5
www.garealtor.com
More Tips for Successful Communication
IN ADDITION TO SILENCE AND SPACE, THE FIVE OTHER COMMUNICATION SKILLS I RECOMMEND EVERY AGENT WORK ON INCLUDE:
Get tuned into reading body language. If you don’t know where to start, you can either do a little research online. Understanding body language is absolutely critical at a listing presentation. You must understand what someone’s body lan- guage is asking for. Are they confused? Are they resisting your recommendations? Do they distrust the information you are giving them? Did you lose them 10 minutes ago when talking about price? Have they already heard enough and are ready to sign? Sometimes you might need to stop talking and ask, “Would you like to hear more about what I am going to be doing to market your home online or are you ready to move onto our communication plan?” If they sigh and indicate that “per- haps we can move on …” don’t just ignore the comment. Whack that mole! “We cer- tainly don’t need to cover everything that is on this agenda if you are short on time. What are the topics you are most concerned about?” And once they tell you what they want to hear about, be sure to add, “I want to be respectful of your time. How much time do we have?”
Make sure you engage with all parties, not just one person. Time and time again I hear agents say, “Well, the husband really liked me and wanted to work with me but the wife obviously didn’t warm up to me at all.” That’s probably be- cause you focused all your attention on the husband. Learning to engage equally with two or more individuals live is a skill you can — and must — learn. Be very con- scious of this when you’re meeting someone live.
Ask relevant questions and get people talking. Effective communication which builds and cements relationships is asking a question such as, “What was your last experience in selling a home?” This kind of question opens the door to engage- ment, and allows the seller to feel involved in the conversation and the process.
Leave a phenomenal first impression. . . and a final impression. If you come into the listing presentation with your portfolio case of tools (and trust me, show- ing up with a simple portfolio case already has the seller wondering what you have in there), with a great smile, handshake, and introduction, this leaves a memorable impression. What is the last thing you say to somebody before you leave that in- trigues and engages them? If you don’t have that figured out, think about what that looks like and what materials you are leaving with the seller at the end of the presentation that will make them want to pick the phone back up and call you if they aren’t ready to sign the listing agreement at that first meeting.
Appropriate and timely follow-up. So many agents who start out well with the first four points fall down miserably here. They’re great in front of the poten- tial seller, but if the listing agreement isn’t signed there and then, there must be a plan for ongoing follow-up. With most agents, it is out of sight — out of mind. But it is the agent who puts together great material to send whether it is for days or weeks after the listing presentation who will likely put up the “For Sale” sign in the seller’s front yard. Make the time or energy for stellar follow-up or all the time and energy you put into your pricing research for the initial presentation will be for naught.
GEORGIA REALTOR® I 11
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40