Role playing with "Skip" (a difficult seller)

Mary,

Those are all great points. I'm not actually sure how long I would've dealt with his "attitude" either, BUT...I HAVE had sellers who were very difficult (at first). They'd been through the mill with other agents, and were sourpusses when it came to even the mere THOUGHT of having to repeat those same experiences with someone new.

I wish I could say the following happened every single time...but it didn't. However, more often than not, those sellers became pussycats and some of the easiest and best clients in the world to work with. They only wanted to know that someone was actually on THEIR side for a change. Once you established THAT relationship...they'd do anything you asked (including sending you referrals!)

Skip's own kids may have abandoned him...but I wouldn't be too quick to judge. He could have been divorced...living in the midwest....his ex and the kids moving to California....kids getting caught up in drugs, bad grades, whatever. He's a military guy...a blue-collar guy....and maybe the kids didn't like the way he handled his "fatherly advice". We don't really know what the circumstances are around that. But I'll bet my last dollar, he's got pictures of them in his wallet...and he looks at them every night before he goes to sleep. And he regrets not having been there for his kids more. I'll bet he even drinks a bit to handle the feelings of guilt. In THAT circumstance, it's a sadder situation isn't it? Nonetheless...if I ever decided not to do business with some of my sellers based on their personal lives...I'm not sure I'd have had as much business as I did.  

In fact...even with my current real estate marketing firm...(with Realtors as my customers)...I have some who drink too much, some who are gay, some whose kids are also not to be found, some who are swingers, some who don't pay their bills, and some who cheat on their taxes. The only ones I won't do business with are the ones who won't pay their bills. LOL!!

Thank you for commenting!!

Carole,

Thank you so much for those kind words. We've been very fortunate already! FlyersToYou has been around for 7 years now...and even in today's "strange" economy, we continue to grow at a pace that's sometimes hard to keep up with! As agents begin to understand the concept of personal branding more....or who want to provide their sellers with the absolute best marketing materials...we're one of the only marketing companies that actually COME FROM a real estate background. It's easy to find graphic designers. They're everywhere. But to find one who has actually done what YOU do for a living...gives us a unique advantage over our competition!

Thanks again for the compliment!!

Amy,

You're absolutely right. I obviously wrote the script...so I made Skip play into my approach. But he COULD have said "Hey Buddy, while I appreciate what you're trying to do, I ain't interested in becoming your friend. Either answer my question about how you're gonna market my home, or I'm calling someone else."

My answer?

"Skip...wow, I'm curious as to what gave you the impression I was trying to become your friend? If we become friends during this transaction...great. But what I'm ACTUALLY trying to do is determine whether we make a good enough TEAM to get you the highest net profit on the sale of your home. That IS something you want to accomplish, isn't it?" He almost can't answer with anything but "yes" in one form or another.

(That would probably get us back on track.)

Great points though. Thanks for commenting!! :)

Tricia,

Thank you for taking the time to read this whole thing! I know it's long...and takes a while to develop. But hopefully it DOES help others in realizing that it's the QUESTIONS we ask that are more important than the ANSWERS we provide. If THEY ask the questions...we have no control over the answers...but if WE ask the questions...we can guide them wherever we want.

Example:

Clothing store salesperson: "Can I help you?"
Our answer? (In unison) "No thanks, I'm just looking." (end of rapport)

Clothing store salesperson: "Hi, is this your first time in our store?"
Our answer? No.
Salesperson: "Oh, well then welcome back! We've rearranged things a bit recently. So, if you're looking for something in particular...I can probably point you in the right direction."
Answer: I'm just here to look at shirts.
Salesperson: Well...we just got our newest shipment in...they're over here :::walking toward rack:::

(just getting the rapport started)

A similar approach could have been used if the customer answered "Yes, it's my first time in your store."

One's a successful salesperson...and one's not.

Tricia, thank you for taking the time to comment. I appreciate that!

Mark,

You had a great mentor. "Putting ourselves in their shoes" works not just in business....but in "regular" life as well. Heck, just yesterday, my dog Kane had a "piddling accident". I thought..."Oh man!!! I HATE cleaning up after this kind of thing!" It was maddening...but...it happened. Nothing I could do now would change THAT. So, I took a breath...kind of thought to myself how HE must be feeling (he knew he made a mistake)...and handled it much better than had I simply REACTED! We have to try not to REACT...but rather take a breath, think first and RESPOND in a great many aspects of our lives!

Thanks for the comment!

JoEllen,

I couldn't believe that either!! A lot of people were simply ready to totally write Skip off before even trying. Does that mean we're obligated to work with EVERY SINGLE CUSTOMER no matter how difficult they are?? Of course not. Makes me feel sorry for all the waitresses in the world!! But it never hurts to try and ascertain whether there's a way to make it work in a real estate transaction where we stand to make a decent amount of money in exchange for a little more effort and/or understanding.

I'm not sure whether my approach would have worked or not...but I DID take a lot of listings where it seemd like a LOT of sellers started out in "Skip-mode"!!!

