonstration

Systematic showing of your product concept

Homesite

Guiding buyers to the physical location of their home

Commitment

Finalizing and closing the sale

Understanding how the Critical Path works in conjunction with the Sales Funnel is important. Like the Sales Funnel, the Critical Path must be followed from top to bottom. By beginning with welcome and discovery, moving to demonstration, and continuing on to homesite selection and commitment, you will follow a proven approach to successfully sell a home. This new home sales process taps into rapport and relationship-building to create trust and credibility in order to initiate a sale based on your buyer’s needs and wants.

The Sales Funnel and the Critical Path both provide the basic ideal structure for the consumer experience and outline the foundations necessary to escalate the value offered in a new home selling environment. New associates and the most seasoned professionals in the industry use these two methods. By learning and mastering the Sales Funnel and the Critical Path, you will be on a road to sales success and you will have established a foundation for new home sales excellence. To capitalize on these methods further, check out this new home sales training ideas article on the ten most important attributes to possess as a sales associate.

Customer Hot Buttons

Discovering a buyer’s hot buttons is critical to building strong customer relationships. The hot button is the emotional driver or motivator for the customer to make a decision. People buy with emotion and justify that decision with logic. By learning what the home buyers want from their new place and its surroundings, you can sell at higher conversion rates and create more profitable deals.

When an agent learns the why behind the buyer's purchase, the agent is able to frame their unique selling proposition in the frame that will best relate to the buyer. This builds trust and lets the buyer know that the agent has their best interest in mind and will help them find their perfect house.

When we understand and utilize hot buttons, we can better connect, communicate, and build credibility with potential home buyers, increasing the likelihood of a seamless sales process and the chance of achieving a sale.

There are 12 primary hot buttons in new home sales.

Family - The home's school district, parks, and large rooms are usually important to this buyer.
Financial - This customer is primarily concerned with costs and wants to keep as much money in their pocket as possible.
Investment - This buyer cares most about what they can get in return for their money.
Prestige - Upgrading the home for accomplishment and internal achievement is a driving factor.
Ego - They want the biggest and the best — and want to show it off.
Convenience - They will seek stress-free environments and want to reduce daily inconveniences.
Love - These buyers care most about pleasing their loved ones; it doesn’t always have to be romantic!
Sex - This focuses on a physical connection with another person. These buyers tend to want cozier corners that help maintain a sense of closeness.
Privacy - Seclusion is of utmost importance here. These buyers may be a little guarded, so sellers should commit to building trust.
Security - These buyers want a safe community and care about alarm systems and nearby emergency services.
Culture - Being close to groups they identify with, like nationality, religion, and stage of life, are important.
Recreation - Being close to activities they enjoy are important to these buyers.

New Home Sales Objections

This is a must when deciding on what new home sales training ideas you should train on. Almost all potential buyers will have an objection. When this happens, it’s important not to panic. Practicing responses and role-playing can help sales consultants connect with their buyers and learn more about their needs. The four most common real estate objections are:

Lack of budget

Lack of trust

Lack of need

Lack of urgency

When training, teach your teams that most real estate objections can be handled without providing a solution. By focusing on the process of questioning the objection, you can attempt to narrow it down to very specific variables, thus allowing the customer to handle the objection on their own.

We focus on a seven-step process for handling objections. Our sales leaders teach their teams this new home sales process and role-play it during their weekly meetings. The seven-step process includes:

Sidestep the objection.
Hear the objection.
Repeat the objection to the customer.
Question the objection.
Answer the objection.
Confirm the answer.
Close the objection.

New Home Sales Training Ideas

So, now that you have your new home sales training ideas, how exactly do you implement the training? You should focus on one new home sales training topic per week.

We encourage our sales leaders to hold weekly sales training meetings and assign a training video beforehand. At the meeting, leaders should review the concept with group training and do some role-play. Role play can be short and simple. The goal is that everyone feels comfortable and vulnerable but encouraged by their peers.

Then, sales leaders can do one-on-one visits to their model homes and role-play with sales consultants there. Saying something like, “So, we talked about this training topic at the sales meeting and it seemed like you had a grasp on it. Let’s go ahead and practice role-play really quickly?” This helps them get prepared for when customers come in. After all, practice makes perfect!

The goal is to tailor all training to real-life situations. You also don’t want to catch your sales consultant off guard. Have planned one-on-ones so they do not feel blindsided. Sales leaders can encourage their teams by letting them know that they are in their corner and will do anything they can to help get their buyers to the next point in the process and help them convert.

Empowering Your Sales Team

As a leader, it is imperative to continually motivate and support each individual — and developing a well-rounded sales team training plan that achieves that is just the start. From designing a training curriculum for each meeting to participating in personal sales manager training, these tactics will help strengthen the team operations, thus leading to more sales success in the long run.

To encourage a bit more motivation from your team, do not underestimate the power of recognition. Show your team that you notice their hard work and that you care. Point out their wins and encourage them to participate in the training. Before the meeting, ask them if they would be interested in training the rest of the team. This will allow them to showcase their expertise and give them time to shine.

FAQs

How would you describe the new home sales process?

The new home sales process takes a prospective buyer to a closed sale. We follow the Critical Path. This is the linear process in which you should take a buyer from greeting to contract signing.

The Critical Path is divided into five sequential sections:

Welcome: Initial relationship building with your buyer.
Discovery: In-depth learning about your buyer.
Demonstration: Systematic showing of your product concept.
Homesite: Guiding buyers to the physical location of their home.
Commitment: Finalizing and closing the sale.

How do you sell new construction homes?

When selling new homes, it is best to understand the target buyer, the competition, and the area. From here, sales consultants can role-play, watch training videos, and practice techniques like objection handling, hot buttons, the Sales Funnel, and the Critical Path.

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