Why do some builders lose more sales to competitors than others?

In today’s episode we recap the insightful six-part series on why home builders and remodelers often find themselves losing sales to their competitors. Throughout this series, we delved into the fundamental aspects of the client acquisition process, including…

• Marketing
• Attracting & Capturing Leads
• Lead Conversion
• Sales process
• Follow-through and fulfillment, shedding light on the key areas where builders frequently fall short.

Today, we bring you a comprehensive summary of the series, highlighting the crucial takeaways and providing actionable solutions to help builders prevent losing sales and reclaim their competitive edge.

Read/Watch/Listen and understand the underlying causes and take proactive measures in marketing, lead generation, capturing leads, follow-up, sales process, and follow-through, builders can position themselves for success and overcome the challenges they face. It’s time for builders to reclaim their competitive advantage and thrive in the ever-evolving construction industry!

Builder Lead Converter ATTRACTS, CAPTURES & CONVERTS high-quality leads for builders so they can pick & choose their clients & jobs. Find out how at https://www.builderleadconverter.com

 

Transcript:

 Today in Conversations at Convert, we will be talking about why builders lose sales and what they can do about ’em and this is a recap of our full series, so let’s get started.

Welcome to Conversations that Convert every week, we’ll spend about 10 to 15 minutes tackling relevant lead generation, marketing, and sales topics for remodelers home improvement companies, and home builders, Conversations that Convert is brought to you by Builder Lead Converter, your perfect sales assistant.

And now here’s Rick and Daiana. 

Rick: Hello, Daiana. Hello everyone. Welcome to Conversations That Convert. How are you today, Daiana? 

Daiana: Hello and welcome. I’m doing better and better, so I’m good. Good and helpful. Better. 

Rick: I always love Daiana. Everything she’s always better and better, so very good. Looking forward to the conversation today. What are we talking about, Daiana? 

Daiana: Today we have some conversation that hopefully will convert leads and why this is the, from the series, why builders lead sales to competitors and what they can do about it. So this is a recap. So do you remember, I think we started in in in February, is that right? 

Rick: We did, yes. We are now going on to about three months. It’s taking to go through this series, and so we’re gonna do just a recap for everyone. So if you haven’t seen any of the episodes before this, this will simply be a highlight reel of some of the things we talked about, and then you’ll be able to go back on either our YouTube channel or, or into our blog and look at all the previous episodes and get all of the notes because it’s been quite in depth and really thorough review. From beginning to end of. Why does the sale break down? Why do you lose it to a competitor? Why does a client come out of the sale unhappy? And then lead you a, a, a negative review? And then, and conversely, we’ll also give you a lot of tips and strategies of what you can do to avoid that from happening, taking market share from your competitors, keeping your clients happy, getting a positive online review, and then ultimately getting that referral for that future sale. So what do you say, Daiana? Should we get started? 

Daiana: Yes, but if before, maybe to remind you and invite you all to share and like, and comment if you think that those information can really support you. So that’s the invitation we start with. And of course during, during the, our session or, or in the end or after, when we have some time, just let us know your thoughts about what we’re doing here and how those conversation can really help you to convert leads. 

Rick: Absolutely. Thank you so much. So again, it’s a recap why builders lose sales. So again, this is a recap of the six topics that, that we covered. So we will start with marketing or specifically a lack thereof marketing. But this is what we started back about three months ago in, in February. And, you know, took a look at, do new home and remodeling leads shop by process of inclusion or exclusion? In other words, when they are out considering builders to hire to do the remodeling or new home project, are they trying to include you as an option? Are they trying to cross you off the list and exclude you? Do you remember Daiana the answer to that question?

Daiana: I think I exclude and then I include. 

Rick: That’s right. You nailed it. They’re trying to exclude you. So we looked at the process that they go through to try to cross you off of their list. So what, what do you need to understand as, of course, the, the, the shopping process starts online and the research process specifically, and you have about 19 seconds, 19 seconds to get their attention where they will not exclude you. So we call that a bounce. And a bounce is simply where you come into a website on one page and you leave on the same page. You don’t even look any farther into the website. So your website is obviously really the first impression that they will get of you, even if they’re a referral.

