When It Comes to Upgrades, Show Your Buyers All the OptionsValue Added

It's hard enough to sell homes during a sluggish housing market, let alone the upgrades that add to the home's price. Still, the people who are buying during the slump want the best they can afford. Don't assume they won't add options just because they're trying to rein in the price.

Here are five tips that can help you convince your buyers to upgrade from the standards, even as they try to eliminate frills:

• Today's home buyer wants options. The younger the buyer, the more true this is. Young buyers want something that's unique, something that gives them bragging rights. A good way to introduce what's possible is to break down your options into three categories: good, better, and best. This allows the buyer to choose not only among products and quality, but among price ranges.
• Make the selection process as tantalizing as possible. The more beautifully and creatively you display your upgrades, the more mouth-watering they become to a potential buyer. Some examples:
  • Suwanee, Ga.-based Winmark Homes designed a 12,000-square-foot design center that looks like a small-town Main Street. Different "shops" feature flooring, kitchens, fixtures, and even home theaters. Buyers visit each one to select their options and upgrades.
  • Touchstone Homes in Atlanta transformed its design center into a Tuscan villa. Every material used to build the center—from the stone floor tiles to the terra cotta paint—are available upgrades.
  • At Keller Homes in Colorado Springs, Colo., parents who visit the design center can choose their carpet and tile while their children wait in a playroom equipped with games, a TV, and books. Video monitors give parents a constant view of their kids.
• Know what you offer. Buyers like to see and touch the options, but they also like to hear about them. Train everyone on your staff so they're conversant in the features of each of your options. That way, buyers who ask about an upgrade can get an informed and enthusiastic answer, even if they're not in the design center when the question comes to mind.
• Put your options online. Buyers are more likely to spend time considering upgrades if they can see pictures, read descriptions, and compare the choices at their own pace and when it's convenient for them. A success story: Las Vegas-based Pageantry Homes quadrupled its upgrade sales the first year it used a Web-based options selections management system.
• Talk about technology. Home buyers rank technology as one of the 10 most important facets of a "perfect" home. Make sure your design center staff and sales reps can talk intelligently about technology upgrades. If they can't, strike a deal with your vendor so your customers can talk directly with someone who knows the answers to their questions. Rig your model homes, design centers, and sales offices with the upgrades you'd like to sell, including home theaters, multi-zone music, controlled lighting, and home automation systems. It's usually more cost effective for buyers to get the upgrades they want before the home is finished rather than to add them on later. Show them what's possible, even if it costs more, and let them know a pre-construction decision could save them time, money, and frustration in the long run. In the process, the additional sales will help bolster your bottom line during a slow stretch.