What to Say What to Send

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What to Say,

What to Send

Scripts, dialogues, letters & questions

Lee Woodward


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What to Say, What to Send

© Lee F. Woodward

First published April 2009

The moral rights of the author of this work have been asserted.

All rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval systemor transmitted, in any form or by any means without prior written permissionfrom the author, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover

other than that in which it is published and without a similar conditionincluding this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.

National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication entry

Author: Woodward, Lee, 1971-

Title: What to say, what to send : scripts, dialogues,letters & questions / Lee Woodward.

Edition: 1st ed.

ISBN: 9780980625202 (pbk.)

Subjects: Real estate business--Australia.

Business communication--Australia.

Customer relations--Australia.

Real estate agents--Australia.

Dewey Number: 333.33094

Edited by Phaedra Pym

Cover artwork by Sense Advertising & Design

This book has been produced for the Author by

Bookbound Publishing

FreeCall 1800 628 058bookbound.com.au


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Acknowledgments

This book has been created following countless hours of workshop sessions with

dedicated real estate professionals. I would like to express my gratitude to the

many people who have contributed to the ideas presented in the book you are

about to read and to the people who have given me the support that has allowed

me to complete it.

To the workshop attendees who have given their time, desire and questions,

enabling me to study, comprehend, capture and deliver the very best information.

To all the talented people who have shared their stories on Real Estate Hot Topics.

To the incredible Mat Steinwede, for our many years of collaboration and for

producing the Mat Steinwede Real Estate System.

To the highly structured and intensely focused Danny Grant, who has contributed

much of his time to help me help others improve their systems and sales skills.

To the entire team at Real Estate Academy who add, subtract, challenge and

perfect the real estate process each and every day. You are a special group ofpeople who have stood the test of time and served the real estate community with

dedication, professionalism and passion.

To the talented Andrew Duncan who created the software solution, Complete

Data, and listened to all my bent ideas over an 8-year period (it’s just another

button, mate).

I would like to mention a special thank you to our 2007/2008 Super Coach

members in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth; the Hocking Stuart Group

in Victoria for our many hours of debate, discussion and solution solving; andthe Professionals Group in New Zealand, in particular, the Group’s top 10%, for

their crazy humour and unhinged view of business that still fascinates me today.

An incredible special thank you to my dedicated offsider, Robyn McCaughan,

who captures all notes, learning checks and requests from fast-paced real estate

agents on the f ly. Robyn, your emails reach many.

Finally to my mum and dad who back me no matter what I do and my two special

daughters, Maddison and Chloe, who have watched me conduct many recordings

and understand the need to stay quiet until the track ends.


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Contents

What to Say, What to Send –

scripts, dialogues, letters & questions

How to use this book 1

The Sales Process 2Icons 3

What is the difference between a script and a dialogue? 3

Prospecting

Prospecting and marketing 5

Making the connection 6Marketing stickies 7

Marketing you 8

Your best leads 8

Return on investment 8

Know your turf 9

Working with fewer people for better reasons 10

Your prospecting menu 11

Marketing initiative 12

Probing questions 14

‘JUST LISTED’ note 15

‘JUST SOLD’ note 15

Just listed 15

Just sold 17


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Weekly Comparative Market Analysis (CMA) calls 19

Open house call backs (standard) 20

The open for inspection call back 20

Passive database calls 26

Hot prospects 26

Fee objection 26

You all offer the same thing! 27

Calls to former prospective purchasers 27

Anniversary calls 28

The 21 steps to selling privately 28

Complimentary appraisal offer 32

Record sale price letter 33

The price drive letter 34

Price drive follow-up 35

Expired listings 36

Service area calls 36

The all-in-one door knocking role-play with brochure 37

Activity plans 39Summary 39

Listing

Winning the business – listing 41

Listings – how to secure them 42

Preparation 43 Listing questionnaire strategy to qualify all seller leads 44

The inbound potential seller qualification role-play 45

SMS confirmation after phone call 49

Covering letter of confirmation and questionnaire 49

Questionnaire 50

Pre-listing packages 51


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Sample testimonials 52

Property Assessment Report 53

SMS on the day of the appointment 56

Prep tip 56

Agent’s proposition 56

The power of ten 57

Your complete listing procedure 57

Building your face-to-face presentation 58

24 questions to ask – strategies that will be activated 59

Brilliant throw in one-liners 61

Take it easy 62

The presentation role-play 62

Stage 1 – before the property is advertised 63

Stage 2 – on the market 69

Stage 3 – the negotiation and getting to yes 72

Beginnings – great final closes 80

The quote pad close 80

Common fee objections 81Unsigned business 87

The commitment letter (from the Mat Steinwede System) 87

Go forward plan 88

Presenting your greatest hits 89

Vendor Management

Vendor management – communication 91

SMS confirmation after meeting 1 (listing) 93

‘Thank you for listing’ letter 93

Letter to tenant (if required) 101

Follow-up email to tenant (if required) 102

Reverse-engineered call 1 102


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Reverse-engineered email 1 (progress report) 103

