Discussion: Before you meet with your prospects, research the applicable market. Unless you have some good information to share, do not ask them to tell you about the neighborhood. You may appear incompetent. But if they just start talking, let them do it, and take good notes. At a minimum, you should have a few germane statistics about the neighborhood sales history to offer up in casual conversation. Know more than you tell. Leave room for in depth answers. This makes you look highly competent, which you really are, right? Never put a form or exhibit in front of a prospect that you are not expertly familiar with, and always be prepared for an extemporaneous presentation.
Action: You can’t possibly know as much about a neighborhood as the folks living in it, unless you live in it too. But you can be very well prepared. You can know a lot of information about recent sales history, derived from your multiple listing service. And few well placed statistics, or the latest scuttlebutt, can make you look like a genius. To get this kind of information, call on the home owner’s association board of directors before your first appointment. Or stop a neighbor while out walking their dog or watering their yard. Tell them you are listing a neighbor’s home, or working with a prospective buyer that is interested in the neighborhood. Tell them you just want their opinion about the quality of life in the neighborhood. In established communities, you might ask them how well the amenities are maintained, or about the neighborhood association. In new home subdivisions, you may want to know about the builder’s post-closing follow up. You will garner some very useful information, and as an added bonus, by demonstrating such interest in the neighborhood, you might wind up with more than just one listing! Ask these neighborhood dwellers what neighborhood issues, if any, are of any importance. What was it they would like to have known before they purchased in there? Try to discover the community hot button. If you have this sort of inside information, you are going to look exceptionally competent in the eyes of your prospect.
When it comes to proprietary forms, you simply must read every form you use in any transaction, before you present them. Not only should you read them, but you should ask your broker about anything that you cannot explain. There is nothing more professionally embarrassing than to ask a prospect to sign a document that you can’t explain. This is a true sign of incompetence. Don’t let this happen to you.
Another area of preparation is to have already designed presentation templates, so that you can be quick to respond to unexpected inquiries from prospects. You don’t want to be scurrying around trying to put a presentation together the day of or even the day before a meeting. That’s when you need to be learning specifics about the prospects needs and expectations, and gaining perspective on the property or community. If your focus is on the mechanics of your presentation, you will miss the substance. And it’s the substance that will help you sell. The mechanics are important. Because they help you present your information in a logical and understandable format. But even if your format is fabulous, if the content is wanting, you will have nothing to offer. You will not likely outshine your competition. In fact, it will be quite the contrary.
Development: Check out your local multiple listing service. Most have links to census information. There you can discover things like the average age, income, commute time, education level, and many other regional statistics. Learning about communities is not wasted information, even if you do not win the prospect over. Use that information to prospect for other sellers in that neighborhood. The more people you talk to in a neighborhood, the more aware you become. The more aware of individual communities within your marketplace, the more expert you become overall. This expert knowledge will help you tremendously with both your competency and confidence when dealing with buyers.