I'm an investor. I teach investors. That makes me a little odd. In my QuickStart investment workshop I hold up a golf ball and I ask, "What do you see?"
Everyone says, "A golf ball."
I lead them with, "I see green grass and blue skies. I see fun with friends. I see sandbunkers and water hazards. I see me going to Golf Plus and buying more balls."
Then I repeat the question, "What do you see?"
"I see greens fees getting ridiculous."
"My wife thinking I'm at work."
"I hate golf."
They add.
Posing the question differently I pose, "My name is Tiger Woods. When I look at this golf ball I see ______."
They all shout, "Money."
I add, "the primary tool for my success. When you leave my workshop today and drive down the street you will no longer see houses; you will see varying levels of investment opportunity."
So you, Mr. or Ms. ActiveRain networker, what are you showing to your prospects? What do they want to see? Me, I couldn't care less what color the walls are in the bathroom or whether or not that stained old cooktop can be cleaned. I'm buying equity and future values.
But if you are showing a home, don't just show a house; paint colors, floor coverings, appliances. Show a HOME. A home is where the school is and the grocery store, how quiet the streets are at night and how well lit without shining in your bedroom windows. A home is how power hungry and ridiculous the president of the HOA is NOT. A home is the smell of a crackling fire, the sound of a cake mixer running, a nice room for mom's doll collection or basement for dad's Harley project.
Any monkey can show a house: Here's the bedroom it has wood floors. There's the bathroom, it was recently remodeled. There's the back yard it has grass and a swing. Woohoo.
Sure, those are parts of the presentation that are important but when did you last take time to research the distance to the nearest drug store or gas station? Talk to the president of the HOA and listen to her attitude. Would you live there? Is this really the best HOME for your clients.
Maybe there is a train track just on the other side of the hill with trains that run hourly every day of the year. Some people like the sound of a train. Whether you do or not wouldn't it be wonderful to know you're going to be living with one for the next X years instead of finding out at 1:00 in the morning the day after you busted your hump to move in to your new home?
Remember: We will all spend our commission long before the client moves from that home and if they don't like it six months down the road because the traffic is horrible or the HOA is a bunch of whining losers they may not finger you but if you check out the life assets of that home and you tell your client, "Listen, I talked with the HOA president for a few minutes and she is a little pushy but she won't always be president, I just wanted to let you know up front, you *may* lose THAT sale but you won't lose THAT client and they will be eager for you to find another HOME for them. They may even take the home anyway but they'll know you were looking out for them.
So when you're looking at that box know your client's motivation. If you show me a house and tell me the paint color we're done. But maybe that young couple you show next can't afford to paint right away and that information is important to them. Here's one of our little acronyms:
Discuss Discover Determine Deliver
Dicuss openly with the prospect asking a series of questions and listening to their answer intently.
Discover the real "pain behind the needs" or the motivating factors. Why? Why? Why?
Determine the best possible solution for your clients - this is the invisible work we all do.
Deliver exactly or as closely as possible all of the solutions to your clients needs.
(The snotty HOA president example is not intended to be a reflection on HOAs it's just an example people. Don't flame me! ;)
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