Touching base phone call regarding editorial 104

Submit editorial to media (email) – cc vendor 105

Property uploaded on website (email) 105

Sales team inspection phone call (pricing feedback) 105

Email brochure to relevant purchasers – cc vendors 105

Sales team inspection pricing feedback email 106

Friday afternoon SMS 106

First open SMS 106

Reverse-engineered call back on Monday (week 1 reporting) 107


Mid-week 8:15am SMS 108

‘JUST SOLD’ email 108

Home loan email – cc home loan consultant 108

Second open SMS 109


Progress letter 1/survey and meeting 2 confirmation 109

Reverse-engineered email 3 including marketing tax invoice 112Meeting 2 – progress so far 112

Meeting 2 – executive summary email 113

Management letter – here if you need me 114

Third pre-open SMS 114

Third open SMS 114




Meeting 3 – are we on track? 116


Management email – results of telephone survey 117

Follow-up management call 118

New interest this week – email 118


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Difficult negotiation letter 118

Manager’s ‘why properties don’t sell’ letter 119

Meeting 4 – price equals time 119

Fourth open SMS 120



Where to from here? 121

Vendor withdrawn thank you letter 122

Price acceptance document 122

Sales letters – vendor / buyer solicitor 124

Quick congratulations call 125

Congratulations, it’s sold! Where to from here? 125

Pre-settlement letter vendor/buyer 126

Settlement letter and referral point 126

Post-settlement rating form 127

Post-settlement letter 2 months later 128

Vendor objections 128

Keeping things on track 134

Buyer Management

Managing your buyers 142

Assisting people to reach their property goals 143

You never know who is taking your measure 144

You will never remember them all 146Buyer qualification call 147

Follow-up script 148

Buyer letter 1 148

Buyer SMS templates 149

Buyer email – 2 weeks in 150

‘Coming soon’ email 150


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Buyer letter 2 after 35 days 150

I haven’t forgotten you 151

Conducting a great open for inspection 151

Purchasing a property document 152

Follow-up after an inspection 157

How to ‘master qualify’ through scripts and questions 158

Common objections and buyer psychology 159

Understanding buyer psychology for auctions 164

Negotiation – a crucial skill 164

My signature negotiation process 165

What goes around, comes around 167

It’s a wrap

Achieve more with less effort 168

The top 10 requirements of a software system 169

A final word 170

Real Estate Academy’s other products and services 170


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What to Say, What to Send –

scripts, dialogues, letters & questions

Delivering a solid system for communicating with your buyers and sellers, both

verbally and in writing, this book gives you every script, dialogue, letter, email

and SMS you will ever need for each and every step of the sales journey.

The book will:

Allow you to achieve more in less time by cutting to the chase withwinning words and questions

Arm you with brilliant responses to common objections

Give you all the professional letters and emails you will need to

complement your communication process

Give you confidence in knowing that you have mastered the vendor and

buyer management process.

Above all, this book will show your clients that you are a professional who is

committed to keeping them informed every step of the way and achieving the

very best possible outcome for them.

How to use this book

The book is structured around the process of a sale, a cyclical process in that

there is no true beginning or end. While it is logical to assume that the salesprocess ends when the property purchase settles, you have to remember that most

people do not live in the one property for life. In fact most Australians move

several times in their lifetime. It is for this reason that top-performing agents

maintain contact with their clients long after the property settles. This may be

simply a Christmas card each year and acknowledgment of the anniversary of the

date they moved into their new home. No matter how simple, it is contact that

people appreciate and this will be remembered when it comes time to sell and/or

purchase real estate again.


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The Sales Process

Following the model, each chapter of the book will give you what to say and what

to send for every stage of the sales journey, from generating the business through

to property settlement.

You will find suggested letters, emails, text for SMS messaging, scripts and

dialogues in the form of role-plays. In fact everything you need, in the order that

you need it, for complete, consistent and professional communication.

A major key to success in the area of communication is knowledge management.

