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Today's Housing Market is
Still Under Seige
The Media Continues to Report Bad News. Consumers lack Confidence. And Those Sales Professionals Still Selling Successfully Have a Secret
What is it they know that you know that you don't? Or, if you do know, somehow forgot? Eventually this housing market will turn around but here's another question…
What Are You Doing Now to Emerge Stronger?
If you have chosen to remain in sales or just entered the field you want every advantage possible, right? Read on as we explore causes of sales success and failure in today's challenging real estate market and what you can do to emerge from tough times even stronger.
But before we get to what's on everyone's mind in this business I'd like to welcome you to this website and allow me to make a brief introduction.
For the last 19 years I've been in the housing industry working out west, south and the northeast. Over the last number of years maybe like you I've watched home prices escalate, appreciate, equity accumulate and a nation of consumers and investors giddy with the prospect of growing wealth. I never thought I'd see eager people…
Waiting in Line to Buy Homes (The Good Old Days)
Rookies and veteran salespeople all across North America enjoyed an abundance of eager buyers. With NINJA loans (no money, no job or assets) it seemed every one was getting in the new home game. I worked with salespeople who delighted that prospects would camp out to wait in line to buy into an upcoming community.
Some Builders Actually Held a Lottery!
Out west, a sign was prominently posted in a sales model that read, "No new customers between the hours of 10 am and 2 pm, Monday through Saturday."
In this once hot seller's market I have seen even the least skilled salesperson be able to afford an big home and a shiny new Lexus in fairly short order - truthfully even an order taker could do well. Those salespeople who are highly skilled of course cleaned up.
The Good, The Bad, The Ugly
The bleak housing scenario economists had been predicting for the last who knows how many years finally reared its' ugly head. That's when I used my savings and took a couple of years to write and record the book and CD, Sales In A Challenging Real Estate Market. The goal is to help professionals during this unfortunate period and into the future.
As I was writing the sales book and around the beginning of the sudden housing shift I got a call from a builder in the South to come train her sales people.
I opened the first day of a new home sales training/coaching process with this innocent question…
"What's On Your Mind?"
The responses started like a drip as the first salesperson offered, "negative media spin," then another chimes in, "a flood of resales," and then the levy broke with comments such as, "Discounts, forclosures, lack of urgency, credit issues, payment sensitivity, competition, lack of traffic, buyers market, etc."
Then I asked salespeople, "If you keep your mind focused on these bleak circumstances what are you not going to do?" After a long pause one of the senior sales consultants said, "Sell?" Brilliant!
Here then is our first clue as to the causes of failure and success in selling. What about you? What's on your mind? Where is your focus of attention?
Shift Your Focus From What's Missing
When the sales mind finds a consistent way to shift their focus from "what's missing," to "what's present, or what's working," a change takes place in the opportunity they attract.
Indeed amazing things did begin to happen for the builder and its salespeople who applied their time and talent to proven principles and little known secrets of attracting more sales. You'll discover their stories in short testimonials in other parts of this website. You'll find the whole story in my book Sales in a Challenging Real Estate Market.
If you made it this far down the page then I am guessing you are a different breed of salesperson. You know that you cannot rest on your laurels in the current market. To sell more you no doubt understand that it is not necessary to reinvent the wheel.
Many salespeople know that it's possible to stand on the shoulders of high performers and emulate their attitudes, best selling and marketing habits. And, yes this is another boring secret that actually separates the successful from the rest of sales people.
What if someone took 30 years to study what makes sales people successful and what causes them to fail? What if those secrets were broken down into managable action steps that resulted in more sales during any market condition? Well I'm not ashamed to admit that… (drum roll please)…
I Stole Selling Secrets From the Best Salespeople
I don't think they knew it at the time I interviewed them but for three decades I have made a practice of collecting key selling secrets from the top talent in successful companies. Many of these principles and selling secrets were then taught to sales people who surpassed their previous performance levels.
Everyone has a gift. You see my talent is in breaking sales and marketing skill-building ideas down for practical application so you can easily apply them, to boost your sales and income.
In addition to my own success in selling, (read about that in the about Daron Powers page) I have been recognized and hired by executives of Fortune 500 Companies as well as world class homebuilders for these exact skills.
In fact, my processes were adapted by one very large and influential homebuilder who came to dominate the top J.D. Powers rankings in most major markets. This kind of performance is not an accident. Success leaves clues. Are you paying attention? Then…
Think about it. People will always want to own a home. Homes will be bought and sold in any market. Who will the commissions be paid to? Sales must go to the professionals who are prepared, motivated and willing to do whatever it takes. Is that you?
Grab the Bull by the Horns!
I had dinner with a Realtor who said it was too difficult to sell in this market. She later confided that she just doesn't want to work that hard at selling or make the necessary changes to succeed in this market.
After 20 years she's getting out of the business. Maybe that's good for her, for her broker, her customers and the field of home selling. Listen no one can help salespeople not interested in selling smart—in standing on the shoulders of achievers—in taking advantage of the clues and secrets success leaves behind.
The truth is that it's going to take a lot more to succeed in today's tougher selling environment. The days of just showing up are gone. The days of being handed prospects on a silver platter are over.
The professionals I can help know that there is absolutely no other option—grow or die. Now is the time. Today is the day to go to your next level of sales and marketing savvy. Now is the time to learn how to drive even more qualified traffic to your model. Now is the time to improve your closing skills. Don't wait for your builder or broker to up the advertising budget or put out more signs. It's time for you to grab the bull by the horns.
It's time to take care of the Golden Goose that helps you sustain energy, motivation and develop a mental toughness no media machine can break and do it for your health, the welfare of your prospects, wealth of your business and preservation of your lifestyle.
Thanks for visiting this site.
Expect the best, Take action, & Be good to yourself!
Daron Powers
West Bloomfield, Michigan
P.S. As the legendary architect Frank Lloyd Wright once said, "Man [Woman] built most nobly in the face of limitation."
Now is the time to buckle down and master selling, marketing, customer satisfaction and self-motivation so that when times do eventually turn around you will emerge stronger and leave your competition in the dust.
Contact: Questions@DaronPowers.com