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Making It Easier For Our Customers To Buy
It’s
a statement I’ve heard many times woven into the presentations
of sales trainers. “In any given year,” they say,
“there’s only so much market share available – if you want
a greater share of the business, you’ve got to take it from
someone else!” Their
message is, of course, that you’ve got to be better, faster,
stronger, etc. than the competition to increase your sales
success. It’s a
valid message, and few of us would argue its inherent truth. From
another perspective, however, this message can be seen as
founded on a “scarcity mentality.”
Unfortunately, those who base their thinking on the idea
that there’s only so much business to go around may be missing
another powerful viewpoint. In contrast, an “abundance mentality” would suggest that
there’s a lot more business out there if we only knew what to
do to capture it. I
once heard the story of an office manager who decided it was
time to have a little “come to Jesus” conversation with an
agent who had been “working” for two years, but had not yet
sold a square inch of real estate.
“Shirley,” she asked, smiling calmly across the desk
from her, “don’t you like real estate?” “Are
you kidding? I love real estate!” she gushed.
“I’ve made the most wonderful friends here. I really enjoy the seminars we attend and the office meetings
are fun too. I look
forward to caravan day every week and the best part of all are
the wonderful parties we have during the holidays.
Getting involved in real estate has changed my life!” “If
you love this business so much,” the office manager responded
with a puzzled look, “wouldn’t you like to actually sell
some real estate?” Shirley
looked around for other ears and leaned forward. “The truth is,” she softly answered, “when you sell a
house, it’s really a hassle.
There’s so much paperwork to fill out and so many
things that can go wrong. I
hear the stories all the time – it really scares me.
I like real estate a whole lot better if I don’t have
to sell anything.” At
this point it was clear that our manager had gotten to the
bottom of Shirley’s little problem with sales success.
As I thought about it, however, I realized that this
story carried more significance.
Here’s someone who is professionally trained and
presumably “in the business”, and yet she finds the real
estate transaction terrifying.
And she’s not alone.
The reality is that many potential homebuyers find the
process even more terrifying than Shirley does.
In the case of buying a new home, we face the normal home
buying fears and then throw in the additional fears of dealing
with a builder, construction delays and the myriad of choices
and decisions to make. My
point is that every day there are millions of people who would
love to buy a new home or live in another neighborhood or
community, but they’re simply afraid of what they’ll have to
go through to get there. Based
on this reality, one of the most important messages I share in
my Certified New Home
Specialist™ training is that to really succeed in this
business, we’ve got to find the ways to
make it easier for our customers to buy.
Anything we can do to make the real estate transaction
less intimidating will work to bring buyers into the market who
are held back by fear. As
obvious as this may seem, relatively few in real estate fully
appreciate the significance of this idea.
Our
most successful CNHS™
graduates apply this concept wherever they can in their
business. Their outstanding sales success attests to power of this
approach. Some
examples: ·
My
Golden Rule of Real Estate: Organization, Organization,
Organization – Use
organizational systems and forms to help prospects understand
steps in the process, organize design information and
selections, detail specifications and track their progress. ·
Create
a New Home Owner’s Manual
– This makes it easier for customers to learn the realities of
building a new home and understand their role in the process.
The manual also includes the organizational forms,
selection information, and contact numbers. ·
Deliver
Outstanding Customer Service
– Analyze every aspect of the customer experience and identify
the many ways to make it more efficient, simpler and more easily
understood. ·
Educate
Your Customers – The
more they understand the realities, both challenges and
benefits, of the home buying experience, the less intimidating
it becomes. Share
this information in brochures, advertising, on your web site and
in new home buyer seminars. I’m sure you’ll agree that the day-to-day practice of real estate sales offers many opportunities for us to improve the home buying (and selling) experience. Rather than focusing all of our energies on taking business away from our competition, we should adopt an abundance mentality and take our success to a higher level by making it easier for our customers to buy. Other Articles by Dennis Walsh:
I'd
Rather Shoot Myself in the Foot!
Mixing Oil and Water
Builders
Are People Too
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Dennis
Walsh & Associates, Inc. Website
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