This week in our Agent First Mindset, we watched a video from Brad Lea, a professional speaker and trainer with expertise in the business and sales world. Brad shared with us seven tips for overcoming common sales objections.
At our weekly Agent First Mindset meetings, we gather to help each other sharpen our real estate and personal skills to become more well-rounded and successful agents.
In this session, Brad helped us succeed at sales by connecting with people on a deeper level to overcome their sales objections.
7 Tips To Overcoming Objections
Brad started out by giving us 7 tips for overcoming objections in sales. Pay close attention to these so that you can use them when you’re out selling homes and trying to connect with leads.
1. Don’t Believe the Excuse
No matter what excuse you hear from a client, treat it with a grain of salt. Often, they’re just making up an excuse to get out of the conversation. Don’t immediately believe that what they say is true, but don’t accuse them of lying either. Instead, listen carefully and think of good questions to follow up with.
2. Ask Why
As you’re connecting with leads, you should be doing all you can to build a strong relationship with them. If you have a relationship, you can ask “why” when they start offering you objections.
For example, “Why don’t you want to sell right now?” “Why is that price too much for you?” “Why do you want to look at more homes?” Getting to the heart of these issues will help you understand how real their objections are and how you can help get past them.
3. Identify and Isolate the Objection
Start by asking why. Then, validate that the lead’s objection is REAL. If you think they’re just saying something to get away from you, you need to know that. Then you won’t be wasting your time dealing with invalid excuses or wasting their time trying to answer an objection they just made up.
4. Agree with Your Client
In real estate, it’s essential that you’re able to communicate effectively. But to do that, you have to make your clients feel heard. They don’t know as much about the housing market or real estate as you do, but they know more about themselves.
Whatever your clients may say, validate their decision. If they say they want to think it over, agree that you would too and make sure they feel comfortable and confident. Make sure they can see that you understand they have the final say.
5. Use Logic
Listen carefully to your clients and use logic to decide what to say next. Sometimes, we get so caught up in trying to sell a home or our services that we forget we’re talking to real people. So, make sure you let logic, not emotions, lead your conversation.
This acronym might be helpful for remembering what kinds of things you should be saying if you’re using logic:
- Leverage
- Obvious
- Gain
- Intelligence
- Common Sense
If you can leverage the conversation, state obvious things, find ways that your client can gain from what you say, and use intelligence and common sense, your conversation will go much better.
6. Restate and Verify the Problem
Every time your client objects, restate the objection. Make sure you understand the objection and what the client is actually telling you. If they say they need to look around more, restate it: “So, you need to shop around and see a few more homes?” Make sure they fully agree and weren’t just saying something to avoid talking to you further.
7. Listen to the Client
Don’t just “listen to respond.” As you’re talking with clients, keep your eyes on their body language and other nonverbal cues. Listen to understand them, not simply to get the next word in and defeat all their objections.
Your clients will have legitimate concerns. Buying or selling a home is a huge step. You don’t want to treat it callously, because they can’t. Make sure you understand them and validate the struggles they’re facing.
Common Objections You May Hear
As you’re chatting with clients about the options in front of them (working with you or another agent, buying or selling, etc.), you’ll likely hear these common objections:
- “I’m just looking….” The best way to deal with this is to finish the sentence in your head “I’m just looking…for your services…for a home, etc.” That way, you realize they are looking for your help and you won’t feel turned off and upset by the phrase.
- “The price is too high.” In reality, it’s not about the price. If the price is too high, you haven’t proved that the price is worth it for the value they’ll receive. You need to build more value into what you’re trying to sell (your services, the house, etc.).
- “I have to get my spouse.” When you hear this, always agree with them (everyone needs to talk to their spouse when considering real estate), but don’t always believe it’s the only objection. Make sure you clarify with them and set up a time to talk to both of them later.
- “I want to think about it.” Agree with them on this too. Of course! It’s a huge decision. Make sure they know you’ll be in touch soon to talk over any further questions they may have thought up.
- “I need to shop around.” If a client says this, you haven’t sold them on the value in your service and you haven’t given them enough information. The best way to combat this is to become an expert on your product as well as on your competition. You can whip out your phone and go over the numbers with them then and there to show them that you have the best value.
- “It’s not the right time.” When you hear this, immediately ask why. Make sure they can articulate it–if they can’t, they’re just making excuses. Do your best to explain clearly why this is the best time.
- “Something is wrong.” A client may say something is wrong with your service or the home. To figure out what exactly the issue is, ask why again, identify and isolate the objection, then see if you can fix it. Use logic to give them a sense of urgency and explain that they need to move now.
Overcoming Objections and Winning in Real Estate
As a real estate agent, you’ll hear thousands of objections to your business. But don’t take them to heart. Instead, keep focused on these common objections and put into practice these tips to overcome them.
Listen well, ask questions, emphasize the value of your services, and make sure you’re always listening. With these tips in mind, you’re well on your way to overcoming objections in real estate and succeeding in your career.
If you’re interested in joining our weekly Agent First Mindset calls to hear from these experts and discuss it with a team, consider joining Agent First Group as a real estate partner. Each week we meet to discuss all the important things in life, from real estate to our mindset and so much more! Get connected today.