The real estate industry has seen a significant shift in recent years, with technology playing an increasingly important role in the home buying process, accelerated by COVID-19's impact on consumer behavior. UTour’s self-guided home tour platform is one of these technological innovations to disrupt the traditional process to make home shopping easier, smarter, and more efficient. It helps builders sell more homes and allows home shoppers to find their dream homes on their terms.
This powerful tool has proven to be incredibly useful for homebuilder sales teams, attracting more potential buyer leads and, ultimately, boosting sales. In fact, UTour has executed over 209,000 self-guided tours, generating over 15,000 hours of self-tours across the U.S. and Canada in less than 3 years.
However, it's essential to understand that self-guided tours are not intended to replace the need for homebuilder sales staff, but rather to complement their efforts, help them be more efficient and bring more buyers to their doors.
In today's fast-paced world, convenience is king. Self-guided tours offer potential buyers the flexibility to visit a new home model or inventory home when it suits their schedule — even early mornings or late evenings. As a result, self-guided tours can attract a broader range of potential buyers who prefer a “self-service” experience, leading to more leads for the sales team.
Self-guided tours can help new home sales teams attract more qualified leads. By giving potential buyers the chance to explore a property on their terms, they can take the time they need to assess whether the home meets their needs and preferences. This can lead to a higher conversion rate, as those who choose to engage with the sales team after the self-tour are more likely to be genuinely interested in buying.
When potential buyers can conduct self-guided tours, sales teams can dedicate their time and energy to nurturing relationships and addressing specific inquiries from genuinely interested parties who have already completed nearly 90% of their research and discovery on the home. This targeted approach enables sales staff to allocate their time more efficiently and maximize their impact on closing sales with well-informed home shoppers.
Despite the numerous advantages of self-guided tours, it's crucial to emphasize that they are not designed to replace the need for homebuilder sales staff. Instead, they serve as a powerful tool to enhance the sales process and help new home sales teams be more effective in their roles.
While technology can streamline the home buying process, it cannot replace the human touch and expertise that a skilled salesperson provides. Sales staff are essential in guiding potential buyers through the complex process of purchasing a new home such as the financing process and answering and providing personalized advice based on the buyer's unique situation.
One of the most critical aspects of a successful home sale is the relationship between the buyer and the sales team. Self-guided tours can help attract potential leads, but it's the sales staff's responsibility to build rapport, establish trust, and ultimately close the deal. The personal connection that a salesperson can provide is invaluable and cannot be replaced by technology alone.
Although self-guided tours can effectively generate more leads and pique buyer interest, the negotiation and closing processes still necessitate the expertise of a skilled salesperson. Sales staff, proficient in negotiation tactics, can collaborate with buyers to reach a fair and mutually beneficial agreement. Additionally, they can expertly guide buyers through the intricate steps involved in securing a mortgage and navigating the settlement process.
Self-guided tours have proven to be a valuable asset for homebuilder sales teams, attracting more potential home buyer leads and boosting sales. However, they are not intended to replace the need for homebuilder sales staff. Instead, they serve as a powerful complementary tool, enhancing the sales process and enabling sales staff to better focus on building meaningful relationships with informed and engaged buyers.
By utilizing self-guided tours in conjunction with the expertise and personalized touch of sales professionals, homebuilder sales teams can create a seamless, efficient, and customer-centric experience that ultimately leads to higher conversion rates and increased sales success.
Ready to experience the power of self-guided tours for your homebuilder sales team? Click here to schedule your demo and start revolutionizing your sales process now!
Statistics updated: 10/05/23