Shut Up and Sell?

Shut Up and Sell—Seriously?

Yes, very serious. The sales industry has always been marked by fast talking, objection handling, and slick looking sales people who could “sell ice to Eskimos”. Yet, in this depiction and promotion of the sales profession—one little question was missed—does the Eskimo you are talking to really need ice?

Seems silly, right? Why would they—they live in such a cold and snowy climate? Don’t they? Or, maybe they—at least some—maybe many—do not. The point is, when we don’t listen, we can’t learn. When we don’t ask, we can’t listen. And, when we don’t shut up, we assume more than we know and well, we know what happens when we assume—don’t we?

If we expect to move from the typical depiction of a salesperson to that of a sales professional, or as we like to call it—A Trusted Real Estate Advisor, then part of what we need to do is Shut Up—and Sell.

So, odd as it sounds, how does one….shut up? Well, we will talk about that, but, let’s find out how you communicate now. Please rate yourself in those areas that describe your current style of communicating within your profession. Rate on the following scale:

1 I rarely do this

2 I sometimes do this

3 I often do this

4 I do this almost all the time

5 I always do this

Communication Assessment:

_____When I work with clients, I listen more than I talk

_____When I am on a listing appointment, I don’t present information. I ask questions about the sellers needs and collaborate with the seller on how we can meet those needs together.

_____When a person has an objection; I look at it as something I need to learn about before coming up with an answer.

_____When a deal falls through or a client decides not to purchase or work with me, I always try to remember that it is their home, their money and their decision. I work to help them with make those decisions, but in the end, it is theirs, not mine.

Exercise 1:

So, how did you do? Take a moment to reflect on the assessment. If you are on your own, write your thoughts below. If you have a partner or two, talk about how you feel after rating yourself. Consider these questions: