3 Ways Builders use Virtual Sales Apps to Save Millions

Introduction

Before the pandemic many builders thought that they really had no option other than to splurge and spend millions on their sales offices.

But then the pandemic hit. Sales office closed. Did sales stop? No, the opposite happened. Sales grew. In fact, most of the builders we work with experienced record sales numbers at record prices in over a decade. Not bad given their sales office was either closed, or had highly restricted access at best.

Now that builders have seen that selling homes virtually works really, really well, what does the future look like for the big expensive sales office?

While sales offices will likely remain as we get past the pandemic they will be forever changed. Rather than spending millions on big sales offices builders will opt instead to condense all the information into much smaller digital experience offices. 

Furthermore, the in-person experience at the sales office will start to closely mirror the online experience, which means every marketing asset will become digital. Say goodby to printing brochures, floor plan posters and most other static content that only lives in the confines of the sales office – everything needs to be accessible online too.

This blog shows 3 ways builders are saving millions by converting their big sales offices into much smaller digital experience centres using INVENT SALES APP.

Here are 3 ways builders use Virtual Sales Apps to Save Millions —

Most builders have been tremendously successful at selling pre-construction homes despite their sales office being either shut down or with highly restricted access.

Using a virtual sales app, like INVENT SALES APP allows builders to combine all their sales and marketing assets on touchscreens or iPads which take up a small fraction of the physical space that traditional sales materials require.

Our builder clients are doing the following:

• leasing small spaces that have high foot traffic, like malls, stores, rather than building big sales offices located in less frequented areas. 
• having pop-up events, where they sell homes over a very small window of time. These events create feelings of urgency, since the event has a time limit. At these events touchscreens and iPads are used to sell new homes. For example, one of our clients used this approach to sell out a phase of their project in a single day by launching their sales event at a conference room of a hotel.
• embracing the theme of reusability, selling out projects from shipping containers stacked in interesting ways, like massive lego blocks.

Builders who use virtual sales apps like INVENT SALES APP are able to lease smaller spaces, by combining all their sales and marketing assets on touchscreens and iPads. This way they can forgo building large sales offices, and avoid spending millions on construction costs, carrying costs, furniture costs, signage costs, staffing costs, operations costs, cleaning costs, and so on.

Builders used to see value in spending thousands of dollars printing brochures to be handed out to the prospective buyers at the sales office. But is this really necessary?

The big problem with printed brochures is they are static. If a buyer expressed interest in several floor plans at the sales office there is no way to easily mark them in the brochure. 

However with INVENT SALES APP all the floor plans and 360 Virtual Tours they like are emailed to them – so they can continue the buying journey at home from where they left off at the sales office. 

By using INVENT SALES APP as a digital experiential brochure builders can save thousands on printing brochures and deliver a much smarter buying experience too.

Before the pandemic, builders would reserve large spaces in their sales office to show popsicle-stick models or site plan tables.

The big problem though is that buyers have to come to the sales office to see them, and often people need to cram together to see the site plan rather than seeing it upside down.

WIth INVENT SALES APP the exteriors of 3D buildings or site plans are created and shown digitally, making them accessible online and at the sales office. Even at the sales office, rather than having just one physical table to show the exterior site, they can be shown multiple ways on touchscreens and iPads.

Showing exterior site plans and buildings on virtual sales apps like INVENT SALES APP costs less to create, requires less space, and reaches buyers everywhere 24/7.

Summary

Builders have seen that they can sell out projects virtually without relying on large expensive million-dollars sales offices. They have been able to eliminate costs on posters, site plan tables, popsicle-stick models, printed brochures and other static sales assets.

Going forward, as we move past the pandemic, most builders will forgo the big and expensive sales office and use digital experience sales offices instead. The future sales office will combine all their physical sales assets into virtual sales apps, like INVENT SALES APP, and feature them on iPads, touchscreens and in Virtual Reality at the sales office.

BUILDER TIP – You probably have heard this before: 95% of buyers start their search online. Given the importance of the online experience we often recommend to our builder clients to put our virtual sales app (called INVENT SALES APP) online too, rather than just running it on touchscreens at the sales office. After all, why not allow buyers to visit the sales office “virtually” from the comfort of their home, from work, or from thousands of miles away? By bridging the gap between the online and physical sales office you will make your homes more desirable – both online and on-site.

Ready to try a Virtual Model Home?

Click here to explore a 360 Virtual Tour of our version of a virtual model home, which we call an INVENT MODEL HOME.

Back Story — This virtual model home was created by Invent Dev for the “Whitby Grove” project located in Whitby, Ontario, for TruLife Developments, a leading and innovative builder in Toronto, Canada.

Instead of constructing a physical model home, which would have delayed the project and been a major upfront expense, TruLife used Invent Dev to create a INVENT MODEL HOME which saved millions in expenses.

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