7 Techniques to Close Tomorrow’s Appointment

Provided By KW Blog

You’ve captured. You’ve connected. Now it’s time to close for the appointment. Now what?
Remember that in your role as a consultant working with buyers, your job is to help your customers find the home of their dreams, make a great investment, or find the home of their dreams and make a great investment! By setting up a meeting with them, you are taking them one step closer to realizing their dreams.
Closing a buyer is not a an event, it’s a process. As soon as you begin to convert a lead, you may find that you have opportunities to close sooner rather than later. Go for it! Use trial closes and try to close early and often. Or think of closing at payoff time. This is where you recoup your investment in lead generation and take the first step towards helping your buyer find the best home for them while earning your well-deserved income.

Before we look at some of the most effective and practical techniques for closing, remember that whatever the techniques may be named, or whatever strategies are employed, they can all be boiled down to one key approach – asking for the appointment. It’s obvious and yet sometimes overlooked. Gary Keller, author of SHIFT: How Top Real Estate Agents Tackle Tough Times says it well: “The right approach to close for a meeting is the only approach – just ask.”

Keep that in mind as you study the following techniques. Whatever tactic you try, ultimately it’s all about simply asking to meet.

Seven Real Estate Closing Techniques

1. Show the Benefits
In general, people are more likely to go along with something you suggest if you explain the benefit to them. For example, prospects are more likely to agree to come to your office for a consultation when they understand that doing so could allow them to preview a lot of properties and ultimately save time in their home search process. Brad Korn likes to use this script, If spending thirty minutes with me could save you hours of time and thousands of dollars in your home search, would that be of benefit to you?


2. Take Back Close
This technique puts a tempting offer in front of the buyer—such as access to pocket listings or bank-owned properties—but then subtly creates a fear that they may not be able to get it. You can say, I’ve enjoyed talking with you. To be honest, I don’t know whether I can be of help to you or not, but I’d be honored if we could meet to find out.

3. The Negative-Positive Close
This is another way of backing into the appointment a bit, compared with more aggressive stances. You might wrap up by saying, Would you be offended if I asked if we could meet to go over all this in a little more detail?

4. Give Them What They Are Looking For
Remember that it is unlikely a buyer calling on a house will end up scheduling an appointment to see that particular property, much less buying it. It is your job to quickly pique their interest by giving them what they are looking for—information on interesting, comparable properties. Tony Carnesi, on the Kiker Team in Denver, Colorado, says their agents keep a book with the top eight listings around each of their other listings. When a call comes in, they can ask what the buyer is looking for, offer valuable information, and set an appointment for a buyer’s consultation in order to show them a comprehensive selection of properties to meet their needs.

5. Trial Closes
Trial closes are questions you use to test the waters—you genuinely want to find out whether or not you and the client are in agreement. The answer might not be yes, but if it isn’t a yes, you need to return to the issue until it is. Trial closes can be very transparent; for example, during the initial contact, you might say, “We’ve visited for a while today, let me stop and ask you a few questions to see where we are.” Also called a minor close, a trial close often seeks a smaller decision from the customer before the final commitment. Not, Are you ready to come in and meet with me, but Can you see how receiving a list of all the new homes on the market in your price range would help you in your home search? Trial closes are tests of your growing alignment with your customers. The answers you get will indicate how close you are to the fi nal close—and remember, that big win can come at any time.

6. Assumptive Closes
When you are asking a caller to do something, never ask in a way that allows the person to say “NO.” Give alternate choices, either of which is fine with you. The alternate choice approach makes an assumption that the other person will do one of the two things you suggest. By taking command and asking, “Which works better for you, Thursday at 3 or Friday at 2?” you assume the close and prevent them from saying no.

7. Tie-Downs
Tie-downs are phrases that ask for confirmation. Expressions like, Wouldn’t that be great? or forming questions with can’t you? isn’t it? and wouldn’t you? ask for agreement and get your customer into a pattern of saying yes. For example, you could say, “We’ll save hours of time on your home search if we meet in the office first. Saving time is important to you, isn’t it?”

Red Day May 10, 2012

We are excited to annouce that Red Day 2012 is just around the corner!

