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The most important
skill in sales is qualifying. It is the ability to separate the non-motivated
buyers and sellers from the motivated ones who want to do something now.
Top-producing agents know how to do this quickly and efficiently. They
have a specific step-by-step series of questions that remove the unmotivated
people from their lives. We are going to delve into the skill of qualifying
buyers.We must develop a series of questions that will ferret out motivation.
The focus is to find out their time frame and level of passion to move.
One question that tests motivation is, "How long have you been looking
for a home?" The longer the time the buyer has been looking, the
lower the motivation. We have to wonder why a buyer has not been able
to find a home in six months. Are they looking for something that doesn’t
exist? Are their expectations too high for the marketplace? Do they just
enjoy the process of kicking foundations? (When someone said to me that
they had been looking for more than 90 days, I wanted to know what they
were looking for and the reasons why they hadn’t found it yet.)
Another question is, "Do
you need to sell your current home before you can buy?" The
follow-up question is, "Are you currently on the market?" Most
people need to sell their home before they can buy. A great
percentage of them want to find a house before they put theirs
on the market. This approach seems to be backwards. Most sellers
truly can’t buy anything since they have to sell first. They
often want us to invest a large percentage of our time finding
them the perfect home prior to listing theirs.
One of our rules when
I was an agent was that buyers had to list their property now
for us to work with them. We did not want to work without the
opportunity of getting paid. Since the buyers had to list their
home sometime, why not now? Why delay the inevitable if they
truly want to sell? If their plans changed we would withdraw
the listing.
Another critical question
is to ask, "Are you working with another agent?" Too
often we rush out to show one of our listings only to find
out that they are working with another agent. We just spent
30 minutes of our time and never got compensated.
In my career I had
gotten some unbelievable responses from prospects on the phone
regarding why hadn’t they contacted their agent about showing
them the property. Responses ranged from "my agent is
out of town" to, "I did not want to bother him." They
wanted to bother me and then get their agent to write the sales
agreement if they decided to purchase it. Our policy was if
buyers are working with another agent, he can show them the
home. That is what their agent is getting paid to do.
Another question is, "Have
you met with a lender yet?" This question will start the
process of determining their ability to purchase. Truly motivated
purchasers meet with lenders. If they have not and they have
been looking for six months, are they motivated buyers?
Next determine if
they have been pre-qualified or pre-approved. There is a world
of difference in these terms and the buyers don’t know the
difference. The focus needs to be to get them to meet with
your lender. If they meet with your loan office, you will have
solidified your position with them.
Once you have determined
that they are motivated to buy and they aren’t working with
another agent; you need to find out their real estate needs.
These questions identify the property and area that they are
looking for.
1. What type of home
are you looking for?
2. What size of home
are you looking for?
3. What price range?
4. What areas are
you considering?
Then the big question
is, "If we could find the home in the area that you desire
are you prepared to purchase it now?" If you get a favorable
response, set an appointment with them to help them find their
new home.
Top-producers have
a specific set of questions which they ask. Their success is
not based on chance; it is based on a well-designed system.
Develop your system today.
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