If you are like most homebuilders you have an Online Sales Counselor (OSC) who manages your website requests. What percentage of your eLead requests convert into appointments? What percentage of your eLead appointments convert into sales? If you can't answer these two questions, start tracking these metrics immediately. They are the only true measure of how well your online sales program is working.

The average conversion rate of requests to appointments is 25% and the average conversion rate of appointments to sales is 30%. Said another way, one in three of your eLead appointments should convert into a sale. WOW! That conversion rate is so much better than the average walk-in conversion rate of one in eighteen.

What if you aren't meeting these averages? Ask yourself the following six questions and you just might improve your conversion rates.

>> How aggressively does your OSC close for appointments? OSC's should ask 100% of eLeads and phone inquiries for an appointment. It isn't the OSC's job to pre-judge the readiness or willingness of a prospect to set and keep an appointment. Their job is match the prospect to the right community, floor plan or inventory home and close them on seeing it in-person. A good OSC has a healthy no-show rate of 50% or less which indicates they are asking EVERYONE for an appointment.

>> Has your on-site sales team bought into the value of an eLead appointment? If they are experienced agents, they may not understand the new Internet sales paradigm. Generally there is at least one salesperson that has bought in and works appointments aggressively resulting in sales. Let that salesperson champion the process to the rest of the team.

>> How well does your on-site sale team prepare for eLead appointments? Agents should confirm appointments 24 hours in advance by phone and review previous correspondence between the prospect and the OSC. Agents should pre-select a model, floor plan, inventory or home under construction to demonstrate based on the correspondence.

>> Does your on-site sales team treat eLead appointments like VIP's? Remind your agents that arriving on time for an appointment is actually LATE. Agents should be in the sales office early and waiting for the appointment to arrive. If another person calls or walks-in the office, agents should kindly inform them they can offer assistance until their appointment arrives.

>> Does your on-site sales team follow-up after the appointment? If the eLead doesn't purchase on the first visit, it is up the agent to follow-up until the prospect buys or dies! Kidding! (I like saying that because it rhymes). Why didn't the prospect buy? Is the community not right? In that case, the agent should refer the prospect to another community and assist in making an appointment.

>> How well do your on-site agents communicate with your OSC? Communication is critical and it does impact the bottom line. Your agents should follow-up after the appointment with the OSC and report back the outcome. This closes the loop for the OSC and helps them know what step to take next. If they work together as a seamless team conversion rates will go up.

If you want to improve your eLead appointment conversion rate start asking questions. Get feedback from all the stakeholders and then form a plan of action. One of the most effective actions you can take is to train your salespeople on the value of Internet appointments and how to effectively present, demonstrate and follow-up with this unique audience of shoppers. Most salespeople do better when they know better. Educate them and watch your sales soar!