This year we will be helping our local Boys & Girls Club of Rockwall. We need your help! Listed below are items that we need:

Paint Supplies (ex. brushes, rollers, stir sticks, etc...)
Donations
Help in Building Shelves
and....YOU!

If you are interested in learning how you can help your community give us a call at 972.772.7000 or email us at frontdesk552@kw.com!

We are looking forward to another year making RED DAY a huge success!!

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The Internet: Your Lead Generation Vehicle

Provided By Realty Times

When the Internet was first being promoted between 1996 and1999, it was praised as the next big thing. The prognosticators were parading around at all of the conventions saying, "The Internet is going to change the way we do real estate." They were describing, in futuristic terms, how home buyers and sellers would find our websites and be enticed to look at the pictures and virtual tours. Once they looked at the virtual tours and got excited about the home, they would click on the button in the lower right hand corner of your page that says "Buy It", and you would have sold a home. As exciting as that seemed, it has never happened that way for most people I have ever spoken with.

The Internet is a great tool, and that is all it is - a tool. For some agents, it is an essential tool for their business success. For others, it is a very minor piece of the puzzle. There are a lot of ways to generate revenue in this business, and the Internet is one of those ways.
The Internet is really a lead generation vehicle. It's like direct mail, classified ads, or any other Indirect Income Producing Activities (IIPA) we could use. Creating and implementing Internet marketing strategy is clearly IIPA. When I talk about the four ways to increase production, the Internet fits into those four ways as well. The Internet has connectivity in all four of those methods.

The first connection is the number of contacts you generate. The Internet can increase your exposure to people. It's not a contact based on my definition, but for many agents, an Internet visitor would be viewed as a contact. The method of contact is low quality, however. The copy on your website has to compel someone to do something. The results of direct mail and Internet traffic are somewhat parallel; they are not very compelling when it comes to getting someone to act, book an appointment, or even reveal some information like a personal phone number. Fortunately, the number of contacts can get large enough for some agents to make up for the lower quality method of the Internet, as opposed to the phone. You can drive a lot more visitors to your website than you can make phone calls. The quality of the people and the conversion on the Internet will always be lower, however.

The quality of the prospect is the next area of connection. The quality of the prospect must be sifted through, so you can determine who's a looker, and who's a buyer. Again, this is very hard to do because many of the people are stealth and want to remain that way. That means their motivation, on average, is very low.

The quality of the message is last. It's hard to have a compelling message of what makes you different, why someone should hire you, and what benefits the prospect will receive from you via text and a few previews. You certainly do not have the ability to really determine their desire, need, ability, authority, and service expectations, so you can modify your presentation to the highest level.

The Internet really only helps us with the exposure or number of contacts if we interpret the definition of contact loosely. If you can get enough people to your site, you will generate leads. What you do with the leads when they get there is the difference between a good agent and a Champion Agent.

I really believe the value of the Internet is as a lead generation tool. The proper use is to generate leads that you can drive to a fundamental sales channel. Getting the prospect to reveal their full contact information, so it takes the form of an inquiry, is paramount. This allows you to call them back, which also raises the conversion ratios substantially. Additionally, you have that ninety day window of opportunity for future phone contact within the confines of the no call laws. Most agents are chasing a lot of low probability prospects through the Internet. They have an e-mail address and are sending property match searches daily. They have them on a newsletter that is electronic. All of those methods are automated, so limited time is invested. However, limited reward is created as well.

RED DAY- Save the Date May 10, 2012

Dear Rockwall Community,

There is still a lot to do in preparation for our annual RED DAY Event! This year, RED DAY will be on Thursday May 10, 2012 at the Boys and Girls Club of Rockwall. We will be volunteering our time to help towards the Boys and Girls Club Summer Program. We are in need of:

Paint Supplies (ex. brushes, rollers, stir sticks, etc...)
Donations
Help in Building Shelves
YOU!

If you would like a KW Red Shirt, or if you are bringing someone who needs to purchase a Red t-shirt stop by the Front Desk! Also, don't forget to share this event with everyone you know! The more people we can get to help, the BETTER! Sign up is at the Front Desk!!!!!