Thanks for commenting!!!

Dave

Michelle (Above All Financial Services),

Your last paragraph intrigues me!! You and I have had some GREAT "conversations" via email...and I would have bet my bottom dollar that you had TAUGHT sales training!!! And now, I come to find out that you're not even "trained in sales"???? I almost fainted when I read that!! LOL!!

One of the most astute, insightful, realistic and convincing people I've met here on the Rain....and no sales training?? Just goes to show that "Howdy folks, what can I do ya for?" doesn't necessarily represent itself as a sales skill I guess. On the other hand, your Customer Service training has served you very well, my dear!

And you're so right in your last paragraph!! If I allowed my client to get me sidetracked...it was hard to find my way back. So, in those circumstance, no matter what they said....I often responded by saying something like "John, I'm really glad you brought that up. Let's come back to that in a moment." And then, simply go back to my question asking. By the way, that NEVER meant I wouldn't allow them to ask questions. It just meant that they couldn't control what I needed to accomplish first.

HINT: Have a pad of paper handy in your sales presentation. When the client asks questions, answer the simple ones if you can stay on track. For those that might veer off-course, tell your customer this: "Cindy, I want to make sure we get all of your questions answered, so I'm going to write each of them down. That way....when we're finished doing what we're doing now, we can go back and put your mind at ease by providing the answers you need, ok?"

Worked every time.

Thanks for visiting Michelle. I appreciate you!

Kevin,

I love your analogy about customers being like Master combination locks....and us needing to find the right combination!!! I always did well with the "Skips" of the world because they at least let me know where they stood!!! The ones I had trouble figuring out the combination to are the ones who sat there without saying a word.

I, too...consider sales a bit of a game. That can sound harsh if taken the wrong way. It's not that I didn't care. It's just that it often felt like a chess game. They'd make a move...I'd make a move. They'd think they had a Checkmate...and I simply moved my King over one square to avoid the loss.

My goal??? ALWAYS to walk away from the game with everyone winning.

I never achieved a 100% closing ratio either. But if I LEARNED something from the experience, I considered it a success...and moved on. Great points!

Nannette,

Great question and comments! But scroll back up to my response to Mary. She had mentioned that if Skip can't even get along with his own kids...he might just be too tough a customer to work with. I often found just the opposite to be true. In my real estate days, MY most difficult clients were the ones who never came across as difficult, but proved to be almost more than I could handle.

I read several of your blogs (I love your writing style by the way). There was one about a Mr. Buyer who flew up to see property after several months of corresponding. He and his wife were supposed to come up together, but they didn't. So he flew up...you showed him property. Two weeks later, SHE flew up. They'd been searching for properties for three years.

THOSE are my toughest customers, NOT the Skips of the world. Skip simply tests you a little because he wants to make sure you're the right one for him and he's afraid of being taken advantage of. Once he knows you're okay...he'll become a pussycat (in my experience anyway).

But the ones who can't make a decision if their lives depended on it are the ones who frustrate me the most. Skip would have been tough for about an hour. The rest of the transaction would have been easy. Your clients may not have been as "gruff" as Skip, but they would have tested my patience completely!! Not because they were taxing or belligerent, but because they are the types who are simply incapable of making a decision and are afraid to act. The ones who can view the nicest property in town. The one being offered for $30,000 below market...the one that is in pristine condition, perfect neighborhood, great schools...has everything they're looking for...and they want to think about it for a few days. Of course, the property is sold to someone else...and your buyers are somehow upset at YOU??? And they want to start the 6-month process all over again???? No thanks!

Those are the people who you could show two color swatches to. One's burgundy...and one's bright red. Ask them to choose the one that they (as a couple) like best. Explain that you're going to go refill your coffee cup and return in two minutes....and they need to have an answer by then. After all, they're just color swatches for crying out loud, right???

You go get more coffee (it should probably have a splash of something ELSE in it because of what you're about to face!!)...LOL....but you sit back down and ask "So, which color did you choose?"

They didn't.

Mr. liked the bright red one. He likes fast cars, and they're always red. He likes cute women in red dresses...and he owns a truck that's red and is probably wearing a red shirt. SHE hates red. She likes the richness of burgundy. The feeling of luxury it evokes. She has auburn colored hair (dyed)....and her Lexus has burgundy interior.

They argued while you were gone...and they're both sitting there with their arms folded when you press for an answer to your simple question about a color swatch. THOSE are my most difficult customers!! Skip, on the other hand, in his not-so-delicate fashion...would have said "Burgundy is a sissy color, and anyone who chooses THAT color probably had to keep his mouth shut while in the army."

He chose red. Whew! A decision maker!! How refreshing!

Note: Decision makers ALWAYS trust their decisions (even when they're wrong). But people who CAN'T make decisions will FOREVER wonder whether they made the right one. I'll take the decision maker any day!

P.S. Thank you for adding me as an associate! I can't wait to see what your next post is about!

Dave