Five Questions You Need To Be Ready To Answer

There are five questions that every real estate professional should be prepared to answer anytime, anywhere. Are you ready to answer them? Click here to listen.

When relatives, friends, or acquaintances ask me what I do for a living, I tell them that I am a real estate marketing and technology consultant. More than half the time, they respond with the following question:

"How's the market?"

That's the most common question posed to real estate professionals. If you aren't ready to answer that question anytime, anywhere, you will miss opportunities to gain new customers.

How long should your answer be? The average person might be willing to listen for sixty seconds. The average executive (think of your broker) will probably lose interest much sooner. One of the skills of salesmanship is reading your audience so that you don't ramble on and lose their interest. With this in mind, be prepared to deliver a quick response, thirty seconds or less, ending with a question that will allow your listener to ask for more information or close the subject.

You should practice your quick response often enough that you can deliver it at the drop of a hat. Practice in the shower or while driving. Practice before you pick up the phone to make your first call of the day. Soon the answer will become second nature, with slight alterations to suit current market conditions. My closing question would be "Are you thinking about doing something?" This question would allow my listener to continue the real estate discussion without committing to a specific time frame.

Once you have that answer down, you can move on to the next two questions you have to be ready to answer anytime, anywhere:

"Is this a good time to buy?"

"Is this a good time to sell?"

I know several people whose answer to both questions is "YES!", regardless of market conditions. To them, it's always a good time to buy or sell real estate. I suggest a less cynical approach.

It's always a good time to buy and hold real estate for the long term. If you are worried about short term depreciation, factor that in and offer less today. It never hurts to write an offer you can afford. The key is purchasing real estate that you can afford to hold for several years so that you aren't forced to take losses due to short term price adjustments. History suggests that real estate will yield a strong return on your initial investment over the long term.

Is this a good time to sell? That depends on why you're selling. If you're being forced to sell, waiting typically doesn't make anything better. If you're thinking about moving up, a buyer's market offers some advantages, like a lower tax basis on your new home. If you're thinking about moving down, a buyer's market may not be the best time to sell. Can you afford to wait?

You also have to be ready to answer these two questions.

"Why should I choose you to sell my home?"

"Why should I choose you to help me buy a home?"

These direct questions may seem confrontational, but we should be happy to answer them because they are at the heart of getting a signed listing agreement or a signed buyer representation agreement. The answers to these two questions constitute your pitches to sellers and buyers. Your pitches should be on your website, on your blog, and on the tip of your tongue. Being able to provide a confident, compelling answer to these two questions will help you seal the deal.

Were you ready to answer all five questions? If not, start practicing your answers, because in this market, you can't afford to miss an opportunity.

Thanks!

Frank Jewett