KW Cares

Creating The Illusion Of Multiple Counter Offers

Provided By Realty Times

In the preceding column we noted that the Standard Forms Committee of the California Association of Realtors® (CAR) has provided a nice solution for the problem (a nice problem to have) faced by a seller who has received multiple offers and who would like to make simultaneous counter offers to two or more of the prospective buyers. The "problem", of course, is that he needs to avoid having sold his house to more than one buyer, should two or more find his counter acceptable.

CAR added two sections to its standard counter offer form. The first one says "[ ] (if checked) MULTIPLE COUNTER OFFERS: Seller is making a Counter Offer(s) to another prospective buyer(s) on terms that may or may not be the same as in the Counter Offer. Acceptance of this Counter Offer by Buyer shall not be binding unless and until it is subsequently re-Signed by Seller in Paragraph 7 below …my underline]" and then goes on to say how long the buyer has to respond.

The second addition says, "MULTIPLE COUNTER OFFER SIGNATURE LINE: By signing below, Seller accepts this Multiple Counter Offer." And then it provides a place for signature, along with a warning to the seller not to sign it until after the Buyer has signed. When this second signature is obtained, it confirms which of the accepted counter offers the seller has chosen.
Regrettably, some listing agents have found that these provisions can also be used in a misleading way, so as to – perhaps – create an atmosphere that is favorable to the seller. What they will do is to use the multiple counter offer provisions noted above, even though, in fact, there are no other counter offers being made. The point of this, of course, is to give the buyer the impression that he is in competition with some other buyer(s). And this is done in the belief that the buyer who believes he is in competition will be more likely to ‘up’ his offer, to pay more than he originally proposed – maybe even more than he ever thought he would go.

To be sure, that belief may be wrong. It is a gamble. Some buyers will say, "I don’t want to get into a bidding war," and will drop out altogether. Yet they might have responded positively to a straight-forward counter offer.

I don’t know whether creating an illusion of a competition is a useful strategy for the seller or not. I don’t suppose that anyone really knows. I just know that some agents – and probably some sellers too – think it is a good idea.

OK, so we may not know if it’s a good idea in the "useful-to-the-seller" sense; is it a good strategy in the other sense of good? No, I don’t think so. It is, after all, untrue. It is, in a word, fraudulent. Would it be actionable, as in "a fraudulent inducement to enter into a contract?" I don’t know. That’s one for the lawyers. No doubt it would be a highly fact-specific call.

I have heard agents defend the practice (of pretending that multiple offers exist) on the grounds that "another offer might come in, and we want to preserve the seller’s options." OK, I see the point. But you don’t need to fabricate a situation to do that. With respect to the CAR form, just eliminate the part that says that multiple counter offers are being made; and retain that which says that a second seller signature will be required in order for the accepted counter offer to be binding.

There are all sorts of ways to preserve the seller’s options. Deception need not be one of them. Tell the truth. That way, as Mark Twain has said, "you will gratify some, and astonish the others."

You Are Making a Difference Keller Williams!

Provided By KW Blog

Friends,

We are inching ever close to our Keller Williams RED Day and I am overjoyed that we will once again be Renewing, Energizing and Donating in our communities on the same day – May 10, 2012! The impact you had on our 2011 RED Day was astounding, exciting and uplifting! Putting aside your real estate businesses for the day, 35,000 of you unselfishly gave a total of 192,500 hours compassionately sharing our culture with numerous community organizations and residents! My friends, this equals 95 years of service to others! It warms my heart as I envision the beautiful tapestry we are creating together – enveloping our world with life-changing love and caring!

Each year the creativity and variety of our RED Day community service projects reach farther and farther. Our energetic compassion knows no bounds and serves all ages and walks of life. Playgrounds are revitalized, houses and lawns of the elderly are beautified, food is provided for the homeless, free closets provide clothes for those in need, numerous service and charity organizations such as The Red Cross, Salvation Army, Meals on Wheels and Habitat for Humanity are assisted. We remember our military men and women and their families, and yes – our four legged friends in animal shelters are never forgotten! There are balloon releases, RED Day proclamations and a feeling of unity by all as we celebrate Giving Where We Live. “Safe and Sober Prom” was one market center team’s project last year. Team members visited and spoke with area high school students about the devastating effects of drinking and driving and obtained students’ commitments to having a “Safe and Sober Prom”. What an invaluable investment in our future generation!

Give Where You Live is more than a printed motto on a Keller Williams’ RED Day T-shirt. It is our very essence; it is our belief system – our culture – in action!

