In any business, it’s essential to have a strategic advantage over the competition. For real estate agents and lenders, that edge often comes down to understanding and using words correctly and strategically. These forgotten words can give you a big advantage in today’s competitive market.
The Power of Remembering and Recalling.
When we would like to expand our business and maybe even get a referral or two during a transaction, one of the things that we really need to help our clients do is remember and recall the people in the situations who can most benefit from our help.
Whenever you want to ask somebody a question that you really want them to think about and ponder deeply, start your question with either the words “I’m curious…” or “I’m wondering…”.
Any question that you want to ask, you’re going to get a better response when you start out, and with a curious tone of voice, and say something like…
“hey, you know what, I’m curious or you’re wondering, yeah, I’m wondering. I’ve really been wondering.
When it comes to memory and recall, people’s brains are a little bit like a funnel.
We have so much data inside of our brain that when we ask someone a simple question, a lot of times they can’t answer it. Here’s an example of a simple question that causes a log jam in somebody’s brain:
“Who do you know who wants to buy or sell a home?”
Now, this is actually a really good question. When you want to get referrals in your real estate business, this is one of the better questions that you could ask. Right?
And yet, you know the fact of the matter is many times when you ask that question, the response that you’ll hear from somebody is, “oh gosh, you know what? I don’t know anyone right now, but I will refer you someone when they need an agent”.
That’s really a common response. And if you want to know why you oftentimes get a response like that, look at the picture of the funnel. Because when you ask the simple question, who do you know who wants to buy or sell a home, I know a lot of people.
Malcolm Gladwell will suggest that you can maintain and carry on relationships with about 150 people that you know intimately and personally and you know details about their life. And when somebody says, which one of those 150 people who you know would like to buy or sell a home, the response you get often time looks like this funnel.
If only they could think and recall better, they would think better and give better answers.
Be Specific To Get Better Answers
So what if we asked questions like this, not who wants to buy a home or sell a home, but rather something like…
“Hey, I’m wondering who is the next person you know whose family’s expanding?”
Now, I’m no longer asking for a real state transaction. I’m asking who do you know whose family is expanding. Observe and pause. When you can see their eyes are moving, that lets you know that the person you’re speaking with is paying attention and attempting to help. Their eyes move either up or down or side to side. When their eyes move, I’m going to continue almost as if I’m thinking out loud and I’m going to say, “you know, maybe they’re expecting a baby or even thinking about adopting a child”.
And now all of a sudden, instead of this clogged-up funnel that nothing can get through, we’re asking a different question (and being more specific) and saying, hey, you know, who’s the next person you know whose family is expanding?
At By Referral Only, we put together a list of the 10 reasons that people move or refinance, and we actually even give you the questions to go along with it. Get a copy of your own, along with a free 30-day trial of By Referral Only membership when you go here.
How To Be Specific In A Low Inventory Market?
Now, I’ve one final thought for you. The reason that I showed you all of these scenarios is that I’d really like to give you one final one, which is how to be really specific in a low inventory market.
That’s where we are right now. We’re in the type of market where there are not a lot of homes available to sell. And what you’d really like to do is start a conversation in a way that allows you to be so specific that they’ll either know somebody who could use your help or they will realize and identify themselves that it’s time for them to ask you for help.
So here’s the frame, one of the most common questions that you will be asked sometime this week by someone is… “How’s business?”
This is an example of what to say when a person asks a general question, and you give an answer that is so specific that they can only think about a specific person, in a specific location, with a specific situation.
Them: How’s Business?
Your specific response: Thank you for asking… and business is remarkable”.
NOTE: You can always use this phrase whenever you want to describe “how’s business” because the only thing remarkable means is that it’s worth talking about. And whether we’re in a low inventory market, or we are in a market that’s just flooded with homes, you can always really safely respond to this question by saying, “Hey, thank you for asking. That’s kind of you. And you know, business is remarkable.”
“In fact, there is a strong demand for homes inside of all price ranges right now. I’m working with an amazing young couple who’s motivated to buy their very first home on the south side of town. And what I’m wondering is who’s the next person you know who’s going through some changes and they would love a quick uncomplicated sale of their home so they can move on to the next part of their life?”
Tell the story of whatever is true for you. If you’re working with a seller, tell a story about a seller who wants to sell and find their next home. If it’s a move-up buyer, first-time buyer, move-down buyer, talk about whomever it is and then ask them the question like we’ve been asking, “you know what I’m wondering is who is the next person you know who’s going through some changes of their own and their life right now and they would love a quick uncomplicated sale of their home so they can move on to the next part of their life?”
We’ve looked at how to ask specific questions in order to get better outcomes from conversations. Additionally, we’ve explored how honing our language skills can improve communication and help us achieve our desired results. As always, we recommend trying out these techniques in a real-world setting so you can see for yourself how they work.
If you want to start honing your language skills so you can get better results from your conversations, sign up for our free 30-day trial today. With By Referral Only All-Access membership, you’ll have access to all of our resources and training so you can start getting better outcomes from your interactions with clients, customers, and referral partners. What question are you going to ask differently in order to get a better result?”
