Having the right response to sales objections and being able to overcome buyer excuses is an age old technique in selling just about anything. It’s not always easy to know how to overcome buyer objections, but thankfully I’m going to give you some ideas. This works for both online and offline selling – whether you’re selling a product, a service, or “yourself”.

No matter what you are “selling” people always have objections and excuses as to why they are not ready to do something right now. This applies in both offline and online marketing, since in both cases you want to call the person to perform an action. Offline, it could be getting them to sign a contract to list with you or to buy a house – online it could be trying to get them to sign up for your newsletter or picking up the phone and actually calling you when they reach your website.

The best thing to do is prepare yourself for these sales objections so that when the buyer or seller gives them to you, you’re ready to persuade them otherwise! A lot of agents forget about the basic closing sales techniques, but in the world of sales, this is something that will always prove to be useful.

Here are a few examples of common objections and what you can do:

We’re Not Ready Yet: I’m sure you’ve heard from someone who says “We’re just not ready yet” as to why they won’t list with you or make an offer after you’ve given them a tour of 200 houses. These people say they aren’t ready – but if they’re not really ready, why are they even talking to you? This is probably the most vague of all sales objections, so your job is to find out WHY they’re hesitating. Ask Them: When will you be ready? What is stopping you from signing (or making an offer) right now? Do you think anything will be different tomorrow, next week, next month, next year?

I Already Have a Real Estate Agent: This is a trickier one, because you do have to be careful of soliciting other agent’s clients. This is especially true concerning open house traffic. You might ask them questions such as, Oh, are you aware of our [insert special buyer/seller promo exclusive to your office/broker here] or ask them how happy they have been with their agent. Sometimes this can open up a can of worms, other times it can bring some interesting dialogue, especially if you happen to get a frustrated seller.

We Want to Sell Our Home First: This is another common one I get a lot from people, especially with a lot of people being upside down on their mortgages. Good questions to ask are “Have you looked into bridge loans?” (many buyers don’t even know these exist!) or “Are you aware you can often make an offer contingent on your home selling?” or “Where will you live when your home sells and you haven’t found a new house yet?” or “What marketing are you doing to sell your home as quickly as possible?”

This house doesn’t have XYZ: Let’s be bluntly honest here: there is no such thing as the perfect house. EVen those who custom build and design their houses are often surprised to realize that their dream house is still missing a feature or two. So, you need to ask a lot of questions, and be prepared to offer a few creative solutions. For example, say a house has carpeting and they wanted hardwood floors. You might ask, “If the seller agreed to give you an allowance to install new flooring so you could pick out anything you liked, would you buy this house?”

It’s too Expensive/Not Enough: Money is usually a touchy subject with everyone you meet. Buyers think every single house they see is overpriced, sellers think their house is worth more than it is. For sellers, you’ll want to focus on asking them questions about their minimum amount they’ll accept, how if they wait it could be more difficult to sell the home since markets can change seasonally, etc. For buyers, you’ll want to make sure they’re preapproved, talk with them about making offers and how they don’t have to offer the list price.

Don’t Forget About Your Website: If you have a website, you’ll also want to ask yourself whether or not your website is meeting online objections as well. Most people when they are looking online for something want to find things easily and quickly. Can they find everything they need to find on your site? Is your contact information easy to read and use? (For example, some visitors won’t bother sending you a message if you don’t have an email contact form that is easy to access and use.) It also helps to have things that can help alleviate some of the online concerns buyers and sellers may have, such as “you can cancel anytime and your information is never shared” for a newsletter subscription or “No question is too small or silly – you can contact me here or feel free to call at 555-555-5555″.

These are just a few of common real estate sales objections and what responses and rebuttals can be effective in overcoming them. Have any tips you’d like to share? We’d love to hear your comments below!

It must officially be spring – while driving around today I noticed three homes near me that have put up the good old trusty “For Sale By Owner” sign in the yard with the illegible phone number. It’s not surprising to see FSBO’s finally coming out – especially when you know that people need to sell their house and when the economy is rough it’s likely they want to save every single possible penny they can.

But I’ve noticed after doing a quick Google Trends Search, the term “FSBO” for searches is down almost 50%. And according to the NAR, the number of FSBO’s have also dropped from 19% of all home sales nationally to only 13%. No doubt the uncertainty of the real estate market has a lot to do with this. When selling a home isn’t as easy as putting a sign in the yard and trying your luck with struggling print media, a professional real estate agent can certainly come in handy.

A lot of agents think the FSBO is only something a newbie agent would “waste their time with”…but truthfully an experienced agent with a little patience could convert that FSBO rather quickly. And it’s probably a safe bet that the majority of FSBO’s right now are selling because they need to – not just for the heck of it. A motivated FSBO is always easier to turn into a client than one who doesn’t need to sell anytime in particular.

