Preserving the Customer Experience in an Evolving Market

By Todd Condon, Sales Director in Arizona - New Home Star  

With a significant surge of sales in this year's first quarter, it's been a blessing for both builders and sales associates to have the ability to capitalize on an opportunity that many of us haven't experienced since 2006. However, keeping the housing market in perspective is critical as we interact with modern-day customers who may not be prepared for the ever-changing and evolving market dynamics that we are seeing today. 

As a sales team, we are tasked with serving two types of customers. First, there is our external customer, or the buyer. This person is faced with such a rapid change in market that they are no longer the expert. Whether they've previously purchased a new construction home or not, today's investment is different than what buyers have experienced before as builders have moved into different positions of leverage than in years past. It's our job to educate them on market conditions and terms of sale that have changed. Challenges such as a shortage of labor and materials, pressure to deliver homes faster and managing a growing backlog are just the tip of the iceberg. Next, there's our internal customer, the builder, who is also faced with adapting to change. Although many adjustments are welcome as a result of an improving market, the strain of volume, processing sales, starts and closings, and shortage of staff to manage growth are very real obstacles.

It all boils down to setting great expectations with both customer types. Just because the market has changed doesn't mean that the customer's positive, informative home buying experience should change. With both internal and external customers, the salesperson controls their experience from the first interaction through each milestone of the sales cycle. Here are a few tips for guiding both types of customers through the most favorable thought process:

External Customer (Buyer)

• Establish expectations so that what we can meet or exceed is in alignment with the customer.
• Communicate weekly at minimum with increased frequency during key milestones of the sales cycle.
• Impress upon the customer what their role is in the process in order to satisfy the terms of their investment with guidance from us on each step.

Internal Customer (Builder)

• Deliver clean paperwork!
• Ensure that we efficiently and effectively communicate with all departments.
• Recommend a price increase that supports documented evidence of the buyer's willingness to pay.
• Make certain that we understand the needs of our construction superintendents by participating in weekly team meetings and finding effective solutions to challenges or objections.
• Sell yourself and what you bring to the table; there's no better opportunity to summarize efforts and goals than in your quarterly business plan presentation.

Today's market conditions are a yielding opportunity that we can capitalize on as sales professionals. While there are many examples of what serving our customers can look like, Stephen Covey sums it up perfectly in his bestseller, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, where he says, "Begin with the end in mind." As the second habit explored in the book, this chapter begs the question, "How can we better serve our customer?" In 2016, high performance isn't just about selling more homes. It's about delivering credibility, seamless service and an exceptional customer experience.

Todd Condon began his professional career in 1995 as an aspiring golf professional in San Diego, CA. His career path evolved, however, as 2016 marks his 16th year in the homebuilding industry. Condon has experience working for two of the top five builders in the Arizona and Chicago markets, and is now Sales Director for the Arizona Division of New Home Star.