Industrial News

Martin Freedland, Founder and CEO of The Berke Group, states that, "New Home Sales Consultants as a group have been quite successful for a number of years and have been able to 'cream the traffic' and 'take orders' as demand for housing has been very good in many markets." "However," notes Freedland, "Sales Consultants today are faced with far fewer prospects, tougher negotiations and a continuous flow of negative media reports -- previously successful Sales Consultants are now failing to meet expectations."

The Berke Group's new home sales training enables client sales organizations to become predictable in controlling revenues and to change the way their business is managed. Such changes include moving from a price and product-driven process to a customer experience-based sales process, and places responsibility for driving business in the hands of salespeople so that they become predictable in their performance.

Leading The Berke Group's sales practice is Jon Fogg, a veteran of the homebuilding industry.
With 30+ years experience in the homebuilding industry, including weathering 9 housing cycles and leading the 5th largest sales organization in homebuilding and the 50th largest sales organization in the U.S., Fogg is in a unique position to advise clients regarding the sales strategy necessary to develop sales organizations that produce. He brings to The Berke Group's sales practice valuable first-hand knowledge from the field that allows him to identify and deliver best practices and proven strategies that work.

When asked about the challenges facing today's homebuilders, Fogg notes that, "In a recently completed national survey of 160,000 new home shoppers, slightly more than half changed addresses within six months after they first visited a new home builder, yet builders' average success rate in selling these customers was less than 3%." Fogg states, "The lost opportunity to sell 50% of prospects is a tremendous waste -- waste that cannot be afforded in today's market."

The Berke Group's new home sales training is a sales process-changing program designed to increase sales by 20 to 50% immediately and to continuously improve an organization's sales effectiveness to ensure it consistently out-performs the market. A typical sales consulting engagement includes an in-depth evaluation of an organization's sales process and sales management practices, as well as an analysis of the behavioral and cultural "fit" of its current sales team members via the Berke Assessment, a behavioral assessment tool that measures new and existing employees against the personality traits and natural talents required for success in a sales position. The Berke Group also provides thorough follow-up to ensure successful change management with a goal of 100% sales organization adoption to generate continuous high sales volume.

Kelly Land, President of The Berke Group, views the new sales consulting practice as a natural extension of The Berke Group's current assessment and organizational consulting services. "The core value permeating The Berke Group's work is our belief that people matter. Our sales practice simply extends this principle by not only teaching organizations how to select, manage and motivate their employees but also how to build strong, mutually satisfying customer relationships."

Land also notes the applicability of The Berke Group's sales practice to industries beyond homebuilding. "Our sales systems are designed to increase the effectiveness of any sales organization for which creating the customer 'experience' is critical. We teach our clients how to connect with customers vs. getting lost in the price and product war -- how to differentiate themselves through their salespeople instead of product and price."

About The Berke Group
The Berke Group is an assessment and consulting company specializing in employee selection, management and retention. It is the creator of the Berke Assessment, an online behavioral assessment measuring candidates' natural talents, behaviors and personality traits against job requirements and company culture. For more information on The Berke Group's sales practice or others services, visit berkegroup.com or call 888-220-7611.

Contact:

Leslie Owens, Director of Marketing
The Berke Group
404-262-7009