“What are you thinking of doing?”
Those may be six of the most valuable words you can say to a new prospect.
Let’s imagine someone has just downloaded your beach condo price report.
You could immediately start telling them about your listings.
You could explain why now is the perfect time to buy.
You could try to persuade them to schedule an appointment.
But you don’t know anything about them yet.
You don’t know whether they want a permanent home, a winter home, or a vacation property they can rent on Airbnb.
You don’t know whether they’re ready right now or planning for retirement five years from now.
You don’t even know whether they’re friendly and cooperative.
So instead of assuming, you simply ask:
“What are you thinking of doing?”
And then you stop talking.
That’s the important part. :)
Give them the opportunity to voluntarily reveal their situation to you.
“We’ve been vacationing in Longboat Key for years. Prices seem to be coming down, and we’re getting closer to retirement, so we think it might finally be time to buy something.”
Now we have the beginning of a real conversation.
The same thing works if someone downloads your fence and gate catalog.
“What are you thinking of doing?”
“We’re building a new home that will be ready in six months, and we’ll need to fence the backyard.”
Or perhaps:
“A tree just fell on our fence, and we need to replace it right away.”
You didn’t have to pressure them.
You didn’t have to manufacture urgency.
You simply gave them the space to tell you what they want and when they want it.
That’s our real objective in the first 100 hours after someone raises their hand.
Not to sell them.
To engage them.
We’re looking for five-star prospects: people who are willing to engage, friendly and cooperative, know what they want, know when they want it, and would like us to help them.
You can’t discover any of that by talking at people.
You discover it by being curious about them.
Seek first to understand.
Then, once you know what they’re hoping to accomplish, you can determine whether what you have will genuinely help them get it.
That’s a much better foundation for a relationship than telling a complete stranger what they should buy before you’ve even asked what they’re thinking of doing.