Average sales agents operate as tour guides and think their job is to show properties. They may only ask a few ill-prepared questions before driving around, hoping they’ll stumble onto something the prospect likes. Valuable time is wasted touring properties waiting for the prospect to either purchase a home or move on to another agent.
Although a sale may occasionally occur during these tours, the new owner rarely refers this agent to friends or family members after the sale. An unprepared real estate agent doesn’t earn the right to be considered their “go-to” real estate professional. So once the sale is complete, the average agent begins to scramble again for another person to take on property tours.
How does an agent avoid this dead-end path? Once a prospect’s list of wants and must-haves is narrowed, a refined search is done to find two perfect properties, either of which the prospect should buy. This saves a lot of time and removes all of the “moving-parts problems” that plague physical tours.
This is where the magic of technology comes into play. A virtual presentation is more professional with fewer moving parts than hauling people around in a car. This is not to say the need to physically show a property is permanently removed. However, an initial digital presentation will allow for fine-tuning what the prospect is looking for. This not only saves time, but also reduces the prospect’s stress because they can flip through pictures and descriptions of properties without the hassle of having to physically visit them.
The goal is to reduce the number of properties shown. The old way of thinking believed that the more properties shown, the more choices the prospect had, and therefore, the better the chances that a prospect would buy one of the choices. However, neuroscience research shows that the more choices a person has, the more difficult it is for them to make a decision. In fact, as options increase, it becomes increasingly unlikely that a decision will be made. But when someone has just two perfect choices, they are able to weigh the differences and make a decision.
Be truthful, honest, and committed to the prospect throughout the buying process. Everyone benefits when the prospect makes a buying decision so act with the utmost sincerity. The prospect can literally feel the difference when a salesperson has their best interest in mind.
The major difference between an average agent and a top producer is that the average agent is focused on making a sale, while a top producer is focused on building relationships that result in qualified referrals. Instead of burning through leads, they work exclusively with referrals.
