Category: 3. The Open House Expert

Door-knocking?

I’d rather walk into Room 237 (The Shining).

I remember reading the book as a kid and being so terrified; there was no possible way I was going to the movie when it came out. It wasn’t until years later that I saw it!

Aside from the obvious horror aspect of door-knocking, it’s not 1977, and we’re not selling encyclopedias. Right?

Door knocking just seems way too old-school-cheesy.

That’s how I felt for my entire Real Estate career, before I spent a full year studying and developing the Agent Skills Master’s Program, and came to the revelation below:

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Disclaimer: Even if you’re ten times as brave as me, I still don’t believe you should door-knock without a compelling reason.

That said, I do believe in these three fundamental principles:

1. A face-to-face interaction is 100X more powerful than any phone call, email, text message, or any written form of advertising, like a flyer.

2. You should never contact a client or a prospect unless you’re providing something of value.

3. Open Houses—skillfully executed—are BY FAR the best way to cultivate new clients. 

Taking that into account, here is the ONE time when knocking on doors meets all three of the above criteria:

You’ve got a new listing, and you’re inviting the neighbors to your Open House.

Think about it this way:

You’re meeting future clients face-to-face, giving them something of value (see below), and providing some very interesting information.

After all, what neighbor isn’t at least a little curious about the new listing down the street?

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Here’s the game plan when they open the door:

1. Introduce yourself, and hand over a brochure for the new listing. (Your professional, impressive brochure is an essential component in how you market yourself.)

2. Tell them some basic information, including the price, and invite them to your Open House. (Who doesn’t like to get invited to an event?)

3. Depending on their reaction, either continue the conversation, or move on to the next door.

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You know how people talk about the “nosy” neighbors coming to the Open House? 

We should quit talking about them that way. They’re just naturally curious, and they’re certainly as good of a prospect as anyone else.

But the truth is that most of the neighbors do not go to the Open House. Why? Because they don’t feel right about imposing on your time (being “nosy”) when they’re obviously not going to buy the house.

That’s why extending a personal invitation will make them feel more welcome to come.

You’ll get to meet them a second time, and that tiny bit of familiarity will significantly improve your chances of continuing a productive conversation.

But Ted! If they’re not in the market, this is a big waste of time!

Nonsense. They’ll be in the market next year. Or the year after that. 

STOP thinking that every interaction has to result in an immediate sale! Leave that thinking to the poor struggling agents. Besides…

You’ll be surprised how many people who claim to NOT be in the market are suddenly IN the market AFTER you’ve made a positive impression. 

And, I can’t tell you how many times I made a personal connection to someone at an Open House, and it paid off for me years later.

One easy way to maintain contact with a future client is to add them to your monthly newsletter. If you’ve got the right systems and procedures and interpersonal SKILLS, it’s easy to sign them up.

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Back to the front door! One of these four things will happen.

1. Some people will politely take the brochure, and you’ll never hear from them again. Big deal. You sacrificed one brochure. They still appreciate the information, if nothing else.

2. A few will take your brochure, stash it away in a drawer and pull it out three years later when they’re thinking of selling. Why? Because it’s a memorable event when a hard-working agent comes to the door and personally invites them to an event! It’s not something that happens every day.

3. Many will be super interested, want to strike up a conversation, and you’ll have a great chance to establish rapport and maybe add them to your newsletter list, or follow up with some other information.

4. Occasionally, you’ll run into a grumpy jerk. Big deal!

If you never meet a grumpy jerk, you won’t meet any friendly, awesome people, either.

Think about it like this: One grumpy jerk, five friendly prospects. Not bad!

If you learn some SKILLS and practice enough, the ‘friendly/jerk’ ratio can become 10:1 or even 20:1.

When you’re meeting enough friendly prospects, you’ll quickly learn to shake off the one grumpy jerk with a laugh! Who cares? You didn’t want to work with them anyway.

Stop allowing the ridiculous success-preventing part of your brain to sabotage you. You’re NOT walking into Room 237.

Stop being the Secret Invisible Agent.

Secret Invisible Agents get invisible commission checks, which are hard to cash.

For more information on conducting an Expert Open House, check out this previous article Becoming a Trusted Advisor.

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This article was inspired by module #3 -The Open House Expert – part of the Agent Skills Master’s Program.

