In the Zone | vIV i5 | Stalling, the Second Coming and Concessions
In the Zone
Volume IV Issue 5
- What Successful REALTORS(R) Are Saying
- Motivational Quote of the Month
- Prospecting: Cheater's Reference for Prospecting: 21 Tips to Generating More Inquiries
- Negotiating: Stalling, the Second Coming and Concessions: a Hard-Tactic Even the Easy-Going Can Use
- Listing: The Power of Never Giving Up: The Science of Succeeding Above and Beyond Your Goals
- Selling: The Art of Persuasion: 10 Essential Tricks Every Agent Should Know
Hey,
Don't you hate it?
The thought of giving a prospect an offer...then waiting days to hear
from them...wondering whether they are working with a competitor or not.
It's natural to feel anxious, restless. Was the offer too high? Too low?
Well, realize you're not alone. Many top producers respond the same way
in these situations. And their reaction is to fire a barrage of calls
at the prospect.
Which, by the way, is a mistake.
A huge mistake. This month's Negotiating article explains why.
Also, have you ever considered throwing in the towel...whether on a single
deal or multi-year career? This month's Listing article will show you
that in almost every instance, not giving up will unleash that windfall
that you so desperately need.
Want a better response to your ads? Here are 21 killer tips on boosting
your response to any ad in our Prospecting article.
And finally, the art of persuasion is a learned skill...and the good news
is that the "key" to persuasion--the fundamental building block to all
good persuasive presentations--can be mastered in 10 easy steps. See how
in this month's Selling feature.
Enjoy!
And here's to your success,
Gary Elwood
Proquest Technologies
1-800-959-3959
P. S. Would you like to learn how easy it is to list any home...in any
market in any season...and sell it in record time (nearly doubling the
rate at which you cash commission checks)?
If so, then check out our just-released online commission protecting tool
called Showing Feedback™. You can see all the benefits of this remarkable
product, including a comprehensive demo, by clicking the link below:
http://www.showingfeedback.com
Any questions about anything you've read about in this newsletter?
Just call 1-800-959-3959 and ask to speak to Brad or Ann.
Find past issues of ITZ here.
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1. What Successful REALTORS(r) Are Saying
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"I was desperate being new in the business...and have tried several
systems this past year. Provantage has out done them all!"
Brad Gray
Delrey Beach, FL
If you don't already know, see how Provantage can propel you to the top
in less time and half the work...like it did Brad Gray. Click the link
below:
http://www.realestategrowth.com/how_to_grow.asp
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2. Motivational Quote of the Month
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Start out with an ideal and end up with a deal.
Karl Albrecht
Management Consultant
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3. PROSPECTING: Cheater's Reference for Prospecting: 21 Tips to Generating More Inquiries
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
There are proven techniques you can use to increase any ad's pulling power.
Here are 21 techniques that can work for you:
1. Ask for action in your ad. For example, "Call 444-4444 now for a no
obligation home evaluation."
2. Offer free information: report, self-help guide, how-to booklet.
3. Describe in a slogan or tag line how you will meet the needs of your
prospects. "Million-dollar Producer 4 Years Straight" won't work as well
as "I'll Sell Your House in 60 Days or Less--or I'll Pay You
$500" will.
4. Show a picture of yourself with family, a pet or friend: it makes you
seem more likable.
5. Give your free-information piece a title. "Seven Easy Steps to Selling
Your Home Quickly."
6. Include your address somewhere on the ad. (No brainer, but you'd be
surprised at how many seasoned agents forget this. An address
communicates stability and credibility to a reader.)
7. Include your toll-free call capture number.
8. Print your toll-free number in extra LARGE type.
9. Add a small image of a phone next to your toll-free number.
10. According to copywriter and direct marketing expert Bob Bly, any time
you use a full page ad, include a cut out to mail in. It will
improve response rate to 25% or higher.
11. Make the cut-out large enough to write in.
12. Affirm positive action in the cut-out. Write "Yes, I'd like to learn
how to sell my home in seven easy steps!" with a check box next to it.
13. Give the reader multiple response mechanisms: email, phone, fax, web
or mail.
14. For ads smaller than a full page, put a dashed border around it (if
the magazine allows you to do so).
15. Use a headline that promises a benefit or stresses free information...
rather than a headline that is cute or clever.
16. Put the offer for free information in the headline of an ad.
17. Offer a free gift--anything from a coffee mug to theater box seats.
18. Offer a free CMA.
19. Offer a free consultation or presentation.
20. Highlight the free offer in your last subhead of any ad you write.
21. Test different ads. Try different headlines, different offers,
different people. For example, if renters have been a significant
niche for you but things have been slow in that area, test ads to a
different group, such as military transfers.
Next Month: How a Yellow Envelope Can Boost Response Two-Fold
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4. NEGOTIATING: Stalling, the Second Coming and Concessions: a Hard-Tactic Even the Easy Going Can Use
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Salespeople are typically short on patience when they smell a deal in
the air. In fact, sales trainers sometimes teach that if you do not
strike while the iron is hot, you might lose the deal.
