The hardest part of sales is learning how to overcome objections. Whether you are selling cars, shoes, vacuums or houses, every sales professional must possess this skill. You need to know what to say, how and when to say it when your customer tells you what is on their mind. After all, these objections are what stand between you and a successful sale. So, especially in real estate, it pays to know how you are going to respond when your customer tells you what their objections are.
Scripts are merely questions designed to lead a client to a logical conclusion. All professionals use scripts every day: doctors, with their clip boards, Jay Leno, with his queue cards; President Bush with his monitors during addresses.
The scripted sales approach is paramount for successful real estate agents. Great sales people are great question askers and great scripts are nothing but questions. Whether you are dealing with a buyer or talking to a seller, it is critical to anticipate and prepare a response for every objection that you think they might present. Key moments when negotiating a sale cannot be rewound and done over. You must be prepared for them before they occur.
Use objection handlers and learn what objections you are likely to encounter. Objection handlers are scripts prepared that allow you to address many objections you are likely to encounter in the field. No real estate agent has ever heard every single objection out there, so even the best sales people can learn a thing or two from objection handlers. For the novice or intermediate sales person, objections will be the number one stumbling block that they will face. No one is a natural at using scripts and objection handlers. They must be learned and practiced. Many sales people won’t use scripts and prefer to “wing it” instead. It is an ego driven practice that costs them more than they will ever know.
You never want to appear caught off guard by a buyer or a seller. This gives the impression that you are unprepared, inexperienced and vulnerable. Buyers and sellers will either run from their perception of your uncertainty and inexperience or they will attempt to take advantage of it. Either situation is less than desirable. It is important to always appear confident and in control in the face of objections. The best way to give the best impression to your clients is to be prepared and know what you are talking about.
In the world of real estate, preparation quite literally pays off. The more successful you become at overcoming objections, the more your bottom line will benefit. Putting the doubts and fears of your buyers and sellers at ease will most certainly result in more closed sales for you. The more you work with overcoming objections, the easier it becomes. But know this: the scripts that worked in yesterday’s hot market won’t work in the cold one of today. You need to learn scripts that cater to current market situations.
Handling objections will become second nature for you once you learn more about the field. As with anything else worth knowing, you will have to invest time in learning how to overcome objections before they arise. Otherwise, you will certainly be forced to learn from your mistakes. If you choose trial and error in the field when you are learning to overcome objections, you will inevitably lose out on sales. The field is not the best place to figure out how to resolve the doubts of your buyers and sellers. Prior planning, training and learning trued and true scripts are the best methods to employ. It makes sense – and puts more money in your pocket – to learn how to overcome objections before they arise.
Tim Harris is a co-founder and head coach of Harris Real Estate University. After a long and successful career of selling thousands of homes, he sold his real estate business and started HREU. Since 1997, Harris Real Estate University has thousands of Realtor-Students participating in education courses on a daily basis.
Read more in Tim’s blog.