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Dear Steve,
I have a buyer
who just can't make a decision. I know it's not the first time
and won't be the last this happens, but it's driving me nuts.
We get SO CLOSE to making the purchase, then someone else beats
us to it, or they just can't bid quite high enough. Or we lose
ground when they insist on going back to see another property
"just one more time." How can I fix this?
J.W, Charlotte
NC
Dear J.W.,
You may not like this
answer, but accepting it will set you free. The problem isn't
them; it's you. They are looking to you for guidance, and they
can't make a decision because YOU can't make a decision! Otherwise,
you would have cut them loose by now. At the most, give them
one more chance and no more. Take responsibility, but be clear
that this is the last time you will take them out without them
buying.
Call them up to say "I feel badly because I think I
have made a huge mistake with you. I'm afraid I have been asking
you to make a decision when all along you felt that buying was
the wrong decision for you."
Do they NEED to make a decision? When do they absolutely have
to be in their new home? What will happen if they don't make
that deadline? What exactly are the financial or requirement-for-buying
issues holding them back?
At a minimum, before you show even one more house to them ...
1. All (and I mean ALL)
of the decision makers have to be in the car, ready to say yea
or nay.
2. They have to have a checkbook with them, so that IF they find
the right property, they can take action.
3. You will accept them making a deposit of no less than $______
(maybe $2,000 to $4,000 higher than is traditional in your area).
4. All other roadblocks have to be cleared away before you show
any more property (if they have to sell in order to buy, they
should list now. If they have to bring their home up to market-standard
before listing, they must do that now.
5. They have to accept that there is no such thing as "the
perfect house" even if they built it themselves.
Then if they still don't
buy, you are done even if your heart tells you "but just
one more time will do it." Your heart has been wrong with
them every time so far. Instead, refer them over to another agent
in your office and take a finder's fee when they buy. What do
you have to lose - are the REALLY not going to buy from you?
Be gentle yet firm. But you have to keep moving or non-decision-makers
like this can stall your career beyond repair. No one gets them
all.
Got a question to ask? Send
it in!
Dear Steve,
I have seen a lot of speakers at seminars and even thought about
doing some speaking myself. But it looks to me like you don't
use any notes at all, but everything seems pretty organized.
How do you plan your seminars? --G. Klein, Ontario Canada
Thanks. I think that is how they are supposed
to look. One factor is that any speaker - presuming to demand
the attention of a room full of professionals - should really
have something important to say and know it so well that
everything comes directly from the heart.
Beyond that, I confess to a life-long habit of waiting until
the night before a presentation to organize 80% of my talks,
then writing them out on a paper napkin.
Don't get me wrong - my research on sales began almost 30 years
ago, and my research before a program usually begins several
months before and I call a number of managers, employees and
associates for telephone interviews weeks ahead to get an inside
view of what is happening in a given market area. I take lots
of notes and the presentation starts building well in advance.
But the final decisions on what I will say come at the 11th hour
so that everything I have learned comes into play. In my hotel
room the night before, I will spread all my notes out on the
bed and select what can/should be covered the next day. I carry
a large number of overhead transparencies with me, and select
the ones the best illustrate given points - the graphics are
often the same but the discussion I give will change from one
location and company to another. Then in a hotel restaurant,
I map out the talk on the paper napkin. You can see
a sample of a "napkin notes."
I can't tell you if any other speakers work this way. But it
works for me in being able to keep each presentation fresh so
that people understand that this is for them, not a memorized
talk repeated for years.
PS. If you really do decide to speak professionally, let me recommend
that you join the National Speakers Association. They are very
educationally oriented and will shave years off your learning
curve.
Got a question to ask? Send
it in! |