But impatience may encourage a negotiator to make unnecessary
concessions.
Knowing this, a savvy counterpart might stall for time...wait till the
Second Coming...trying to make the impatient negotiator nervous and more
willing to make trade-offs.
Imagine an investor offers a FSBO $100,000 for his home. Over the
next few days, that investor calls two or three times to ask what the
FSBO thinks of the proposal.
The FSBO never calls back. He's stalling, hoping the investor will
make some concessions if he feels she isn’t offering a particularly good
deal.
In fact, the FSBO might be doing business with a competitor, the
investor gets nervous...
Although she is not sure if the FSBO has even had time to review
any of her proposals, the investor leaves a message that her “numbers
are ballpark, based on the information given, and there is room to
negotiate.”
Exactly what the FSBO wanted.
The moral?
Never discount a price before your counterpart tells you there is a need
to do so.
Your best bet: wait patiently for a reply. And do not call over and
over again.
Next Month: Why Negotiation Techniques Don't Work on Children...and How
You Can Benefit as a REALTOR.
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5. LISTING: The Power of Never Giving Up: The Science of Succeeding Above
and Beyond Your Goals
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The traits that distinguish the top producers from the rest are their
perseverance and determination to hit their numbers.
In essence, hitting their numbers, or as Gary Keller calls it, "goal
pursuit," is very black and white: you either hit your numbers or you
don't.
And when you know your numbers, hitting those numbers becomes everyone's
focus...whether you're a one-man show or a part of a 20-person team.
So get in the habit of communicating your seller listing goals loudly,
committing to them openly, tracking progress toward them with your team
on a regular basis. And then celebrate when you hit those numbers!
In a nutshell, this is the power of never giving up.
See, having those goals in front of you will motivate you. And meeting
your monthly seller listing goal becomes a critical priority and
a major preoccupation. Your personal tenacity, your public commitment
to those goals and your willingness to reward people and hold
them accountable for those goals are the keys to hitting your numbers...
And as you'll probably discover, not only will you hit your numbers, but
before long you'll likely go above and beyond your goals!
Next Month: 5 Reasons Why Sellers Should Work with You on Both Sides
of the Deal
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6. SELLING: The Art of Persuasion: 10 Essential Tricks Every Agent Should
Know
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Amazing, isn't it? How when you listen to one of the selling masters you
say to yourself "Why didn't I think of that? It seems so obvious...so
easy."
The masters always seem to come up with the perfect phrase...a few
words...sometimes even just one word...that grabs you by the lapels and
drags you into their presentation.
The perfect words make you want to buy whatever they're selling before
they've even mentioned a product.
It's the Art of Persuasion. Right?
But let me assure you right now that it's less of an art and more of a
science.
The Art of Persuasion is something you can learn. And the good news is
the fundamental building block to any good persuasive presentation is
simply building rapport.
As the motivational trainer Peter Lowe says, "The three keys to
persuasion are: Establish rapport, Establish rapport, Establish rapport."
And to build that rapport, you need to cultivate behaviors that will make
people trust you and make them feel it's in their best interest to
follow your lead.
Here, are some ideas, big and small, for making yourself more persuasive:
1. Before a presentation, ask yourself "What do I really want?" Ask
soul-searching questions to understand your true motivation: family,
money, fame, power. You're looking for what makes you tick, what
drives you.
2. Develop the knack for making the other person feel like the center of
the universe.
3. Be quick to compliment.
4. Train yourself to remember other people's names. One of the best ways:
when you shake hands with a new person, note the color of his or her
eyes. That forces you to make eye contact and, after a while, will
also send a signal to your brain to store that person's name in your
long-term memory. Also use the name soon afterwards, and you'll have
a lock on it.
5. Empower others. Follow the maxims of legendary 3M leader William
McKnight: "Listen to anybody with an idea. Encourage experimental
doodling. If you put fences around people, you get sheep; give people
the room they need."
6. Try to arouse positive emotion.
7. Take a clue from your audience--whether it's a single seller or a family
of buyers. Really make an effort to communicate in a manner that
matches your message to the receiver.
8. Hone your sense of humor.
9. Practice being a better questioner. Follow up by asking, "How does
that make you feel?" or "Have you ever experienced anything else
like that?" or "How could that be handled differently in the
future?" or "I wonder what lessons we can take from that?"
And finally...
10. Keep your perspective. Remember: Even though you're passionate about
your point of view, lighten up. Tomorrow's another day-and another
opportunity to persuade.
Next Month: When You Go to This Public Place with a Prospect...You Must
Make Them Face the Wall (Otherwise, kiss the deal goodbye.)
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Proquest Technologies, Inc.
inthezone@proquest-tech.com
1-800-959-3959
In the Zone: Focusing on the 4 Profit Pillars of Real Estate
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"In the Zone" is a Proquest Technologies publication.
(C) Copyright 2005, Proquest Technologies.
