By Patti Kouri
Do you wish that your quest for clients and customers were more fruitful? It will be if you avoid falling into these common traps. Ask yourself these 10 questions to find out if you are making any of the Top 10 Common Mistakes in Selling.
1. Does selling feel like begging?
Too often, real estate professionals fail to think of their time with a prospect as an interview to find out whether that prospect qualifies to be a client. Instead of asking the questions to learn whether it’s possible to move the prospect to the level of customer, salespeople find themselves hoping…wishing…and even begging for the opportunity, and then maybe making a sale.
Instead of a salesperson, think of yourself as a doctor. A physician examines the patient thoroughly before making a recommendation, using various instruments to conduct the examination. In selling, questions are the instruments that will help you conduct a qualifying examination of the prospect.
Don’t sell … solve.
Don’t pitch … probe.
2. Do you talk too much?
Real estate professionals who are too focused on their pitch end up monopolizing the time with a prospect, while the prospect must listen whether they’re interested or not. As a result, for every hour spent in front of a prospect, only five minutes is spent selling the product or service, and 55 minutes saying things that might actually be buying it back. No listing, no deal.
When you hear, “I need to think about it,” and “I want to interview other agents,” talk less. The goal should be to get the prospect to do 80 percent of the talking, while you do only 20 percent.
Don’t talk … listen.
Don’t tell … ask.
3. Do you make too many assumptions?
Most real estate professionals understand that they are no longer in the business of selling but of providing solutions. This is fine, except that too often salespeople try to tell the prospect the solution before they even understand the problem! If salespeople were seen as accountable for their solutions, as doctors are for their prescriptions, they would be forced – at the risk of malpractice – to examine the problem thoroughly before proposing a cure. The salesperson must ask questions up front to get a thorough understanding of the prospect’s wants and needs.
Don’t talk … listen.
Don’t tell … ask.
4. Do you answer unasked questions?
When a customer says something like, “Your commission is too high,” real estate professionals often switch into a defensive mode. They’ll begin a lengthy speech on quality or value, or they might respond with a concession or reduction. If customers can get a discount by merely making a statement, they will reason that they can get you to contribute from your own pocket throughout the entire transaction. “Your commission is too high” is not a question; it does not require an answer. Ask questions to find out what is the real objection and then deal with it.
Don’t pitch … probe.
Don’t sell … solve.
5. Do you fail to get prospects to reveal their budget up front?
How can a real estate professional possibly propose a solution without knowing the prospect’s priority on a problem? Knowing whether the motivation to purchase is driven by money or time frame can help distinguish someone who is ready to solve a problem from someone who is merely fishing around. The amount of money the prospect is willing to invest to solve a problem will help determine whether a solution is feasible, and if so, which approach will be best.
Don’t talk … listen.
Don’t tell … ask.
6. Do you make too many follow-up calls?
Whether because of a stubborn attitude that every prospect can be turned into a customer, or ignorance that a sale is truly dead, real estate professionals sometimes spend too much time chasing prospects that don’t qualify.
Don’t sell … solve
Don’t pitch … probe
7. Do you fail to get a prospect’s dedication to purchase before making a presentation?
Some real estate professionals jump too easily at any opportunity to show how smart they are by making a presentation about their product’s or service’s features and benefits. They forget their true goal – to make a sale – and end up merely educating their prospects, who then have all the information they need to list with your competitor or go FSBO.
Don’t tell … ask.
Don’t leave … close.
8. Do you chat about everything and avoid starting the sale?
Building rapport is essential, but not if the small talk doesn’t end and the sale doesn’t begin. Unfortunately, the prospect usually recognizes this before the real estate professional. The result: the real estate professional is back on the street wondering how he or she did with that prospect.
Don’t talk … listen.
Don’t tell … ask.
9. Do you prefer to hear “I want to think it over” rather than “No”?
Prospects frequently end a sales interview with the standard “think it over” line. The real estate professional too often accepts this indecision. It’s easier to tell a manager or convince yourself that the prospect may buy in the future than to admit that the prospect is not a qualified candidate. After all, isn’t it the professional’s job to go out and get prospects to say “Yes”? Getting the prospect to say “No” can make you feel rejected or a failure. But a “No” actually allows you to go on to more promising prospects.
Don’t sell … solve.
Don’t leave … close.
10. Do you have a systematic approach to selling?
When you find yourself ad-libbing or pursuing a hit-or-miss approach to a sale, the prospect controls the selling process. Real estate professionals who are disorganized in their presentation often leave a presentation confused and unsure of where they stand. This happens because they don’t know where they have been and what the next step should be. Following a specific sequence, and controlling the steps through the selling process, is vital to an organized, professional sales effort.
Don’t sell … solve.
Don’t pitch … probe.
Do you see the pattern here? If you want to turn more prospects in to clients and close more sales, remember these simple but powerful tactics:
Don’t talk … listen.
Don’t tell … ask.
Don’t pitch … probe.
Don’t sell … solve.
Don’t leave … close.
