Thursday, December 30, 2010

Listening is a Lost Art


"Those forced against their will, are of the same opinion still." Dale Carnegie
Its better to be liked, than right. You can corner someone to seeing your side of the issue as correct- you have summarily presented the facts, made your arguement, and have proven your point! But why didn't you win the other person over? Surely, they are just stubborn. YOU'RE RIGHT, and so are you - it's human nature.

For instance, a new referred client wanted to know why I was going to list his home $100,000 less than his previous agent? I listened to him, and understood he wanted to move near his grandchildren. I listened to him talk about his grandchildren. Did I argue with him? Of course not. The value he put on selling his home, is the time he gets to spend with his grandchildren. So, instead, I said we would go look at similar houses in the neighborhood, what has actually sold recently and make a determination based on that. When we revisited price after our viewings, we discussed his goals. You see, selling the house ws the means to his goal and not the goal itself. Afterwards, he agreed with the original listing price I came up with.

Try to see things from your client's point of view, and help people save face, as well as serve them. What is it they want? To move near their family? To wait and get the best price for their home? To downsize and save money? Try asking yourself, what is it your customer wants - and then you will be able to do what many salespeople cannot - EMPATHIZE.