Real estate can be a lucrative industry and working in a show home can be one of the most rewarding jobs.

If you take the time to build your clientele you can go from managing your small business to managing hundreds of people. This all comes from building on your current foundation.

If you have a system in place which allows you to automate your process, you will make it easier for everyone to learn what it takes to be successful in their position.

The information I will review is not how to automate your process on a computer rather what actions you will need to do to run a successful show home.

What I want to do is add to your current daily process and fill in any areas that you may not already be doing. Here are 12 other things to focus on if you want to successfully manage.

You Need a Reason

Habits are what ensure our self-discipline. Self-discipline includes the things we need to do day in and day out. This discipline can not only help you move up in your career, it can help you open new opportunities that were not available.

Whether you get your first job, become a supervisor, a manager or move up the company ladder, you need a skill set that can be duplicated by others. It is important to understand the different types of people you will meet along the way.

No matter what role you would like to play at the company you need a reason other than money. For many people, they want to grow as a person, their skills and help the company grow to new levels.

Other people want to be an assistant. While others picture their career path from employee to manager, manager to leader and leader to mentor. This means at every level you will need to learn how to communicate effectively.

No matter the path, you need to have the right managerial skills, be a people person, show leadership, help increase sales and be the support to your team.

My Experience

Do you have a reason to go from being a good manager to a great manager? The knowledge you gain can be used to excel in various industries. To be a good manager you will need to coach the next generation of employees. It is important you learn to win friends and influence people.

A few years back, I had the opportunity to work with one of the top home builders in Calgary, Alberta. I was a sales associate and was able to work with various managers with different styles.

The habits that stayed consistent were on the list I compiled. A list of daily habits I did so we could have a successful day and sales month.

Managing A Successful Show Home

Although I did not become a manager of the show home, I was given three opportunities to take the manager position and I put my best foot forward each time.

All three times I applied my system and ran the show home smoothly and even sold four homes, in the month of December, working on my own.

I believe the habits listed below are important if you want to be successfully managing a show home. I worked on developing these habits so I could someday be an area sales manager.

Today, I am not in the industry but I feel the list I complied can help any sales associate be successful working on a team or on their own.

Daily Habits

Managing a successful business or a show home takes the same principles. You may want to think about waking up 30 minutes early every day. Check all emails from yesterday and any new ones that come since the day before.

It is important to respond to all the emails you can from home. Make a list of all the emails that need responses and respond to them as soon as you get to the office.

As a male sales associate, my goal was to dress professionally every day. That means shave daily. Wears a shirt, tie, dress pants, a nice belt, my name tag, dress socks not white socks, polished black dress shoes and a dress jacket.

I would ensure I had my work safety boots, hard hat, goggles and gloves.

Before arriving at the office, I would check all the available and sold lots and make sure all the proper signage was up, clean and visible to the public.

When I got to the office I made sure the front of the show home was clean and welcoming.

In winter, I would shovel the show home sidewalk. I would also shovel any sites that we needed to show to new prospects.

I made sure the entrance of the show home was clean and had a proper single visible.

Managing means to ensure the show home is ready to be shown and is inviting. This means to have all the lights on and televisions in the show home on with the right marketing videos playing.

Change any burnt out light bulbs was an easy thing to do and look professional.

Ensured that there was no overflowing garbage in the show home.

Call people who register at the office to follow up with a thank you. I would make a list of any additional activities I need to do including phone calls, emails and writing and sending postcards.

I would follow up with clients who had appointments with our financial department, realty department or any other home services questions.

Make sure you are following up on any new emails and handle client requests as they come in.

It was important for me to follow up with clients who have taken ownership of their new home and ask if they had any questions.

In my downtime, I would practice my sales presentation as if I had a client in front of me. This meant I recorded my sales presentation, listened to it and tweaked my words or terminology.

Read sales books during slow times.

Listen to Audio on personal growth, sales and customer service during slow times.

Weekly Habits

After the client has taken possession of their new home, I would send out the next day, weekly and/or monthly emails.

I complete the weekly traffic report then email it to the head office. This included what we were doing, trying and going to try to increase sales in our sales area.

I would review any new content on the company intranet as I felt it was important for the manager to stay knowledgeable.

After our weekly meetings at head office I picked up any marketing materials that were running low.

After our weekly meetings, I would pick up cases of water bottles and fill up the fridge so customers had cold water to drink.

I did small things like fill up the coffee station for prospects to enjoy a nice hot glass of coffee, tea or hot chocolate.

