by Jim Remley

Its 9:00 in the morning, bright and early for a hardworking real estate agent like you. You’re sipping your morning coffee reviewing the latest hot sheet, when the phone rings. Slightly irritated you set down your cup of sludge and pick the phone.

“ABC Real Estate this is Bob how may I help you?”

There is a slight pause and then the bombshell question-

“How much do you charge for your commission?”

Hey, you have a live one here! This is someone who obviously has some interest in listing their property for sale and who knows maybe today is your lucky day! Your heart skips a beat, your hand trembles slightly, and suddenly your at least four cups of coffee perkier!

“We charge (X) ……”

Slum dunk, that was easy, next question please!

“Yeah, Discount realty said they would do it for less!” and pause wait for it, wait for it, bingo there it is …. dial tone! Game over! You lose.

What just happened? This is a classic pitfall that every agent in America will fall into at some point in their careers lets call it by name – Bad Answer Syndrome. It doesn’t just happen over the phone either it can happen at anytime, in person, by email, or even by fax.

Now in this case why is giving the commission your company charges over the phone a bad answer? Because that answer, even though it is accurate, provides a potential client with a reason to reject you or what you are offering. Remember clients are rejection machines they intuitively know that because of the massive amount of choices they have available to them they must quickly eliminate as many choices as possible as quickly as possible. To accomplish this goal clients often consciously or even subconsciously employ what are called elimination questions.

It would seem like we are in a catch-22 with these kinds of questions. After all how can you not answer a direct question like – What do you charge? The answer may be easier than you think, all though, it may seem a little unnatural at first. Here it is:

To answer an elimination question, ask another question.

Huh? Let’s take a look at how this might work in the real world:

Suspect: How much do you charge?

Agent: Where is your home located?

Now you have immediately taken control of the conversation. How did you do it? By asking a simple question, always remember to take control of any conversation at any time just ask a question.

Let’s stay with this dialog.

Suspect: 123 Main St, Anytown…

Agent: That’s a great area! How long have you lived in the home?

Suspect: We have lived here at 7 years. Now what does your firm charge?

Agent: Before I can give you a quote I need to set an appointment with you to take a look at your home. Would today be good or would tomorrow be better?

Remember the old adage – You can’t list a house over the phone? Your number one goal must be to set an appointment. Every home is unique, and although many offices may have a minimum fee structure most offices will allow you to charge more if the situations merits it. For instance what if the home is outside of your normal service area, or the seller is demanding crazy marketing, or the home is in extremely poor condition all of these issues can affect the commission structure.

Now let’s switch gears and put this into the perspective of a buyer calling your office to ask some questions about a listing. Let’s watch a poor conversion artist and a skilled conversion artist at work.

Poor Conversion Artist:

Suspect: How big is the backyard?

Agent: Let me check… Ah… I have the file right here…. Yep, oh yeah…. The yard is huge! It’s as big as three foot ball fields! You could land the space shuttle in this back yard!

Suspect: That’s too bad – We’re looking for a small yard. Thanks.

Agent: But, okay, yeah… hello?

Skilled Conversion Artist

Suspect: How big is the backyard?

Agent: How big of a backyard are you folks looking for?

Suspect: We really want a small yard.

Agent: I understand listen I have three or four homes in this price range with a smaller yard, this particular home has a large backyard. Tell me what else you’re looking for in a home?

Now it’s obvious which agent did the better job, but the skilled conversion artist not only answered a question with a question she also used another great technique in converting more calls. She used what I call a vesting question.

What is a vesting question? A vesting question is an open ended question, one that can’t be answered with a simple yes or no. A vesting question requires the buyer or seller to open up to you and become more vested in the relationship you are attempting to create.

Her vesting question was – Tell me what you are looking for in a home?

The secret to vesting questions is that they require the person answering to spend some time and effort explaining their needs. This helps you establish rapport and trust two key components in building a new relationship.

So how can you avoid bad answer syndrome in the future? Take the time to think about how you will respond when a buyer or a seller asks you a question. Perhaps ask a question before revealing your hand, and consider using a vesting question to begin building a relationship with new clients!

About the Author
Jim Remley is a speaker, author and active real estate broker with eight offices. He is also the owner of Pro Performer, the RealtyU® Affiliate in Southern Oregon. Jim won the RealtyU®, Rookie Instructor of the Year award in 2001 and the Pacesetter Award in 2002, 2003 and 2004. The RealtyU® network consists of 40 accredited real estate schools and colleges that serve 42 states and provinces in Northern America. Collectively RealtyU® has some 500 qualified and licensed educators that offer more than 6,000 different classes every year. RealtyU® educated over 230,000 real estate professionals in 2004, making it the largest real estate education and training network in the industry.