Music. Music. Today we're going to talk about three reasons why you need to be a better listener in real estate. And the reason we're talking about this is because I went on a pre-listing appointment and I got some pretty good feedback and I wanted to share that with you guys. So reason number one is that it builds trust and rapport. And I know that sounds very common sense, very, you know, basic sales 101.
But sometimes we really are not listening because we're so worried about what, what is the next thing that I'm going to say? What's the next thing that I should talk about to these, you know, especially when they're potential clients, they're not your clients yet. And you're trying to have them hire you. So we get nervous. We're thinking about the next thing and we don't quite listen. And what is it that they say that the number one complaint about realtors is that the lack of communication.
And I don't think they just mean communication in how many times you're calling them. I think communication in that you're not really listening to them. So the clients want to be, they want to be seen and they want to be heard. And that takes the skill of you really listening. So step number one, it really builds that rapport and that trust. Now on this listing appointment that I went on, the lady came in, this just happened last week. The lady came into my open house and she wants to downsize.
She wants, she has a home to sell and she wants to purchase a new home. And I just, I kind of want to pause right there really quick though, but you guys said like this stuff works. You can go out and host a open house this weekend and walk away with, you know, a client in your pocket that has two transactions and put them on your drip. And even though she doesn't want to sell until the beginning of the year, it's still somebody that's in my database that I know is a hot lead.
So she has a home that is, you know, way too big for her, right? Four bedrooms, but it's a beautiful home. And she had it on the market before COVID. So what she wanted me to do was she took off the market and she wanted me to go check it out to see what the home is like, what her taste is like, so that when it's time to sell, and she needs to find a home, I know what it is that she's looking for. So I went there and looked at her home. Very beautiful.
And she proceeded to tell me that she took it off the market because not because it wasn't selling. She said she had, you know, 20 offers on her home and all over asking. And she said that she couldn't find anything though, right? So that's why she didn't end up moving, but or even selling. Calling and she said that the realtor kept sending her homes that did not meet her criteria. And she was upset with that, you know, and so it got me thinking.
I'm like, okay, we really need to talk about this. She had asked for homes, you know, she did the same. She brought him to her home, showed him what it was, you know, she wanted. She lives, it's on a golf course. The home is very open, bright and airy, landscapes, beautiful. And she told him she wanted a turnkey home. And he kept sending her homes that were fixers, homes that were not turnkey.
And it was a real turnoff for her. And so she, I think with all of that combined, she just decided that she wasn't going to sell anymore. So I really want you guys to listen to that because I know that we hear that but we've heard that before, right?
And sometimes we think like when we're setting somebody up on a search criteria, and we're sending them homes in the area, the neighborhood that they want to live in, and we just send over, say, a bunch, say we send over 30 homes without looking at them first, if you're just sending all of that, then the client really truly thinks that you haven't listened to them. So it's really, really important that you're not just doing that.
You're not just sending over just a drip to them of homes that are just in the city they want to live in. It's very important. So what I teach is to send over when you're doing the search to put them on the concierge mode. And I'm almost positive every MLS has this where you check a box and it puts them on a concierge mode. So what that means is, is it sends you the listings first. So instead of going straight to the client, it'll send you the listings.
I love to do that. So I'll send them to me, and then I review them, and I make sure to discard anything that does not meet their criteria. And then I shoot it over to them. So it really makes me, you know, I'm listening to them. I'm really, really listening to what they want. Sometimes, sure, some things will slip by, slip through, but, you know, that's okay. It's also a great way, because on the MLS, you can tell when they're looking, right?
So when you shoot that over and you see they've opened it, then that's a good segue to give them a call and ask them if they received your listings. So that's number one. And the main reason why I wanted to do this, because like I said, it's really a true testament on how to, you know, not how to handle your clients, but how to really, you know, make them feel like seen and heard.
So reason number two. Reason number two is because you want to find out, you want to find out the potential client's hidden benefits. Benefits and I have a really fun exercise in my program it's called the buyer manifesting exercise, and it's once you get a buyer consultation you sit down and you do this fun buyer manifesting exercise with them and it what it does is it really pulls out their benefits their reasons for buying the home.
And I don't think that a lot of us dig deep into finding out the true reason why somebody wants to purchase a home. And when you're listening, so when you, you know, everything I do, the way I get my clients is through open houses, right?
So all of this, like listening, all of this happens at the beginning, like when you're first meeting them, when they're coming to your open house and you're asking them the The questions I teach in my conversational framework, when you're asking them these things, you're remembering all of the questions. You're remembering all of the answers so that you can go back and do this. And that leads me to number three. Reason number three is that it gives you a reason to follow up with them.
When you're listening, like I said, when you've listened and you've done that conversational framework, you've gathered all that information about them. You have everything in your pocket to call them. So what I teach in my program is that you're going to try your best once you figure out what type of client they are. Once you figured out their target date, what you're going to do is try to get the appointment right then and there, your buyer consultation appointment right then and there, right?
But say for some reason you didn't get it. All you got was their information, which is awesome, right? You got all their information, but you weren't able to get the appointment at the open house. But what you did do is you gathered all that information. And now when you go to follow up with them, you have it all because you listened. Right. So you listen to what it is that they're like, what they do. You listen to, you know, what their family's all about.
Maybe they stopped into your open house because they were on their way back from their son's baseball game. game, their daughter's soccer game, whatever it was, right? You were listening. And when you go to call them, now you have something to talk about and you're always going to start with something about them, right? You're not going to start with something about the house or any houses or pre-approval process or anything like that.
You're going to start with asking them about them and and about their family. So it's really, really important that you guys are listening to what it is that they're saying and you're asking the right questions. I am so excited to hear more about how this goes for you guys. So stick around. We're going to dive deeper into follow-ups and how to follow up with people. So have an amazing week. Go out there and book those open houses and come back with an open mind.