Background noise? OK, the title is corny, but it accurately reflects the point I'm about to make: Most of us try to sell based on our understanding of what a home buyer or seller needs. We package ourselves, our presentations, and our scripts, to "convince" the prospect to work with us. We stand outside the prospect's world looking in and think we know what they need. We ask questions--not to create a conversation, but so we can position ourselves to as a solution.
These set-up questions sound like this: "What sort of house are you looking for?" "Have you spoken to other agents?" "When do you want to be in a house?"
We ask these questions to get information, and when they give it, many agents pounce with recommendations.
What's Going on Inside Our Prospect's Head?
What's really going on inside the prospect's head is a rich froth of issues and information, much of it having nothing to do with us or our recommendations. They might be thinking about their relationship and worrying that it's too soon to buy a house. Or they might be concerned about an old credit ding and be embarrassed to look into it. Or they might be hearing their uncle Bob telling them to never listen to a real estate agent. And so much more. Often their decision about when, what, and with whom to buy or sell a house is mired in this mix.
Swim in the Background Noise
Rather than approaching from the outside looking in, we can be responsible consultative salespeople and understand fully before promoting ourselves. We can get inside their world (swim in their background noise) and help them sort it out before we start trying to prove how valuable we can be.
This "buyer-centric" perspective means that we ask questions about their situation, what challenges they're facing, what solutions they've already thought about for those challenges, etc. And we do this without trying to sell ourselves at all. So when our buyer expresses a concern, for example, about the economy tanking again, rather than "handling" his objection by trying to convince him that real estate is always a good investment, we can hear his concerns and reflect them back to him. Ask him what that might mean to him, how he'd handle it if that did happen, and what other options might be available to him.
Turn the Light On
We're not putting ideas into his head...we're just raising the very issues that are troubling him so that he can explore them without fear. It's like turning the light on and seeing that the lump in the corner is just a pile of clothes.
In this way we help the prospect make decisions faster and be ready to hear our presentation that much sooner. And when we do present, it won't raise tons of objections because we'll already have addressed those underlying issues that would have generated the objections.
