New Home Sales Trainer | Forrest Performance Group

Posts Tagged ‘ new home sales trainer ’

Note from Jason: “Yes, and…”

April 19, 2013

Tags: closing the sale, Fearless Selling, Forrest Performance Group, Jason Forrest, new home sales techniques, new home sales trainer, new home sales training, real estate, sales techiniques, sales training, X Factor sales professionals, Yes...and technique

Sales Pros:

As sales pros, it’s hard not to get stuck on the no’s when we don’t have something a prospect wants. But in improvisation techniques, there’s something called the “Yes…and” technique. It’s a way of moving the scene forward.

It works like this:

Let’s say a prospective home buyer asks, “Do you have bigger backyards? We plan to have several children.”

A straight “no” response might send the buyers out the door. On the other hand, a “Yes…and” could establish a greater connection and allow the buyers to see things differently.

For example, the sales pro could say, “Yes a bigger backyard is always something nice to have, especially when you want to have children. And though the lots in this neighborhood aren’t as big as you’d like, there are several parks in the area. With those, you get the benefit of meeting other families in the neighborhood without the hassle of maintaining a big yard.”

Do you see the difference? In the first conversation, the sales professional completely shut down the conversation (and likely the sale). In the second, the sales pro acknowledged the buyer’s wants, but also moved the sale forward by offering up an alternative that could meet (or maybe even exceed) that desire. In acting, it moves the scene forward. In selling, it moves the sale forward.

Try it for yourself. Rather than jumping to the immediate and negative “no,” practice using the “yes…and” technique. Come back here and comment how your sales process grows because of it.

Here’s to earning what you’re worth!

Jason Forrest

JASON FORREST (named one of 2012’s Top Young Trainers for Training magazine–a national, industry-wide publication) is an expert at creating high-performance sales cultures through complete training programs. He incorporates experiential learning (rather than theory) to increase sales, implement cultural accountability, and transform companies into sales organizations. A sales professional at heart, Forrest is the author of two previous books. Forrest’s competitive distinction is his behavior-modification approach (which focuses on people, process, and presentation) and his focus on culture change.

ABOUT FORREST PERFORMANCE GROUP

Forrest Performance Group specializes in culture change and creating urgency within sales teams and management. Forrest PG’s competitive distinction is its behavior modification approach as applied to a variety of programs, education, seminars and sales coach training offerings all aimed at dramatically improving sales force success.

People don’t know what they want…

December 27, 2012

Tags: ask better questions, asking the right questions, coaching X Factor sales professionals, Fearless Selling, Forrest Performance Group, Jason Forrest, new home sales trainer, Prego extra chunky, sales process, solving customer problems

Until you tell them.

I always say that people don’t know what they want until you tell them. And now I have proof. And that proof comes in the form of Prego’s Extra Chunky Garden tomato sauce.

Howard Moskowitz, a psychophysicist, discovered that Americans say they want “authentic” spaghetti sauce (thin and blended), but what they really want (or at least about a third of them) is extra chunky. Until then, people running the focus groups asked what participants wanted. But nobody knew to ask for extra chunky garden until Howard Moskowitz gave them the option. Before this discovery, Prego was struggling. But after the discovery, Prego is a leading spaghetti saucer.

Don’t ask prospects what they want. Dig deeper. Ask the questions that get to the real answers.

Contributed by Jason Forrest
One of Training magazine’s Top Young Trainers of 2012, Jason Forrest is an expert at creating high-performance sales cultures through complete training programs. He incorporates experiential learning to increase sales, implement cultural accountability, and transform companies into sales organizations. Forrest is a sales trainer, management coach, regularly featured speaker at national conferences and professional association events, member of the National Speakers Association’s Million Dollar Speakers Group, and a published author. His newest book, Leadership Sales Coaching, will be available later this year. Learn about our new home sales training programs at http://www.forrestperformancegroup.com

Speaker Magazine: Complete Training Programs Stand Apart

December 8, 2012

Tags: coaching X Factor sales professionals, Forrest Performance Group, industry publications, Jason Forrest, new home sales trainer, published articles, Speaker magazine

Starting a big-ticket sales training/ strategy company in the middle of the worst economy since the Great Depression may not have made sense to most people. After all, in 2008, many companies were busy slashing their training departments to bare bones. But what may have seemed like the worst time to launch what has evolved into Forrest Performance Group was actually the best. I knew then, as I know now, that if we wanted to be successful, we needed to do something different. We needed to create more than a one-day seminar or an inspirational rally.

Note from Jason Forrest: Prepare for the Sales What Ifs

November 2, 2012

Tags: Jason Forrest, new home sales trainer, note from Jason Forrest, sales trainer, sales training

Sales pros:

According to Dictionary.com, defense is “An action of defending from or resisting an attack,” an “attempt to protect/defend against opposition” or a “barrier against attack.” When new home sales professionals play defensively, they are just trying to survive. Offense is “the action of attacking,” or “the team or players who are attempting to score or advance the ball.”

You can take an offensive stance by preparing for “play” and anticipating the what if scenarios.

