This is how this 30 second convo went:
Lead: James, we already have a real estate agent.
Realtor: Oh, you already have a real estate agent?
Lead: Yes, it’s an agent that my mom referred to us. She has worked with them before.
Realtor: Great! Are you committed to them?
Lead: Well, you know, we were planning on using them.
Realtor: Alright, have you signed anything with them?
Lead: No.
Realtor: What do you see as a benefit of working with them?
Lead: Well, obviously, they have a great track record. They helped my mom in the past and they really know the market and we are looking at getting the best deal that we can with our limited funds.
Realtor: Got it, John. It makes sense for you to want to work with somebody who you know has a proven track record and has demonstrated that for you. All 250 of our clients that have worked with us last year felt the same way when we worked with them using our process based on our market knowledge to help them secure the best possible deal they could to make their funds go as far as they could in this market. So, before you ultimately choose which experienced agent you want representing you, would you want to interview us to see that you are making the right decision?
Lead: Yes
A lot of agents get scared when put into a situation where they get challenged by somebody who isn’t going to work with them or who says that they might work with somebody else. They run away and do some stuff that is unproductive like using some lame hail-mary close such as Oh, if it doesn’t work out please let me know / If you aren’t happy please call me.
You don’t know why they are going to use another agent. You don’t know how they came to that decision. You don’t know how they put together the fact they were going to use that person or that they’ve been thinking about using that person. There’s a lot of gray area there so you need to use a specific pattern when you run into objections like that.
You need to:
- Investigate their level of commitment
- Determine what they are “buying” (what values they are buying i.e. market knowledge, guarantee of something happening)
- Close for a meeting
This is how that process looks like:
1. Paraphrase
When you paraphrase it’s easy to get extra information without figuring out which question to ask.
Lead: I’m going to work with so and so agent.
Realtor: Oh, you’re gonna work with so and so?
Lead: We were thinking about using so and so to list our home.
Realtor: Oh, you were thinking of using so and so to list your home?
You just repeat the question back and swing up at the end.
They are either going to say yes or no or give you more explanation, more justification or reasoning for why they are going to do what they said they are going to do.
2. Committed?
Then you are going to ask: Are you committed to that agent?
Lead: We were thinking about using so and so to list our home.
Realtor: Oh, you were thinking of using so and so to list your home?
Lead: Yeah, we will be.
Realtor: Are you committed to that agent?
Do not ask How committed are you? This needs to be a direct yes or no question.
And the word committed is specific. People are afraid of commitment.
Sometimes they’ll say yes.
Sometimes they’ll say something along the lines of: Well, they send me some nice houses. That’s a waffle. It’s not a yes or no. They are not willing to say Yes, I’m committed. This happens so frequently you’ll be shocked.
And occasionally you’ll get a no.
3. Signed?
Then you are going to ask them if they signed anything. Of course, if they say yes, you can’t move forward.
Lead: We were thinking about using so and so to list our home
Realtor: Oh, you were thinking of using so and so to list your home?
Lead: Yeah, we will be.
Realtor: Are you committed to that agent?
Lead: Yes.
Realtor: Have you signed anything with that agent yet?
Lead: No.
4. Benefit
This is what sets a really skilled salesperson apart from a mediocre salesperson. If you get through the paraphrase, and you get through the committed question and you get through signed, and they haven’t signed yet; instead of starting to pitch on why they should use you or your company or how amazing you are and what you are going to do for them, do this:
Ask them what’s the benefit of working with that agent. Or what’s the advantage of using that agent or any other agent in the market.
And why do you wanna do that?
You wanna know why they chose that agent.
Or if it is a family member.
Or, in some cases, they don’t even know why they are choosing that agent.
Or they don’t have a particularly strong reason.
You need to understand which value somebody is trying to get at. Do they think they are going to get more money? Spend less money? Make the process easier? Avoid some difficulty?
5. Craft a Custom Close
The custom close is based on those things they think they’re getting
i.e.
Realtor: What do you see as a benefit of working with them?
Lead: Well, obviously, they have a great track record. They helped my mom in the past and they really know the market and we are looking at getting the best deal that we can with our limited funds.
Realtor: Got it, John. It makes sense for you to want to work with somebody who you know has a proven track record and has demonstrated that for you. All 250 of our clients that have worked with us last year felt the same way when we worked with them using our process based on our market knowledge to help them secure the best possible deal they could to make their funds go as far as they could in this market. So, before you ultimately choose which experienced agent you want representing you, would you want to interview us to see that you are making the right decision?
In a situation when they are shutting you down for another agent there’s nothing wrong with asking would they prefer to interview you, would they prefer to consider you, would they evaluate what you have to offer.
Here’s what you have to cause in the mind of the listener: I’m hearing something I haven’t considered. I have an opportunity to get more, or better, or faster, or cheaper, or easier, of what I think I’m going to get already.
OR Create a Logical Next Step
Always make sure to close the call with:
1. When you going to talk next
2. Why you are going to talk next
3. What they’re gonna get out of it
Lead: I love your fancy words, but I’m still gonna work with this other agent.
Realtor: Ok, John. I really appreciate your time. Here’s what I’m gonna do. I’m gonna make sure that ultimately you end up making the best decision possible for you and your family, so what’ll do is I’ll give you a call in about a week or so to see how far you and that agent have gotten. That way, in case there’s anything that I can do to help you or if you discover that wasn’t the right direction, I’ll be there to help you move forward. How does that sound?
vs You just saying Hey if it doesn’t work out, John, just give me a call. My door is always open.
Regardless of if you are speaking with leads that come onto your website, or referrals that you get that aren’t quite ready to meet with you now or start looking at houses right now, think about how you are ending the conversation with them.
Does it include when - why - what ?
Most of the agents would say I’m gonna send you some properties let me know if u see something.
This was brought to you by Dale Archdekin - founder of Smart Inside Sales https://www.smartinsidesales.com/, a coaching and training company serving residential real estate agents and brokers.
Click here to watch Roleplay webinars with Dale: https://vimeo.com/showcase/10069876
