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Well, I
don’t know if it is the First Rule or not but I do
know as does every marketing guru, sales trainer and top
sales person that he or she who asks questions controls
the conversation. This is true in social situations and in business and sales
situations. Imagine,
for a moment that you have come face to face with Tom
Cruise or Nicole Kidman or even the President of the U.S.
What would you do?
Blather on about how much you admire the person and
what an honor it is to be in their exhaled presence.
Bet they have heard that before.
But what if you ask a question?
You might ask a movie star what his or her favorite
role was. You
might ask the president how he plans to solve the energy
crises. As soon as you ask, you are controlling the conversation with
movie stars and presidents.
Cool huh?
WHO
TAKES CONTROL?
I will bet
that you have been in situations where a prospective
customer took control of the conversation.
Hopefully that was awhile back but whenever it
occurred, think back on how out of control you felt. A
potential customer that is good at firing questions at you
will keep you from doing your job. I mean, how can you find out their needs and how you can help
them when you are running as fast as you can just to
answer their questions that more than likely hop from one
topic to another? I’ve certainly run into real estate agents who call me
wanting to get help using the Internet effectively and who
start off with a barrage of questions.
Here’s how I handle it.
ANSWER
QUESTIONS WITH A QUESTION
Agents or
brokers who want to control the conversation with me often
start out by saying, “Tell me why your Web design is
better than one of the many template Websites that I might
choose.” I might very well respond, “Better in what way?”
Who is asking the questions now? I know that I am
answering a question with a question and that is
considered wrong in school. But we're not in school
anymore.
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All
human beings come equipped with the ability to ask
questions. Tough
questions! From
very small children to teenagers, they control the situation
with the questions they ask. Why do I have to eat my peas?
Why is the grass green?
Why can’t I watch TV?
I have heard many parents try to answer these
questions and finally give up with something like,
“Because I said so, or because it is!”
It took me many years as a mother and grandmother
before I figured out that those little darlings were not
really asking questions, they were trying and succeeding in
controlling the conversation.
Since I do not write about parenting skills as I am
no expert there, I will stick to sales training and
marketing where I do have a certain amount of credibility
and expertise.
ANTICIPATING
THE WRONG QUESTIONS
Somewhere along the line many real estate sales
people got the idea that the way to generate new leads,
listings and sales was to answer questions.
Often they attempt to answer questions that have not
even been asked. I see this especially on real estate
Websites but I see it in print ads as well.
“I want to be your Realtor for Life” presumes
that someone out there has asked what your goals are.
The tag line, “Integrity, Honesty and Know-How”
presupposes that someone wants to know what you think of
yourself. The
statement, “Over 40 gazillion dollars in sales last
year,” presupposes that someone understands what you mean
by that statement and wants to know how much money you made.
KEEP
THOSE QUESTIONS COMING
Instead,
it is possible to ask questions even using print
advertising, TV and radio.
The questions you ask will determine the kind and
quality of leads you will generate. For
example: “Do you know the top price your house will bring
on today’s market?” People might really wonder about that. Or, “What are the odds that you will overpay for your next
home?” Nobody
wants to do that.
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How
to Ask Questions Online
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Yes,
it is possible to ask questions online.
Pages that ask questions are called Interactive
Pages. Interactive
Web pages is what the Web is really all about.
When you correlate your local marketing and your
Website with Interactive pages, you will begin to see what
all the Internet fuss is all about.
For example, the Web page at http://www.sellrealestate.net
/LeadGeneration.htm explains how interactive Web pages
are set up and why they work.
If you would like to see an interactive page in more
detail, visit http://www.sellrealestate.net/customweb.htm
and click on the Website on the middle left.
You can see how an interactive section called “Do
you know your Real Estate I.Q.?” might be structured.
FOCUS
YOUR QUESTIONS
The
kinds of questions you ask on your Website will depend
on the market you want to attract.
If you were targeting buyers you would not be
interested in asking For Sale by Owners if they might like
to have Free Advertising on your Website. What would be the
point? What if
you want to target investors?
Can you think of any questions you might like to ask
them? This is
not a trick question. The
interactive pages we create for real estate agents and
brokers always come from real questions that you, the agent,
would like to pose to the people you want to attract.
If
you are not asking questions on your Website, who is
controlling the conversation between you and your prospect?
Here’s a hint. It isn’t you!
THE
LOGICAL NEXT STEP
If
you would like to be controlling the conversation on your
Website you are thinking in the right direction. The logical next step would be to contact me for a Free
Custom Web Plan. I’ll
be happy to help you figure out what kinds of questions to
ask. Simply
call me toll free at 888-814-5347 or visit me online at
http://www.sellrealestate.net/FreeWebPlan.asp.
When you take control of the Online Conversation you will
start to see the kinds of marketing results you’ve always
wanted.
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