It helps potential customers to imagine themselves as the proud recipients of the service you offer.  They want to experience the same benefits as the person who made a testimony to it.  The best way to get prospective clients to buy from you is to introduce them to other satisfied customers.  Since you won’t be taking customers around on sales calls testimonials will take their place

To do this, first you will need to ask your best customers whether you can interview them about the positive experience they’ve had with your service and record it either with a digital camera or a tape recorder.  Be sure to inform them how you’re going to use the information so they can be at ease knowing that you’re going to be using their words and images in front of prospective customers.  Once you have this, in a digital format, incorporate it into a PowerPoint presentation and playback to prospective customers. In addition, you might be able to use this on your website in either written or video format.

For example, maybe you know a situation where a client chose to work with someone else. After discovering that the other agent or firm was not responsive to their needs, they decided to give you a try.  The time you spent talking to them, listening to them and asking the right questions helped in them finding their dream home. Had they not come to you, they would still be frustrated and looking.

The best kind of customer is one who can give you a testimonial.  Then, should you encounter another prospect that voices similar concerns, you can simply say “ I understand how you feel and know of other customers who also felt that way.  In fact, here are some comments from a customer who had the same concerns you have now “.  Once you share the testimonial, they can see exactly what you mean.

Ask your best customers to talk about the benefits they received from working with you.  If you have a number of different testimonials, you can always use the one that best fits the scenario.  One agent we know shows pictures of buyers standing in front of the home they just purchased.  A picture of a happy, satisfied customer is worth a thousand brochures (and a lot less expensive).

Nothing sells better than truth – especially when it comes from someone who’s had a real life experience with you!

Good luck

A Crisis of Individuality

The more one depends on the strategy ‘gurus’ or experts whether online, in books or wherever, the more one loses that individual touch, those carefully tested out personal skills and strategies. And it is this quality—individuality—that is very important in the environment we now live in—one of extreme competition. Your buyer would be looking out for that something extra, something off the beaten track, as it were. There are going to be numerous conventions, seminars and the like; breeding conformity. The gut feeling that makes you successful is your key to success. The important thing is to follow your instincts rather than just to blindly emulate “professional “ sales advisors.

Pick and Choose

That is not to say that all such sales tips should be avoided—far from it. Do learn from as many sources as you can but without forgetting yourself, because that is what makes you different from  the rest of the  crowd. Business depends on trust. So it is important to focus on your human side. Only then can you convince the other person that you will help them meet their needs. As some put it, “the trust factor is the bedrock to any sales or selling relationship”. It is here that modern sales strategies fail. Their failure lies in their negligence of the human elements. To be convincing and to build up trustfulness, you must focus on your own personality rather than worrying about various external factors.

Focus

The focus, and we simply cannot say it too many times, should be on making your buyer feel comfortable and building trust. Selling is essentially, when reduced to its most basic precepts,a pact between two likeminded people or parties. Let us also not forget that trust goes a long way.

The same buyer, if and when convinced and satisfied with you and the sale, will come back and may also bring referrals.

Marketing skills and writing have become more and more important to the marketing of you and your listings and will become increasingly so as the internet increases in size.

Don’t be under the illusion, however, that now is too late or that you can’t compete. There are agents out there right now who are effectively using the internet to engage buyers and sellers.

Advertising your site is the small part of marketing, the secret ingredient is in the pitch, whether a landing page, opt in or sales page.

Funny enough it has been the same for as long as you possibly can remember, from the first radio commercials, print commercials up to the latest in  3D HDTV, it has not changed, what has changed is the jargon, the language and the way people perceive the world around them on a daily basis.

The way you write your sales pitch, where you place which words, how long must it be, what do you say, how do you say it, what guarantees do you give, how good do you make it sound, what is the perceived value, what does the buyer or seller get, why or why not ad bonuses, what about the price.

The buzzword “niche” has now been around for a while, and in most places you will be taught that to get good business you must find your niche. For most this is easier said than done – especially given today’s real estate market.

Many new internet marketers (and that’s what you are) make the same mistake, including me, when you start out, you want to sell everything to everyone, make millions of dollars and retire on the beach watching whatever you enjoy watching.

