We talk a lot about the mindset of going out and getting what you want for your life but please always remember that at the same time you must be willing to give first.
As a new agent you may need and want to make a sale in the worst way and perhaps you will say or do almost anything to get someone talked into buying or selling a home. I can tell you that is not a good plan and there will be a price to pay for your greediness.
Let me share a story about an agent I mentored several years ago and the realization he came to as a result of having what I call commission breath.
This Is Not About You
Agent B was new in the business and needed desperately to make money with 3 kids to support. Seeing that need, I gave him some buyer leads who were inquiring about my listings and requesting an appointment to view the property. As hot leads, I figured he would grab these customers as future buyer clients.
After each showing, Agent B would come back to the office, head down, empty handed, and with no buyer interested in that home or any opportunity to sell them another one. Agent B had received training with me and so I was a bit perplexed as to why this kept happening. I decided to do some role play with him having me as the buyer and he the agent. Once we got into it, his conversation with me as the buyer hit me like a ton of bricks. He asked me several times, did I want to make an offer on this house? He hadn’t been observant to any kind of buying signals from the buyer such as placing furniture, children picking out their rooms, eyes lighting up as they entered certain areas of the home and words like I love this and I love that. When I questioned him about that, He told me his intent was to sell that buyer that home. Done! Sold!Well that was clearly not working and here is the lesson he needed to learn. People are unconsciously, but keenly aware when someone wants what they have (money in this case) and innately uncomfortable when they think they are being taken advantage of, ignored of what is important to them or forced to make a decision they are not ready to make. To that person it feels like all you care about is getting the sale and not about what they want, aka COMMISSION BREATH!
How To Get The Commission
So be very aware of what you say to potential clients and if your body language evokes pushiness and aggression. Instead, be consultative in your approach, ask the potential buyer questions about what he wants and tell him how you can help find his perfect home as well as take them through the home-buying process with ease and confidence.
The end of the story was that once Agent B realized that 99% of the time he would not sell the home he showed, but with a few new closing scripts that included a caring and consultative approach of giving first, he could pick these folks up as buyers to sell them another home. Happily he gained an attitude of “it is really about what you can do for the other guy” and he made $50k that year with no more commission breath!
If you feel the need to force others into doing what you want for the sake of money, we need to talk!