RED Day defines who we are and is a natural extension of our commitment to the highest level of professional customer service. Each year I am thrilled beyond words at the growing number of our family members and friends who participate in this extraordinary event. We are especially proud of our Carolinas Region for having the highest 2011 RED Day participation.

Congratulations to Regional Director, Janet Faulk for her awesome leadership in encouraging and attaining this tremendous involvement! And thank you to the thousands of Keller Williams associates who have truly made a difference in the lives of so many.

With RED Day just over a month away, I passionately request that you begin NOW to search your hearts, research opportunities within your individual communities, tap into your creativity and prepare to dig in, reach out and make a significant impact upon the lives of those around you!

There is no heart that compares to a servant’s heart. Let’s change today’s “What’s in it for me?” attitude to one concentrating on “How can I help?”
Won’t you please join me in my deep desire for us to leave this world a better place by loving wholly and caring compassionately? Let us know how you plan to help It would be the very best 75th birthday gift you could ever give me!

Yours in RED Spirit!

MO

Home Warranty Policies Can Be Good For Both Buyer And Seller

Provided By Realty Times

Home warranty policies are a common feature of residential real estate purchase transactions. These policies are insurance policies, usually a year in length, and cover items such as water heaters, dishwashers, and plumbing systems. Coverage and price vary from company to company and policy to policy. Like many other forms of insurance, there is usually a deductible amount (or service charge) and it is common that they will only pay for service by an authorized provider.

Who is to pay for a home warranty policy, what company is to be used, and how much coverage will be provided are all items to be negotiated between buyer and seller. As a matter of fact, though, because the costs involved are generally a relatively small part of the transaction – commonly they are less than $500 – these items may not receive a whole lot of attention from the principals.

In my own market area it is typically the seller who pays for the policy. Sellers may be told that the cost is a good investment because having such a policy in place helps to prevent a lot of post-closing hassles when – as often happens – something stops working as soon as the new owners unpack. There is truth in this.

In California the standard purchase contract form is produced by the California Association of Realtors® (CAR). It contains a provision for the purchase of a home warranty policy. The section reads like this:

[ ]Buyer [ ] Seller shall pay the cost, not to exceed $_________, of a one-year home warranty plan, issued by __________________, with the following optional coverages [ ]Air Conditioner [ ] Pool/Spa [ ] Code and Permit upgrade [ ] Other ___________________.
Buyer is informed that home warranty plans have many optional coverages in addition to those listed above. Buyer is advised to investigate these coverages to determine those that may be suitable for Buyer.

Now, most homebuyers are not likely to be particularly well informed about home warranty policies, home warranty companies, or the various optional coverages that are available to them. They will look to their agent for guidance. As a matter of fact, though, most agents are likely to have considerably less than encyclopedic knowledge of home warranty policies, prices, and coverage. They will, however, probably have general familiarity with a few. Agents are likely to have had or heard of experiences with the services provided by some of the companies. Most offices stock brochures from home warranty companies and/or have hosted presentations by company representatives.

So here is what happens: the buyer's agent, who is filling out the purchase offer, will name a company with which he is familiar, and, in consultation with the buyer, will specify any additional coverage that might be applicable. Moreover, because it is the buyer and his agent who are constructing the offer, it is likely that they will specify that the seller is to pay.

What about the cost? Not being likely to remember what a particular company's policies and optional coverages may cost, the buyer's agent will typically pick a number, say from $500 - $600, that probably exceeds the cost of a basic policy but that should be ample to pay for any additional coverage specified. Often, a knowledgeable listing agent may point out to his client that the actual cost is likely to be less than the limit specified.

Generally, this all works out ok. The buyer's policy winds up being less than the "not to exceed" amount, and the seller has no complaint.

The point to note here is that the dollar limit is not a credit. Suppose, for example, that the actual policy turns out to cost $450, and that the not-to-exceed amount was $600, and that the buyer had not contractually requested any additional coverage. Suppose also that, as is quite common, the purchase price did not include the refrigerator, which didn't matter because the buyer was bringing the refrigerator he already owned. The buyer gets a bright idea: purchase additional home warranty coverage for the used refrigerator he is bringing and tack it onto the policy the seller is paying for. Suppose it is $100. The limit is still not exceeded.

