4 Ps for Prosperity

PROSPECTING:

TIP #1: Prospect for sellers not buyers. Inventory is exceptionally low. If you work with buyers, you’re standing in line. If you work with sellers, you’re creating the lineup.

TIP #2: Before you choose your prospecting scripts, you need to choose your target market. My suggestion is to prospect your own neighborhood. Why? When you call or knock on their door, you can introduce yourself as a neighbor. People are friendlier with neighbors than strangers. You can talk knowledgeably about the area and that brings confidence to the conversation.

TIP #3: You need a hook to generate interest. Just about every homeowner contemplates selling. You need to figure out what their pain points are to persuade them to explore their options. The first hook: “We have buyers for your area.” The second hook: “Sellers are getting a premium for their property right now.” The third hook: “With historic low interest rates you can afford the house you’ve always dreamed of.” The fourth hook: “If there’s one thing you could change about your house, what would it be?”

TIP #4: You need to prospect every day. Random activities generate random results. Put an hour of power prospecting on your calendar every day. That is not an hour of administrative work to find phone numbers, that is an hour of actively reaching out to people to have meaningful conversations about why it’s a great time to sell.

PRESENTING:

TIP #1: You need a process. Every time you meet with potential sellers, follow the same process. It ensures you don’t miss anything, and it raises your confidence. When you are confident, people trust you. When sellers see you have a detailed, proven process for a successful sale, it sets you apart from the competition and persuades them you’re the perfect agent to handle their sale.

TIP #2: Never jump right into business. I don’t want to sound like the king of cliches, but we’ve all heard the saying “people don’t care what you know unless they know that you care, and they will not do business with you unless they like you and trust you.” When you arrive at the appointment, bring a small gift (coffee and cake or flowers). It sets the right tone. When you get to the kitchen table, spend a few minutes talking about them and what they like to do when they are not selling houses. Building rapport builds trust, so they are less skeptical when you start your presentation.

TIP #3: Increase your perceived value. When you are rolling out your digital presentation, don’t just talk features, talk about how the sellers will benefit from each feature. Don’t assume they will understand the benefits of every service you provide. Spell it out for them, so they clearly understand how delivering that particular service will get their house sold faster for more money.

TIP #4: Be a closer. The natural conclusion of a great presentation is a signature. No signatures, no paydays. We don’t get paid to give presentations. We deliver presentations as a means to get paid. At the end of your presentation, ask for the signature. If they hesitate, don’t get up from the table. Have the tenacity to stay and figure out what’s holding them back.

PRICING:

TIP #1: Don’t take overpriced listings. There is only one reason a property doesn’t sell – price. You prospected diligently to find them, you delivered a great presentation and convinced them to give you the listing, but if you don’t get the price right, it won’t sell, or it will take much longer than it should. You’ll end up with unhappy clients, your frustration (and theirs) will increase, your profit will decrease, and your reputation will take a hit. Even in a hot market, you are better to price accurately to generate a lot of interest and hopefully multiple offers. Get it right from the start.

TIP #2: Worry less about underpricing than overpricing. In the market we are in today, you should be less worried about underpricing a property than overpricing it. If you underprice a property (just below market value) then it will attract a lot of attention and market pressure will ensure it sells at market value or above. If you overprice, you are just making competing listings look better.

PERSUASION:

TIP #1: Expect clients to hesitate. Be prepared with educated answers for their concerns. With the market moving so quickly, expect sellers to be worried about not being able to find a house if theirs sells too quickly. Expect them to be worried about COVID and letting strangers into their house. Remember, you do this every day, they don’t. They will be anxious about making a decision. Unless you have solutions for every problem they bring up, they won’t feel comfortable moving forward.

TIP#2: Ask, don’t tell. The best salespeople are the best listeners, not the best talkers. You need to ask a lot of questions as you start the presentation to determine their objectives. You then need to tailor what you say throughout your presentation to check the right boxes for what’s most important to them. If you TELL them what to do, their first instinct is to get defensive. If you ASK them the right questions to navigate the conversation to the end result you want, they will think it was their idea and be bought in. For example, rather than telling them what their house is worth, show them the comparables and ask them where they would like to position their house to get the attention it deserves. You can debate the issue back and forth to guide them to the right decision, but ultimately, it needs to be their decision if you want their buy in.