Meet Carolyn Pfau: Award-Winning OSC at Tilson Homes

Carolyn Pfau, an experienced Online Sales Coordinator (OSC) at Tilson Homes out of Austin, TX, has spent over five years helping homebuyers navigate digital home-buying. With an impressive background in new home sales and customer engagement, Carolyn’s journey from on-site sales to leading Tilson Homes’ award-winning OSC team is filled with valuable insights. In this interview, Carolyn shares her path to becoming an OSC, her go-to closing technique, and her advice for those new to the industry.

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

Carolyn Pfau (CP): I’ve been with Tilson for five and a half years, three years as manager, and two and a half years as an Online Sales Counselor. I also have three years of new homes sales experience from years ago!

ECI: What was your career path to becoming an OSC?

CP: It’s been a winding one. After a couple of entry-level corporate roles and a start in commercial real estate in Las Vegas, I shifted to new home sales in 2006 as an on-site sales counselor. In 2008, I became the first online sales counselor for Pardee Homes of Las Vegas, now TriPointe Homes. Following a move to Texas, I made a total career change and got my teaching certification. After 10 years in a variety of teaching and administration roles, I was ready to return to new home sales armed with everything I learned in the education field. I joined the OSC team at Tilson in 2019 and became the manager of the team in 2021.

ECI: How many online leads do you manage monthly?

CP: Our team typically handles 500-700 leads per month.

ECI: What's the best part about working on a team of OSCs?

CP: We have an AMAZING team that manages to support each other even as we work remotely. The best part of working with them is that we truly treat each other as family. It’s a special bond that we share.

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

CP: We’ve experienced some wild swings, from growing our team to handling the wild rush during the pandemic and recovering from that. I see potential customers spending more time researching and interacting virtually before they commit to a visit and building with us, so the online component holds even more value for both our customers and our company.

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

CP: I see an increased need for skilled OSCs who can further the homebuying process virtually. Customers are spending more time utilizing our online resources to do their initial research, and we’ll need to continue to be a trusted source to help them through that.

ECI: What is the most challenging aspect of your job? What do you do to overcome that challenge?

CP: Tilson is a “build on your land” builder, so each potential customer contacting us has a unique build scenario and unique questions. We must know enough about a LOT of details to answer everyone's most pressing questions. It’s just time in the seat with our group to be able to address those – and even then, we still have new ones pop up every day!

ECI: What is the most important tech you use in your role?

CP: Lasso is my second home, and I’d be lost without it. For inter-company communications, Microsoft Teams is my lifeline. Our most recent success as a team has come from really layering in text messages—more than emails or even phone calls.

ECI: What is your "go-to" closing technique to get an appointment?

CP: I have a weird “non-assuming assumptive” close that I use a lot. I make a lot of “next step” suggestions throughout the conversation, and at the end, I’ll say, “Your next step, when you’re ready, would be to set up a time to visit with us in person, and I can set that up for you when the time is right. Unless… would you want to get that scheduled now?” That always works well for me!

ECI: What/Who are your "go-to" training and/or support resources?

CP: I’m always seeking to learn and understand more, so for me, my top resources are as many books and audiobooks as I can consume.

ECI: Do you have a productivity hack you would like to share?

CP: I think the role of the Online Sales Counselor is extra susceptible to the challenges of multi-tasking because you cannot just close a door and plug away at your to-do list. Time blocking is the key, and then sticking to those blocks you’ve scheduled for yourself is even more important.

ECI: Do you have any specific successes you would like to highlight?

CP: My top three are inter-connected – our team won the NAHB Nationals OSC Team of the Year two years in a row, Silver in 2021 and Gold in 2022. And that same team is still intact—I’m really proud of our integrity as a team and the fact that we have no turnover. I think that says a lot for our company and our group of OSCs.

ECI: Any tips or advice for fellow online salespeople and marketers?

CP: Have fun with it. I genuinely enjoy helping people sort through the first steps of building a home, and how much of an advantage is it that they can learn so much without even stepping into a model home? Every conversation is a learning experience because we can always improve how we guide the way with potential customers. It’s a good role made great when you really embrace it.

ECI: What are your favorite activities to do outside of work?

CP: Traveling, exploring and seeing new things, hiking, finding good food, and yoga.

ECI: What are you reading/watching?

CP: I’m usually reading at least three books at a time. Right now, I’m way late to the game, but finally reading “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People” by Stephen R. Covey. I’m also reading “Radical Candor” by Kim Scott and two fiction novels. I rarely stick with a streaming series, but I have just a couple more episodes of “Peaky Blinders” to go.