By Susan Bolin, Sales Director in Washington - New Home Star
In the world of new home sales, sales management and builder alignment can only be achieved through a clear, concise and concrete vision. It can be easy to get wrapped up in our plan for managing our team, selling on the floor or tackling issues in the sales office, but it's critical to communicate to our builder partner a meticulously designed vision, especially in a new year. This vision, or what New Home Star coins a business plan, presents a solid plan of action, sheds light on what you need from the builder in order to increase sales, and indicates the value that you seek to bring to the organization as a whole. Presenting a clear business plan should happen at the beginning of every fiscal year as the first step to confirm alignment with your builder's own vision and goals. In turn, this will ensure that you gain credibility and accountability with your builder partner.
As a member of the sales team, you will need to identify the key performance areas that are of importance to your individual builder. Some vital components include a sales budget, a closing budget, anticipated revenue, a preferred lender capture rate, training policies, a recruitment and development plan, survey scores, an individual breakdown of current and future communities, strategic marketing and key areas for growth. Yes, it's quite a list, but each is important!
Once you've decided which components need to be addressed in your plan, reflect on last year's goals to identify a baseline for projecting upcoming goals. This process will require an analysis of the market in order to identify where the region requires improvement, what competition might challenge your product and which new guidelines need to be implemented to ensure your builder's success. Make sure to break down your plan into quarterly and monthly objectives so that it's measurable and, most importantly, achievable.
You've researched the market and competition, you've forecasted goals and you've developed your presentation. Now what? Schedule a time to present this plan to your builder partner and deliver supplementary materials or tools in a timely manner. Invite your director, manager or sales team to hear the presentation as well. This information benefits them too. Remember that the business plan provides both your team and your builder with a blueprint of how you plan to succeed in the coming year. In a nutshell, this is where the magic happens between sales management and builder partners. When we perform well and communicate our vision clearly, we earn credibility and trust.
When given the opportunity to do what an outsourced sales organization does best (focus on sales), the builder can focus on what they do best (homebuilding). Communication and alignment of goals creates a powerhouse partnership that is armed and ready with the most effective sales solutions possible.
Sales Director Susan Bolin currently manages New Home Star's Washington Division. With 26 years' of real estate experience and a background in sales management for both private and public homebuilders, Bolin lends her expertise to well-known builder partner, Hayden Homes.