OSC of the Month | Madison Moen

Our OSC of the Month for January is Madison Moen, OSC for Lexar Homes located in Olympia Washington, but serving offices through Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Arizona (coming soon!) In this interview, Madison shares her path to become an OSC, the best part of working on a team, and her tips for other OSCs in the industry.

What was your career path to becoming an OSC?

Prior to working for Lexar Homes, I was orange blooded through and through. I had worked at several Home Depot locations in various supervisory roles. Most of my time at THD was spent as the store Human Resources Manager or “Associate Department Supervisor”. In this role I was responsible for hiring, training and scheduling of over 200 store associates. I never saw myself leaving that company and it took about a year of coaxing for me to jump ship.

Glad I did ???? I just celebrated my fourth anniversary with Lexar Homes this past December! This is where I met my husband and plan to stay through retirement.

How many online leads do you manage monthly?

As a department, we collectively manage between 600-800 leads per month. Much of my role has now shifted to life after the appointment has been set; but was previously accustomed to personally setting over 200 appointments per month. We have a very busy department!

What’s the best part about working on a team of OSCs? (if you work on a team)

I am SO incredibly fortunate to work with two of my best friends. After a year or so of handling calls alone, I brazenly suggested that my friend Emily leave her job at the state – and she did! Not long after, one of my oldest friends, Jennifer, transitioned from respiratory therapy. Not only do these two offer me endless support and take phenomenal care of our customers and employees, but we also have a blast working together. Even though we work out of different locations, we keep in constant contact with one another and can jump in to help with any profile, any time. It really is a “whole team” mentality, and we really trust each other to do the right thing every time.

How have you seen online home sales change in the last few years?

On top of getting (way) busier, our customer quality has greatly improved. Of the appointments we set monthly, 60-70% are folks who already own land. As a true “on YOUR lot” builder, we really couldn’t ask for more! Our Marketing/SEO department works hard to target those customers who are most likely to sign a contract, and we work diligently once the lead is created. With the improvement in our customer quality, we are also seeing more and more customers expecting customizations – something we are happy to tackle!

How do you see your role/or the OSC role evolving over the next few years?

The demand for solid OSC departments will only increase. As technology continues to improve, customers will only further expect an instant experience. I look forward to new and exciting technology to help us better service that expectation, while keeping the personal touch of having a living, breathing being taking care of the customer’s needs.

“I have always been impressed with Madison’s ability to think outside the box to solve problems for her customers. She truly cares about each customer and is a passionate advocate for them. She knows building a custom home is a complicated process, but breaks it down to terms a layperson can understand.”

Heidi Schroeder
Lasso Sr. Sales Consultant

What’s the most challenging aspect of your job? What do you do to overcome that challenge?

Because Lexar Homes falls in such a unique category of new home sales, one of the most challenging parts of our job is telling customers “no” while keeping the conversation alive and positive. With the volume of calls and quality of clients we see daily, it is important to give our customers and our sales teams the best experience possible. Sometimes, this means coaching a customer who does not yet quite have a budget or land in mind rather than setting a quick appointment. It feels great to earn commission, but it feels even better to be honest and focus on appointment quality over quantity. We always want to give the best impression of our brand, and sometimes this requires stepping in and acting as that sales consultant to save everyone involved time (and in some cases: heartache). Our department recognizes that by taking on the extra (and oftentimes frustrating) workload, we save the sales team valuable time. Time that is better spent on contract customers! “No land” customers who ultimately stay within the OSC department almost always appreciate our transparency and our willingness to help navigate those first crucial steps of the home building journey.

What are the most important technology(s)/tool(s) you use in your role?

While I’m not involved in the intricacies of SEO, our department and entire company benefit greatly from the work our coworker Mackinnon Walsh puts in. Without her, many of our customers may never even see lexarhomes.com (it’s a beautiful website, by the way, and another tool I love!) Of course, it would be nearly impossible to service this influx of customers without a CRM like Lasso. It’s pretty cool to STILL unwrap different qualities and functions of Lasso, and I’m thankful for the ECI support personnel who put up with a lot of my dumb questions (Heidi & Leeia).

What is your “go to” closing technique to get an appointment?

I just ask. Every time. If a customer has land or land in mind, we want to meet them – and fast! Knowing my sales team’s calendars and preferences really helps me have a fluid delivery and objections don’t throw me off. I always give the customer an alternative or two if necessary, and we just keep asking until they say yes. ???? Customers reach out through the web or phone because they WANT more information. What better way to show them what we do and who we are other than getting them to appointment?

What/Who are your “go-to” resources for training and/or support?

Heidi Schroeder at ECI. Not only is Heidi a HUGE help to me on the technical side of things, she also used to work for Lexar and pioneered this department from the ground up! It’s great to know that I have someone who I can reach that deeply understands my day-to-day functions and how Lasso can play into my successes.

Do you have a productivity hack you’d like to share?

Inbox Zero – something that Heidi taught me four years ago was to keep my email at zero. As someone who struggled with this at my previous job, the difference has been outstanding. I am able to better prioritize my time, and I never feel the anxiety of knowing someone has been waiting “too long” for me to reply. I handle all emails as they come, and either delete or move to specific files for future reference.

Do you have any specific successes you’d like to highlight?

I’m just really proud of the resilience of my department and our company as a whole. The past nearly two years have been earth shattering for many builders and businesses. But because we at Lexar Homes buckled down, got back to basics, and called EVERY customer back, we’ve managed to improve in nearly every category. We’ve added to our teams, we are opening a new location, and we are building better homes for customers throughout the Pacific Northwest. I’ve had several customers in the past four years that have felt very special, but nothing compares to the overwhelming feeling of pride I have for my department and our support teams.

Any tips or advice for fellow online salespeople and marketers?

Follow through on your promises – if your website says that someone will be in touch, be in touch. If your voicemail message says that someone will call them back, call them back. If you tell a client you will email information to them that week, do it that day. And always always ALWAYS follow up – even if that profile feels impossible.

What are your favorite activities to do outside of work?

I’m currently inundated with building a home myself! My husband and I (who also works for Lexar) will be moving to Yakima next year with our three dogs. So life is currently filled with cabinet selections and site visits. With the little time we have outside of this project, we enjoy cruising in our Sprinter Van and doing trivia at Buzz’s Tavern!

What are you reading/watching(binging)? TED LASSO.

Where is the first place you’re going when we get back to normal travel? We hope to travel with Chef Bob Waggoner on one of his private cooking retreats to Europe.