The FSBO’s are out there – and they need your help. And more likely now than ever before in the past few years, they might just be happy to hear from you with some reassuring words and advice. Woo them with your real estate blog, your use of Adwords, exposure on hundreds of IDX fed websites and maybe even your creative craigslist ads. They’ll be impressed. And they might realize a professional could end up saving them money in the long run.

Becoming a relocation specialist can be very rewarding for many agents, but it can be very confusing on where to start and how to benefit from becoming one. Relocation clients were always my favorite, even if a referral fee was taken out, because they have an immediate need that you can help them with. (They’re likely not going to waste 6 months of your time looking for that elusive “perfect house”!) Some brokers and relocation companies may have training programs and certifications, but there is not a nationally recognized relocation specialist designation. NAR does offer a few designations that can be helpful however, the Accredited Buyer Representative (ABR) designation, and if you are dealing with international relocation, you may want to also consider the Certified International Property Specialist (CIPS) designation.

The first place to start in becoming a relocation specialist is with your broker. You will want to see what relocation companies and programs your broker is associated with, as well as the requirements for you to be qualified to receive relocation referrals. Your broker may offer special training courses and programs for you to attend. Training can include a number of things, but it usually will cover how to do BPO’s (Broker Price Opinion) for sellers relocating from your area to how to handle incoming relocating buyers.

Training for these types of things usually however does not involve the most important things: understanding the relocating client’s needs and how to get relocation clients.

Relocating to a new city or state, or even in the case of international relocation, to a new country, can be both exciting and intimidating for many homeowners. They will have to worry about their present home selling, finding a new home in time for their new job, and of course facilitating every aspect of the move, including changing banks, cell phone providers and more. For many who are relocating they will have limited time to look at a lot of properties or research neighborhoods, since they may have to travel in order to look at properties.

One thing you can do to help service your relocation clients is to prepare a relocation checklist for them that can give them an idea as to everything that needs to be done in order to have a smooth move and real estate transactions. You may even wish to contact their real estate agent in the other area to make sure everything is going well on that end, since ultimately it will likely affect your own transaction and relationship with the client. For relocation buyers, you will also want to make sure you can provide accurate and fast information things such as travel, recreation, school districts, and other important information about the area. Because you will likely be doing a lot of business over the telephone and through email, it is a good idea to be well versed in doing business without paper. Services such as MyFax.com make it possible for you to convert fax to email and is well worth it if you do not have that ability to do so on your own.

The next thing you will want to think about is where will you get relocation leads. The first place to start with is your broker and relocation departments, since they may have partnerships already formed with major companies in your area.

Next, you will want to optimize your website for the words “relocation” and others related to it. Creating a PPC campaign for this with the right landing page could be quite beneficial. Not all buyers and sellers who are relocating go straight through their companies or a relocation firm. Many start right on good old Google and Yahoo. This alone could likely bring you enough business if done properly. (Warning: You do have to be careful with PPC – I know many people who have spent hundreds of dollars on it with no return, but I know others who can get 3-1 sales conversions from leads it brings also! Do your homework first!)

Becoming a relocation specialist for any agent is not a bad idea, especially since many of your clients may already be relocating. Check with your broker, do some research, and good luck!

There’s a good chance that if you find yourself going on listing appointments but not getting the listing your listing presentation needs a facelift. We all know that listings are the bread and butter of succeeding in real estate, so having a clean and polished listing presentation is very important.

One of the listing presentation techniques that we teach to new agents that has been highly successful (many of them getting listings over seasoned competing agents) is preparing a listing presentation binder. A listing presentation binder is exactly what it sounds like – its a regular standard 3 ring binder, and inside in plastic sheet covers is everything your potential clients need to know about selling their home and why you’re the person to do it.

To get started, you’ll need to organize exactly what you plan to talk about in a listing presentation. This doesn’t mean you HAVE to talk about every thing on each page in great detail, but having it available will make you seem prepared and organized. I’ve found that breaking the listing presentation into three parts: About Me & My Company, Our Marketing Plan, and the CMA information is usually effective.  You can organize it however you like. Think about what you normally talk about first in a listing presentation and where they usually progress to as a guide.

