When you are calling on FSBO’s, Expired prospects, and even Short Sale prospects they are naturally skeptical. After all, even when they have responded from your marketing pieces they still have their guard up. Most people are naturally skeptical and when anyone has to deal with a “salesman” their guard goes up even higher!

In real estate many agents focus on listings. Listings are a great point of leverage as you can market for additional listings once you have taken one in your favorite neighborhood. You also have the opportunity to generate more buyer calls when you have a great inventory of homes to sell. To help you take more listings, I invite you to consider the 5 following sales script tips to convert strangers into customers.

1. 85% Rule – 85% of leads aren’t just a waste of time; they are a TOTAL waste of time. Some sellers will try to get you to do a FREE analysis, chat all day, or will even hang up on you. No matter where your leads come from there are no “perfect leads”. Remember this rule and you won’t get discouraged when you run into a few people who have had a bad day and take it out on you.

2. Stop Selling – Stop telling the prospect about yourself. Don’t tell them how many awards you have. Stop sharing with them how you will give “110%”. People don’t care about you. The less you talk about yourself and the more you get the prospect to share with you, the higher your conversion rate will be.

3. Ask Questions – You can’t just ask any questions, dig deep with interest piquing questions. Ask questions that allow the prospect to see that you have more to offer. Ask questions that will help the prospect transform their opinion of you from “salesman” to “expert”. Probe with interest piquing questions like “would you like to discover how a 117 point marketing plan can get your home sold for top dollar in any market?”

4. Make it Easy to Take the Next Step – Once you have asked enough questions, make it easy for them to take action. For sellers you usually want to meet them in their home. Don’t let them suggest an appointment time, give them the option of two different times to meet. For example, “Sounds like we might have a match, would it be better to meet on Thursday at 5pm or Saturday at 10am?”

When your sales scripts pique interest and make it easy for the prospect to say “yes” to an appointment you will start taking more listings daily.

Discover a complete Seller Script mastery system today.

Todd Bates is a national Marketing and Business coach. Through his programs, such as Todd Bates Systems, he shares innovative systems to help businesses owners and sales professionals dramatically grow their sales.

His systems cover a broad base from sales conversion to marketing on a budget. The strategies that he shares have enabled him to net over 1 million dollars a year since the age of 24.

Did you know that you only have 8 seconds for a buyer to form a first opinion about your home?

Wow, kind of sounds like dating! That is a very short amount of time, so you really need to make those 8 seconds count.

Curb appeal is absolutely essential. How your home looks from the outside will shape a buyer’s overall expectations about the home and also what it will look like inside the home. Some buyers may not even go inside the home if they are turned off by the outside.

Some tips for the outside of your home include: a fresh coat of paint; ensure the front door is appealing; a new door mat; clean windows; rake leaves, sweep walkways; plant colorful and seasonal plants and flowers; weed the garden; remove anything dead; mow the lawn and edge the sidewalks; water the lawn and keep it green; make sure there is a nice clean walkway/path to the front door; store all garden supplies, garbage cans, and lawnmower out of sight; fix or replace broken doorbells, lighting fixtures, wobbly handrails; and the same rules apply for the backyard.

Once the buyer steps inside the home, you want them to be impressed. Remember, you have 8 seconds to make a good impression. You want the home to look as large and grand and clean as possible, even if it is a small home.

Some tips for the inside of your home include: remove all oversized furniture; remove all knickknacks, personal items and family pictures; remove all clutter; remember that less is more; cleaning every room in detail is a must, including cabinets and closets; open all the window blinds and turn on all the lights to get as much light as possible; if the weather is nice, open windows for fresh air; depending on temperature, turn on a/c if it is hot and the heat if it is cold, so that the temperature is comfortable; in the winter, have the fireplace lit; ensure that the house smells nice and pleasant (smell is also a very important aspect); turn on soft music; and clean, clean, clean…and clean.

When buyers are going to view your home, get the heck out! Buyers feel much more comfortable when they view the home while the seller is not present. If the seller is present, often, the buyer feels as if they are intruding and they can’t get a sense of them owning the home. If the seller is not present, they can view and explore the home with more ease and get a sense of actually living there.

The perception to a buyer of a staged home is that it is much more appealing, attractive, well-cared for, and comfortable. It is a great way to highlight all the best features of the home. Attention to detail can go a long way to a prospective buyer. And, remember to clean, clean, and clean! Home staging is a lot like dating, so make sure that first 8 seconds count in your favor!

I have been a full time real estate agent for 14 years and selling homes is my passion because I truly feel that owning a home is invaluable. Check out my website at www.karenlist.com for a lot more information and my bio/resume.

When you are calling on FSBO’s, Expired prospects, and even Short Sale prospects they are naturally skeptical. After all, even when they have responded from your marketing pieces they still have their guard up. Most people are naturally skeptical and when anyone has to deal with a “salesman” their guard goes up even higher!

In real estate many agents focus on listings. Listings are a great point of leverage as you can market for additional listings once you have taken one in your favorite neighborhood. You also have the opportunity to generate more buyer calls when you have a great inventory of homes to sell. To help you take more listings, I invite you to consider the 5 following sales script tips to convert strangers into customers.

