5 Steps to Increase the Likelihood of Closing a Prospect

How the hell do you increase the likelihood of getting your business to the highest possible level?

You prepare.

I’ve had the fortunate privilege of seeing some of the best in the world present their ideas successfully and sometimes unsuccessfully. In real estate, I’ve also had the fortunate opportunity of working on some of the most prestigious real estate in my marketplace. Many I have won and some I have lost.

With all of my experience, the biggest piece of advice I can give is to prepare. Don’t wing it, don’t show up without having done some research, and always study your client.

5 Things to Do To Increase the Likelihood of Closing the Listing

1. Always, always, always personalize your presentation with the potential clients’ names and better yet, the photo of their home. It is such a basic concept yet it is often overlooked.
2. Study your potential client prior to the meeting. Googling them is most obvious, but talk with others in your sphere that are mutual connections, drive by the property, peek over the fence, chat with the neighbours, and anything else that will help ensure that you can have a meaningful conversation with them. Yes, you need to discuss the product but even more, you need to make a connection. It is easier to do so when you know what you have in common, similar aged children, charitable causes, etc. What would be a win for the potential clients?
3. Customize elements of your sales presentation for your client. If your presentation says a virtual tour but you only do that for high-end listings, don’t include it. Use marketing examples that relate directly to them, use samples of similar products, not just the best samples if they’re not relevant.
4. Add value. Give them something to feel good about, even if they don’t hire you. If they hire someone else and have a negative experience (probably because the competition gave them unrealistic expectations) they will likely come back to you. When this happens, you’ll be in a better position as they now appreciate the honesty of the situations. This could be a free photo-prep consultation with a stager or have professional photos taken for your presentation and allow them to use them regardless if they hire you or not.
5. Customize even more. Have a sample brochure made of their property, buy a domain and direct it to a sample page on your website, do something that shows you want it more than anyone else (without appearing desperate) by showing it’s all about them. If they get this much attention and customization as a prospect then they can only imagine what they’ll receive as a client.
   If it’s impossible to get photos of their home (it probably isn’t, you’re just not trying hard enough) then at a minimum, customize it to their community.

Prepare, customize, and make sure the prospect knows you care about them and not just the commission cheque.