By knowledge management I am referring to a system for capturing and storing

the winning communications in this book. For those of you who use Complete

Data – the database specifically designed for the real estate industry – you

will find that templates for all the letters, emails and SMS’s are stored on yoursystem. This allows you to simply select, merge and send what you need, when

you need it. You can use Complete Data’s templates as they are or modify them

to suit your target market and your own personality. This powerful method

delivers consistency to your business and, more importantly, can be managed

and replicated by others, such as your Professional Assistant if you have one. It

couldn’t be easier.


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Icons

You will see the following icons used throughout this book, making it a breeze to

find what you need, when you need it:

Letter

Email

SMS

Phone call

Question

Letterbox drop

Script

Dialogue

What is the difference between a script

and a dialogue?

A script suggests wording for you to say, for instance to open up a conversation.

A dialogue, on the other hand, offers you suggested responses in a conversation

with a buyer or a seller. Dialogues are shown in the form of role-plays. I would

strongly recommend that you role-play the scripts and dialogues with a colleague,

friend or relative until you are very comfortable with them. Rehearse them until

they sound impromptu, making them your own by putting your personality into


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them. This will ensure you don’t sound scripted and ‘wooden’ when face-to-face

with a buyer or a seller. After all, practice makes professionals.

Being easy to carry with you wherever you go, this book is certain to become your

‘bible’ in terms of communicating with your marketplace. Just remember though,

while this book gives you the tools, you are the winning ingredient.


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Prospecting

Prospecting and marketing

Prospecting is the practice of creatively searching for new business. Even within

the industry, everybody talks about it, yet so few understand the fundamentals of

finding new business on a daily basis. People come into the real estate industry

and enjoy the selling and matching people to property side of the business,

however they have a resistance to the time and effort required to hunt for

business. The fact of the matter is this – if you get into real estate and you don’t

want to prospect, then you may be in the wrong industry.

As human beings, most of us resist cold calling. Why? Because we’ve all been

on the other end of that phone and felt how uncomfortable it is when someone

gives you an obviously scripted line with the intention of either taking something

from you or selling you something. But prospecting isn’t just about cold calling.


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During a Real Estate Hot Topics audio interview, titled ‘Hardcore Prospecting’,

I asked one of our leading principals, Chris Hanley from Byron Bay, to define

the term prospecting and he said simply, “all of the things you do where people

see, hear and watch you being a human being ”. Indeed, prospecting is about all

the contact you make with people in and around the community in which you

work. It’s all the discussions, it’s all the letters, emails and SMS’s, and it’s all thequestions you ask. It is this frequency of contact that builds trust, provides value

and helps you to be viewed as a professional rather than someone who just wants

to sell something. Chris and his team have mastered the art of prospecting. They

understand the number of contact points required and the need to make these

contact points in as many different ways as possible in order to find the ones that

work for the individual and suit the demographics of the area in which they work.

This can range from providing market place reports, property brochures and just

sold emails to running the Byron Bay Writer’s Festival (one of Chris’ passions).In fact, it is so powerful for people to see you doing things that are not related

to real estate as this shows that you care and have a desire to give back to your

community.

This chapter of the book will cut straight to the chase and give you the foundation

required for a solid prospecting program. I will share with you how to work a

business development area and examine the prospecting methods that will make

a massive difference to your sales career.

Making the connection

Prospecting only truly engages once you have connected and earned the trust

of people who know you by name and would recognise you if they saw you

walking through your local shopping centre. In the area where I worked, it would

sometimes take me 40 minutes to pick up some milk from the local supermarket

as every isle was full of great prospects who would say a cheerful hello oftenfollowed by, “Lee just a quick question …” You have what I call a ‘real relationship’

with people when they remember things about you, refer to you as ‘their agent’

and ring you regularly for advice.

As is the case with any great career or stand-alone business, your success is

founded upon two things – building relationships and providing value. Making

the time to build relationships and add value will earn you the professional trust

of prospective clients because you are seen to be offering value without looking


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for something in return. To use an analogy, it’s like doing a good deed, without

expecting a reward or even telling anyone about it. Professional trust is the

ultimate success and key driver in any prospecting program. It’s the reason people

will contact you when it comes time to sell their property. It’s also the reason

people will refer you to others. It’s even the reason you are reading this book.

Over the years, people have seen me in action in my capacity as a sales trainer andcoach and during this time they have come to know me, respect me and trust me.