Many just throw in the towel after a while and use their site as “just another brochure.” Others last a bit longer and as these leave new recruits eager to do the same join the party.

A vicious circle indeed and it seems that just a few at the top are making it. Many well known agents are making it, but there are many more who remain quiet and anonymous that are raking in the business. It is up to you if you want to be well known or not, but use the right secret ingredient and you will be raking in the cash.

So for how long am I still going to be ranting on about the secret, or maybe it is my sales ploy, who knows?

Well let’s let the cat out of the bag and not keep you in suspense any longer. You can’t buy the secret ingredient. You are it. You just need to develop yourself using the right information.

What this means is that your website needs to be unique to yourself. That is how you will stand out from the rest. Just duplicating another agent’s site or relying on your broker’s site will not separate you from the crowd. It’s great to sow lots of pictures of you and the homes you are selling, but don’t forget about content. Articles, newsletters, blog posts – it is a combination of these types of things that engage clients.

Do not believe that you are not a writer. For some it is harder work than for others, but if you intend to be a successful internet marketer and have those vacations at the beach, every moment spent will be worth your while. Don’t have the time (or you would rather be selling)? Hire a company (like Agent Success Club) to help.

Remember, it’s the little things you do consistently that will produce the long terms results!

Please, visit us at www.agentsuccessclub.com

Reactive Selling

Much of the time, we adopt a reactive posture with our customers. We “lob” a statement or benefit over the fence and wait for the customer to respond to the statement or benefit. Then we react to their response. Reactive statements include:

• “I’m calling to see if there’s anything I can help you out with today.”  lob … wait … The response usually is “No, not today. Thank you.”  Our reaction is “Well, if something comes up….”

• “Last week I sent you several new listings and I’m following up to see if you’ve received it.” lob…wait…  The response usually is “Yep. But I am not sure about them…” or “I don’t remember.” Our reaction is, “Well, call me if you have any questions or want to see any of them…”

At the very best, many reactive sales calls end with the agent – not the customer – doing something.  Reactive sales calls result in the agent sending information or setting up another phone call.

With reactive sales calls, you give up control of the conversation and reduce the possibility of making something happen.

Proactive Selling

Bring the customer into the conversation with an open-ended but specific question:

• “What did you think about the back yard at 123 Main Street?”

• “Which houses would you like to look at this week?”

• “How familiar are you with this neighborhood?

This question should be targeted towards the customer needs but can be very effective for cold-calling as well.  You retain control over the conversation and build the opportunity to qualify the customer.

Also don’t forget to:

• Begin each call with a specific Initial Value Statement.

• Confirm that you’re addressing each of the decision makers needs.

• Ask if this is a good time to talk for a few minutes.

• If the buyer or seller was referred to you, be sure to mention the referral source.  This will solidify the relationship and help establish credibility.

And Finally…

Proactive selling won’t work for everyone and won’t work all the time.  But when you’re feeling like you’re getting “no’s” bleed, try proactive selling.

You can follow this link to our page:

http://on.fb.me/qlnZvc

In addition to our regular emails and blog, we will be using Facebook to
share tips, information and other valuable information. It will also give
us the opportunity to get to know you better.

Thanks in advance for your support and, as always, we are here to help you
in any way!

Sincerely,

Agent Success Club
social@agentsuccessclub.com
www.agentsuccessclub.com

So how do some men and women rise to the top while so many others only dream about success? 

Many of the top sales professionals I know have been fortunate to have had a mentor somewhere along the way who shared nuggets of golden advice. Many years ago my Mentor made a statement one day that offended me. It also changed my life.

He said, “you’re a good sales person, but you could be a great sales person.” As one of the top sales people in the region my ego was bruised. I went away bothered that he would say such a thing. I considered myself a dedicated student of selling!

His statement rolled around in my head for the balance of the day and that night as i triedto understand what he was suggesting. The next morning, I worked up some courage, not really sure what I would hear and went into his office to ask him what he meant with his comment the day before.

