The modular home business is awash in data. So much data that sales reps are struggling
to find the information they need to prospect for new builders, help their
builders with their marketing and business efforts and actually close sales.
The burdens put on today’s modular home sales reps would
make reps from just 20 years ago run for the nearest exit. The problem is that ever increasing demands
for results in this industry during a housing recession requires that the rep
mine for more and more information about a lot of things that earlier sales
reps had not worried about.
Reps are challenged by both the amount of information
available and the time it takes to research prospects before making a call.
Here are some of the areas you need to be familiar with if you
are going to be a successful sales rep:
Green
Building – What is green
building? There are as many explanations
as there are trees in the forest. You
need to find the green processes that fit your particular factory and be ready
to give the builder and the builder’s customer a rundown on the green benefits of
your homes.
Energy Star – Learn the procedures used by your factory. Are
the homes simply prepped for Energy Star or does your factory have raters that
follow the home from design through production to finish and inspection. Learn this process intimately so that you can
explain to your builder what they must do to complete whatever is not done by
your factory.
Prospecting – There is more to this than just picking up a
phone book and looking for builders in your territory. When was the last time you actually used a
phone book? Today you may have to search
as many as 15 different data sources, including your own CRM system, Facebook,
LinkedIn, search engines, Twitter, Pinterest, builder websites, blogs and other
providers to find crucial information on prospective builders and even your
existing customers.
Building products – How many time does your builder’s
customer ask for things that aren’t in your option lists? They all do.
They visit websites, Lowe’s and Home Depot and other factory’s websites.
If you let the customer have full run of the options, you will be making change
orders forever. Learn what is possible
for your factory to do and communicate that to your builder.
Marketing – Do your builders have marketing plan in place? If they don’t, are you prepared to help them
develop one? An effective marketing plan
takes time and research to complete but the rewards for the builder and ultimately
you and your factory will be huge. First the builder will stay loyal to you and
secondly they will sell more homes. But
get ready to spend quite a bit of time on each builder’s plan as every builder’s
market is unique.
Business Plans – Here again, your builder should have a
Business plan. You need to be included
in keeping it on track. Sales reps
should never do a business plan for a builder.
If anything goes wrong and it will, you do not need the builder pointing
the finger of death at you and the factory.
Building Process – Take a day a month and go into the
factory and watch what the production people are doing. Are there new processes being used? Your builder needs to know what types of
products are being used and if there are any changes. Learn the fastening systems used and how
insulation is added and where. Look at a
floor plan, one is usually attached to every module, and find all the components
mentioned on it within the unit.
Sales reps are challenged by both the amount of information
available and the time it takes to research prospects before making the initial
contact. You are also being challenged
by these same things just to keep a builder loyal to your company.
The demands have never been greater and if
you are not prepared to do these things, maybe it’s time to look for work at
WalMart.
