2022 is on the horizon, and it’s time to assess your business strategies for the new year! Throughout the past year, several events unfolded that shaped the course of the homebuilding industry’s sales and marketing strategies from social distancing regulations to a hot market with high demand and low inventory. We’re taking a look into the future of our industry and the trends and best practices buyers demand that will lead builders to successful sales and growth.

If you missed the Sales & Marketing Power Hour webinar live, this recap is the perfect solution! Here, we’ll share all the details you missed, including key takeaways and interesting points from the discussion.

Carol Morgan of Denim Marketing and Kimberly Mackey with New Home Sales Solutions were joined by Lasso top sales professionals and marketing experts including Heidi Schroeder with Lasso CRM, Leah Fellows with Blue Gypsy, Erica Lockwood with Joseph Chris Partners, Anya Chrisanthon, Roland Nairnsey with New Home Sales Plus and Kevin Weitzel with Outhouse. This dynamic group discussed sales and marketing forecasts for 2022, as well as important strategies to incorporate into your business plan for the new year.

Erica Lockwood on The Power of Words

Our words hold great power, and that has especially come to light during the past year. An important takeaway to carry into the new year is practicing more careful consideration of what we say and how that may have hidden effects on those around us.

Often, we’re raised with common sayings, beliefs and attitudes that are influenced by our friends and family. Without being cognizant, our words can easily offend, disrespect or disregard the opinions and cultures of others we interact with. We never truly know the extent of another person’s identity, so it’s important to be considerate and aware of the weight our words hold. With this in mind, we should enter the new year striving to create stronger inclusivity with everyone around us – and that starts with a committed focus on the words we use to communicate with others.

Kimberly Mackey on Hiring the Right People

As an industry, it’s crucial to expand our mindset and extend our team opportunities to candidates regardless of their previous industry experience. In the past few years, the homebuilding industry has begun expanding, and limiting the talent pool to individuals from the industry deters our growth.

In 2022, businesses should broaden their scope and definition of the “right people” for their job opportunities. It’s vital to assess if your staff truly represents the community the business serves. Consumers desire relationships with the brands they love, especially in the homebuilding industry. What better way to build these connections than to provide staff members who understand and relate to our customers?

It’s time to think outside the box with our hiring practices by evaluating your team’s diversity. Each person hired comes from a unique background and offers distinct perspectives that are valuable for your business.

Leah Fellows on Remembering the Human Component

As we adapt to changing circumstances, it’s essential to always make the needs and desires of our customers a top priority. The homebuilding industry has experienced a hot market with more buyers than there are homes. During this homebuying frenzy, many builders have lost sight of the importance of nurturing and assisting every new lead.

It’s vital to remain understanding and willing to provide the information each buyer needs to understand the current market circumstances. The market won’t always be this hot, so builders must consistently create opportunities for engagement and long-term nurturing. Treating buyers poorly now reflects upon the business poorly in the future and affects sales, referrals and online reviews.

In the new year, online sales counselors should enhance their relationship-building efforts with buyers, as well as their personalization and lead nurturing strategies. A successful lead nurturing program is led by compassion and humanity.

Roland Nairnsey on Believing in a Bright 2022

This sales tip for the new year is based around fictional character Ted Lasso. This character  represents a variety of great values and virtues that can easily be applied to the homebuilding industry including:

1. We have to believe in ourselves, our clients and the value of our work. This is a key belief that can drive us toward success! If you’re not confident about what you’re doing, why should your buyers be?
2. Being positive and demonstrating your passion is one of the best ways to win over buyers and achieve successful sales. Optimistic salespeople are shown to outsell their pessimistic counterparts by 56%. Persistent resilience even in the face of lost sales is a trait that marks great salespeople!
3. Creating memorable experiences for our buyers is a great way to stand apart from competitors. Buyers often participate in dull, transaction-focused interactions, so providing an extraordinary experience demonstrates your unique passion and commitment to customers. Go the extra mile for clients and your business will reap fantastic benefits!

Heidi Schroeder on Meaningful Buyer Relationships

A vital truth to remember is that leads aren’t just leads – they’re real people with unique desires and needs. We’re currently moving into an era of heart as we’ve learned to nurture authentic relationships. Similar to ourselves, our customers expect those same connections! Today, homebuyers expect a higher level of personalized service than ever.

Following with our prospects after the sale and continuing to cultivate meaningful relationships is a wonderful way to encourage customers to share their experiences with others and provide high-quality referrals. When making big purchases, customers turn to the experiences of their friends and family to learn recommendations and discover trustworthy brands. That’s why it’s crucial to build strong bonds with satisfied customers in the hopes they will expand the reach of the business. We must go beyond the sale and prove our dedication to providing a high-quality customer experience if we want to continue achieving success.

Kevin Weitzel on Incorporating Virtual Reality

The future of the homebuilding industry is moving heavily toward virtual reality as an essential marketing component, yet builders often claim they can’t afford this feature. But, when it does down to it, many builders can actually reorganize their budget to fit this vital element. Most typical production builders have communities with several model homes. Builders can offer virtual tours for a much lower cost than even one model home

Statistics prove that builders can utilize less than half the cost of a single model home to create virtual reality tours, 3D renderings, interactive floorplans and high-quality photography. When builders provide virtual reality experiences, buyers are enabled and encouraged to view the home no matter their location. This strategy offers even more new leads and potential sales for your business.

Not only does this benefit your company, but your buyers also expect this component from home builders they’re considering. For those who still believe they cannot afford this feature, it’s important to know that there are always hidden ways to cleverly save costs – think of reaching out to vendors to inquire about bundled prices or cutting down on the new model homes. Today, buyers expect and want this cutting-edge feature, and the builders who accommodate these desires are sure to make the sale!

Carol Morgan on Buyer Personal Communication Styles

No two buyers are the same, and that means each individual has their own style of communication! You must cater to their preferences and communicate in the way each buyer feels most comfortable to provide a satisfactory experience. To ensure you’re meeting buyer expectations, consider asking potential buyers their communication inclinations whether that is a phone call, text, email or Facebook Messenger IM. This also means that you should reply to comments on Facebook and Instagram..

Along with personalizing communication methods, builders must be available online where their buyers want to find them to engage and answer questions. Because of the Netflix Effect, buyers expect information whenever they want it, and your business should be prepared to oblige! Your marketing strategy should include social media, blogging, email marketing, digital ads, video, etc. to offer abundant opportunities for buyers to connect with the business.

Anya Chrisanthon on Meeting Buyer Expectations

During the pandemic, many builders rose to the challenge and adapted by implementing new technology in innovative ways to sell homes. As an industry, home builders are often slow to adopt new technology, but this must change! Within the next five years, technology is sure to dominate the homebuying landscape.

When it comes to determining the best ways to serve homebuyers, take a look at companies outside the industry to discover how buyer expectations are evolving. Builders must actively watch consumer behavior and assess opportunities to provide services to match their expectations.

We hope you got a few tips from this Sales & Marketing Power Hour webinar that you can implement today! Join industry experts and head coaches Kimberly Mackey, New Homes Solutions Consulting founder and sales & marketing management consultant, and Carol Morgan, founder and president of Denim Marketing, for this free webinar series focused on your success. Look for this series on Wednesdays at noon in the new year!

We invite you to join the Sales & Marketing Hour Facebook group by clicking here. Look for updates on guest speakers and topics. This group is dedicated to sharing real-world wisdom and expertise on hot topics for growing your business in today’s market.

Whether you are a sales or marketing professional or a homebuilding President or CEO, this webinar series is a must-see event.