QUOTE
“A smart agent listens to emotions—not facts”-. Unknown
LESSON/PRINCIPLE
Customers make purchasing decisions after carefully considering all available information, right? WRONG! Customers don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.
In residential real estate buying decisions are always the result of your client’s emotional state. Although it’s true that information can change an emotional state, it’s the emotion that carries the day, not the information.
As a real estate professional you probably already understand the 5 basic emotions:
1. Greed. “If I make a decision now, I’ll make money (now or later).”
2. Fear. “If I don’t make a decision now… the prices will go up (buyer); prices may go down (seller)”
3. Altruism. “If I make a decision now, my family will be happy.”
4. Pride. “If I make a decision now, I will look smart.”
5. Shame. “If I don’t make a decision now, I will look stupid.”
Understanding your client’s beliefs
Ask yourself, “What is this client’s belief system? Why is he buying/selling this property?”
Identify the emotions that are driving your client’s decision-making process. (Your success here will rest on how well you pre-qualified your client. The more questions you asked then, the easier it will be for you now to identify and access his or her emotions. This is why you should have a questionnaire of more than 50 questions for buyers and for sellers.
The most powerful emotional needs question is: “What’s important about this property to you? What is the most important thing you will achieve by buying/selling this property? If you don’t ask anything else, make sure you ask this question and keep it ever-present during every conversation you have from then on. The answer to this question will guide you in the right direction, allow you to give proper advice, and create a more effective win-win for all concerned. (Get this one right and expect lots of referrals from happy clients!)
As a real estate agent, do you ever begin your relationship with a new client by talking about how great a property is—the amenities, price, location— or how good, big and famous your company is without first gaining a crystal-clear picture of why he or she is buying or selling? If you do (and we all did it before we knew better, so don’t beat yourself up) stop doing it at warp speed. Break the habit fast.
Instead, ask the emotional needs question BEFORE you launch into a detailed description of your services (if you’re trying to get the listing) or property (if you’re working with a buyer). Then, as soon as your client answers the question, you may want to ask, “What else is important to you?”
Until next time, remember” It isn’t the information itself that’s important—it’s the emotional impact that the information is having on your client. If you put this information into action consistently you’ll produce far better results. Get more detailed information about using emotions to sell here: video
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