Next, you’ll need to think about some things to place in each section. Here’s some ideas to help get you started:

About Me & My Company Section
Personal Flyer/Resume
Website Screenshots
Brief History Page (Timelines, important people, etc. – most people are bored by this kind of thing!)
Market Share Graphs (Our company has been #1 in our market for the past 7 years, so that always gets people’s attention!)
News/Happenings

Marketing Plan
Overview of the Selling Process
30 Day Calendar of all marketing activities
Internet Marketing (a list of our 43 Listing Sites might help!) You’ll also want to include screenshots of websites and so they can imagine how their home will look online.
Virtual Tours/Videos
Television Showcase Information if applicable
Print Media Examples
Flyer Examples
Postcard Examples
Any other visual proof of marketing efforts

CMA Information
Market Graphs – homes selling in what price ranges/days on market/etc.
Closest Comps Available for Sale (With pictures and basic info such as sq ft, beds/baths, etc.)
Closest Comps Recently Sold (With pictures and basic info such as sq ft, beds/baths, etc.)
Seller Checklist of Things to Do to Prepare Home for Sale
Pricing Strategies
Listing Contract for Review

Once you’ve collected color copies of each of these, you’ll want to assemble several listing presentations so you have one on hand any time you get a listing appointment and it will save you time by having them ready in advance – all you’ll need to do is change and update the MLS section. Alternatively, you can prepare the CMA in a seperate folder or binder.

Now I Have a Binder, What the Heck Do I Do With It?

Once you’ve got your binder together, the first thing to do is start practicing giving the listing presentation to someone else. Friends, family, and your office manager all make good guinea pigs. You want to make sure that when you’re presenting the binder you’re not just reading it page for page. Maintain eye contact with the person you’re giving the presentation to and give them the opportunity to ask questions.

Another important thing to remember is to keep control of the book. Some sellers will want to kind of rip it out of their hands so they can just kind of browse through it. Keep your hands on it and make sure while they can see it, you don’t lose control of the listing presentation.

You’ll also want to think about what to put on the cover of your listing presentation. Some agents I know use a standard cover for all listings, while others go an extra step and create a custom cover with a picture of the seller’s house on the cover.

Another thing to consider is if you’d like to let the sellers keep the listing presentation binder if they do not decide to list with you right then and there. One technique that works well is “I can let you keep it for a day or two, do you want to meet Thursday and we can go over any questions you have?” This gives you the reason for a second appointment if one is necessary and hopefully that one will be the one that gets them signing the contracts!

Do you use a listing presentation binder? Have any other tips or things to include in your listing presentation materials?

Most of us have had the fun of a listing of a house that was in less than stellar condition for showing homes. Maybe they need fresh coats of paint, new carpet, a different furniture layout or to hire someone for junk removal services. It’s not just lower end listings that suffer from this – many high end listings and luxury homes often need some prep work before selling.

The way to convince your sellers they need to stage their home is easy:

Repeat This Phrase to Yourself Until It Comes Naturally:

You hired me to be 100% honest with you and to sell your home as quickly as possible for the most amount of money. We need to clean, stage, and make this house really outshine the rest.

For some agents, this is easier to do than others. And naturally this will have a LOT to do with the type of clients you are working with. Even I have had clients that no matter what you tell them, show them, or contemplate beating them with do not understand why a house needs to be fixed up in order to sell it.

If repeating the handy dandy phrase above is not enough to convince your sellers (and there’s a good chance it WON’T be!) here’s a few other ways to gently convince them they need to stage their home properly:

1. Take Them For A Tour of the Competition: There’s nothing like seeing houses through the eyes of a buyer. Schedule a quick hour with them to go see the closest homes to theirs in the area. Emphasize what the seller is doing right – and what is going to turn off buyers immediately.

2. Make them Watch Designed to Sell: So I’m not a huge fan of the Designed to Sell show on HGTV, but it will get your sellers thinking differently hopefully. Watch it with them – if you tape it off TV & just catch the “important parts” it might only take 5-10 minutes without all the commercials.

3. Provide them With a Checklist: Doesn’t every real estate office have some sort of checklist on what to do before you sell your home? Make sure you give your sellers one.

4. Offer an Incentive: For some sellers, it’s a matter of not wanting to spend any money. But what if you offered them a rebate in the closing costs for any improvements? For example, let’s say they need carpeting in the main rooms of the home. You shop around a little and find out someone can install a low grade yet vastly improved carpet for around $500. Offer them, in exchange for a one year exclusive listing contract, you will rebate them $500 at closing from the commission price for the carpet. Make sure you work out what happens if you don’t sell the house for some bizarre reason and it’s in writing – but this could be a bargain if it saves yourself from price reduction after price reduction and 6 months of pointlessly trying to sell a hopeless listing! (Make sure you also check with your broker or law department before offering this too!)

5. Show Them How Much They Will SAVE: Badly staged homes or homes in need of repairs typically don’t get close to the asking price – some might be lucky to even get an offer of 90% or less. If you’ve got a client who hates spending money, show them how you can list it higher initially AND the increased likelihood of a higher priced offer.

Have any other good tips on convincing clients they need to stage their home? (I know you do!) Share them in the comments below.