1. 85% Rule – 85% of leads aren’t just a waste of time; they are a TOTAL waste of time. Some sellers will try to get you to do a FREE analysis, chat all day, or will even hang up on you. No matter where your leads come from there are no “perfect leads”. Remember this rule and you won’t get discouraged when you run into a few people who have had a bad day and take it out on you.
2. Stop Selling – Stop telling the prospect about yourself. Don’t tell them how many awards you have. Stop sharing with them how you will give “110%”. People don’t care about you. The less you talk about yourself and the more you get the prospect to share with you, the higher your conversion rate will be.
3. Ask Questions – You can’t just ask any questions, dig deep with interest piquing questions. Ask questions that allow the prospect to see that you have more to offer. Ask questions that will help the prospect transform their opinion of you from “salesman” to “expert”. Probe with interest piquing questions like “would you like to discover how a 117 point marketing plan can get your home sold for top dollar in any market?”
4. Make it Easy to Take the Next Step – Once you have asked enough questions, make it easy for them to take action. For sellers you usually want to meet them in their home. Don’t let them suggest an appointment time, give them the option of two different times to meet. For example, “Sounds like we might have a match, would it be better to meet on Thursday at 5pm or Saturday at 10am?”

When your sales scripts pique interest and make it easy for the prospect to say “yes” to an appointment you will start taking more listings daily.

Discover a complete Seller Script mastery system today.

Todd Bates is a national Marketing and Business coach. Through his programs, such as Todd Bates Systems, he shares innovative systems to help businesses owners and sales professionals dramatically grow their sales.

His systems cover a broad base from sales conversion to marketing on a budget. The strategies that he shares have enabled him to net over 1 million dollars a year since the age of 24.

When we list a home we agree to market that home and marketing includes referrals, open houses, advertising, flyers, signs, mailers, internet marketing, previews and what other great ideas we can think of. It is not just one thing that sells a home. It sometimes is a combination of many things to get a home sold. We should incorporate open houses into our marketing plan to do a complete and thorough marketing of the property.

They are great opportunities for the listing agent when he holds a home open. Even if the property does not sell that particular day, there are some opportunities to pick up new clients. When visitors sign your guest book and you now have a contact to follow up with. You have a lead to work with either on this property or another similar property. Maybe you won’t sell them the house you have listed, but you may sell them another property. Another benefit is that you can spread your signs all over town leading to your home and maybe nobody comes to your open house, but everyone sees your signs out there and they know you are working. People say to me, “I see your signs all over town.” One of the neighbors driving by may be thinking of listing their home and call you. Another advantage is that your sellers know you are working hard to market their home and they appreciate your time. When the listing comes up for renewal you have the opportunity of telling them about all the hard work you did.

The success of open houses depends on the time of the year, the weather and the curb appeal of the property. January through September is the best time for this type of marketing. If your property is priced well and shows really well, the chance of selling during an open house increases. You will get possible buyers into properties that they normally would not have visited. It is easy to walk into a house, but a buyer may think twice about calling a Realtor to show the property to them and having that Realtor call them for the next 3 months.

When neighbors visit the property they will be observing the agent on duty. If they are impressed the chances of that agent getting their listing increases. It is nice when the agent has small give always like water, key chains, pens or notepads. This creates a good feeling of warmth for the neighbor feeling that they get something for free and would like to have this agent in their home.

Most of us that have been in the business for several years have all sold a listing from an open house. We cannot say no to the question of whether or not listings sell this way. When sellers ask us if open houses sell listings what do we say? The correct answer is yes because occasionally a house sells. Open houses are a marketing step that every Realtor should include in his package which he presents to a seller.

By Ronald Accornero

RIS Media has a great article called “3 Ways to Deliver On The One Stop Shopping Promise” which tells you the things you need to do as an agent to take care of your clients.

In today’s competitive real estate market, you want to be able to solve all of your client’s real estate needs and so many agents say they can “do it all”, but when it actually comes down to delivering…they fail.

If you are promising your clients that your business is a one stop shop, you want to be able to deliver on all their needs. The better you can do this, the more likely they will be in sending you referrals and doing business with you later down the road.

If you take action and try new things for your real estate business growth and marketing activity – you and your team will make mistakes. Many real estate companies and especially one’s just starting out can avoid these frequent missteps and consider methods to avert the problems.

Mistake 1: Sailing your boat without a destination. You hear “let us sail away into the sunset” with no destination in mind. That works in the movies but to stay alive you need more than a romantic sunset or an adventurous voyage. You need a plan. Take the time to thoroughly investigate your market and target customers, the competition and other basics, with a sound business model. Focus on answering one deceptively simple question: How will you make money?

Mistake 2: Selling way too cheap. Lowering your commission just to get a sale. Many agents are like that. They think lower commissions will catapult sales into the stratosphere and they will make more money. But it does not work that way! You must develop your ideal Unique Selling Proposition and position yourself in your local real estate market. Research the market and truly understand your buyers needs. Figure the dollars you need to walk away from every transaction. Marketing your houses can add up, and you don’t want to be on the short end when the house sells. Lesson: Don’t trade pennies for dollars.

Mistake 3: Clueless about marketing. Many agents confuse marketing with sales. Marketing is a unique item to position yourself and create and solidify your brand. You want to use your marketing material to demonstrate your expertise in your area and bring about a comfort level with your clients. Your marketing material should overcome the objections that potential clients are likely to have, so when it’s time to close the deal there won’t be any last minute problems. Lesson: Don’t try to close deals before getting your message to potential consumers.

You will make mistakes but your action and planning can limit your exposure to the most common and sometimes simple mistakes that hurt real estate agents. Planning provides enlightened and creative intelligence to your business growth. Without planning, in the middle of a crisis your cognitive powers are not as bold. Also, it is far easier to seek impact, experienced, and knowledgeable assistance with a written plan.