He asked me to sit, and began by telling me how pleased he was that I was on his team, and explained he believed his role was to get the best out of people. I told him I felt a bit insulted, I considered myself better than just good at sales. He reassured me I was, but if I wanted to be a great sales person I had to listen carefully to some advice. The two words he said that stunned me were, “Stop selling.” I was dumbfounded, stop selling? He went on to explain, “Your job is not to sell anything. Your job is to help your customer make an informed purchasing decision.”

Well he had to repeat the statement two times before the light bulb began to come on for me. Of course he was absolutely right. I needed to move from being a gladiator ready to do battle, to becoming a trusted advisor. My responsibility was to bring subject matter expertise to the table and help the client understand the pros and cons of their decision. It is their money, it is their decision.  Had I done everything I could to help them make an informed one?

Over the years I have shared this nugget with many “good” sales people. I smile as I watch their reaction when I suggest they can improve their sales if they STOP SELLING. If you practice this philosophy today I commend you. Should you adopt it going forward, I wish you much personal success.

We are excited to announce three significant new upgrades to the site!

1) Contact Manager – you can now communicate and share articles,
newsletters, virtual tours and more directly from the site. Adding and
uploading your email contacts is quick and easy.

2) Property Marketing – You now have the ability to create and share not
only virtual tours, but property flyers as well. And, there are no limits
on the number you can create!

3) Sales and Marketing Letters – Over 200 letters in 18 categories,
exclusive to Agent Success Club, that you can personalize and print or send
via the Contact Manager.

We just came out of testing and these are “live” now. Please check them
out and let us know what you think.

Coming next……a new and improved Newsletter Generator!

Sincerely,

Agent Success Club
agentsuccessclub.com
admin@agentsuccessclub.com

That is why I can’t stress enough the importance of taking full advantage of your leads once you receive them.

Leads are not meant to sit around pinned onto bulletin boards, or placed in a tickler file. They are meant to be acted on.

Think about it. The thought process of a buyer or seller is to shop around for a home, so they have put the word on the street that they are in the market.

If someone within your professional circle gives you a qualified lead, it is highly reasonable that the customer on this lead has made several people aware of their interests in buying or selling a home. This means that their name and phone number is being passed around in more than one professional circle.

The timing on a lead is so important, the moment you receive the lead, pick up the phone and make contact with that person.

By not acting on a lead, you have two things working against you. One, you are allowing for your competition to get the jump on you. And two, you are giving your potential customer an opportunity to seek out somebody else to provide them with what they are looking for.

I once worked with a guy in real estate. He belonged to a few networking groups, and when he received a lead at one of his weekly meetings, he would come back to the office, pin the lead onto his calendar and let it sit there for three to five days.

When he finally got around to calling the name on the lead, he always received the same response. The customers would inform him that they were no longer interested, because they were working with someone else.

He would then hang up the phone and complain that he had the worst luck when it came to leads.

I think the message here is clear. This is an example of what not to do with your leads.

By letting a hot lead sit around and cool off, you are guaranteed to lose that customer.

Keep in mind, when someone gives you a lead, that someone is most likely giving your potential customer feed back. So that potential customer will have your name, and know when the lead was given to you.

I don’t think your customer would appreciate a phone call three to five days after you have received their information. Even if they are still in the market for a home, you will not be off to a good start.

Leads were meant to be acted on. So the next time you receive one, don’t hesitate, stop what you are doing, and contact that person.

Good luck.

But looking past this you see a number of signs that point to positive trends in the real estate industry. Jobless claims are down. Interest rates are still extremely low. Home affordability is at an all time high. And….you have professional investors coming in and snapping up properties. The consensus is we are at or near the bottom.

As Realtors, we must focus on this and show buyers and sellers why this is the opportune time to be in the market. Remember, if you arrive at the party late, you miss the biggest and best part.

Just a few thoughts from a realtor who is committed to the business…..

 Of course, coming up with all of this takes a lot of time

At AgentSuccesClub.com, we do the work for you. Our team of writers, researchers and developers is constantly evaluating new content for you to use. All of the content we provide is carefully selected because of its ability to help you grow your real estate business.

 If you need ideas (and you do) please check out www.AgentSuccessClub.com and learn more about the dynamic tools and resources we provide. You will be glad you did.

The Agent Success Club Team

www.agentsuccessclub.com

info@agentsuccessclub.com

866-946-6418