Think back on your last appointment and analyze where you spent more of your time. How much time did you spend prior to the appointment coming up with a strategy to convert the sale? Did you spend any time anticipating the what ifs?

What if the customer doesn’t like your price? What if the prospect says no? What if the potential buyer wants to wait until after Christmas or until they can get their desired price for their existing home? What if they don’t want to live next to power lines or busy roads? What are you going to do? If you haven’t thought about it, it will catch you off guard and you’ll lose control of the sale and end of stopping the sale.

The American mindset is to prepare for the very best and hope for the very best. But it’s not always that way. An immigrant mindset is to be prepared for the very worst and hope for the best. So take an immigrant mindset to your next appointment and be prepared for different scenarios.

Here’s to having the immigrant mindset and earning what you’re worth!

Jason Forrest

SOLDLab.com: Reclaiming Our Hope (Page 14-15)

October 5, 2012

Tags: Fearless Selling, hot beliefs, industry publications, Jason Forrest, Leadership Selling, new home sales trainer, published articles, SOLDlab

Anyone who chooses a career in sales also chooses the potential risks and rewards of the trade. And whether we’re telling the family that Christmas is going to be a little lean this year or riding high on the thrill of success; the consequences have a big impact.

Of power, discrimination, and the iPhone

September 22, 2012

Tags: closing the sale, Forrest Performance Group, iPhone 5, Jason Forrest, lead conversion, new home, new home sales, new home sales consultants, new home sales trainer, X Factor sales professionals

The iPhone 5 came out today and loyalists are standing in line all over the world to get their hands on their very own. But there’s evidence that salespeople are pushing customers away from the iPhone.

This highlights an x factor sales professional’s power to persuade. But, as Spiderman’s Peter Parker knows all to well, “With great power comes great responsibility.” In this case, are salespeople helping their customers find the right product for their needs or are they so motivated by money that it clouds their process? The difference between manipulation and persuasion is intent.

Sometimes companies give sales professionals a bonus for selling a particular product even though we also tell them not to be pushy salespeople. But does providing a spiff make sales professionals view every prospect through that lens?

I believe there’s a paradox of selling–the more you focus on trying to sell something, the less you sell. But the more you focus on understanding and accomplishing your customer’s mission to improve their life, the more you will sell. When you lock on to selling a particular product, it can make you unable to see the customer’s real needs. And if you can’t really see or hear the reason they want to buy, it sure makes it hard to persuade.

So it’s your turn to weigh in:

1. It’s been proven that spiffs like this increase performance. But is it sustainable long-term?
2. What would you do (either as a sales pro or a sales coach) if this was your organization?
3. As a sales pro, are you influenced by these types of spiffs? How much does your selling preference have to do with incentives?
4. Is steering customers toward a product other than what they’re looking for doing what’s right for the client?
5. And of course…if you have the new iPhone in hand…whaddya think?

Contributed by Jason Forrest, new home sales trainer/coach

Jason Forrest (named one of 2012′s Top Young Trainers for Training Magazine–a national, industry-wide publication) is an expert at creating high-performance sales cultures through complete training programs. He incorporates experiential learning (rather than theory) to increase sales, implement cultural accountability, and transform builders into sales organizations that build homes. A sales professional at heart, Forrest is the author of Creating Urgency in a Non-Urgent Housing Market and 40-Day Sales Dare for New Home Sales. As a consultant for many of the leading homebuilders in the United States, Canada, and Australia, Forrest’s competitive distinction is his behavior-modification approach (which focuses on people, process, and presentation) and his focus on culture change. Learn about our new home sales training programs at http://www.forrestperformancegroup.com.

X factor sales techniques for the sales professional

September 10, 2012

Tags: Jason Forrest, Karate Kid, new home sal, new home sales trainer, new home sales training, new home sales training programs

In the latest Karate Kid, there’s a scene where Dre (the karate kid himself) gets frustrated with his perceived lack of results. He wants to learn how to fight, but he doesn’t understand that he needs to learn the correct strategy before he can actually win. He wants the easy road–the quick fix.

I see it often with salespeople who don’t realize that they need to learn the correct new home marketing ideas & strategy before they can truly succeed.

When we get to the point of understanding the strategy behind addressing an objection like “I just want to think about it,” we can handle it much more successfully. The strategy is to ask ourselves, “What is my purpose in this stage of the sale? What steps must I be using to accomplish this purpose? How will I know that I have accomplished it?”

And strategy also includes understanding the why behind the potential buyers’ statement. Are they scared? Are they missing information that would help them make a decision? Have I asked questions to discover the answers to these questions?

If you want to make a career out of new home sales, then think at a higher level. Delay gratification by trying to learn the strategy before the quick fix. When you do this you will be on your way to true mastery (and holding your own against Jackie Chan).

