Get ready to eliminate the word “think” from your real estate vocabulary.
We know that what you say matters. And scripting in a market like this matters more than ever. Because people have very selective hearing when it comes to what they want to hear and what they want to do.
So, you should be using the word “think” very specifically in your conversations with clients.
How many times in a real estate transaction do you get asked, “Hey, what do you think about that?” or “What’s your take on this?”
A lot of people will ask agents what they think when they’re getting ready to make a big financial decision, whether it’s buying a home or selling their own. That’s what we’re paid to do. That’s how we earn a living. But the word “think” is tricky.
It’s treacherous because “think” doesn’t provide clarity, it’s an opinion. And consumers want to deal with certainty. So, aim to eliminate the word “think” in two situations.
#1— “Here’s what I know”
You get done meeting with somebody, and they ask you about an offer, about a house, about the housing market, etc.—“Hey Tom, what do you think?”
Don’t say, “I think this,” or “I think that.”
Instead, respond with, “Here’s what I know” and then give them facts about the situation. And one of those facts could be “The first offer is usually the best offer.”
Those are things that will inevitably deliver certainty. So when you hear, “Hey, what do you think about the house?” here’s an example of how I would answer that:
“Well, here’s what I know, Nick. It’s been on the market for 43 days. They don’t have any other offers, and it’s priced a little higher than the last two homes we looked at. And I’ve pulled some sales data here to share with you to see what other homes are selling for.”
That’s a much clearer statement than, “Well, I think it might be priced a little high, but I’m not really sure.” You get where I’m going with this.
So when people ask you, “What do you think?” respond with, “Here’s what I know… ” and then give factual data about the circumstance.
#2— “How would you feel if…?”
You’re in the middle of a negotiation, and your client asks you, “So, Tom, what do you think we should do here? Should we take the offer?”
This is a prime time to close a sale. Instead of saying, “Here’s what I think,” ask them a question that makes any opinion you could offer irrelevant.
“Hey Nick, how are you going to feel if we lose the offer over $5,000?”
See the difference there? It’s not what you think that matters. It’s how Nick is going to feel if he loses the offer. Paint the worst-case scenario. Ask him what it’s going to feel like for them because they’re the ones making the decision.
The right way to use “think”
Here’s a situation where you do want to use the word “think.” It’s when you get done showing properties. Have this conversation outside because inside the house, you might be on video.
“Hey, so Nick and Michelle, what did you think about what we saw today?”
Then smile and shut up because you want to hear what they’re thinking. This is how you learn and add value to every conversation: you never use the word “think” on your end, and you ask other people what they think.
Making a habit of this will create certainty around everything you’re doing as an agent.
