Ask for the Business: Powerful Closes

Ask for the Business: Powerful Closes

In order to turn a prospect or a lead into a client, you must get them to say “YES!” You need to close for an appointment when you have them on the phone and you need to close for a signature when you are on the appointment. Not sure what to say? Check out these closes… surely one of them will fit your needs, don’t you agree?

• If you could get what you wanted for the home now, and then move to another home that fits your needs, would you consider moving now?
• If i could show you that i could get you top dollar for your property and that you would feel comfortable working with me, would you consider listing your home with me tonight?
• I hope I am the last agent you are interviewing so we can get your home on the market today. Let’s get it going and get it sold for you!
• If you felt absolutely confident that you could sell it now, would you sell your house?
• Here’s the problem and I don’t care, even if you don’t list with me, if you are going to get this home sold in today’s market, it is critically important that you do look at different marketing approaches so you don’t get burned again (if it is an expired) because you don’t want to put the home back on the market and not have it sell again. Let me ask you this, do you know the difference between passive and aggressive marketing? OK Good! when would be the best time to show you… tonight at 6 or would tomorrow at 3 be better?
• Fortunately, to get you one step closer to (wherever they are moving to) all we need to do now is simply set an appointment so I can help you get what you want in the time you want! Won’t that be great?
• Now that you’ve seen these prices, I’m going to recommend a price of $________. Will you list your home with me for that price tonight?
• I wouldn’t be doing my job if I didn’t get an appointment with you. I have learned over the years that chances are you will end up with a mediocre agent and you don’t deserve that. May i drop by at 5 tonight or would 6 be better?
• When I come over, I am going to tell you exactly why your home didn’t sell and that way when you decide to list again, you won’t make the same mistake. Let’s set a time so I may show you how I get homes sold… would 6 or 6:30 work better for you?
• Why do you think a lot of people sell a lot of houses and others don’t? _____ That’s exactly why we should get together so I can show you what I do to sell homes… that is what you want isn’t it?
• If I could get your home sold in the next 30 days, would that be a problem for you? Great! All I need is 15 minutes to show you how I get homes sold… may i come by at 6 or does 6:30 work better for you?
• Before you tie yourself up in a multi month contract for thousands of dollars, don’t you think you owe it to yourself to get just one more opinion? I can come by at 6 or would 6:30 be better?
• (Going to re-list with same agent) What is that agent going to do differently this time that they haven’t already done? Don’t you think they would have done everything they could to get your home sold the first time they had it on the market?

More Scripts for Powerful Closes (Courtesy of the Mike Ferry Organization www.MikeFerry.com)

10 Commandments for Home Buyers

10 Commandments for Home Buyers

10 Commandments for Home Buyers   Has there ever been a time when you got a Buyer under contract and then they defaulted on their contract because they went shopping for new furniture for their new home & messed up their credit?  Unfortunately, these types of scenarios happen repeatedly!  It is up to you as an agent to guide these Buyers through the Home-Buying process.  Whether you are working with a first-time home buyer or first time in a long time, you must educate your client about today’s market, today’s financing options, the search process and set the proper expectations with them from beginning to end!  For the Ultimate Buyer System (including clever ways to attract and keep more buyer clients) check out the FREE CE class “The Ultimate Buyer System”  offered this month on April 25th from 1pm – 4:15pm at the West Cobb location of Maximum One (go to www.eAGENTweb.com then click on “Calendar.”) In the meantime, give your Buyers the “10 Commandments” in advance to avoid these heartbreaking scenarios!   Thou shalt not change jobs, become self-employed or quit your job.   Thou shalt not buy a car, truck or van (or you may be living in it)!   Thou shalt not use charge cards excessively or let your accounts fall behind.   Thou shalt not spend money you have set aside for closing.   Thou shalt not omit debts or liabilities from your loan application   Thou shalt not buy furniture.   Thou shalt not originate any inquiries into your credit.   Thou shalt not make large deposits without first checking with your loan officer.   Thou shalt not change bank accounts.   Thou shalt not co-sign a loan for anyone. As an agent, click here for a downloadable sample that you may brand with your own information to hand out to Buyers.