And we do, we wanna keep them on the website for longer than 19 seconds because if that’s the case, we have a much greater chance of capturing them. As a, a lead. So just a few notes from that. And about 70 to 90% of the buyer’s journey is complete prior to engaging you. So before they ever talk to you, before they ever walk into your model home, 70 to 90% of their research is already complete. So really, you are on the short list. Once you’ve gotten to that point, every lead has three questions. Remember what these are, Daiana, what are three things every lead wants to know? 

Daiana: Yes, it’s a price. It’s Place? 

Rick: Yes. 

Daiana: And location. 

Rick: Well, place and location are the same thing. Very close. We’ll give you two out, two out of three. The third one is product, product. 

Daiana: Product. We said that at the same time, we said at the same time. Yes. 

Rick: Right. So, the question number one is, what will my home look like? What will my remodeled space look like? Question number two is how much will it cost? Question number three is, do you build, do you have, can, can you help me find a lot? Or will you build where I own my lot or, do you come to my community where my home is, so, so it can be remodeled? Those are the three things. And so they are looking for content on your website. So we have expert content, we have brand content, and we have user-generated content. So expert content is like case studies and video testimonials or public relations. Third-party articles where local news sources have written about you.

Brand content is going to be your available homes, your design library, your project photos, your locations, and service area, and then user-generated reviews or content that’ll be your Google reviews. How is Facebook, all that, all that good stuff? So it’s important to understand that your website if you know your marketing needs to clearly tell people. What you can do for them and why they should want to work with you. And it all starts with answering those three questions. So that’s where we started on marketing or lack thereof. Then we move to attract leads, right? So once they get to your website, how do we attract leads?

So going back to the three questions that everyone asks, what will my project look like? How much will it cost? Where can I build it? We need to use visual elements to attract leads. So this could be high-resolution photos and or high-resolution videos. Videos are great and it’ll keep people on your site much longer. Highly, recommend videos, especially utilizing channels like YouTube, and Facebook, and Instagram for shorter reels. So we go back to the product again, or the design. Floor plans, and high-resolution photos of completed projects. Then we go to price, so for pricing, we show available homes or to-be-built packages.

And we also showed you our scoping tool where a leak can actually go onto your website and they can scope out their project and then request a price from you or a budget. And then finally, as location pages in the service area map, just clearly defining, this is where we build cuz that’s how they will shop home builders in such and such an area or remodelers in such and such an area. So, Daiana, any final thoughts on that? On attracting leads? 

Daiana: Oh, I was thinking about it, and I remember the testimonial. So where, where can we, how can we actually, I think those are very important. So where is the place, I forgot where the testimonials are. 

Rick: Yeah, so those are on the marketing, so that’s user-generated content.

Daiana: Right. 

Rick: So that’s your Google My Business reviews, House reviews, Facebook reviews. Incredibly important. And as far as the hierarchy of content, it’s, you know, right at number three I always say that they’re con, they’re confidence builders. So in other words, the first thing I’m looking for is, do you build the type of home I’m looking for, for the price that I have set aside in my budget and the location that I want? Okay, so everyone starts there. Once they check those off the list, then they go to the next form of content they want to look at, dig into more of your photo galleries, your floor plans, and your project galleries. Look at, look at those sorts of things. And then the last thing they will do to check to generate confidence is that’s user-generated reviews. So they’ll look at your Google reviews, they’ll look at your hos reviews. That’s sort of the last checkbox, if you will, to say, okay. I’m going to now include, I’m not gonna exclude this builder. I’m gonna include them, on my list.

Daiana: Right. Thank you for clarifying. 

Rick: Number three, we talked about capturing leads. So again, the same three questions. What will my home look like? How much will it cost? Where can I build it? We’re gonna answer those three questions in order to capture leads. So the capturing process is really two steps. So the first step we do to attract the lead, is that we show some content on our website related to those three questions, but then in order to capture them, what we do is we go to the next step. So we offer more of it and ask for permission in exchange for giving it to them. So again, I wanna get a price on my web for my project. Okay, that’s fine.