Contributed by Jason Forrest, new home sales trainer/coach

On Coaching and Cookies–the X Factor Sales Coach

August 15, 2012

Tags: development and leadership training programs, Jason Forrest, management coaching, new home sales consultants, new home sales management, new home sales trainer, new home sales training, sales coaches, sales coaching, sales management, X Factor Sales Coaches

“All fighters are pig-headed some way or another: some part of them always thinks they know better than you about something. Truth is: even if they’re wrong, even if that one thing is going to be the ruin of them, if you can beat that last bit out of them… they ain’t fighters at all.” –Eddie, Million Dollar Baby

Salespeople are fighters. Why else would they give up the security of knowing their income each paycheck, work retail hours, and miss weekends and holidays with their family and friends?

I’ve got a little three-year-old fighter on my hands in my son, whose circumstances (including my instructions) aren’t going to separate him from what he wants. Is it a challenge to parent him? Sure. But it’s rewarding, too. Of course he has to learn how to follow instructions and I have to teach him respect and temperance. It’s like you. As a home sales consultant, you need team members who will allow you to help them ditch the programming and beliefs that hold them back.

But you also gotta have people with a little spunk. Remember–this is sales! If your sales pros don’t have an edge, they ain’t gonna make it. So yes, salespeople tend to have a little bravado and think they know better. And that can be challenging. But they also tend to be like my son–purposeful and persevering toward reaching their goals.

So don’t be discouraged if you get a little push back. What you have is a fighter. And you can work with that.

Respect them, earn their respect, and sell them on the reasons they should want you to be their coach. I guarantee if you start proving that your coaching puts money in their pockets, they’ll be lining up at your door.

To hold yourself accountable, strive to make your coaching sessions worth the $600-an-hour going rate for such coaching right now. Wait for your people to give you permission to coach them. And once they give it–coach them. Hold them accountable to being their best.

Contributed by Jason Forrest, new home sales trainer/coach

Did I live? Did I love? Did I matter?

July 19, 2012

Tags: Brendon Burchard, coaching X Factor sales professionals, new home sales techniques, new home sales trainer, X Factor sales professionals

These are the three questions Brendon Burchard says we’ll all be asking at the end of our lives.

But it’s not enough to ask them only at the end. I want to answer them each day in a way that makes me proud.

Did I live? In Braveheart, William Wallace says, “Every man dies. Not every man truly lives.” It’s true that if you’re currently reading this, you’re alive. You’re breathing, existing. The question, then, is if you are living in Wallace’s definition. Standing up for what you believe, refusing be oppressed by fear, loving fully and deeply.

And that’s the second question–did I love? Sure, that means whether or not you loved your spouse and your kids. But it also begs the question whether or not you loved what you did. I borrow Steve Jobs’ mentality and always tell my team that if there are too many days in a row where they don’t love what they’re doing, something needs to change.

In a way, if you can answer yes to the first two questions, you can probably say yes to the third–did I matter? It’s gut check time. Steve Jobs said he wanted to make a dent in the universe. And he did. What he did mattered. It still matters. So you’re not making discoveries that lead to technological advances and billions in profit? So what. Approach your day with the desire to provide the best experience possible for your prospects.

It’s a privilege to die being able to say yes to all three questions.

So what can you do today? If you’re in your sales office–tackle your prospect list and call each person–starting with the one you’re dreading most. And when a prospect comes in with a frown, engage. Warm the room up instead of letting your customer cool it down. Just engage…live…feel.

As a sales coach–put your daily to-dos aside and make a phone call to your team members. Invest in your people. It matters.

Brendon Burchard said he got life’s golden ticket when he realized that the clock was ticking. Whether you realize it or not, yours is too.

In the comments, share your own ideas of how to make sure you can answer yes today.

Contributed by Jason Forrest, new home sales trainer/coach

Rock, Roll, and You (Note from Jason Forrest)

July 13, 2012

Tags: new home sales process, new home sales techniques, new home sales trainer, new home sales training, note from Jason Forrest, X Factor sales professionals

Sales professionals:

When my wife told me she was tired and wanted a low-key evening, I didn’t know how my surprise would go over. It’s funny, though, how tickets to a Coldplay concert can quickly change a person’s mind.

It wasn’t just the music (it rocked), or the atmosphere (it rolled), but the energy from the band that really made the evening something special.

In his first moments onstage, Chris Martin, the lead singer, declared his intentions to give us the best show we’d ever seen. And he delivered. He put his body and soul into each second of each song.

By the time it was over, he had nothing left. And I fully expected Chris Martin and his bandmates to go straight to their hotel rooms and to bed.

Think of yourself like Chris Martin–mentally prepare for your “show.” When your audience members walk through the door, tell them your intentions. Say something like, “You’re really in for a treat today. My goal for you is that you walk away feeling like you’ve never had more fun shopping for homes.”

And then deliver–put everything you have into giving a Chris Martin experience. You are the primary source of confidence, motivation, and hope with your customers, so leave it all on the field and hold yourself accountable. At the end of the day, ask yourself if you can honestly say you’ve given it your best. If there are any “shoulda, woulda, couldas,” then you know you’ve got something left in you to give.

This week, try to provide the Chris Martin experience. State your conviction and then put all of your energy and charisma and passion into delivering.

Here’s to earning what you’re worth!

Jason Forrest

Contributed by Jason Forrest, new home sales trainer/coach

Posts Tagged ‘ new home sales trainer ’

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