To catch upon Part One first, simply click here.

Please note, this article is written for those in the second home real estate business, specifically the fractional and upscale private residence club industry. However, it applies just the same for those in the business of whole ownership second home real estate sales…

So, now that you’re completely disgusted, I hope that this valuable lesson is sinking in! So the obvious message here is to make sure you don’t spew all of that valuable information up front, and alternatively take it one step at a time, easing the prospect into those nitty-gritty details… right?

Not so fast. There is another factor at play here; closing the sale while the iron is hot. This is a major rebuttal to the vomit crevice. After all, in similar fashion to the “first 48” that cops have to catch their criminal, sales people have a limited window to reel in their interested buyer as interest can fade almost immediately.

This is basically a catch 22. It seems as though the answer is to proceed with information overload to try and bring in the sale while the prospect is hot. Actually, this is correct. The way to do it is with coordinated messaging between your sales team and your sales materials.

When I refer to sales materials I mean marketing brochures, FAQ’s and the website. A second document entitled Advanced FAQ’s should also be considered for those hot leads in the final stages of the real estate sales process.

Too many times I look through real estate development websites and there is very little information except the beautiful mountain surroundings and granite countertops. This is the “tease strategy” and the idea is to get the buyer interested enough to make the phone call so the sales person can take over. The result…vomit.

The poor prospect has now been completely overwhelmed with the daily tidy vs. the mid-week clean, the reservation deposit, no pets but your brother can use it but only on planned vacations, and don’t forget – the upcoming price increase.

Next will surely come those famous words: “I’m not interested in a timeshare”. 

Don’t go this route. Give the buyer more information. An informed prospect is a valuable prospect. Put the price on your website! Yes, I’ll say it again. Put the price on your website! If the price is surrounded by valuable information regarding how the club works along with the unmatched experience that is provided then the price will look great and the phone will ring.

What you don’t want to do is vomit all over your website, there is a happy-medium here. Simply put, there is stuff that can go on the site and there is stuff that can’t. For example, explaining how the “rotating priority tie-breaker to be fair to everybody” policy works should NEVER be explained in any detail on the web site.

The sales team should work in concurrent with the marketing team on the dissemination of information to the buyer. The sales person should hang up with an intrigued buyer, not confused. They should be anxious to read more detail on the website or in the Clearview Package that has just been sent to their inbox – good reading for the spouse as well.

In summary, we must vomit to a point; a point that creates excitement and moves the sales process forward in an efficient manner. However, the spewing should be done by the marketing materials and the web site in addition to valuable information from the sales team. As the sales process moves along, the questions and answers will become more advanced and cover more detail.

It’s much easier to explain the “rotating priority tie-breaker to be fair to everybody” policy when the buyer is already excited for his or her first trip. Do you know when to say “when” during your first call with a live prospect? Any pointers to recommend?