If there is piece of chocolate on your desk, how long will it take before you pick it up and eat it? If you’re like most people, the chocolate definitely won’t last until the end of the day.
At the Awesome Females in Real Estate conference last month, Realty Executives of Nevada President Fafie Moore delivered a powerful keynote that asked, “How can you become as irresistible as chocolate?”
Moore should know. She is not only the best recruiter I’ve ever met, but she is also the fifth woman in history to be chairwoman of the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce.
Temptation rules
Part of what makes chocolate so irresistible is its ability to be both sweet and to make us feel better. In other words, the appeal is not logical, it’s emotional. The same is true in real estate.
Moore says one of her most important secrets is to always make the last phone call of the day to someone she likes and enjoys. When you talk to an angry client and then go home, you take that energy with you. Be sure to end your business day on a high note.
Change someone’s life
What was your motivation for getting into the real estate business? Danielle Kennedy, a successful real estate salesperson and trainer, got into the real estate business because she was pregnant, had a bunch of kids and wanted to buy a freezer. Oftentimes life-changing decisions result from simple needs.
Realty Executives’ Moore believes that one of the best ways to be irresistible is to understand that the decision to buy or sell is based upon the emotional aspects of the deal. It’s your role as the agent to uncover the emotion. “People don’t buy things — they buy what (the product) will do for them.”
Emotions can be tied to colors, taste, the fear of loss, or a thousand other things. Certified public accountants, for example, still buy on emotion — their emotion is tied to numbers.
It’s not about the money
Money isn’t what motivates people. Instead, it’s what the money can do for them. Moore tells the story about an agent in her office who was working about 20 hours a week. The agent and his wife had tried for years to have a child, and when they did he was the center of their universe. Once their son started school, he was a straight-A student. Moore inquired about what they were doing to build their son’s college fund.
When they revealed that they hadn’t set one up yet, Moore asked which local school their son would attend since they wouldn’t be able to afford to send him to an Ivy League school.
That question tapped into the agent’s emotion and resulted in a major turnaround in his production. It wasn’t the money that mattered — it was what it could do for their son’s education.
The same is true for your clients. Once you understand the underlying emotion, buying or selling becomes a much simpler process.
Moore explained it this way: You can use emotion to discuss an emotional issue and logic to discuss a logical issue, but you can’t use logic to discuss an emotional issue.
Coping with option paralysis
Stanford University recently conducted a study that demonstrated that people suffer from option paralysis even when it comes to simple products. They illustrated this principle by having their subjects make a decision about which jam or jelly they would buy. If there were only a few varieties, they would pick out one jar and make their purchase. Given more than a few options, they usually left empty-handed.
To work more effectively with your buyers, understand that they are overwhelmed with information. As a result, it’s important that you keep your marketing messages short and concise.
To illustrate this point, Moore referenced a study she saw in The New York Times that examined various types of marketing pieces. Moore took the results from the study and applied it to her business. Here’s the script she uses:
“Values have been increasing. You might be pleasantly surprised about what your home is worth. Can we get together and talk?”
(Please note: You’re not sending them to a website, and you’re not sending out reams of comparable sales; instead, you have a clear-cut message and request to get together and talk.)
Lessons from NAR’s ’30 Under 30′
What do NAR’s top “30 Under 30” (exceptional Realtors who are 29 years old or younger) have in common?
1. Moore noted that each of them was marketing to a very narrow market niche. As Moore put it, “Narrow to expand.”
2. They all have a written business plan that they follow and work.
3. They have core skills — they do what they do best and they do it often.
4. They know their product.
5. They provide their customers with solutions.
6. They do lots of presentations and diligently follow up on each one.
7. They always remember to ask for the sale.
Two secrets for success
Moore says that the way to succeed at networking is to try to meet one person and to make that person feel important. “Sincerity wins over slick.”
When it comes to networking events, Moore makes a point of going over and introducing herself to the people standing alone by the walls. In many cases, they’re the ones who own the company.
Being as irresistible as chocolate comes from having fun, understanding that emotion rather than money guides most real estate decisions, and focusing on helping to change the life of someone else for the better.
Bernice Ross, CEO of RealEstateCoach.com, is a national speaker, trainer and author of the National Association of Realtors’ No. 1 best-seller, “Real Estate Dough: Your Recipe for Real Estate Success.” Hear Bernice’s five-minute daily real estate show, just named “new and notable” by iTunes, at www.RealEstateCoachRadio.com.
