Builders: Grab Your CRM Tools for Spring Selling Season!

Might be Frightful Outside but..Spring Selling Season is Here!

We have to admit: the weather outside -- whether you're on the East or West Coast -- doesn't exactly encourage getting outside and going home shopping. Even if you're in Las Vegas -- it's snowing!

Take advantage of slower traffic today & get ready for Spring!

But, why not take advantage of the slower traffic and take stock in preparation for your Spring marketing efforts?  We have some ideas to start generating visits to your sales offices and engaging home shoppers once they arrive!

Start Reaching Out to Realtors & Other Neighborhood Sources, Now

There's a great, recent Frank Anton article in BuilderOnLine noting, "Remember that knowing the ground is a decisive factor not only in warfare but  in homebuilding as well."  

Do you know your local Realtor community? Why not get acquainted and start putting together a "Get Ready for Spring" open house and offer a "spa event" raffle for attendees? Or, a "Wine & Cheese" evening with a case of your favorite? Keep the buzz going: don't stop with one event! If you start now (in dreary February), you'll be ahead of 90% of your competition!

Here's where your CRM system can step in and help! Make sure your local Realtors are in their own section so you can easily email and measure your success in terms of visits, home shopper tours and sales.  Not sure how to do this? Let us know: CPS CRM is laser-focused on co-op agent features!

Start Thinking About Demographics, too!

Don't forget: many Realtors focus on specific demographics or groups -- relocations, ethnic or religious groups, 55+ buyers, etc.  Try reaching out to the demographic-centric agents, often.  They always have a group of interested buyers available to visit your community -- provide them with a reason to stop by -- again and again.  CRM will help here, too: establish Rating groups so you can sort through your database and focus on specifics.

Work to Create a Great Buying Experience

You want to be your customer's #1 choice: what can you do to make that happen? First, embrace the idea that home shoppers are visiting today because they're interested in buying one of your homes. In many cases, today!

Next, we'll suggest that it makes sense to start looking at your sales office as a customer does.  What will help you stand apart so the home shopper rates your community #1?

Think about: what are you doing to create a great buying experience? From the minute a prospect drives (or walks) up to your office, they're using all of their senses to evaluate the experience...from smell to sight to touch!  We'll talk about touch in the next Solutions Blog but.. make sure that your "curb appeal" is upfront, clean and appealing!

Followup!

Have you seen the stats? Only 50% of home shoppers hear back from the sales office they visited! Even a simple Thank You! gets you in the top 50%! Think about the value of  an automated & templated followup with a short, cell phone video with a quick tour -- you're in the top 10%!

Do you recall an earlier Solution Blog with Ryan Taft's CRM tips? Take these quieter times to start a top performer habit:

1. Do it!
2. Personalize the Heck Out of It!
3. Be Consistent!

Might be Frightful Out but..Spring Selling Season is Just Around the Corner!

We have to admit: the weather outside -- whether you're on the East or West Coast -- doesn't exactly encourage getting out and doing home shopping this weekend.

Take this Dreary Weekend to Kick-off Spring!

But, that same weekend could be a great one for taking stock and kicking-off your Spring new home sales/marketing efforts.  Here are several ideas to start generating visits to your sales office and engaging home shoppers once they're there:

(1) Start Reaching Out to Realtors, Now -- We've talked about the value of co-op agents before (take a look at an earlier Solutions blog entry --  Builders, Co-Op Agents: Reaching the Asian Community.)

BuilderOnLine reports  Spring is the busiest season for Realtors and suggests offering incentives to make sure they spread the word about your community.  How about putting together a "Get Ready for Spring" Open House -- offering a "spa event" raffle for attendees?  Or, a "Wine & Cheese" evening with a case of your favorite?  Keep the buzz going: don't stop with one event!  If you start now (in dreary February), you'll be ahead of 90% of your competition!

Don't forget Realtors often focus on specific demographics -- relocations, ethnic or religious groups, 55+ buyers, etc.  Try reaching out to the demographic-centric agents, often.  They always will have a group of interested buyers available to visit your community -- provide them with a reason to stop by.

Get Interactive with Virtual Curb Appeal!

(2) A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words --- Mollie Elkman, a Philadelphia-based marketing expert, reminds us that pictures offer "virtual curb appeal."  Why not take one step further and Go Interactive with a touch screen system?

You'll start engaging prospects from the minute they step into your sales office and can continue the conversation with interactive floor plans, the ability to select and place furniture inside your homes and e-brochures.

Take your home shoppers "behind the walls" and visually talk about your location, amenities, and features.  Show them you're "in their location" and highlight what is available in the location or the great amenities provided by the HOA.

CPS offers software to help you zero in on the co-op agent community (that's CPS CRM) as well as SalesTouch, our interactive touchscreen system for both the large and small (think tablets) screen. We're here to help -- even when it's snowing and raining!

Multifamily Demand Reaches Beyond Millennials and Boomers

Ask most people working in the multifamily industry about demand for their communities and many will say there are 2 basic and key demographic segments: Millennials and Boomers.

SalesTouch showcases amenities as well as location!

But, a recent Multifamily Executive article by Stacy Stemen notes that even though those groups generate significant demand, there's a third, sometimes overlooked, demographic in the demand equation: divorced people.

And, it's a population that shouldn't be ignored by multifamily marketing given that almost 50% of marriages in the US end in divorce.  One or both of the individuals involved in a divorce are likely to move back into rental housing.

Have you taken this market segment into consideration in designing and marketing your property?  Have you considered what amenities and/or features would make a property more attractive to this third demographic? Stemens suggests incorporating the following elements in a property to attract the third demographic:

• Include child-friendly amenities -- You could become a divorced parent's top choice with this one item alone! Parents want to be able to provide a "sense of home" as well as gathering places for their children so you'll see real interest in community spaces, pools and party rooms as well as fitness center/playroom combos.
• Focus on walkability -- Millennial and Boomer consumers are known to value easy access to the surrounding area's amenities -- and divorced individuals value both the sense of community and the need for easy access to schools, shopping and employment centers.  
• Incorporate on-site services -- Services can range from time-saving items such as concierge services, on-site dry cleaning and in-house housekeeping services to activities including movie nights, wine tasting events and other engaging activities that encourage social interaction and reduce the time needed to go off-property.

Wondering how to effectively communicate these demographic-friendly elements?  Talk with us about SalesTouch -- CPS' interactive touchscreen system designed to showcase your property, features and amenities!

Builders, Co-op Agents: Reaching the Asian Community

We've all been reading about our ever-increasing diverse population; but, have you considered there's a diverse homebuyer demographic, as well?

Were you able to attend the recent REALTORS Conference & Expo? 

Jim Park, President of the Asian Real Estate Association of America, noted that, when hearing people talk about diversity, the Asian community is frequently missed.  He comments, "The last category usually is 'other.' Well, the 'other' community has a lot of people in it."

Reach out to your co-op agent team

17.3 million people in the US are of East and South Asian descent, according to the 2010 US Census.

And, according to Park, Asian-Americans are a great target market for home sales.  Household income is higher than other households and...they prefer buying new homes! Park notes, "Asian-Americans are more likely to live in non-Asian communities."

As a homebuilder, how does your marketing respond to this information? We'd like to suggest a couple of ways: use CRM to help manage your prospects and, more importantly, utilize your co-op agent team to reach out to this community.

Co-op agents often specialize in specific markets -- ranging from relocations to 55+ to Asian-Americans.  They consistently work with their target market and become known in their community as a reliable agent.