Be a Go-Giver Agent - Don't Lose Them at Hello

Guest contributor Jennifer Allan-Hagedorn says:

A few weeks ago, I started writing about the Go-Giver real estate agent - how we, in our industry, can apply Go-Giver principles to our business. To read earlier posts, see the links at the bottom of this blog!

Here's a quote from the introduction to "Go-Givers Sell More" by Bob Burg and John David Mann:

"It's not about you, it's about them."

Mr. Burg and Mr. Mann explain that success in sales is not due to "mastering the close" or having a "dazzling presentation" or the ability to "shoot holes in any customer objection from fifty paces." It's about being a real person - a person who "enriches, enhances and adds value to people's lives." As the Go-Giver fictional Realtor(R) Debra Davenport says "You want people skills? Then be a person."

Okay, so this is where today's blog begins...

"Listing Presentations: How to Lose them from Hello!"

Yes, I watched Jerry McGuire recently.

Real estate agents always want to know how to do a better job at their listing presentations, especially if they've lost out on a listing or two recently. They wonder if perhaps their presentation materials need to be fancy-schmantzy-ed up, or if they need to do a better job explaining why they're better than their competition.

After all, isn't that what sellers want to know? How totally awesome WE are? And, the better we are at telling them how awesome WE are, the more likely they'll be to believe us?

Um, no.

As counter-intuitive as that may sound, a seller prospect probably doesn't care much about how awesome we are. He may not even care if we're better than the competition, at least, not at first.

What's that old saying? "No one cares how much you know until they know how much you care?"

That applies perfectly here. When you waltz into a seller wannabe's home, say "hello" and then whip out your Power Point presentation, three-ring binder and put on your presentation face, you're sending a pretty clear message that you don't care much about your audience. It's all about YOU.

No, it's not, Jennifer! I'm there to help the seller! My fancy Power Point presentation and three-ring binder are all about the seller and his needs!!

Um, no nice try, but... no.

Think about it. Your "audience" (the seller wannabe) has a problem. He is considering hiring you to solve that problem. But if you don't have a clear understanding of his problem, you can't possibly address his problem. And you can't have a clear understanding of his problem unless you take the time to learn about it. And you can't take the time to learn about it if you're doing all the talking!

Besides, no one believes you when you tell them how great you are anyway.

Wanna stand out from your competition? Let them go in with their fancy-schmantzy Power Points, three-ring binders and presentation faces (and subsequently bore the audience to death).

YOU go in with a sincere desire to help. Your competition won't stand a chance.

Read Jennifer's original blog here.

Jennifer Allan-Hegedorn is the author of Sell with Soul: Creating an Extraordinary Career in Real Estate without Losing Your Friends, Your Principles or Your Self-Respect. This book is a great resource for agents who want to make gobs and gobs of money selling real estate... without selling their souls to do so. Click here to order.

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