One of the toughest challenges in any business is creating an engaging and consistent training program that maximizes the talent within the organization. In this article series, we will share New Home Star’s unique approach to this problem. The series is set up to span four levels of our organization and to give an inside look into the most comprehensive training curriculum in the industry that is currently utilized to manage over $1.5B in annual sales volume. This four-part article series offers a backstage tour of New Home Star’s journey for transforming newly recruited individuals into premier new home sales executives.
At New Home Star, this process begins with the new hire trainee program. After onboarding carefully selected candidates, we induct these individuals into a paid 8-week training program. This intense program covers everything that a trainee will need to know before stepping foot on the sales floor and ends in a final role-play that spans all stages of the selling cycle.
This entire process is outlined and hosted within New Home Star’s trainee workbook, a tool taking each candidate through a comprehensive training manual, social learning platform and network of mentors. Each week, trainees are assigned readings, videos they must watch and questions they must answer. These pieces have been thoughtfully analyzed and assembled by our team of industry experts, ensuring the proficiency of the program.
The first weekly task that trainees must complete is an assigned reading in the New Home Star Sales Training Manual. This resource channels many decades of experience into a 200-page document designed for industry veterans and rookies alike. Although the information presented in this manual ranges from creating a positive mindset to effectively managing backlog, the central focus is on the Critical Path. The Critical Path is divided into five stages that are designed to help Sales Counselors obtain sales more efficiently.
- Welcome - Initial relationship building with the visitor
- Discovery - In-depth learning about the visitor
- Demonstration - Systematic showing of the product concept
- Homesite - Guiding buyers to the physical location of their home
- Commitment - Finalizing and closing the sale
The bulk of the Sales Training Manual addresses these stages in-depth and offers solutions to many of the issues that make average sales agents slip up during the sales process. After reading the assigned chapters for the week, Sales Trainees are directed back to the Trainee Workbook to answer detailed questions about what they have learned during the week. This not only solidifies the principles in their mind but also gives them a point of reference for future need.
The next aspect of the training program takes place on New Home Connect™, New Home Star’s proprietary interactive learning portal. Throughout New Home Connect™, there are various sections that are designed to enhance sales performance and drive company culture. One of the most critical sections, Training, is divided into 101, 201, 301, Marketing and Management tabs that each host videos and accompanying quizzes that must be passed. Throughout the eight weeks of training, Trainees must complete the entire 101 tier encompassing more than 50 Critical Path-focused videos that supplement the learning from the Sales Training Manual.
Trainees are also required to fill out a portion of their initial Asset 180° each week. This is the formal process that New Home Star uses to ensure sales agents are experts in their product offering. The questions asked are in regards to one of four aspects of the product: area, project, builder or the product itself. This questionnaire is thoughtfully designed and guarantees that the individual will be a master of their offering if completed and studied. While the Sales Training Manual and New Home Connect™ provide the knowledge of the sales product, the Asset 180° provides builder-specific knowledge, making sure that trainees become experts on both topics.
Although we have designed the training process so that it can be self-led through technology and training tools, New Home Star firmly believes in the power of people. That being said, some of the most effective aspects of training are those that take place on a face-to-face level. For example, each Trainee takes part in an in-market boot camp led by one of our expert trainers. These sessions are versatile, and our trainers know how to adapt to their audience. Whether it be New Home Star basics and an overview of the Critical Path, or advanced buyer psychology tactics, we make sure that Trainees walk away having gathered an invaluable wealth of knowledge.
Another aspect of the New Home Star training that is vastly different than any other in the industry is our coast to coast network of mentors. During the entire training process, Trainees are assigned to a Mentor that assists them throughout the training process and into their new career. These mentors are incredibly experienced and can answer mostly any question that is presented by the Trainee. In the Trainee Workbook, there are weekly questions titled “Mentor Observations” that help Trainees think through and truly understand how a sales professional handles various scenarios. This is the last part of the Training Manual that needs to be filled out on a weekly basis.
For New Home Star, the goal is simple: prepare Sales Trainees in a way which equips them better than the average tenured salesperson. The 8-week training program has proven time and time again to deliver on this goal. With the comprehensive understanding of the industry’s most strenuous tactics and extensive operational builder knowledge, Sales Trainees will be well-prepared to step foot on the sales floor and begin selling homes on day one.
