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Originally Posted by Thomas
I can give an example. Sometimes I work by myself in a sales office in one of the communities. Signs on the street advertise that homes are for sale. People come in off the street and want to see what's for sale. The boss for that site says anyone who comes in should be treated like a buyer. I don't like showing people who aren't ready, willing and able so I ask about what kind of home they want, what price range, how soon. Those kinds of questions. Some of the people don't like that and say they just want to see what's for sale. I've had people who didn't qualify or didn't want to answer my questions complain to the boss that I wouldn't show them homes and that I wasn't very helpful. This week the boss told me for now on I'm supposed to show everyone that comes in any home they want to see.
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Thomas, you sound frustrated.
I think your post points out one of the challenges with limiting oneself to the "only sell to those who are ready, willing, and able" mindset that is so heavily promoted in this forum. "Sell only to those who are ready, willing, and able to buy" works great for prospecting (and I contend that virtually every salesperson does this naturally when prospecting anyway because it's common sense), but for sales professionals who sell in an environment like you do (and there are a boatload of people who do, including retail, showroom sales, in-home selling with preset appointments, etc), you can't go about it that way. You're on call for a certain period of time and you need to serve people who come in to see what you have to offer because that's how your company is set up.
When my wife and I bought our current house seven years ago, we drove by the property and stopped at an open house (we both love houses and design and architecture at that time went to quite a few open houses every year). We had no intention of buying a home. But when we saw the home, we both loved it and eventually purchased it. If the agent had pre-qualified us to death (or
disqualified us), and then refused to show us the home because we weren't "ready, willing, and able" to buy, we wouldn't have purchased our home from the agent, so I think in selling (as opposed to prospecting) a salesperson has to be very careful about the "disqualify your prospects" thing.
That doesn't mean you can't be an effective salesperson when prospects do come in. I'm wondering if setting aside the "sell only to those who are ready, willing, and able" mindset might help relieve the pressure on your prospects??? Instead, focus on the prospect. Have a "welcome them" mindset, not a "disqualify them" mindset. DO ask questions - ask lots of them if they'll let you, but focus on building a relaxed, trusting atmosphere.
Be likable, be engaging, be real, and use your persuasion skills to try to get prospects to sit down with you for a minute (or ten or twenty) to chat before you show them around (some might be shocked that I would suggest using
persuasion, but persuasiveness is one of the qualities of top-performers, and no, persuasiveness is not the same as aggressiveness). Do you have a "registration card" or something they fill out before they see the property so you can get their information?
Of course, if none of this works and your prospect distances himself from you, you just have to smile and go with the flow and show them what you have while not spending a lot of time with them (unless you see the prospect is becoming interested in your product as you show it to them). And I would certainly recommend seeking referrals from these people ("can you give me the names of two or three of your friends or family or colleagues that you think may be looking for...".
I know I don't understand all the intricacies of your particular situation, so perhaps some of my suggestions don't fit or don't make sense. If they don't, ignore them.
I hope that is helpful, Thomas.
I also agree with bluenote that you should develop your own marketing program to bring in qualified prospects rather than just random people off the street.
The best to you!
