Are you a good listener? Or do you like the sound of your own voice better than ... well ... better than almost anyone else's voice?

Do you take notes (mental or written) as your clients speak? Or do you mistakenly call their children Lucy and Little Ricky?

Do your client's eyes ever appear to glaze over, immediately followed by a ticker tape on their forehead that reads, "BLAH, BLAH, BLAH. YADA, YADA, YADA"?

Have you ever left a listing appointment and thought "What went wrong? I had all the answers. I knew what I was talking about! Those people didn't hear a word I said!"

Are you starting to see a common thread here? ARE YOU LISTENING?

I just finished a blog by Jessica Klein that reminded me how sometimes it appears to the general public that real estate agents just like to hear themselves talk. Not YOU, mind you. That OTHER real estate agent. YOU"RE a fantastic listener, right? Lucy and Little Ricky told you so!

All kidding aside, listening really is an art. If it wasn't, it would be easy and everyone would listen effortlessly. It's not only an art, it's a skill. A purposeful manipulation of your very own mouth to keep it closed! At least momentarily ... long enough for people to actually answer your questions and for you to register those answers either in your mental file or on paper.

Good listening starts with good preparation. Good preparation means a written list of questions you ask your clients that encourages THEM to talk. And if THEY'RE talking, guess what you're doing?

RIGHT! You're LISTENING!

But back to the questioning ...

There's a right way and a wrong way to ask questions. You're not looking for YES or No answers. That's too easy. You're looking for information that will help YOU help THEM.

Those kind of questions are called WHOPENS (who, what, where, when, and how). Whopens enable you to cultivate answers that give you the information you need. The information you need to turn the tables and have them start ...

LISTENING TO YOU!!

Now go buy some Q-Tips and get back to work.