NOBODY likes a Salesy Slickster!

But is it possible that your prospects are falsely perceiving you as one?

This answer is YES.  No matter how much of a genuine person you are, your innocent attempts at helpfulness may be inadvertently sending the wrong message to potential clients, and costing you tens of thousands $$ in missed opportunities.

On the other hand, if you don’t even TRY to strike up conversations about Real Estate, you should find a different occupation.

Becoming a Trusted and Authentic Advisor is a BIG and vital subject that interweaves throughout every module in the Agent Skills Master’s Program.  For now, and in the interest of brevity, let’s look at a single example of how to improve your interactions.

Converting Open House Prospects to Clients

First, understand the apprehension of your prospects BEFORE they walk in the house.  They’ve already been “attacked” by a few Salesy Slicksters at other Open Houses, so they’ve got their guard up. ‍♂️

Knowing this, the dumbest question you can possibly ask is, “Are you working with a REALTOR®?”.

You’ve just handed them an easy out on a silver platter, “Yes, we are, thanks!”

I suggest you avoid the subject of “the other REALTOR®” altogether and instead look for ways to demonstrate your knowledge and expertise, in a casual, friendly, and authentic way.

Even if it turns out that they are “working” with another REALTOR®, the chances are high that there is no formal arrangement, and that agent is doing nothing or very little to assist them.  When you demonstrate your superior expertise and helpfulness, they’ll dump that unknown mediocre agent, like a hot potato.

Hey!  If the other agent is doing an excellent job of keeping in touch and providing useful information, their clients will remain loyal.  If not, and if you’re a great, customer-service-focused agent, you’re doing these prospects a massive favor.  After all, who’s going to deliver a better result?  The low-skill mediocre agent? Or you?

That said, it’s completely unnecessary and counter-productive to be aggressive about it.  When you’re SKILLED, you pick up clients very naturally, seemingly with little to no effort.  Rather than chasing after new clients, if you do this right, you’ll become a client-magnet.

Understand that building a relationship is a process. You don’t propose marriage on the first date, and neither should you be asking a person you’ve never met to make an instant decision on who’s going to represent them in a Real Estate transaction.

Just like on the first date, you’re playing it cool and doing your best to demonstrate why you’re a good catch. More importantly, you’re using active listening skills to learn what they like and dislike.

For example, are they an introvert or an extrovert?  Do they value relationships more, or do they value facts and figures more?  The answer to those two questions alone will determine which of the four key communication styles they prefer (Analytical, Driver, Expressive, or Amiable).

Hint: EVERY high-producing REALTOR® has thoroughly studied the science of Communication Styles.

When you become highly skilled at connecting with all four communication styles, your entire life becomes infinitely easier and more productive!

This isn’t about being “fakey” by the way.  It’s about accessing the different natural traits that are inside all of us and bringing them to the surface. This makes you a much more well-rounded and authentic person who will naturally and easily form better relationships with all different personality types.

Authenticity is not about stubbornly sticking with only your strongest traits. You’re a much more complex person than most people realize. Learning how to access and bring your weaker traits to the surface is an empowering skill that we should ALL get better at. The more you practice this, the more natural it will become for you.

On that first date we talked about, if you want to pursue the relationship, your goal is to get a second date, right?

DO NOT PROPOSE MARRIAGE!  No matter how much you like the person!

Similarly, your goal when you meet prospects at an Open House is to get their contact information and be able to follow-up with them later.

If you’ve got a good rapport going, it’s now 50X easier to get their contact information, as compared to when they first walked in. But the timing and HOW you ask is critically important.

For example, it’s a mistake to blurt out too soon to a buyer client prospect, “Would you like me to set you up on an auto-notification system?” If you find yourself holding your breath and anxiously waiting for the response when you ask this question, you’re doing it wrong.

Chances are, the answer is, “No thanks. We’re already receiving that information from someone else.” You blew it.

You just asked for a second date before the server brought the wine. ☹️

On the other hand, have you ever had a conversation with potential clients where you had an instant connection, and they just naturally volunteered their contact information? You can make that happen WAY more frequently if you’re willing to invest the time in developing your skills.

We’re running out of space, so I’ll continue this next week with some practical suggestions on how to get that elusive contact information and what to do with it afterward. Hint:

Don’t blow the second date!