Kilroy Was Here: Lessons for Real Estate Agents

Kilroy Was Here: Lessons for Real Estate Agents – by Dana Sparks

He is engraved in stone in the National War Memorial in Washington, DC- back in a small alcove where very few people have seen it. For the WWII generation, this will bring back memories. For you younger folks, it’s a bit of trivia that is a part of our American history. Anyone born in 1913 to about 1950 is familiar with Kilroy. No one knew why he was so well known-but everybody seemed to get into it.  So who was Kilroy? ‘Kilroy’ was a 46-year old shipyard worker during the war who worked as a checker at the Fore River Shipyard in Quincy. His job was to go around & check on the number of rivets completed. Riveters were on piecework & got paid by the rivet. He would count a block of rivets & put a check mark in semi-waxed lumber chalk, so the rivets wouldn’t be counted twice. When Kilroy went off duty, the riveters would erase the mark.  Later on, an off-shift inspector would come through & count the rivets a second time, resulting in double pay for the riveters. One day Kilroy’s boss called him into his office. The foreman was upset about all the wages being paid to riveters, & asked him to investigate. It was then he realized what had been going on. The tight spaces he had to crawl in to check the rivets didn’t lend themselves to lugging around a paint can & brush, so Kilroy decided to stick with the waxy chalk. He continued to put his check mark on each job he inspected, but added ‘KILROY WAS HERE’ in king-sized letters next to the check,& eventually added the sketch of the chap with the long nose peering over the fence & that became part of the Kilroy message. Once he did that, the riveters stopped trying to wipe away his marks. Ordinarily the rivets & chalk marks would have been covered up with paint. With the war on, however, ships were leaving the Quincy Yard so fast that there wasn’t time to paint them. As a result, Kilroy’s inspection “trademark” was seen by thousands of servicemen who boarded the troopships the yard produced… giving them confidence that every rivet had been checked and they would be safe! Before war’s end, “Kilroy” had been here, there, & every where on the long hauls to Berlin & Tokyo. To the troops outbound in those ships, however, he was a complete mystery; all they knew for sure was that someone named Kilroy had “been there first.” As a joke, U.S. servicemen began placing the graffiti wherever they landed, claiming it was already there when they arrived. Kilroy became the U.S. super-GI who had always “already been” wherever GIs went. It became a challenge to place the logo in the most unlikely places imaginable (it is said to be atop Mt. Everest, the Statue of Liberty, the underside of the Arc de Triomphe & even scrawled in the dust on the moon. So how do YOU leave your impression on others?  After a listing appointment or Buyer appointment do your clients feel “safe” that you will get the job done for them?  When you interact with a co-op agent, closing attorney, or lender what “mark” do you make?  Would they be able to say “_______ was here” and mean it in a good way? The secret is…… you DO make an impression every time you interact with another in your real estate business.  Monitor what result that impression creates on others!  Here are some suggestions of things you can do to leave a favorable & professional and confidence-instilling impression: Write a thank-you note after each appointment Send a thank-you note to your co-op agent Send a thank you note to the Closing Attorney & Lender Send a thank you note to the co-op client Create new Return-Address labels for the Buyer & Seller with their new address & photo of the Buyer’s new house & give them out at closing Send moving coupons through MovingWolf In January each year, send all of the Sellers & Buyers copies of their HUD-1 Settlement statement with a letter that they’ll need it for their tax preparation For the Buyers send them a letter with the appropriate information with dates & procedures & contact for filing Homestead exemption Send the School tax exemption information for age-appropriate homeowners Call your clients a month after moving to see if they are settled in Call your past clients and offer a free CMA Offer to speak about the neighborhood values at the next HOA meeting in a neighborhood Once you go under contract, fill out the Important Dates Information for that contract & send it to your co-op agent When you receive an offer on a listing, send the co-op agent an email or text thanking them for the offer & letting them know that you received it When you present an offer on behalf of your Buyers, write a cover letter to the Listing Agent / Seller describing how much your Buyers love that house & want to make it their home – to make your offer a bit more personal than the others the Seller may receive Work with your co-op agent for solutions to issues that may come up rather than being upset & defensive when getting a contract to close Dress like the commission you wish to earn Always wear your name tag so people know you are a real estate professional Follow up conversations with an email summary so that you and your clients & co-agents are on the same page every step of the way! Change out the photos on your listings to keep them current with the seasons and keep your listings fresh Realize that the staff is here to help you and come to the staff with questions BEFORE they reach crisis-mode Answer your emails & voicemails promptly Send a handyman to your new Buyers with the first $250 – $500 of work paid for by you! Drop off pizza & sodas to your clients on moving day! Ultimately, remember the “Golden Rule” and treat others as you would wish to be treated in a similar situation!