In my last post, I reviewed the very basics of the philosophy of 'sales' that is not really selling; rather - being the doctor. Of course, I only touched the tip of the iceberg. And since I promised more - here it is:
So, if you read that post, you are already clear (as mud, right???) that:
- The reason we go to the Doctor is pain. That's the same reason our clients come to us.
- The doctor does not need to 'sell' us. Because he is our trusted advisor. He got that way by fixing our pain at some point in the past or by establishing that he was there to help us, not to 'sell' to us. Same with our repeat and referring clients.
But did you know that the doctor can also provide a valuable lesson on the sales process. Uh-oh. I say time and again that real estate is not sales - it's agency. And there are hundreds of fabulous blogs/articles/etc on the differences.
And now, here I am saying that it is like sales. Hypocrite? No. Let me explain. But when it comes to working with our clients, the PROCESS - the actual steps we go through - are very much the same as in sales. Let's take a look.
Step One: PAIN! We already talked about this.
Step Two: BUDGET.
"Wait a minute!" You say. What does budget have to do with it?
Come on now. What's the first thing the receptionist asks you on the phone when you are begging for that earlier appointment time so you can get your pain fixed?
Yep, that's right! HOW ARE YOU GOING TO PAY FOR THIS?
In the doctor's office, they are asking for our insurance carrier/copay/etc. In the real estate sale, we are asking:
- Have you spoken with a lender?
- Are you prequalified? For how much?
- How much have you saved for a down payment?
- Do you know about how much you want to spend? per month?
- And the ever-popular and oft-blogged: You realize I get paid for my work through the commission I receive at the closing of our transaction, correct?
That's often a topic we tiptoe around. Why? If you are really going to be the doctor and you are really providing that service that keeps 'em coming back to their trusted adviser because you have gotten to the true source of the pain and really made it go away; get paid for it! Establish up front how much you are going to get paid for it. And for goodness sake, get a signed buyer's representation agreement. (If you are reading this and you sell real estate in Nashville - ignore that last sentence.)
I apologize if that sounds a little arrogant. But notice that I qualified the statement with IF you are really providing the service that keeps 'em coming back...That's a really big IF.
See what I mean?
SO if you are having trouble demonstrating or proving that value that gives us all the right to not be hesitant to ash about BUDGET - then you may want to go back to the Art of Marketing You group or the Out of the Box group and get some great advice on differentiating yourself, providing great customer service, etc.
This post is getting long and there are still three more steps to the sales process that the doc is going to help us with. So more later...
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