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Looks Like I Was Right; Who Knew?
Note: Words appearing in Blue and Underlined are links to
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“Reduce your decisions to no more than two alternatives!”
From his course, Optimizing
Brain Fitness
Note: I took the
on line course offered through The Great
Course Company
NOTE: This Nugget applies to ALL REALTORS® and to anyone buying a home.
Over
three decades ago I created a course and wrote a handbook on Working With
Buyers; of course I mean buyers of real estate. I also wrote one Working With Sellers. The
course described how most REALTORS® show homes.
They would select hopefully no more than 5 homes to show on any one
day. Showing more than 5 only serves to
confuse the probable buyers. Once you
have selected the homes you intend to show this is what I taught them to do:
1. Try
to arrange them where you show an occupied home first, an unoccupied home
second, then an occupied home, etc. If
for some reason you and your probable buyers take more time looking at an occupied
home or you run into traffic issues, you can then skip the next UNOCCUPIED home and go directly to the
next occupied home on your list. If all
of the homes are occupied you obviously cannot do this but if you can, you will
avoid difficulties with sellers by not showing up on time.
2. DO NOT
give to the probable buyers any information on the homes you plan to show. Repeat, DO
NOT give them any materials to review before you enter the home. If you do, they will bury their heads in the
materials you give them and pay little attention to what you say or what you
show them. Give them materials on the
home you just showed as you leave the home.
Give them a folder in which to store the materials you give to
them. Tip: If your probable buyers
bring teenagers with them, treat them individually as you would two
adults. In other words ask them
questions, give them copies of the materials on the home, etc. Get them involved in the process. It is very important to explain to them that
none of the homes they are about to see are owned by you. Therefore they cannot hurt your feelings if
the homes being shown do not match what they are looking for and the ONLY way you will be able to better
serve them is if they are honest in discussing their likes and dislikes
regarding the homes you have shown them.
And…”Mr. & Mrs. Buyer, I hope you don’t mind if I ask you if you
want to buy this home. If I forget would
you remind me?” You might be surprised
when you know they are obviously interested in a home being shown and you do
not ask them if they want to buy it.
They WILL remind you. A definite buying sign.
3. Follow
the above procedure for the first home you show your probable buyers. Give them a positive expectation of what they
are about to see but DON’T UNWRAP THE
GIFT until you actually get into the home.
4. As
you enter the home, announce your presence even though the home may be
unoccupied. It is just a courtesy to the
sellers should they be in the home. Once
inside, tell your probable buyers that they should experience the home as they
tour it and to ask any questions they wish.
You should point out to the probable buyers the features and facts about
the home that are NOT OBVIOUS. I remember the very first home I showed and
the first thing I said was, “This is the living room!” As if they couldn’t tell. As they go through the home this is your
opportunity to dig deeper into what the probable buyers are looking for in
their next home. Ask them to compare their
current rooms to the rooms in the home you are showing. Listen for words that will help identify if
they are visionary, auditory or kinesthetic (feelings) type of people. Once you identify them you can modify your
language to adjust to their styles. For
example if they are visionary, you use words like see or imagine. Auditory, “can you hear your family’s joy
during Thanksgiving dinner in this spacious dining room?” Etc.
5. You
then move on to the second home you have selected and you repeat what you have
done above.
Now
is the time to revisit Dr. Restak’s quote from the beginning of the Nugget:
“Reduce your decisions to no more than two alternatives!”
Dr. Richard Restak
Dr. Restak
validated what I had taught so many REALTORS® over the years. Home buyers are no different than anyone
else; it is hard to keep them focused on what is important when you give them
too many alternatives to choose from.
This is where both buyers and REALTORS® can take a lesson from Dr. Restak.
The
next step.
6. You
now have the buyers in your car after seeing the first two homes you have
selected when you say, “Mr. & Mrs. Buyer, bear with me; I would like to
play a little game. Imagine that the two
homes you just viewed were the last two homes on the planet. With that said, if you had to buy one, which
one would you buy?” Then say
nothing. Let them discuss what they like
and dislike about the two homes you showed them. You will learn a great deal about their needs,
wants, desires and preferences in the event you do not show them something that
they would ultimately buy. They will
however select one whether it meets their needs or not and then you take the
papers from the home they rejected, crumple them up, and literally throw them
on the floor of your car. You have just
reduced the number of homes being considered to just one and in keeping with Dr. Restak’s quote above.
7. Then
show them the third home on your scheduled tour of homes. After they view the third home you repeat
step 6. You have seen three homes and
they have rejected two and are back to considering only one home. Keep in mind what Dr. Restak said; “Reduce your decisions to no more than two
alternatives.” At this moment they are
considering only one. You may at this
time ask them if they would like to buy the one home they have accepted; why not? Remember you prepared them for this question
earlier.
After
you follow the above procedure for all the homes you have selected for them to
see, you should be down to just the two to select from and you again ask them
which one would they buy? You may have
just sold them a home, if not, do the same thing the next time you show them
homes. But the next time you should be
armed with far more information than when you started because they are
discussing what they like and dislike after each two homes shown that they
toured and that is a very good thing to know.
When
I heard Dr. Restak say what he did
during the course I was taking on line, the light bulbs in my head immediately
lit very brightly as I remembered the above tips on showing homes to
buyers. If you are a buyer reading this
and you do not have a REALTOR® it still applies, keep your decisions to just
two homes; which one would you buy? If
you ARE a buyer who is reading this
my advice would be to sign on with a reputable REALTOR® otherwise you are like
someone walking a high wire without a net.
A REALTOR® can find you the right home and help get the best possible
price and avoid the myriad of pitfalls you could find yourself in without the
help of a professional. This is
especially true if you are considering new construction.
One
more hint for REALTORS® and this is a tip from Jeffrey Gitomer The
Sales Bible (you should read all of his books, they are great). I used the phrase “probable buyers”
throughout this Nugget. Most agents say “possible
buyers” or “potential buyers.” Can you
see and understand the difference? You
treat people differently if you first assume they ARE going to BUY and buy
from YOU! So why not think and talk like you believe
it?
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