With all the focus on the “superstar agent”, whether it’s a Million Dollar Listing TV show or the next interview with a top producer, it’s too easy for the industry to forget or marginalise the sincere hard-working but struggling salesperson who is looking to raise their career. The good news for them is that the path to success has already been paved.
With all the “make money without working” marketing being fed into our industry, it’s easy to be seduced into the magic answers or the next novelty.
My advice: Build your business on a foundation of rock, not sand. Part of that foundation is knowing what to say in all sales situations. In real estate we already know what the common objections are, so why have we not learned the answers by now? Have you rehearsed and internalized the answers, so you own them and can you deliver them conversationally without sounding like a robot?
Another part of a strong foundation is continually studying your market and developing the ability to present this information in an understandable and meaningful way. If a prospect asks you, “How’s the market?” how do you currently respond?
“But Richard I have no time to practice,” Remember, if it’s not in your schedule, it doesn’t exist. Put it into your schedule.
Eliminate complacency and apathy from your business. “Complacency is the disease of the spirit,” says Mike Ferry. Emotionalizing the connection to your goals will help overcome complacency.
Study your competition and know their strengths and weaknesses but avoid getting into a comparison game. If a prospect challenges you by saying, “What makes you different from ABC Realty, answer with, “I respect all my competition and let me show you my points of difference.” This will keep you talking about what you have to offer.
In many parts of Canada, prices have come down, creating challenges in selling listings. Remember, like all professionals, whether it’s the doctor telling clients to stop smoking or the accountant telling clients that they must cut down on their spending, we get paid to have difficult conversations with clients. Price is not a one-time conversation with the seller…it is an all-the-time conversation with the seller.
I have the phone number of all my sellers at eye level on my desk so that I can pick up the phone anytime. I find I talk with them more often this way.
Richard Duggal is a sales rep and coach at Re/Max Premier in Toronto. He has made presentations at several international conventions. His diverse experience enabled him to reach the Re/Max Circle of Legends Award, accumulating more than $10 million worth of commissions as an agent in the shortest-ever time. Visit his website.