We’ll give you a price, but the first thing we need to ask for is to tell us what you want and give us your contact information and then schedule an appointment with us to go over a budget on the phone with you. I want to see the floor plan. Great. We’ll show you five to 15-floor plans, but if you want to see our 4,000-floor plan, and enhanced design library, give us your con- your, your contact information, and when we will send that to you. So that’s called an opt-in or a permission-based relationship. It’s inbound marketing. They’re searching for something. They find that you have it, and in exchange for getting more of it, they will give you permission to follow up with them, which of course, that’s the process of converting them from an opportunity into a lead. Any thoughts on that, Daiana? 

Daiana: So that’s an interesting process. So in my mind, it’s the word process. So if you stick to this process, then you create the flow, and then you can capture those leads and then you can save them and not lose sales just by not, just by missing this opportunity that it. There and it’s front and it’s in front of you. So what I’m hearing is that all you have to do is to just organize a little bit of how you capture leads and then things will ha- will happen for you and the process will do the work for you. 

Rick: Yeah, very, very well said. Everyone’s favorite radio station is WIIFM, you know, you know what that one stands for? 

Daiana: Yes. I’m always forgetting. So Oh…

Rick: What is it…

Daiana: What’s in it for me? 

Rick: For me, exactly. What’s in, so when they hit your website, you know, I was just, I just thought with a builder yesterday and I was looking at his website, and his website was very detail oriented. It was all about his process and, you know, I said, you know, that’s great that you have these processes, these internal processes, you need them to be successful, but your lead doesn’t care about your processes yet because you have, they haven’t answered the question, right. What can I build? How much will it cost?  And where can I build it? And if they don’t get that information upfront, they don’t care how good your process is, they’re gonna exclude you. They’re next, they’ve moved on.

So you don’t start with your process. You start by answering their questions, and you give them information that shows them, Hey, look, you do have a website that I excuse me, a, a floor plan I like you do have homes or projects that are within my budget. You do build in the area that I am looking in. What’s next? And that’s where you give them the opportunity to go deeper with you into the sales process by offering them more of what they’re already looking for. So it, it, it’s all about a, what’s in it for me once I get the information I’m looking for as the lead. Now I’ll start to look deeper and deeper into, okay, what are you all about? Maybe I will be more interested in your process.

I’ll be more interested in your reviews and talking to references and looking, you know, meeting with you and looking at some of your stuff, and just trying to determine the trust and value that was established online. As I said, 70 to 90% is established online. Once I get offline and I’m actually standing in front of you. That’s where that 10 to 30% of that trust and value is solidified. But if I don’t get to the first 70 to 90%, you never get a chance to stand in front of ’em. And that’s what most builders miss. They just, they, they completely lose out there. So give the lead what they’re looking for, and then ask ’em if they like more. And then when they say, yes, I want more, that’s where you have ’em, and you can actually ask for that contact information in exchange for that additional information. 

Daiana: That’s amazing. So that’s, I think that’s, that’s huge. So…

Rick: It is huge. Yeah. That’s just how it works. This is how it works. And if you do that, you will consistently have high-quality leads coming into your pipeline. 

Daiana: Yeah. 

Rick: Then once we get the lead, we’ve gotta follow up. Right. Right. Follow up. This is as a sales manager and business owner, this is where the rubber meets the road. So you’ve worked so hard to get this lead, and now we see so often where the follow-up is just so poor. It’s just so incomplete. So, follow-up is all about conversions and not a conversion to a sale, but it’s all about converting. Now that new lead you have into a phone call. Because that’s the first place we start, I need to verify that this is a valid lead that I could potentially sell. So there are lots of mistakes that builders make, but the four primary mistakes are number one, and the follow-up is too slow.

