For every 100 families who visit model homes, only three will buy. What keeps them from coming back? Salespeople who are are out of touch with what the buyer wants, a sales trainer says.

By LEW SICHELMAN, Special to the Times

[Times art: Branden Jeffords]

ORLANDO -- Some people don't buy houses because none of the models turns them on. Others go elsewhere because the price is too high or the location is wrong. But the number one reason people walk -- drum roll, please -- is that they don't like the salesperson.

That's right. Based on more than 2,000 recent surveys and "countless" focus groups, sales trainer James Hackett of First Resource Marketing in Jupiter says most people don't buy because the sales agent fell down on the job.

"These are not just tire kickers; 75 percent actually bought somewhere within six months," Hackett told a group of builders. "So it's not the reason they didn't buy. It's the reason they didn't buy from you."

The average closing rate at new homes is a measly 3 percent. That means of every 100 families who visit a model home center, only three wind up buying in that community. When the rate exceeds 5 percent, the salesperson is not turning in all the registration cards potential buyers have filled out in order to make the numbers look better, said Hackett, a builder for 17 years before turning to sales training in 1987.

At a time when it's often difficult to distinguish one new home development from another (tell the truth, don't most floor plans start to look alike after a full day of house hunting?), it seems sales agents aren't listening to us, they don't have answers to our questions and they never follow up. And builders are letting it happen.

"The house doesn't matter any more; they all look the same," contends sales trainer William Herring of Merritt Island, a former high school coach who brings a Bobby Knightlike fervor to his current calling. "Builders have spent years doing what they can do to improve their market position; they've squeezed that grape pretty well. But they've neglected the sales force."

That's a sore point with Hackett, too. Where cosmetic companies think nothing of spending $15,000 to train in-store sales staffs whose average sale is $69, he says most builders assume they are hiring someone who's qualified, hand him or her a policy and procedures manual and send that agent off to reel in the buyers who will plunk down, what, a couple of hundred thousand dollars.

"We spend thousands of dollars on packaging our products. The signage is great, the entrance attractive and inviting, models well-landscaped and merchandised," he told a packed meeting room at the Southeast Building Conference in Orlando last summer. "But how much time and money do we spend on our front-line personnel?"

To hear Herring tell it, not much. "The last three to four years have been the worst I've seen for salesmanship; we are a pretty dysfunctional group," he barked in his in-your-face presentation.

For the most part, the ex-coach believes today's new home sales agents are the same old model home sitters and garage guards they used to be. And that just doesn't cut it any more. "A lot of people are in this business because they like houses. But that's no longer a particularly good qualification. In today's highly competitive market, every single deal we get today is taken from someone else. It's a dogfight."

So what is it that home buyers say they don't like about new home salespeople? According to Hackett's research, they hate the fact that the agent doesn't take the time to listen to what they say they want. It's hi, how are ya, please fill out our registration card, hand 'em a brochure, point the way to the model and if you have any questions, I'll be happy to answer them. But they rarely ask you what you are looking for in a new home.

"It's the No. 1 complaint," Hackett said. "Salesmen say, "We've got this and we've got that,' but they don't bother to find out what the buyer wants. You have to give the prospect an opportunity to tell you about them."

Melinda Brody, whose Altamonte Springs company has evaluated more than 10,000 new home sales agents over the past two decades, agrees. "Selling is a dialogue, not a monologue," she said. Yet many salespeople "don't even take a breath" before sending prospects off on their own to the models.

A "very close second" to not listening is that the salesperson was just too high-powered."We felt very uncomfortable" is a frequent refrain, Hackett said. So are "We didn't trust him/her," "They were in too much of a hurry and too impatient with us," "Never showed us what we wanted to see," and "He/she was just not friendly."

House hunters also don't like it very much when salespeople don't have the answers to their questions, or, worse, when they are given the wrong answers. Hackett tells agents they should never give out incorrect information. But he says they shouldn't have all the answers, either. That way, they have a golden opportunity to get back to the prospect a day or two later. Unfortunately, his research indicates that agents rarely follow up, which is the third most frequent reason potential customers find their new homes in another subdivision.

And another thing: House hunters detest those registration cards they're asked to fill out every time they visit a new community. It's not that they don't like filling them out. They know they should do it, if only to help builders better target their marketing dollars. But they positively abhor the fact that it asks for so much information.

"There's real pain in that registration card," said Hackett, who tells builders to get rid of everything except what's critical: name, address, phone number, e-mail address and how the prospect heard about the community.

"Get the basic information," he advised. "They're not going to tell you their age or how much they earn, or they'll resent the question and lie about it. People don't want to tell you their stuff until you've earned the right to know."

And don't get just the man's name, added Brody, the sales evaluator. Get the woman's name, and the kids' names, too. And use them.

Serious house hunters don't mind the fact that builders merchandise sample houses to the hilt with options and upgrades. They really don't. It's fun to see a house be all it can be. But builders should do their prospects a favor and label the extras so visitors know quickly and easily what's included and what's not.

And please, advised Hackett, give them at least one bare-bones model with just the basics so they can make a valid comparison.

--Lew Sichelman is a freelance housing columnist who lives in Maryland.

What buyers want

To be treated properly.

To do things simply, especially the registration card.

To deal with someone who listens, not attacks.

To deal with positive and friendly people.

To stay in control, e.g., "We're just looking."

To see what's advertised. If an ad says homes are priced at $174,500 but all that's left are those costing $250,000, it's misleading.

To create a short list of homes they like through a process of elimination.

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