Classic Closes #290

Elite Agents Real Estate Podcast with Debbie De Grote

Hello, it’s Debbie De Grote and welcome to Debbie's Daily Tips.

So today I wanted to talk about closing techniques, classic closes. You know I remember watching a video once and I can’t even remember who the author of this video was, it was many, many, years ago and they had all these different classic closing techniques. Techniques like reducing it to the ridiculous, major close on a minor issue, the take away close. And you know as I was thinking about all of these different closes and I thought okay, what is the number one best classic close that’s also the most effective? And bottom line, it’s the assumptive close.

So what I mean by that is because you are very good at what you do, when someone reaches out to you and let's say for an example you come and list their home and you go and meet with them, why wouldn't you just assume that you're going to take that listing? And therefore, why wouldn’t you prepare all of the paperwork? And as you’re having the dialogue with that seller, why wouldn’t you say, “When we work together, as I list your home, when I bring you offers”? So instead of saying, “If you choose me, if we work together,” why wouldn’t you just assume that that's going to happen?

You know it made me think of a couple of fun techniques and you may or may not want to try them but they actually work quite well. I remember that one of our coaching clients told me that he would always pull up in front of the home, he knew the seller was watching, so he always had a small stakes sign, and a for sale sign that he would pull out of its trunk. He wouldn’t be so presumptuous as to stick it in the front yard, but what he would do is he would carry it up to the front porch and just kind of respectfully lean it on the sidewall, not obnoxiously in their face but just that when they would open that door they would see the sign leaning there. He didn’t make a comment about it, didn't say a word, would just go right on in the door and do his thing.

I also thought about the fact that one of my assumptive techniques is when I would be booking the appointment I would always ask the seller to have a key ready. “You know Mr. and Mrs. Seller when we get together and list your home for sale, I will need to have a spare key, so if you have one, would you please put that in an envelope for me and if you don't have a spare, would you mind having one made? And by the way, I always forget to ask for it, so if you could, just have it in an envelope on the table with my name on it and that way I'll remember to ask you for that key.”

So think about it, if we use the proper language from that first conversation all the way through the appointment, if we’re extremely well-prepared, have our contract filled out as much as possible, all our documents, all our ducks in a row, if we drive up and start making notes of the property, taking pictures, pull that frame out of the trunk, lean it to the sidewall, we've asked them to have a key ready, now we walked into that front door and I use our great verbal suggestion, “Mr. and Mrs. Seller, I am so excited to be here and I am 100% confident that at the end of our meeting today, you will be certain that you should choose me to sell your home, so let’s get started.”

Now 98% of the world prefers to be led, so lead them! It’s much more likely that they’re going to go with the flow if you make it easy for them to do so. So when it comes time to close them, don't say, “Do you want to buy, do you want to sell, do you want to make an offer, do you have any more questions?” Instead assume that they're moving forward. “You know Mr. Buyer, what is the most that you're willing to pay to make sure another buyer doesn't take your home away?” or “Mr. Seller, tell me, by when would you like your home sold to the buyer who is willing to pay the highest realistic price? By when would you like to have the home under contract? Perfect. And that’s exactly why we should go ahead and get started today, right?”

So we’re going to take that next step, we’re going to help guide them. This is not about being pushy, it’s not about being overly aggressive, it's just simply helping them overcome their fear and hesitation to make the decision that they need to achieve the goal that they have. So let’s assume they’re going to invite you over, let’s assume they're going to do what you ask, let’s assume they're going to sign with you, let's assume that you have the business.

Alright guys, make it a great day. I’ll talk to you soon.