I mean, it takes not minutes, not hours, but sometimes it can take days to get a follow-up or sometimes there’s just no follow-up that, you know, it just gets missed. Somebody’s busy. I thought so-and-so was gonna call ’em or email ’em and, no, I thought you did. Oh, I was busy. So it just gets missed or it’s too slow. Mistake number two is there’s only one type of follow-up method used. Well, I called them, will I send ’em a text? Will I reply to their email? You know, but you’ve gotta use multiple mediums. Number three, it’s unprofessional. It’s unprofessional. There are typos, there are punctuation errors. The phone, there’s phone skills are lacking.

People don’t know what to say if they leave a voicemail or if they’re talking to somebody on the phone. It’s just very unprofessional. And I see, I still see a lot of builders not using a, they’re, they’re not using their website email address. In other words, they have ABC builders and they’re using like a Gmail or a Yahoo email, and that just right off the bat, it’s, it just comes off as, as unprofessional. So, and then the final mistake is really poor formatting. There’s a way you need to format your messaging to get somebody who wants to hear from you, but if you don’t, if you p format things poorly, there’s really no compelling reason for me to want to go to the next step with you, which is to have a phone call and talk more about my project. So that’s really the main thing that builders miss out on and why they would lose a sale to a competitor during the follow-up process. Any thoughts from you, Daiana? 

Daiana: You, you, you know that I have a saying that the fortune is in the follow-up. So it’s really, really important. And I think we, me included, sometimes I, I notice how I, I, I don’t do it, so I have some expectations or I postpone it, but this is, and when I do it every time, I’m amazed about the results. So the results are, instantly, you see results instantly just by picking up the phone and you, Hey, how are you? Oh, so good that you call me. I just wanted to call you, but I never got the chance, so that’s great when we start. 

Rick: Yeah. 

Daiana: And I said, oh, that’s easy. So the fortune is in the follow-up. 

Rick: Absolutely. This leads us to number five, your sales process. So now you’ve had that phone call. Now you’re moving into the next step of your sales process. We looked at three areas, so number one was qualifying. Number two was the initial consultation and site visit. Number three is our design agreement. We did an episode on each one. We got into specifics. I’m not gonna get into all those specifics here just because we don’t have time for this particular video. But real quickly, qualifying. Not asking the right questions on the phone. So then you take all the time to drive to someone’s home or meet with them, only to find out that it’s not a qualified lead. So we talked about seven areas of qualifying, the type, the how you ask the questions.

An example is, I never asked somebody when they want to get started. I asked them, how soon do you want to be living in and enjoying your new home or your remodeled space. Cause everyone wants to be done and enjoy it, but nobody’s in a hurry to get started. So, I always begin with the end in mind when it comes to my follow-up. You know, asking them again about previous experiences of working with a builder, how they remodeled before, how they built a new home before. Those are all these really important questions. Finding out again cash or financing and you know, how they arrived at their budget numbers cuz everyone will tell you what they want to spend.

Very few people are telling will tell you what they’re willing to spend or have the ability to spend. So we always get hung up on, oh, you’re telling me you want the Taj Mahal and the only one to spend, you know, just a little bit of money. We got into initial consultation or site visit. We talked about what we do before, during, and after that site visit to, you know, switch that person’s focus on how much project can I get for how little money too, what’s your process? They need to buy your process. And then for the design agreement, we talked about how to sell a design agreement, the common mistakes that builders make, and giving away your time to estimate, giving away. Your time designing plans, all of that should be charged for. And we talked about incremental work for incremental commitments and how to get those incremental commitments from your lead. Thoughts Daiana had any of that. 

Daiana: So I, I like that. So when do you want to start? You don’t ask yourself, how soon you want to live in that, in that. That’s, that’s amazing. So that’s a huge shift and basically, the same thing. So the outcome, it’s I can see my enthusiasm when I’m thinking I want to see the final result versus when we want to start. I don’t want to start, I want to skip that, the whole process. I just want to, I just, I, I just want to, I don’t want to deal with everything in between the start and the end. I just want to live in the house and, and enjoy. And I, that, that’s something I can say from my own experience. And you know that my process of now looking back, I never want to start, I just want to live in a beautiful house. 

Rick: I want you done. 

Daiana: Done, already. Done and made. And I don’t want to take care of all the in-between and no. 

