One simple sales skill that will increase your conversion.
“Next Steps”
This might be the most simple way to make more money, yet it seems to be the most difficult thing for some agents to do.
If you’ve ever found yourself getting ghosted or ignored by leads you thought were going to do business with you; this is for you.
I’ll break this down into 3 Simple Steps to setting Next Steps…
Step 1 – Clarify
If you’re familiar with the CLOSER framework, this is the most important part. This is also where a lot of salespeople get lazy.
Clarify means we need to find out why this person (lead or client) is talking to you (A SALESPERSON) in the first place. Don’t assume, clarify.
Because they want a bigger house isn’t a good answer. Go deeper.
You can move on without going deeper, but you’ll regret it later.
Here are some of my favorite scripts for Clarifying:
“What are you wanting to change about your current living situation?”
“What about this home has you thinking about making a move?”
“How does this house look in comparison to everything else you’ve seen?”
Just to name a few…
Step 2 – Label
If you’ve read “Never Split the Difference” by Chris Voss, you understand the power of Labeling. Highly recommend reading that book (more like studying than reading) if you haven’t.
Using a Label names the emotion, motivation, and concern of the prospect.
It will usually sound something like…
“It sounds like it’s really important to you to increase your sales skills so you can sell more homes and hit your goals”
The deeper you go with the label, the better.
“It sounds like your financial freedom is really important to you.”
Here is the magic… When you label someone, you’re asking them to tell you if you’re right (or wrong)
If you hear the response, “That’s right”… bingo.
But… you might be wrong. And a wrong label is almost as powerful as a correct one.
“Actually, no. Financial freedom would be great, but I really just need to make enough money to pay off my credit card debt.”
Get it?
Also, when you’re labeling, you’re showing them that you’re listening to them. Something not very many salespeople do.
There is more to this framework, but to make this as simple as possible, I’ll move right to the next steps. If you want a free training on the whole framework, go to OnyxConversion.com
Step 3 – Next Steps
Memorize this work track (script):
“Based on what you’ve shared with me… our clients who are in your exact same position have found [THIS THING] really helpful.”
[THIS THING] = Your solution to their problem = Next Steps
Usually an appointment that you’ll be setting to move this person closer to their goal.
In our company, this is usually a consultation. Which would sound something like this for a buyer…
“Based on what you’ve shared with me… our clients who are in your exact same position have found a Buyer Strategy Session to be really helpful. This is where we cover:
- What our clients are doing to take advantage of the market
- How we keep YOU protected through the entire process
- How we get you the best deal possible
“Would it be a bad idea to set that up? I jokingly say it can take 20 minutes or 2 hours. It really just depends on how many questions you ask me.”
This is where you’re selling the next steps. You’ve just presented your solution to their problem. If you listened (clarified) correctly and labeled, you should give the right advice.
Pro-Tip: If they don’t want to take the next step, you can return to the label.
“I thought that you said that you really wanted to do everything you can to pay off your credit card debt… would it really be a waste of time to set this up?”
Using their pain point to drive home the importance of your solution.
If they still don’t want to commit, move to a less impactful and easier (for them to commit to) solution.
Your goal is to get them to commit to doing something with you. This way you’re finding out NOW that there is an issue with working together, rather than getting ghosted.
There are a ton of different directions, but an easy one for buyers is to fall back on the basics.
That would sound something like…
“Okay, so if we’re not ready to do the Strategy Session yet, let’s do this.
- First – I’ll set you up on a custom saved search on our website SoCalHomesForSale.com. This allows you to give me a good idea of what you do and don’t like without me having to bug you. Make sure to hit the Favorite or ❤️ Heart button when you (kinda, sorta, maybe) like something. Our goal here is to narrow the search, not find the perfect house right away.
- Second – I’ll keep you updated on the market, so you know exactly what is going on. We do this every month, so you’ll always be up to date.
- Last – If I don’t hear from you in a week, I’ll call you and ensure we’re on the same page…
Sound good?”
GET A COMMITMENT. If someone won’t commit to that, you’ve probably done something wrong.
99% of the time, you’ll have a commitment for next steps. Huge win.
Most people skip all this for two reasons.
A – It’s extra work, and they don’t have a sales process
B – They don’t want to feel “salesey” (is that word?)
And because they’re not willing to take the steps to create next steps, you have to follow up forever while getting ghosted.
Get a commitment for the next step. Set a timeline for the next step. Give the client the opportunity to tell you that you’re wrong.
You’ll convert more leads AND you’ll also save yourself a lot of time “following up” with people who don’t want to work with you.
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