Showing Strategies to Exceed Buyer Expectations
“What happened to salesmanship?” I’ve been asked this question many times in the past two years, which is an indication that we all need to do something about it. Real estate isn’t the only business suffering from a lack of selling; almost every other business is going through the same thing. This blog contains six showing techniques that will distinguish a salesperson, with real salesmanship skills, from an “order-taker.” An order-taker typically finds a prospect, puts them in a car and rides them around until they find something they like, writes a contract, and hopes and prays the offer is accepted. If the contract is rejected, they return to the car and ride around more and more…and this can go on for months. Once a buyer of anything has been through this kind of process a number of times, they learn it’s better to shop online first and find an order-taker later.
We’ve all been though it. It happens in restaurants with servers who don’t have a clue about the food other than what’s printed on the menu, so it feels easier to just buy fast food than deal with a server who knows less than the voice at the drive-through. It happens in car sales when the salesperson doesn’t know one vehicle from the other, never suggests that we “take a ride,” and wouldn’t dream of returning a call. You see it other places as well. For example, Amazon doesn’t have any salespeople, but they sell more books electronically than do bookstores with salespeople—because the salespeople don’t know how to sell. Therefore, the convenience of shopping online, anytime, outweighs the visit to the brick-and-mortar store.
Fortunately, salesmanship isn’t dead yet, as there are a few companies who have recognized the growing void and are working to fill it. For example, Carmax developed a system that allows the salespeople to sell and the customers to shop, and in the process they became the largest sellers of used cars in the U.S. If you go to Carmax you’ll certainly have a chance to buy something, because they know how to find what you want, they can tell you what you want to know, and they have a streamlined process which makes it easy and fun to buy. So it CAN be done. Take a look at the techniques below and integrate them into your showing process, and you’ll begin to fill that salesmanship void and leave the order-takers in the dust!
Six Salesmanship Showing Strategies
1. Sell people what they want to buy. Selling is really a simple activity! The most important step is to ask people what they want to buy and how they’re going to pay for it—and then go find it. Most often overlooked? The “asking what they want” part. Counseling for a salesperson is the same as an examination is for a doctor: the better the doctor, the more thorough the examination. Counseling begins with the first phone call and really never ends. The customer develops trust in the salesperson through the counseling process; trust makes the deal, and lack of trust kills it. So ask what they what.
2. Listen! When a customer tells you they want to be near public transportation, or in a certain school zone, or within 20 minutes of the workplace, find that and sell it to them. For many people there are other things just as important as the house, such as the home’s location or the neighborhood, and all of this should become evident in the counseling process (see #1). You can then start the process of selling them a home by taking them to the school or to their workplace so that they can see it and have a starting point. Then, when you show them a property, relate it to what they’ve requested of you: facts such as “Here’s the bus stop” or “From here to your office during rush hour is a 15-minute drive.” You convince people you’re listening when you relate the product to their motivations. Order-takers totally miss this step. Sell them what they want to buy, not what you want them to have.
3. Build their confidence! Here are some scripts that will help with that:
- “It’s enjoyable for me to work with people like you who know exactly what they want.”
- “I can tell you’ve really thought about this for a long time.”
- “I know what you’re going to buy, but I don’t know the address yet.”
- “You have really good taste, and we can find what you want.”
- “If you don’t like it, tell me, and we will leave immediately.”
- “In that the kitchen is the most important room for you I suggest we start there, and if it doesn’t fit, we’ll leave.”
- “I will never show you anything that’s above your financial limits without your permission.”
- “You’ll know it when you see it.”
4. Ask, “Could you live here?” This is a simple question you can ask anytime during the showing process. More accurately, it sounds like a simple question, but it involves deep thinking, because if the customer says NO, they will also say why. If it’s price, they may say, “If it was $10,000 less, I would be interested,” and you know how to handle this. Order-takers would not ask this question because they believe, “When the customer is ready, they’ll tell me.” ASK!
5. Take a break. Buying a home should be a pleasant, enjoyable process. A salesperson can make this happen by giving people a chance to talk in private and providing ample breaks to step back and refresh. A stop by Starbucks or McDonald’s to make some calls or have a snack can reduce the pressure and add some excitement to what could be a hectic experience. Telling them when it’s time to take a break is a great way to keep their attention and build their trust.
6. Make it easy and memorable. Most customers are deep into electronics, so why not provide them with a Flip Video camera or something similar and let them make a video of the entire process? It doesn’t cost much money, but your customer satisfaction will be off the charts.
The term “showing” is the wrong term for what we do because it involves much more than just showing someone a house. However, for a lot of potential purchasers, that’s all they get, and that’s seldom enough to make a sale. In every survey that’s been taken, the customer says that the most important thing that they want is COUNSELING. They want to tell us what they want, and then they want us to find it or tell them an acceptable alternative. Give them what they want, return their calls, and provide more service than they could ever expect, and not only will you make more money, but you’ll get much more satisfaction in the process. Nothing happens in real estate until somebody SELLS SOMETHING!
Excellent advice as always!
Paul
Very well said Sean, and thanks for your reply.
I agree totally.