Bad Sales Example
Posted by: Cheryl Clausen in sales coaching, tags: get clients, increase sales, sales coachingIt’s not fair to pick on an entire industry yet I’ve had this experience repeatedly with Real Estate agents. It happens in every industry. However, it is one of the easiest things you can do to increase your sales and make your buyers feel a whole lot better about their buying decision. It’s a win-win.
Stop Leaving Your Buyers Hanging
Each time you contact or engage a potential buyer never EVER end that connection without spelling out next steps. Both you and your buyer should know who is going to do what, when you will reconnect, and what the next contact is suppose to achieve.
This is top of my mind right now because I am in the process of buying some property. The first agent I contacted never got back to me. This agent just left me hanging even after I made follow up contact. Gee, guess that agent doesn’t want a commission.
The agent I am currently working with regularly ticks me off because he fails to meet those 3 criteria every connection. Come on… it’s not that tough. At the end of each contact we both need to know…
- The expected day and time to reconnect
- Who will be bring valuable information to that connection
- What we are trying to accomplish and what we need to do next
Shut the F@#! Up and Listen
Plus the agent makes another fatal mistake all too many people make. The agent talks entirely too much and fails to listen to critical information I tell him. Yet again another sales person who loves the sound of his own voice so much he can’t bring himself to listen for information that directly impacts his income.
If you are making these mistakes you are getting what you deserve.
Don’t be surprised when you don’t get referrals and previous clients want nothing to do with you when it comes to future business.
Take responsibility and make these simple little changes and avoid the negative consequences of these poor sales habits.
Coach Cheryl
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March 18th, 2010 at 11:51 am
Cheryl
I couldn’t agree more. Though I don’t intend to single out estate agents, last year I was looking to rent a property and was ready and waiting to get my wallet out. The agent, however, rushed me from one property to the next and never picked up on my buying signals. The questions she asked me were more to do with small town nosiness about who I was, rather than questions designed to discover what was important to me in property criteria.
I could very easily have been sold on 2 of the 4 properties she showed me but why would I give my money to someone who didn’t take me seriously. If only she knew how much money she’s leaving on the table!
Marion
March 18th, 2010 at 12:10 pm
Cheryl
I agree with you about how frustrating that is. However, it isn’t just a characteristic of real estate agents, it seems to run trough most of what I call “the small business community” as a ’small business thinkers” characteristic.
In fact, at the recent London internet marketing forum they called it the “business prevention unit”. They inferred that every small business on the internet has a division of the company specifically designed to put up barriers to doing business. Websites that don’t have contact information, phone numbers, email address, or, some that do have them but they are difficult to find.
Being a business coach who coaches business coaches, and who ran a radio program giving coaches a HUGE opportunity to be heard on the radio in front of their market, I discovered that out of 75 coaches in the Kansas City area, NONE of them returned a telephone call that said “I’m looking for a coach, call me.” And the same response for the top 30 coaches listed on Google. And out of 150 listed on LinkedIn within 50 miles of Kansas City, I found only 3 with contact information on their website, when I could find a website.
Can you imagine someone who CLAIMS to be in business who actually puts up barriers to being contacted?
It seems to be a “small business” characteristic. There is a reason that the Small Business Administration says that 80% of all small business will fail within their first 2 years.
That’s why they need your help, right?
March 19th, 2010 at 9:26 am
Cheryl
This rings so true! I had a very similar experience and wrote this post…
http://www.reallifeselling.com/sales-culture/selling-to-a-salesperson/
I hope you find it interesting.
–
Best Rgds
Mark
March 20th, 2010 at 1:09 pm
[…] to get it done and not necessarily right. In a blog by sales coach, Cheryl Clausen, she talks about common sales mistakes and specifically this sales mistake of leaving buyers hanging – or what I call […]