As always, we take special care to assure the highest level of data integrity. We have access to the data from over 136 online sales specialists, and we only use numbers from builders who consistently track their metrics the same way, ensuring we deliver the most accurate information.
2022 was a year of taking a step back to regroup and refocus. It was a time to take a breath, assess skills, and shift our efforts from reactive to proactive communication.
Everyone experienced a drastic change in lead volume.
- Overall, lead volume decreased by 38% year-over-year. Despite this decrease, online sales programs remained strong, and we even saw an increase in lead-to-appointment-kept conversion to 36% (up from 34% in 2021). We’ve seen a steady increase in this conversion over the last 6 months. This is due to continued prospecting efforts from online sales, shifting from appointment language to discovery tours and visits, the availability of more inventory homes, and builders offering incentives and price corrections.
- Overall for the year, despite the huge jump in interest rates mid-year, the appointment-to-sale conversion remained steady at 18%. This is only slightly down from 19% in 2021. Factors contributing to keeping this metric steady include the continued focus on communication between online and onsite sales via the handoff process, funneling all leads to online sales to be quantified and qualified, and getting as many customers engaged and out for an appointment as possible.
- It’s exciting to see that the overall online sales contribution remains strong at 52% for 2022. Overall, we saw this number waver a bit in Q4 with more walk-in traffic and real estate agent activity; however, when we looked at top-performing programs the contribution was still strong at 57% for all of 2022. Continue to use the 50% online sales contribution as a benchmark for a healthy program.
Here’s what online sales need to be focusing on as we move into 2023:
- Online sales needs to double down on nurturing their real estate agent relationships. Here’s a recent blog article with some tips.
- Prospecting will continue to bolster your conversion numbers. Leverage the CRM and all the leads created since the middle of 2020. Many of them are back in the market and looking to make a move.
- Make sure all online lead sources are going to online sales. New leads need to follow a specific process and this includes calls, chats, and texts. Everything besides walk-in traffic should be following a specific process.
- Be a resource to onsite sales to show them how to nurture their database. With a longer selling runway, everyone needs to get better at post-visit follow-up and working their CRM.
View 2022's Q4 Data in our previous blog here.
