Every real estate professional knows that a property is much more likely to sell if it is “staged” – all set up with sofas, pictures, flowers, accessories – like someone really cool already lives there. Somebody THEY want to be.
It makes their buyer RELATE emotionally to the house.
You can do the exact same thing! In every presentation, meeting, proposal, bring the magic of “THIS is who you want to be”.
I was speaking with a completely lovely salesperson the other day. She is awesome. Self-aware, hungry, dedicated. Ready to be a true pro.
She is smart, loves her product, KNOWS her product, but seems to have trouble when it comes to making the final close. In a short conversation, we revealed 3 of the top reasons that she may be stumbling over making the close with clients who should buy.
Her issues are not unusual… perhaps the conversation will sound familiar to you, too.
First obstacle to making the close: Feeling defensive.
When a customer comes in who is wary of her, and tells my salesperson that she is “just there to make a sale” or “just there for the money”, she wants to set them straight, defend herself. It is true that our dear salesperson is interested in her own success, but it is even clearer to me that she is interested in people understanding that she is there for THEM. So, when a person accuses her of being out to take advantage of them, she backs off and wants to defend.
Possible way to overcome the first obstacle: When we explored ways that she might behave – other than being defensive – we discovered that a simple question like “Has that happened to you before? Someone has taken advantage of you?” gave her a TON more confidence and made her feel like she could get on her customer’s side – rather than trying to prove that she was a nice girl! Great move in the right direction.
Second obstacle to making the close: The Price is Too High…
in HER mind! It’s no wonder she is having a hard time closing…she doesn’t understand why or how people pay so much for her product. When we dug into this, she realized ways that she could find out from current customers (and salespeople) why people pay what they pay for their product. Just because it seems like a lot to her, doesn’t mean that it seems like a lot to the customer.
Possible way to overcome the second obstacle: She started walking around her house saying the price to herself out loud – over and over. Just practicing getting the price out of your mouth will make a big difference. Also, asking around to find out from other salespeople or happy customers why and how they paid so much will make you convinced that you are creating a great value.
Third obstacle to closing: I Don’t Want to be Pushy Other successful colleagues seem to guide a conversation, but she feels uncomfortable with controlling or exerting authority. Conversations tend to get uncomfortable and she is reluctant to look too manipulative or pushy.
Possible way to overcome the third obstacle: When I asked her what her colleagues were doing that she wasn’t – she saw it right away. They talk straight to their customers. They answer questions directly. They make recommendations succinctly. They ask questions and wait patiently for answers. They are powerful and deliberate when they speak – which instills confidence and more often leads to a sale! She is practicing these ways of speaking and already called a prospect back and made a sale!
Of course, these aren’t the only three things that can keep a person from closing! What are your obstacles? Let’s talk!
What a great holiday season it has been. The most holidayed year of any I can remember. With Christmas Eve falling on a Wednesday – and New Year’s Eve doing the same?
Kudos to all of you who worked like banshees throughout these lazy weeks, but most of us have probably really enjoyed relaxing, solving jigsaw puzzles, watching endless TV marathons or all the movies we could stand.
Good cooking. Great leftovers. Good times with family and friends.
Me, personally. I got married and honeymooned last month! I have been absent, but I am back! In your pocket. Ready to rock what is possible.
Now, we are armed and ready with plenty of rest. Plenty of new ideas! Ready to get started and hungry all over again.
For those about to make 2015 your BEST YEAR EVER, I salute you!
We will be in this shoulder-to-shoulder, day-to-day! I can’t imagine a better group to share this with. Let’s make this a year to remember!
Here’s your chance to share what you want this year or what you want me to write more about. Please don’t share New Year’s Resolutions. I don’t believe in them. 😉
The song says “Breaking up is hard to do!” And, it certainly can be.
Let’s Break UP!
But, here is how breaking up will free you up!
A very dear friend of mine. A tippy-top producer who has earned a penthouse overlooking one of the most famous (and expensive) avenues in America, shared this recent story with me.
Her pipeline has been a teensy bit stagnant of late. So, she took a BOLD ACTION. She carefully crafted a gracious break-up script and shared it with her prospects who were just not getting back to her.
Generously, she has agreed to let me share her message and her results. Here is the message she left for her prospects with whom she had met, but received no activity: Wanna see the script?
I was in a meeting the other day with the EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT of a Fortune 500 company.
THE GUY!
And his entire team. In attendance, the CMO, the COO, the CTO, the C-Suite is there (no CEO, but come on!)
We have brought in some fire power, too, from my company.
We have the right solution.
So, I write an email to “follow up” and I get the answer:
“resource planning is going to be a major issue in moving forward. I have talked to “Joe Schmo” who you met at our meeting and he will let me know when we can engage”
The ultimate brush-off, right?
But, here’s the deal. I brought in a good solution with all my fire power. I was invested. I wanted something in return! So, I took my best shot.
I can’t help myself. Jim Keenan wrote the most brilliant article on Forbes.com about finding the perfect sales person.
I think you will love it!
Bottom line: “Who cares about what people have done? The only thing we should be focusing on is: Can they do what we need them to do? What we need to get done?”
OK. This may be a “bit” dramatic. Still, you’ve been there, right?
The first thing I want you to do is…breathe…
Now, let’s take a look.
Salespeople have been trained to create physical and emotional reactions from their buyers. We know them as “finding the pain points”, “creating urgency”, “challenging assumptions”, etc.
Do you have ANY idea how tough it is to be a salesperson?
(If you are NOT a salesperson, you may be thinking, “Well, then DON’T be a salesperson if it’s so tough!)
Really? It’s also tough to be an engineer, a mom, a business owner, a neurosurgeon, an astronaut. Should we not do those, too? Of course we should!
This is to all you sales pros, who go out and make it happen for their companies, day-after-day, sometimes really getting KICKED in the TEETH, you deserve a bit better than an ordinary post, don’t you?
Super Salesperson
Let’s shift the focus a bit, shall we?
Sales can be quite magical! (ting)
After all, who HASN’T bought a great pair of shoes from Zappos?
OR, who DIDN’T try the chocolate mousse after all because the waiter was being so fantastic with them all evening?
OMG! I was in a TERRIBLE sales presentation the other day. TERRIBLE.
The presenter was Hooked On Pronouns.
“We, you, they, it, he, she, their” … it went on and on. (Example: So, I said this to him about it, and he said he was interested in their results.) WHAT?
PRONOUNS ARE MEAN
When you use pronouns, you make your audience feel like idiots!
Remember when you really hit your stride as a salesperson?
Maybe you only have one memory of it. Maybe you have had many.
What was it that made that time so magical?
Perhaps you would say that you were lit up by the product you were selling. Or the challenge. Or you had a great team around you. Or that people really wanted to hear about what you were selling.
Every real estate professional knows that a property is much more likely to sell if it is “staged” – all set up with sofas, pictures, flowers, accessories – like someone really cool already lives there. Somebody THEY want to be.
conversation, we revealed 3 of the top reasons that she may be stumbling over making the close with clients who should buy.
It is a dark and stormy evening.
