I love objections. The reason I’m so passionate about objections is because when someone gives me an objection, it’s an opportunity for me to find out what the real problem is so that we can work to solve it.
Early in my career, I owned hot tub and satellite dish stores, two items that aren’t necessary for survival, but nice to have. As we would work fairs, home shows and other events, we had to learn to move people from the “I’m just looking” phase to the real interest phase, and, ultimately, close the sale. We learned that giving out brochures and business cards were tokens of dismissal and, more often than not, the client would not call back or return, even though they said they would. We started referring to these tokens as tickets to the “be-back bus.” While I’m okay with sincere clients who want to think things over, more often than not, the reason a prospect asks for a card, a brochure or a copy of your CMA is because you haven’t done a good job establishing your value or truly understanding their concerns. Instead, they ask for a copy of your material or tell you that they need to think about it, pray about it or talk it over. All of these are awesome ways to get rid of a salesperson you’re not ready to do business with.
Overcoming objections with ease takes time, practice and confidence. I believe if you take the time to truly build a relationship with the client, your ability to be a little more aggressive in dealing with objections increases. When a client says, “I want to think about it,” your response should be thoughtful and practiced so that it doesn’t sound or feel like you’re quoting a script. Simply say, “I understand how you feel. As a matter of fact, I like to take the time to think things over when decisions impact my family like this. What exactly do you need to think about?” If there’s no response, follow up with these questions: Are you comfortable with the marketing plan we’ve outlined together? Do you have a good understanding of how we came up with the list price? Are you comfortable using me as an agent? As they answer these questions, you can quickly get to the real objection, which might be that another agent is willing to do it for less. That’s the magic of asking questions and having a practiced way of dealing with objections. Now that you know the objection is your price, you can reach into the many scripts you’ve practiced to deal with price objections.
There are no objections we can’t handle if we’re prepared. Watch your business soar as you learn to stop giving out tickets to the be-back bus and start dealing with the real concerns at hand.
Verl Workman is the founder and CEO of Workman Success Systems (385-282-7112), an international speaking, consulting and coaching company that specializes in performance coaching and building successful power agents and teams. Sign up today for a free business consult with Verl by sending an email to coach@verlworkman.com. To hire Verl to speak at your next event, email events@verlworkman.com.
For more information, please visit www.workmansuccesssystems.com.
For the latest real estate news and trends, bookmark RISMedia.com.