Rick: And if you say, well, when do you wanna get started? Oh, we’re in no hurry. Do you know? Cuz everyone feels like, oh, you’re pushing me. It’s like, you know, no, I can’t push you. I can only pull you. And what are you really buying? I’m buying a lifestyle. In other words, there’s a reason that I want to build or remodel my home. It’s because I’m unable to do something that I would like to be able to do in my home right now. So, I mean, I can’t entertain the way I wanna entertain or our, our home is too small. We need a larger home that, you know, we’re, we’re crawling all over one another.

Or I, now I’m working from home, now I need to have a dedicated office space or, so there’s always something, there’s always some sort of lifestyle you’re after. So get them to focus on the lifestyle, the end. What, how soon do you wanna be living in and enjoying? Your new home or your remodeled space. Oh wow. Yesterday, six months from now, we have a graduation coming up. Then you’ll find out the real timeline and then you can work backwards from there. But it’s so important to understand what their motivations are so that you can work with that understand those hot buttons and move them into your sales process because your process is the promise that they will get the unknowns made known.

And that’s the important part. I don’t know what it’ll look like. I don’t know how much it’ll cost. Okay, let’s make those known. This is how we do it. The first step is this. The last step is this. How soon do you wanna be living in and enjoying your new space? Okay? So these are things we have to do. Let’s focus on the prize at the end and not all the, you know, undesirable time and money that you’re gonna spend to get there. 

Daiana: Makes sense. 

Rick: And last but not least is follow through and fulfillment. So this comes from once a contract is signed and you’re gonna go ahead and you will build the home, you will remodel the home, you will in other. In other words, you will fulfill the order. There are three things that will happen that will take a happy customer. And make them frustrated, upset customers who will go outta their way to talk poorly about your company versus referring a friend, family, coworker, or neighbor to work with you. So number one, they have unrealistic expectations, which means you have not set expectations properly. Number two, unexpected costs.

You know, where they were not aware things would come up, things weren’t identified ahead of time. It wasn’t clearly stated. What is a fixed price versus what is an allowance item? What are the things that we know about? What are the potential unforeseen circumstances? Number three is poor communication. You see this a lot. There are scheduled delays. They don’t think anything’s happening. They don’t hear from you for a while. They have questions that don’t get answered. They text somebody who normally responds to ’em, but they’re on vacation and then they don’t hear from for a week. And, you know, what is the, what does the communication workflow look like?

And I would say that, you know, number, poor communication, the, the most indicative symptom of, of poor communication is reactive communication. In other words, if you are not proactively communicating with your lead and you’re waiting for them to communicate with you, you’re gonna, you have a problem. You have a problem. Yeah. And then, and then if the client doesn’t feel like they know what’s going on, they feel like things are out of control, and then that’s where they get anxious and frustrated and that’s where things can blow up. So any final thoughts for me, Daiana, on follow-through and fulfillment? Cause I know you have lots of experience with this. 

Daiana: So my role is to come, initiate the communication with the lead, and waiting is not an action, so that’s something I have in mind. So, just waiting for the lead to do something. It’s, it’s not an action, so just initiate a communication and then you’ll see. And no, it’s a good answer if you, at least you know that it’s not a good moment. And then you can establish maybe a follow-up. And you can say, okay, when it’s a good moment or, yes, great. We start, or at least you, actually, want a yes or a no so that you know exactly where you stand. 

Rick: Absolutely. Yep. Absolutely. Both. Were the six items. Marketing tracking leads, capturing leads, followup the sales process. Follow through in fulfillment. And on this series, you can go to our YouTube channel, and you can see all the episodes. Go to our blog, you can see the transcripts, you can get an audio recording, and you can get the video on there as well. And, you know, look at all the in-depth items we did here. It’s really a great series. It was fun to do. I hope it brings you a lot of fruit as you really examine your own process and systems and that sort of thing.

If you would like to know more though, go ahead and schedule your strategy call today, and then you can find out how we can attract, capture, and convert high-quality leads so you can pick and choose your clients and jobs. And for my brothers and sisters in Christ, may the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all. Always. We will see you next time on Conversations that Convert.