Jonathan is the Chief Digital Officer CDO at Marketshare, Inc. Located in the heart of Silicon Valley, California. Marketshare, Inc. has been helping builders with all things marketing for over 35 years. Email: [email protected] www.marketshareonline.com

Color is an incredibly powerful tool. When you understand color and how to use it effectively, you can leverage the (as the folks over at Skittles would say) power of the rainbow and use it to help meet your strategic goals.

As a builder, there’s no better place to use color in a strategic way than in your sales offices. The sales office is the hub of your community; it’s where your sales team works their magic, where your potential buyers learn more about your properties, and where those buyers move from “potential” to “sold.”

But what are the best colors to use in your sales office? There’s no one-size-fits-all-answer when it comes to choosing colors, but there are definitely certain colors that are a great fit to help you reach specific goals as a builder:

If you want to support your sales team, try green

Your sales team is a crucial component of your business. They’re the ones who are meeting with potential buyers, showing properties, drumming up exciting about your community, and closing deals. And the place where they’re doing the majority of their work? Your sales office.

Sales isn’t easy job, and in order for your sales team to do their jobs effectively, they need an environment that’s going to support their efforts.

Green is a great color to use in your sales office if you want to support your sales team. Green has been shown to spark creativity, which is an essential part of the sales cycle; your sales team needs to be able to think on their feet and tailor their pitch to best fit the needs of each potential buyer. Green also improves focus and, as a low wavelength color, helps workers avoid eye fatigue, making it an ideal choice for environments where people work long hours – like your sales team in your sales office.

If you want to drive sales, try red

If you want to drive sales for your communities (and really, who doesn’t?), you’ll want to incorporate red into the color palette of your sales office. Red is an action-oriented color; it has a profound physiological effect on the body, stimulating the pulse and quickening the heartbeat. This heightened state of excitement creates a sense of urgency that can make people more likely to buy (which is why nearly all sale and clearance signs in retail shops use the color red).

But before you go and paint all four walls red, proceed with caution. Because red is such a powerful color, using too much of it can feel overwhelming. When your potential buyers are assaulted by too much red, it can actually reduce their analytical thinking and make it harder for them to make a decision on purchasing a property.

If you want to use red in the most effective way, use it as an accent color. Paint an accent wall or incorporate it into furniture and decor. When it comes to red, a little goes a long way – but that little bit of red will go a long way in helping to drive sales.

If you want to play it safe, try blue

If your goal for your sales office is to appeal to as wide of a demographic as possible, go with blue. Blue is the most popular color in the world, which over 57% of men and 35% of women claiming it as their favorite color. Blue has a universal appeal, and by incorporating blue into your sales office’s color palette, you’re increasing its allure to a wider demographic of people.

But blue has more to offer than just widespread likeability. Blue promotes communication and trust, both qualities that you want to encourage in your sales office. The more communicative your sales team, the more sales-driven conversations they’ll have. And the more potential buyers trust your sales team and those conversations, the more likely they are to make a purchase.

Whatever you do, avoid white

You might be tempted to outfit your sales office with white walls; they’re crisp, neutral, and easy. But don’t. A study from researchers at the University of Texas found that workers made more errors when working in a room painted white (in comparison to rooms painted aqua and red). Another study found that white walls actually made people feel depressed, which certainly isn’t the type of environment you want to create in a sales office.

In addition to inspiring errors in your sales team and making potential buyers depressed, white is also just… kind of boring. It doesn’t say anything about you, your business, or your properties. By having white as a focal color, you’re telling potential clients that you lack creativity and personality – which, as a builder, is the last thing you want to convey.

Do yourself a favor – avoid white and choose a color.

Color psychology isn’t an exact science, and there will always be exceptions to the rule (like the person who hates blue or the person who feels anxious when they see the color green). However, when you use color in a strategic way, it can have a positive impact on the results of your sales office.

Remember: when choosing colors for your sales office, you want to choose colors that both a) are true to your builder brand, and b) help get you closer to your goals, whether it’s increasing sales or improving the productivity of your sales force. Whatever colors you choose, make sure that you’re using color to your advantage – to sell more properties, fill your communities, and have the most successful sales office in the business.