Yes, but unless it had been specified in the contract, the seller is not responsible for it. (Imagine if it had been in the contract. The seller probably would have said, "No, I'm not paying to cover the refrigerator you already own.")

Conversely, the buyer's agent needs to be sure his principal receives the level of coverage he intended. Most warranty companies have different levels of policies. ABC Home Warranty might have a Basic Policy for $325 and a Premium Policy for $400. Suppose the contract calls for the seller to pay for an ABC policy not to exceed $500. If the seller's agent orders the policy, guess which one the buyer will get? Who will order, or what level policy, should be made clear in the contract.

Home warranty policies are good things for both parties. But it should be clear at the outset exactly what will be purchased and who will pay.

Multiple Counter Offers: Sometimes Confusion, Sometimes Deception

Provided By Realty Times

In many parts of the country resale inventory has declined steeply and properties for sale - particularly those at the lower end of the price range - are frequently receiving multiple offers. This may be some cause for exhilaration, but also it creates a potential for confusion and frustration.

When there are multiple offers sellers may find themselves in a situation where they would like to make multiple counter offers. Seldom does one offer among a few stand out so clearly with respect to price and terms that a seller will just want to accept it as is, without giving anyone else even a chance to better it.

Perhaps the most common multiple offer situation is one in which none of the offers is as high as the listing price. Especially in recent years, almost every potential buyer wants to offer a bit less, even if the list price appears to be a good one.

There is, though, the other end of the spectrum - when the list price is clearly below market value - and everyone offers above it.

Of course price is not the only factor. Frequently, in a multiple offer situation, one buyer may specify an acceptable price, but unacceptable terms (e.g. a very long escrow period); whereas another buyer may have desirable terms (e.g. cash and a short escrow), but an unacceptable price.

So a seller might want to counter to both. To buyer A he might say, "I'll take your price, but no more than a thirty-day escrow." To buyer B, "Your terms are OK, but the price needs to come up by $10,000."

Of course it could be much more complicated than that, and there might be five or six parties making an offer.

Suppose a seller makes counter offers to two or more parties. What if they all accept? Uh-oh. That could lead to problems.

I can remember the dark ages of real estate when the prevailing sentiment (it shouldn't be dignified by calling it a "rule") was that "the first signed acceptance back is the one that wins." That led to bizarre scenarios with anxious buyers waiting in a car outside the seller's home, waiting for their agent to bring out a counter for them to sign. Needless to say, more than a few disputes arose in those multiple counter offer situations.

Some years ago the Standard Forms Committee of the California Association of Realtors® (CAR) devised an imaginative and thoughtful solution for the multiple counter offer situation. They added a couple of paragraphs to what was already a standard counter offer form. The first one (¶ 4) says "[ ] (if checked) MULTIPLE COUNTER OFFERS: Seller is making a Counter Offer(s) to another prospective buyer(s) on terms that may or may not be the same as in the Counter Offer. Acceptance of this Counter Offer by Buyer shall not be binding unless and until it is subsequently re-Signed by Seller in Paragraph 7 below…my underline]" and then goes on to say how long the buyer has to respond.

The second addition (¶ 7) says, "MULTIPLE COUNTER OFFER SIGNATURE LINE: By signing below, Seller accepts this Multiple Counter Offer." And then it provides a place for signature, along with a warning to the seller not to sign it until after the Buyer has signed. When this second signature is obtained, it confirms which of the accepted counter offers he has chosen.

So the seller gives out multiple counters, but none of them are binding. He is only bound if he subsequently puts a second signature on one that has been accepted by a buyer. Even if all the buyers had accepted what was countered to them.

Of course it could happen that none of the seller's counter offers will be accepted. That is then the seller's tough luck, just as could happen with a single counter offer. Making a counter offer is a rejection of the original offer. The seller who makes a counter doesn't retain the right to go back to the original, unless the buyer agrees.

The standard CAR counter offer, with the optional provision for multiple counter offer situations, has done much to clear up the confusion and misunderstandings that might exist in a multiple offer situation. That is a good thing.

Regrettably, the form also provides a potential for deception. The fact that some listing agents will exploit that potential is a not-so-good thing. We will discuss that issue in the next column.