OSC of the Month | Nic Duersch

Lasso’s OSC of the Month for October is Nic Duersch Online Sales Consultant with Visionary Homes, based in Northern Utah. In this interview, Nic shares how he sees the role changing, his productivity hack, and his advice for other OSCs.

How long have you been in your role/or working in new home sales?

I have been in this role since December of 2016 and was the first OSC the company hired! I was in sales for a long time before I joined the company as a catering/sales manager for an ice cream shop, as a door-to-door sales professional, etc. My mother worked for Visionary Homes and they were thinking of trying out a new role for the company where they had someone who fielded incoming calls for the sales agents because they were too busy to handle the traffic themselves. This is how I was brought into this role and it has evolved a TON overtime. Here we are nearly 5 years later with over 1000 contracts as a result of me being an OSC and I could not be more thankful.

How many online leads do you manage monthly?

It varies from month to month, but typically we are in the 300-350 lead range per month! During COVID times it was up to 500-600 leads a month, but it has stabilized since.

What’s the best part about working on a team of OSCs?

The relationships I have built. I just had a coworker transition from this role to on- site sales.. We spent 3 years together as OSC’s and he grew to be my best friend. You rely on each other so much and there is so much work that has to be done as a TEAM—it is critical to have good relationships with your co-workers.

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

This question is a loaded question for me. When I started this role, I didn’t have a CRM system. I was keeping track of my leads with pen and paper and manually writing everything down. The only follow up process I had was myself going back and looking through notes. I have seen this role for myself basically change from a receptionist type job to a legitimate nurturer of leads. I am prospecting for the majority of my day and I have the tools to be able to do so thanks to Do You Convert and Lasso.

Nic shows up. He shows up when work is hard and when it’s good. He shows up ready to tackle any challenge that comes his way and has been a guide for his team this year. It’s been awesome watching him adapt and flourish.

Jen Barkan
Do You Convert

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

I see this role becoming more and more of nurturing clients even after they have signed the contract. Building relationships that extend past our initial conversations and creating relationships with clients with only the limited number of interactions we have. As an OSC we’re the client’s first touch point, we control so much of the path they choose to go on and I see that continuing to evolve.

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

My greatest challenge is just trying to balance everything at times and stay organized. I have over 10,000 people in my Lasso database. Keeping these people nurtured and in the right position for being followed up with based on their situation can be challenging when there are so many outside forces pulling you in different directions. To combat this, I keep strict note pages reminding myself what needs to be done for the day, the week, and the month, and I take time in the evening to organize those tasks and make sure that nobody falls out of the loop.

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

By far, Lasso. I am in lasso every minute of every day.

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

Because I am an emotional person, my appointment conversion process always comes back to that—emotions. If I can build rapport with them and have them trust me on the phone, I know that they will trust my suggestions, because we have that connection.

Our job is not to be a waiter… or an usher.. It is to be a farmer that nourishes and grows. We have to spend the timing making connections and asking about their situation. By the end of the conversation or when we ask for the appointment, not only is it the natural next step, but the client trusts me enough that they know that step is the right direction for them to go.

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

Do You Convert and my boss—Jon Williams. Do You Convert is what changed my productivity almost a year ago. After having been in this role for nearly four years and being told that “I can do things better…” or “You need to do it this way instead.” I pushed back initially, because I felt like I knew everything. Once I let myself see that I can always be growing and improving, my success in this role changed nearly overnight. I have made more growth in the last year since Jon was hired and DYC was brought on, than the last 4 years combined. I feel as though I am as productive as I ever have been—I am at the top of my game.

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

Work smarter AND harder. I hear this saying all the time… “Work Smarter, not harder”. I disagree with that. We want to work smarter so we can be as efficient as possible, but we have to have the motivation to push ourselves above what we think we can do.

Work smarter—Find out what efficiencies are lacking and fine tune those process.

Work Harder—Put in the extra time, take some of the load off of your teammates and you will see the repercussions of that by tenfold

But lastly, make sure you are keeping track of your mental health. Take breaks, meditate, etc. You can’t work smarter and harder if you are burnt out.

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

I am not big on shining the light on myself, but I think the biggest success for me is just how often I have had customers reach out to me and say “This experience has been amazing because of you”. That means the most to me.

I started keep a folder of those interactions I have had with clients this time last year and I have more than I can count now. I have been successful in this role for a lot of reasons, but it all comes back to the people that believe in me. Do You Convert, my coworkers, my bosses, Visionary Homes leadership, my wife.

Any tips or advice for fellow online salespeople and marketers?

I think the biggest thing that I have found in this role is that transparency, and being very clear in this role, goes a long way. Under promise and over deliver—you will make many more customers happy that way. ????

What are your favorite activities to do outside of work?

Basketball, rock climbing, hiking… I love to cook as well. Anything with my family makes me happy—I have 2 kids (4 year old daughter and 16-month-old son) and a beautiful wife that I would spend all my time with if possible!

What are you reading/watching?

I don’t read nearly as much as I should. I have meant to start back up again, so this is a good reminder! My wife and I are currently watching “Schitts Creek” and it is a treat. Highly recommend!

Where is the first place you’re going when we get back to normal travel?

The wife and I already have a trip planned out to Italy for hopefully next year! Been on her bucket list for a while.