How To Create Loyal Buyers How to Create Loyal Buyers
Published on Tuesday, December 9, 2008, 1:11 PM Last Update: 1 day(s) ago by Cres McFall (SF South Bay)
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One of the phrases sometimes repeated by real estate agents is, "Buyers are liars." That comes from the frustration felt when a buyer-client buys something different from what the agent thought the buyer wanted, and sometimes buys it through another agent. How can we become so valuable to the client that they feel loyal?
The following goes into some detail about how to interview buyers before you show them homes. Believe it or not, the interview connects you with buyers so effectively that they won?t even consider working with another agent. In fact if they have been working with other agents, they will adopt you as their only agent.
We often hear clients say that they will know the right house when they see it. The "right house" is a vague concept that they can?t describe. This interview is the answer. The following is an extraordinary form of listening. It enables you to:
Qualify the motivation of the buyers,
Streamline the process of finding the right home.
Build a healthy, trust-relationship
In a number of instances when this interview process has been followed, the agent has been able to understand clients? needs so thoroughly that the agent could narrow the choices easily, and occasionally sell the first house shown. One woman exclaimed, before they even entered the house, that the agent had, "climbed into their head." This was not luck. Master this outline. You can know where the bulls-eye is and hit it.
There are 3 qualifying steps:
What will they buy?
Will they buy now?
Will they buy from me?
This first step involves a series of questions that uncover your clients? attitudes and feelings about their future home. These questions follow a pattern that enables you and your clients to move beyond the superficial and obvious and to reach the heart of their desires.
Begin with open-ended questions. For example, "Describe your next house," or "Tell me about your dream home." Don?t be tempted to ask specific questions such as "how many, where," etc. The objective is to allow your clients to explore their own thoughts about a home.
Sometimes couples surprise each other in this process, because new ideas surface. Watch for words that are emphasized or repeated. TAKE LOTS OF NOTES! Nod your head, make listening noises and keep still. (I know that?s difficult!) This listening may take an hour or more.
To further open up the thinking process, ask modified open-ended questions. These sound like "Tell me more about [whatever they have mentioned]." The process is called "layering down." When they look off into space as they describe something, you?re on the right track. They are envisioning the enjoyment of some aspect of their new home. You don?t want to rush this process. Continue to stoke it and stoke it and stoke it until you have plumbed the bottom.
As your clients talk about their future home, they will talk mostly about "features" (big yard, one story, 4 bedrooms, etc.). Here is where you demonstrate a superior ability to understand them. People do not buy features. They buy the benefits derived from features. So the next step is for you to translate these features into benefits.
The next part of the interview is to ask, "What does having [a feature] mean to you?" or "Why is [a feature] important to you?" Work through the more prominent features. Listen for the benefit behind the features. I memorized these benefits so I could easily teach them to others, but the essence of the idea is to understand that features are the superficial expression of the benefits. It isn't suggested that you talk about "benefits" to your client. Just be aware of them.
There are only 14 benefits derived from owning anything. Here are the benefits:
Aesthetics
Comfort
Convenience
Economy
Education
Entertainment
Health
Love (romance) A spouse or partner will sometimes buy to please the other one.
Prestige
Privacy
Recreation
Safety
Security
Self-actualization. (could be a work bench in the garage, a rose garden?)
If a client mentions that they would like to have a big back yard, the translation may reveal that what they really desire is privacy, or a place to garden (self-actualization), or the aesthetics of a view. While most agents would run out looking for a big back yard, you know that their real desire is to have the derived benefit, even with a small yard. You can apply this to even the most mundane elements of a home, such as a dishwasher, separate dining room, 2 car garage, etc.
This first step of discovering what your clients are feeling about their next home may take an hour or more, but it can save you many hours of searching and/or frustration. Since the essence of our work is building relationships, this is a priceless opportunity. You become a trusted friend in the process. Your clients understand more than ever before what is important in their new home.
Your notes will tell you which 3 or 4 benefits are the most important to your clients. Explain that every home purchase involves compromises and that they have indicated that some things are not to be compromised.
Ask, "If I locate a home that has [benefits: one, two and three], are you prepared to buy it?" This may seem like an aggressive question on paper, but when you have gone through Step I thoroughly, you will have a solid relationship with your clients that allows you to ask for this commitment. They will feel that you understand their desires better than anyone before, even better than they understood themselves before the interview.
If the answer to Step II is yes, the next question secures the client relationship. Explain, I work with only a few clients at a time so that I can devote my time and energy to serve them well. In order to justify that commitment, I need to ask you to make a similar commitment to me? "Would you be willing to work only with me?" Most often they are totally sold on you and can say yes easily. If there is another agent in their thought, you may want to add, "for a period of 2 weeks." If they don?t want to commit, move on to the next client.
As I mentioned at the beginning, I have used this interview process many times, and found it so effective that sometimes I have been able to show my clients one house, point out to them that it satisfies [benefits: one, two and three], and they buy it.
Review:
Ask lots of open-ended questions and listen, listen, listen.
Ask clients to tell you more about [their answers.]
Summarize the big three benefits and ask for a commitment to buy.
Explain that you make a total commitment and ask them to commit to you.
May you have much success with this interview process!
