What I Learned From Santa

by Suzanne Felber

The holidays this year were very special - I was able to do an early Christmas with my amazing new grandson in Florida. My son and his family live in the West Palm Beach area, so we were able to enjoy some beautiful weather, but it was a given there would be no snow in sight.

The one thing I was insistent about was taking Matthew to see Santa for the fist time, and I wanted pictures - lots of them. This experience only comes once in a lifetime, and I wanted to capture it on film so I could share them at his wedding some day. We got Matthew all dressed in his Christmas outfit and headed to the mall, and we were in luck -this mall went all out with their Santa experience. The Santa was a great one -very authentic and seemed to be great with the kids. They had a huge 2 story snow globe that you got to go through on your way to see Santa that had music, videos, snow falling - absolutely beautiful. There was no line in sight so we thought we really got lucky and started our journey.

As soon as we made our way into the “snow globe” waiting area we saw that there were others waiting -they just kept them out of view so you thought there wasn’t a line. They hand you a price list as soon as you enter so you can take a look at which photo package you want. The first family was ushered in to see Santa, and we waited... and waited... and waited for someone else to be let in to the area, but after 15 minutes the line hadn’t moved. It turned out that once you got ushered in to Santa’s area they took the pictures, then you waited until you decided which ones you wanted. They then printed them and you paid before anyone else was let into the area. Add to that the multi-media presentation in the waiting area had nothing to do with the holidays - it was all about Arctic animals with some loud, dramatic music that looped about every 3 minutes. It not only drove us crazy, it drove the kids crazy and they were more wired than ever!

After almost waiting for 45 minutes, Matthew delivered a “present” that wouldn’t have made Santa very happy and he was way past nap time so we went home. I wasn’t going to give up that easily though so we went back just before closing time and hoped that most kids would be asleep by then and we could go right in. We only had to wait about 5 minutes so this made Matthew much happier.

We had already decided we were going to get the entire package -grandma was happy to splurge. There were signs up everywhere saying you couldn’t take your own photos - you could only buy theirs. Santa was a true professional, but unfortunately the kids behind the camera were not. We went to look at what they shot, and although they did probably 15 different views, you could only have 1 image. What a waste and a letdown - their printer was horrible as well, and we were glad that at least we got a jpeg version of that shot in our super package. We also made sure to have one of us on the balcony overlooking Santa taking photos, and that turned out to be my favorite shot.

My visit to Santa made me realize how important not only the physical presentation is but also how important the experience is. Here are 5 gifts I would like to share with you from my experience.

1. Presentation isn’t Everything. This Santa display was one of the most amazing I have ever seen, but most of it had nothing to do with why we were all there - to see Santa. You need to have a total package, and the lifestyle that is shown in your models, community and marketing needs to be what they will really experience in your homes. You can spend a fortune creating your presentation, but if it isn’t targeted to your buyer you are just throwing your marketing budget away.

2. Never Say No. No one likes to be told what they can’t have, and there are ways to avoid having to say no to your customers. I understood that Santa was a business, and I would have been happy to pay a fee so I could shoot my own photos that would have been fair to all involved. Customers appreciate it when you try to come up with a fair compromise, and they then feel like you are working with them, not against them.

3. Let Me Entertain You. Interactive presentations, or having different ways to have your customers really experience your homes is a great way to create memory points. One of my favorites was doing up a line drawing of the builder’s home that the customer’s kids could color and take with them. Having your home and information on a potential customer’s fridge? Priceless. What you don’t want to do is overwhelm the customer with loud music, a pushy salesperson, or too many choices. They come to your sales center because they want to buy a home and they want you to educate them on why their new home should be one of yours.

4. Less Can Be More. Putting everything including the kitchen sink into your model homes can talk a customer out of buying a home from you. Over merchandised homes, or homes that have dated, damaged furniture and accessories in them turn a customer off. You are better off doing a well merchandised home that plays up your homes features and only merchandising a few key areas than just filling a model home with “stuff” from the warehouse.

5. Building the Dream. Just like visiting Santa for the first time, buying a home should be an exciting time for your buyers. If you and your sales team aren’t excited about selling them a new home, how do you expect the buyer to get excited? Make the buying experience a positive one, and not only will your customers buy from you, they will refer their friends to you as well.

(Editor's Note: Suzanne S. Felber is a member of MHSpeakerTrainer.org)

Suzanne S. Felber, Lifestylist® Suzanne has been involved in the home building industry for over 25 years. She is a member and instructor of the Institute of Residential Marketing, was previously on the board of trustees for the National Sales and Marketing Council and is a popular speaker at various events including the International Builders Convention, The Manufactured Housing Industry Congress and Home Interiors and Gifts national conventions. Her work has been seen throughout the country in various publications, showhouses and model homes. She has been featured on the HGTV program “Dream Builders” and her work has appeared in Home Magazine, This Old House Magazine and Home Depot’s StyleIdeas Magazines. Felber considers herself a Lifestylist® because home design truly has more to do with how a person lives within their home instead of current trends and fads. Felber is the only licensed Lifestylist® in the United States, and has merchandised successful site built and manufactured model homes from coast to coast. The Home Idea Factory is available for all of your design and decor needs including furniture and decor packages, product selections, and show homes. We can be reached at: 214-941-8341 or emailed at: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it - All photography by LAS Photo.