There she was with a prospect doing a walkthrough of his home when Patti put her foot in it, not dog poo, but what she said literally stopped their conversation cold. She felt the air get chilled and saw her prospect lose interest. Nothing she did after that revived the conversation.
What happened? What went wrong? Naturally, as a young real estate agent, she went carefully over what transpired. No matter how much she pressed instant replay, the answer eluded her.
A few days later Patti attended training through her company, which focused on reading personality types. On the surface, her prospect was friendly and warm. He shook her hand and looked her directly in the eyes. After an exchange of pleasantries, he asked a pointed question, which prompted her to talk as if a racehorse in the Kentucky Derby! Admittedly Patti knew she is supposed to talk less, listen more. Painfully here was yet another example of how her usual approach backfired.
Patti’s style has a strong dose of helping people followed by tons of action. She is eager to get things done, which generally works great in the real estate field but not with every client. In this situation, the drive and ambition to get the listing and sell the property tripped her up.
This prospect liked to learn. He was an information junky. He loved statistics, reports, trends, and data that he could absorb and understand. The clue to reading his personality style was that he asked question after question. To an inexperienced rookie, it was enticing to answer them, show off her newly gained expertise, and think she was building rapport by this quick repartee.
Although she lost this listing, Patti gained a valuable insight — not to be fooled by the initial presentation of her client’s personality type. She also learned how she made the most common mistake of leading with her own style rather than matching that of the other person.
Bottom line: Clients hire someone who they know, like and trust. When they sense you’re like them, they’ll want to get to know you. From knowing, to liking, to developing trust. That’s how to win more listings and make more sales!