Wanting to be a manager I understood the importance of following up with the site superintendent. I would get my updates and then contact each customer with the status of their new home. To keep track of where each home was in the build, I started keeping the information on a simple excel spreadsheet.

I would follow up with the service manager and find if I needed to know of any issues that may have arisen with current homeowners.

I would walk through the home and ensure all the items used to stage the home were in there proper place.

To become a manager, it was important for me to review each client’s file and stay knowledgeable about what they were building and of any upgrades. Each home that was being built can be shown to prospects who are looking for a visual reference.

I reviewed our CRM system and reviewed the list of available home upgrades and prices.

Managing a team in the future meant I reviewed the company’s sales process and incorporated that in my presentation.

I went online and would review and understand all real estate listings in my area and competing areas.

I would walk through each home being build and ensure it was presentable for prospects to walk through before I would take anyone on site.

Make sure each one of the completed homes that were on the market had marketing material for realtors and prospects to take with them.

Consider getting the show home cleaned, as needed based on people traffic and any dirt being brought into the show home.

I made sure all the lots have correct – customer names, sold signage, unsold sold signage, any garage snipes as needed and any deck signage based on the location of the home.

I would put together new folders, with marketing materials, to hand out to new prospects who would come to the show home.

As a manager in training it was important for me to ensure all available homes, that were listed for sales, were listed correctly on the company website and on any real estate sites.

I would get my car washed weekly, sometimes daily as I would sometimes drive clients to prospective homes to look at.

Bi-Weekly Habits

I would check the community developer’s website and stay current about any new information about the area.

I would have conversations with my direct sales manager and/or area manager. We would review my current goals and develop a plan to me grow, learn and close more sales.

If you want to succeed you must review what your competition is doing. This means go to their Website. Check out their signage. Listen carefully to what prospects are saying about the competition and research to see if it’s valid.

I would review our marketing material, for each home we build, and make myself familiar with our competitive advantage.

I would review what other home builders, from my competing areas, are building and how they are marketing to close sales on their available homes.

Monthly Habits

Conduct an open house at one of our quick possession homes that were listed in the market.

I would send ‘thank you’ cards to all realtors who brought in customers.

Managing is about developing relationships and one of the easiest things I did was call clients on their birthdays.

I would call customers who purchased a home on the first anniversary of their new home and congratulate them again.

I would reach out by email or phone and ask current customers for the referral of people they may know that could be in the market for a new home in the future.

Order, as needed, supplies, coffee, tea and hot chocolate.

With my area sales manager, we reviewed the current show home marketing materials and discussed if it fit the clientele coming to our show home.

At the beginning of each month, I when and got a haircut.

Yearly Habits

At Christmas I would send personalized cards to say thank you and invite customers to our show home for another look.

Summary

Managing a show home or any business is not easy but there are many things you can do to ensure you are doing what it takes to bring in new business, know what your competition is doing and doing things your competition is not willing to do.

If we focus on doing the small things, this means the sales process has a chance to go as smoothly as possible.

If you want to manage you must listen to what your customers are saying and asking for. Sometimes we also should listen to what they are not asking for.

Successfully managing a show home does not mean you have to be the best salesperson today. It does mean that you are willing to work and gain the skills that are needed to become a great sales person.

I am confident if you use the tips above you will see some amazing results. Continue to find ways to make your sales process better and improve your customer service.

Success is in the little things we do daily. These top habits do not get noticed but this is where sales are won or lost.

Get together with your sales coach every Monday and discuss how you can get better at your job so one day you can manage a show home of your own.

Take Action

What one thing will you take from the daily, weekly, bi-weekly and monthly list and add to your current process?

Share this list with others on your team and in your company.

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Added Bonus:

Stages in the Hone Building Process

Home start meeting with the site supervisor Stake the property Dig Foundation Footing are poured Basement walls are poured Outside gas and cable box is connected Weeping tile and back full Frame the home Frame the roof The siding of the home and shingling roof begins Rough-in – electrical, plumbing and HVAC. This is also a great time to have the customer come in to view the house. Insulation Drywall Tape, mud, sand, and prime Cabinets, doors and basement. Great time to have customers come in to view the house. Railing Paint Tile Lighting and plumbing fixtures Hardwood / Laminate. Great time to have customers come in to view the house. Carpets Doors, baseboard, casings, and fixtures Tune-up stage Pre-occupancy walkthrough Fine tune-up Possession day

Founder and CEO, Discover Your Life Today Maveen has built his career in Banking, Insurance, Home and Automobile Sales. Providing exceptional customer service is his passion. Writing is a way to share his knowledge and help change the lives of million of people. Like the Facebook Page to support him.