The nature of new home sales is cyclical. Any seasoned sales manager will tell you that a dearth of leads and foot traffic can shadow months of effortlessly high sales. When you face a decline in home sales, it can be hard not to feel discouraged or downright nervous. But just because a sales slump can be stressful doesn’t mean it has to be stagnant.
Factors impacting declining home sales
During a slower sales season, take some time to evaluate what might be impacting the decline in home sales. Perhaps it’s the time of year — fall and winter are notoriously slow for home purchases. Maybe during your busy months, hyper-local marketing initiatives waned, and now awareness among new prospects has diminished. It could be that interest and insurance rates are keeping buyers at bay. By identifying the root cause, you can employ the correct tactics to reverse the sales slump.
What to do when home sales decline
Remember, every new home sales professional will experience highs and lows throughout their career. Who better to give some advice than those who have experienced and overcome a decline in home sales? The following are tried-and-true strategies, tips, and words of wisdom to get your sales back on track.
1. Go back to basics
It may seem obvious, but revisiting the fundamentals of new home sales is almost always the best place to start. Refocus on TxC=S and identify whether traffic or conversion is the problem. If foot traffic is strong, what’s affecting those conversions? Roleplay with a teammate or your manager and zero in on the area of the sales funnel that is either missing or struggling during the process. During busy months, roleplaying can be put on the back burner. Slower months are an excellent opportunity to rehearse and perfect your sales prowess. As always, but especially during a slump, remember to place customer service above everything else. Show up for your clients and expertly guide them through the home buying process. Thanks to word of mouth, a positive experience with one buyer can multiply into several.
2. Preparation is the key to success
As Benjamin Franklin once said, “By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.” Take advantage of the extra time to stay on top of SAMIs and constantly build relationships within the local community. These marketing initiatives sometimes take months to produce a sale, and staying out in front of the pipeline is vital.
New Home Connect™ is a great way to keep your selling tools sharp during slow times. Spend time with the platform’s training modules or ask fellow sales professionals nationwide for advice. Use this time to engage and brainstorm with members of your sales team in ways you may not be able to when juggling numerous appointments.
3. A mindset reset
Keeping a healthy mindset is the biggest challenge when home sales decline. To help you stay composed, prepare at the beginning of each day as if you have a schedule full of appointments. This is an opportune time to ensure the model home is immaculate. Clean and organize the space as if someone is going to close on a sale that afternoon.
Set intentions for the day each morning, such as setting an appointment, reaching out to prospects and realtors, or getting the ball rolling on a SAMI. Work toward those goals throughout the day to avoid feeling complacent. Reflect on the tactics and strategies that brought you success in the previous months to remind yourself that this isn’t indicative of your ability to sell homes. Sometimes, external factors are out of your control. Focus on what you can control about the situation and work toward them.
Overcoming a decline in home sales
Experiencing a decline in home sales is something every sales agent will encounter. Use the experience to revisit the fundamentals of new home sales, prepare for the future when sales will inevitably increase, and maintain a strong mindset to see you through. Staying positive and proactive will help you emerge from this season as a stronger new home sales consultant than before.
