Jason; I appreciate the opportunity you’ve given me to participate in the 40 day sales dare. It was a wonderful learning experience that has helped me immensely. I was set in my ways and didn’t realize I was making critical mistakes in my day to day performance. The 40 day sales dare made me reevaluate everything I was doing, all with fantastic results. I was able to write a new contract for every week of the 40 day dare! I am actually already restarting the program so that I can refresh my memory and perfect each dare. I can’t tell you how satisfying it is to have a program that starts each day with a simple and easy format, yet yields such powerful results. I will keep you posted on my performance increase while I do the program again. My review was that I could add 11 sales to my performance a year which results in an increase in $21,500 to my annual income. If that isn’t a good return on a $19.95 investment I don’t know what is. Thanks again for everything and we’ll be talking soon! Mike Banson
I sell the intangible most in my community in the media room. I usally sit the prospect down, shut the doors and put a movie on for a brief period if time permits. It is nice to see them sit back and relax and enjoy what is really a great amenity. I immediately see them inviting friends over in their mind and impressing them with their very own theater. We have cabanas as well, a billiards room, and a card room, which I all stop in and use because I like those amenities myself and it is easy for them to envision how they could enjoy that with their friends and family. I am going to make a more conscious effort to create the community feel instead of just how they could use it. I’m hoping that by creating a community feel they can get the feel of a neighborhood instead of just a waterfront home.
It helped me to not only tell about my community but “explain” my community to the prospects. I find myself like an information giver too much of the time and explaining why things were the way they were helped take me in a new direction. Our community is spread out on 12.5 acres and allowed the architect to spread out the community, from amenites to floorplans right down to building design. This allows the resident to have more of a single family community feel, while still have the benefits of great view and maintenance free. Talking about the early vision of the community helped them understand what we were all about.
It was nice to put the solution to a problem in the hands of the prospect who raised the problem. I tried a couple of times when an objection came up to ask what they would do and some of the time they came up with their own solution. Even small things, like a bathroom in our condos that has a window to a common hallway just above eye level. When a customer showed concern that someone could technically look in I asked what they would do about it. Knowing the simple solution myself it was nice to put it in their hands to solve the problem which they did either by mentally installing stained glass or a window treatment.
I interpreted this to fit my situation in a community of completed condos. It was hard to figure out how to create a wish list of standard and upgraded features for our condos as the only differences are tile in the main living area and the colors of the cabs and counters. I decided for my dare to tell everyone some of the main standard features prior to walking in to the condo so the ryhthm and flow through the presentation wouldn’t get distracted by the prospect getting caught up in what was standard and what was upgraded. Basically I set the expectation that I would notify them of everything so that they didn’t have to keep asking.
I have always been a connector, even if its the prospect knowing that I will be one of their friends once they purchase. I have used this in the past with great success on follow up calls, putting potential purchaser in touch with happy homeowners, but instead of the quick hello and exchange while passing by with prospects, I will make a point of stopping to touch on a specific subject that may be of interest to the prospect that a happy homeowner might be able to help with, while making a connection to a potential new neighbor.
It was interesting to try this dare. I have never consciously made it a point to ask for the sale twice. It was almost instinct whenever I did or didn’t do it, so going into this dare was a little intimidating. I knew I had to earn the right to close once before I closed twice so I worked harder knowing I had to close twice. Did not pan out to a sale on the prospects I earned the right to close but I know using it consistently will pay off in the long run.
I tried this dare by telling my prospects the following, that is, after I narrowed it down to the one condo they loved the best. I told them I didn’t think the price would change over the next week, but that they stood a good chance of losing their favorite location. Sometimes, especially in the current market, any attempt at selling a price increase would be laughed off by the prospect. But the fact that they might lose the very condo they just spent hours to select, certainly tugged at their heartstrings more. I wasn’t able to close them as I had hoped, but I could definitely see the wheels grinding as they stood the chance of not only losing their favorite, but having to reselect one that might cost more money.
I have chosen to not qualify so hard so quickly when meeting with prospects. I sometimes feel I have one shot and everything has to happen quickly, ie; I have to make sure everything they need to know is given to them during their first visit. What I’m learning to do is let a relationship develop, leave some information on the table so there is a reason to come back with more questions, giving me another opportunity to close them or another opportunity to contact them. I try a little give and take, giving them a little information on my community, while asking for a little of themselves as well, what they’re looking for, what they need, want, and expect. This goes against everything I’ve ever learned, that its a numbers game. While it is in a way I have to make sure the quality is there with every customer or I’ll be spinning my wheels.
I have found that in my presentations, while showing the amenites, I rarely ever actually used the amenities with the prospect. I have taken a shot or two on the pool table with them, but I wanted to do something more. I realize working out in the gym isn’t possible, so I thought I would spend more time walking the grounds, giving them a feel for what they would be doing once they lived here, sitting down in an area that brought them enjoyment, or spending some extra time relaxing on the sofa in the model enjoying the view. I got more feedback during the relaxed times. Once seated or in an informal setting, some of them would open up more about exactly what they were looking for, what they liked and didn’t like, and where we stood. If I didn’t get much more information at that particular time, it was nice to see merely a look of enjoyment while they walked the grounds or stopped to sit back and enjoy the view.
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