In the following article, I will discuss issues in detail and give you practical advice that you can apply in your business. Now before you read any further, it is important that you start with a question and not a statement. Let me explain. It is easy to say “I have heard this before”, or “I know this”, or “This is nothing new”. Those are statements. To really understand the value, your question should be “Am I applying what Daryl is saying and, if so, how well am I applying it?” If you start with that question in your mind, you will gleam value from the following text.
Whenever I put pen to paper or in this case, fingers to keyboard; I try to separate the “fluff” from the “facts” in our business. With that in mind, I asked myself, “What is one problem we ALL face, regardless of experience, office affiliation, time in the biz, background, education or age? My answer: Buyers That Don’t Buy. There are other major problems we all face and I will deal with those in future articles.
It sounds so simple, but it is not easy. Why? Because we tend to complicate things to give ourselves a perception of value. We then can say, “Look how smart I am for solving the problem/issue”. Unfortunately, we don’t always solve the problem. In fact statistically, the majority of us (real Estate Agents) fail. By fail, I mean working long hours doing things you do not want to do and getting paid just enough to make you unhappy, week after week, month after month and USUALLY, year after year.
The first rule is you DO NOT have to work with every buyer that comes along! This is where most headaches start. Choose your clients well. Divide your buyers into three categories (A,B and C):
A. Buyers that are ready, willing, able, realistic and motivated to buy now.
B . Buyers that can buy but are not quite as motivated or have a reason to purchase later (house
to sell, lease commitment, down payment money tied up, etc).
C. Buyers that are so specific that they will only buy if the perfect house comes along, at a
great price. Usually they are not highly motivated.
Stop here. Get your buyers’ names written on a piece of paper and categorize them. Go ahead, I’ll wait… are you finished yet? Good. You just took action. To digress (I love that word) for a moment, the difference between “motion” and “action” is: motion fills your day, action creates results. To sum it up in a rather crude, but funny way, “Motion is the smelly armpit of real estate and action is the deodorant.” If I just offended you, sorry! You have to have a thick skin in this business! Now, let’s get back on track. Start by working your “A” buyers first. The truth is, buyers that buy usually adhere to the following steps (these should become your standards):
1. They agree to CITO, Come Into The Office (no, do not meet at the property or agree to send information to them) for a consultation whereby you determine whether or not you want to work with them. Agents seem to get this simple step front to back; they “hope” the buyer chooses them. Remember, you are the source and voice of experience for all things involving real estate, and you work for FREE for a buyer, so it is YOUR choice.
2. They get pre-qualified PRIOR to the appointment. If they hesitate and you cannot communicate, or educate them as to the importance of this step, then there is no point in going any further with them. Remember, we are professionals. Professionals proceed in a logical order. Imagine if a doctor operated on someone with out knowing their blood type. Or a lawyer who agreed to take on a case without knowing the facts of the case. Real estate is the same. We have to know what someone qualifies for before we can help them.
3. They show up. Sounds simple I know, but I have some rules here. On the first appointment (after you have confirmed by mail/email and phone) I give them a 10 minute buffer. If they are not there at this point, ready, I LEAVE! I know, but Daryl what if they… (Insert your own experiences here or blah, blah, blah) eventually show up. Well, you have other things to do, like go prospecting for more serious buyers. If you communicate to them that you have nothing better to do than wait, you are telling them you have very little value and all of the problems start from here. I know because I have made all of these mistakes. Remember, every time you plant your feet, stand your ground and make a statement (by your actions) for what you believe in, an angel gets it’s wings. Yeah, a little corny, but you get my point.
4. They listen. They listen and they see value in what you are communicating to them. This is your opportunity to educate them about the process of buying a home, the current market conditions, the way in which you work, the commitment you will give to them and the commitment you expect in return from them. Because they see value in what you are saying, they will act on your advice. This becomes critical at the time of writing an offer, but the foundation is set at the first appointment. They commit to you 100%
5. They buy. Now this one can get tricky, so let me be clear. THEY BUY A HOUSE! Clearer? Again, simple, not necessarily easy. If you have listened carefully to what their needs are and have shown them the appropriate properties, they take the next relevant step, which is to make an offer on one of the properties. They will seek your advice (on the offer price, terms etc.) and they will act on your advice and you will write an offer that gets accepted, or you will get a counter that gets accepted. Remember, buyers are only buyers WHEN they buy.
Simple, that’s it. Five steps to eternal bliss with buyers (I’m smiling)
Now, what about the other two categories? After you have worked with your “A’s”, then you start converting your “B’s” & “C’s” into A’s. Apply the process described above and eliminate the ones that don’t conform to your standards.
Now I know the pain, because I’ve been in the game (heard that the other day). I know it does not always work out as cleanly as I have described. But I can guarantee this, if you follow these five steps you will double your effectiveness with buyers (and that is a minimum). It’s your choice. Do you continue to do what doesn’t work? Do you cross your fingers and hope they buy? Or do you try doing something different. I’m getting a little tough here, but, you need it. Success leaves clues. I was a top producing agent for many years. I have worked with over one thousand buyers. You don’t need to re-create the system. The system I have described above works. Use it. Copy it. Now it’s up to you to make the buyer process fun, rewarding and enjoyable for yourself and your client.
Thanks for reading (I am assuming you got this far). Next article I will deal with challenge #2, Taking listings that SELL!
Daryl Rouse has been in the real estate business for over twenty years. He has ranked in the top 1% in the country (USA). His achievements are outstanding when you understand where he came from and what he had to overcome to realize his goals. Daryl had months where he sold over 30 houses and listed more than 40 properties. His consistency is testament to his application of time tested strategies. He has a philosophy: Find the simplest way to do everything while maintaining a consumer-centric business model. All of Daryl’s successes are able to be replicated by the newbie agent or the veteran. In 1993 Daryl created his coaching/training company, Peak Performance Quest. Through this medium he has taught over 1000 seminars . Everything Daryl teaches is borne from actual experience. He speaks candidly about his first year in the business, and what a disaster it was (6 hrs prospecting per day and only 2 sales). Daryl knows the average agent can relate. The good news is year 2 and every year after got a LOT better. Go to http://www.PeakPerformanceQuest.com for more info on coaching/training.
Tags: career, career training, sales, sales training, training
Share This
Related Posts