[pull_quote_center]“Commitment is an act, not a word.” – Jean-Paul Sartre[/pull_quote_center]
Last month, I addressed what I feel is a misnomer with respect to your official designation as a salesperson. Regardless, you know instinctively what makes a good salesperson and it’s not pressure tactics. To build a solid, sustainable career, a good agent doesn’t resort to the more ignoble characteristics as depicted in the current definition described in my last column.
So, how do you develop a lasting business consisting of loyal returning and referring clients? By setting out on the path to be the best you can be, by mastering the skills necessary to assertively and ethically assist consumers to achieve their goals and by making yourself indispensable. A major part of that path is the ability to inspire trust in and win commitment from your prospects. You want to be “The One”.
Many people distrust any and all salespeople because they fear being coerced into committing to do something they’d prefer not to do. Their defences are often immediately raised and sometimes indefinitely remain there.
How do you respond when approached by a sales clerk in a home electronics store? Just looking, you say, because you automatically distrust anything they offer in their sometimes poorly veiled attempt to sell you something. They’re definitely salespeople loyal to the seller – or to themselves – and not agent intermediaries.
Unlike an electronics salesman, your mission is not to pressure someone into a decision. Your task is to determine your client’s needs, establish their realistic affordability and patiently and persistently endeavour to fulfill them. The best way to accomplish that mission, as I continue to say, is to gain their trust.
It’s wonderful when you can enjoy the benefits of having your professional advice not fall upon deaf ears or stone-cold hearts. People traditionally and automatically trust their doctor, lawyer or pharmacist (not always justifiably), but you must earn your client’s trust. Do you not dream about having unquestioned client loyalty? Not to take advantage of them, but for the comfort in knowing that not only will you satisfy them, but when all is said and done, you’ll be compensated for your efforts. After all, you often invest considerable resources and don’t always receive a return on that investment. People stray. Circumstances change. Loyalties shift.
But think about it. If you were always guaranteed complete loyalty and compensation, the lower risk could conceivably translate into lower income, and our industry would significantly morph. Having said this, it’s up to you whether you choose to accept a prospect as a client in the first place. You must trust them too. Normally, to a point, you do because the potential substantial remuneration is worth the risk; that’s why you earn the big bucks. If you’re not being appropriately compensated for that risk, you may want to address the issues by changing your method of operation.
I propose that most consumers would prefer to place their faith and trust in just one realty agent. After all, they traditionally trust one doctor, lawyer or religious leader. Why? Aside from being socially programmed, it’s easier than assuming personal responsibility for their medical, legal or spiritual health. By trusting one honest agent, the home relocation process can be much simpler and more agreeable for everyone involved.
[pull_quote_center]“A man who trusts nobody is apt to be the kind of man nobody trusts.” – Harold MacMillan.[/pull_quote_center]
Ross Wilson is a retired real estate broker with extensive experience as a brokerage owner, manager, trainer and mentor over a highly successful 44-year career. His book, The Happy Agent – Finding Harmony with a Thriving Realty Career and an Enriched Personal Life is available where print and e-books are sold, including the TREB, MREB, RAHB and OMDREB stores. Visit Realty-Voice.com.
