Think about your first thought after reading the title. How many of you thought, "Don't tell me what I need to do." You're right. I have no right to tell you or anyone else what you need to do. In fact one of my favorite exercises we use to do when I was teaching sales people from around the world was the "you need" exercise. You can all have a go at it and come back and let us know on this blog how well it worked.
I want you to go to the person who loves you the most either in person or on the phone (it cannot be your mother as we all know your mother loves you unconditionally,) and give them two or three good "you need" statements. What is a good "you need" statement? Here are 
some examples:
"Honey, you need to take the car in and have the oil changed and my tires rotated."
"You need to clean up and vacuum your room every day before you come down for dinner."
"You need to take out the trash and rake the leaves this weekend."
"You need to wash the car and clean out the garage."
Are you getting the picture? Create your own 2 - 3 "you need" statements and try it out on your loved ones. Come back and report what happens. In the past we have had some brave sales people do this usually over the phone. The results ranged from "you need to go to bed" to being hung up on and having to call back and apologize to explain it was merely an assignment.
Whether or not you try this, I think you get the picture. If the person who loves you the most won't take a you need statement from you, why would you think your clients would? So the next time you find yourself saying to your clients, especially early on in the sales process, you need to de-clutter, paint and plant in order to sell this home or you need to make a full price offer, STOP. Take a breath and think, "how can I say this in a less directive manner and more of a partner?"
Make a game of it any time you start saying you need or hear someone say it, ask yourself how you can do it differently. You will be surprised how much better your clients feel. I know I am always trying to catch myself with this and other sayings. My clients come back to me and refer me for two reasons: Results and Experience. Better communication makes for better experiences.
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