Let’s take a look at how to make a connection with a classic target market – people

going through a divorce. If there’s ever a group that needs to see your depth as a

human being, then this is it. People going through a divorce are not interested in

real estate. They’re going through the process out of necessity and are therefore

looking for someone with whom they can communicate, feel comfortable and

who can take care of what they can only regard as a necessary transaction. They

want to know you’ve got the emotional intelligence to work with them through

a very testing time. I had a lady once who was going through a difficult divorce

and was forced to put her home on the market. It was the last thing she wanted

to do. I appraised the property but was unsuccessful at listing the property on

the day, so I needed to keep her on my radar. Now, the last thing she would want

from an agent at this time is to be bombarded with emails, SMS’s and phone calls.

So what I did instead was send her a book called ‘The Power of Now’ and on the

inside cover, I wrote simply, “Hi, Sally, I know life can be testing at times. I’ve read

this book and thought you’d like it. Regards, Lee” . That book showed Sally that I

was not just another real estate agent after her money but someone who shows

empathy and consideration. Needless to say, I got the listing and she has since

referred me to many other people. This is just one example. You can add value to

people in so many different ways. It just requires some lateral thinking on your

part in terms of what would connect with that particular person, be it a cookbook

or information about the schools or transport in the area they wish to move to.

Whatever it is, just make it something that connects.

Marketing stickies

At the heart of your prospecting program is a winning, professionally presented

document containing information that is of genuine interest to the local

community. Such a document can be referred to as your ‘marketing sticky’ (a

reason people stick with you). This document is about connecting to the adjacent

space of real estate; for example, it may contain details about new services


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or developments that are expected to boost property values in the area. Your

document may also contain special features on things like local sporting teams,

the highest sale price achieved in recent times, the types of people wanting to buy

in the area, even a historical account of the first home built in each street. This

well-presented document is welcomed by residents and out of area investors as it

is viewed as factual, honest, objective information that adds value without tryingto sell something. One of the best examples I have seen is by Brisbane agency,

Johnson Dixon Quality Property, who produce everything I have just mentioned

in a brilliant publication called ‘Move Magazine’ together with their much

talked about River Report. These great documents have become the ‘marketing

stickies’ for this progressive company and form a major part of their premeditated

prospecting program.

Marketing you

Marketing yourself, what you stand for and the homes you sell is, in my opinion,

a not negotiable part of your business, so much so, that it basically needs a part-

time person to drive it, book it and make sure it happens. Many agents do not

operate to a plan or understand the amount of phone calls required and letters to

send each day. As an agent you need to commit a large amount of time in your

week to build up a database of sound prospects that can be nurtured to perfection.

Your best leads

A lead source refers to the method used to make a connection with a client, which

led them to become a listed vendor, for example, letterbox drop, direct marketing

letter, phone call, buyer conversion, open for inspection or walk-in. As an exercise,

why don’t you conduct a small survey of the last 100 sales achieved in your office

to find out the lead source of each one. Knowing these results will increase the

effectiveness of your own prospecting methods.

Return on investment

Naturally, there are costs associated with any marketing campaign. You have to

pay for things like production, printing and distribution. As a result, it is vital that

you get into the habit of assessing the return on your investment. To show you


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what I mean by this let’s take a look at an example.

Let’s say I choose to do a street targeted mail-out of 800 letters at a total

production and delivery cost of $1895.00. That means each letter has a unit cost

of $2.37 (1895/800). Of the 800 letters, I end up with 5 leads, which means it has

cost me $379.00 per lead (1895/5). If I then list 2 out of those 5 leads, each listing

has incurred a cost of $947.50 (1895/2). Now based on my performance fee of 2.9%

and an average sale price of $650,000, I calculate that I will generate $37,500 from

the sale of those 2 properties. That’s a good return on my initial investment of

$1,895.00. Taking the time and effort to assess your potential return on investment

allows you to make an informed decision regarding how to spend your money.

To assist you, Real Estate Academy (REA) has a complete downloadable business

plan template that automatically calculates all your numbers for you. The example

below shows a comparison between conducting a just sold program and the mail-

out program as described in my example. As you can see, the business shows a

significant difference between the return on investment for each campaign. Based

on the results, I know which campaign I would run with!

M onth No. Act ivi ty Ty pe D ate Q ty To tal Cos t Uni t Cos t L eads Cos t/ Lead L is ti ngs Cost /Lis tings Average Fe e ROI

Example 1 Just Sold Program 12 July 08 2,400 $ 2,350 $ 0.98 4 $ 587.50 1 $ 2,350 $ 18,850 802%

July 08 1 Mail Out 800 $ 1,895 $ 2.37 5 $ 379.00 2 $ 948 $ 37,700 1989%

Know your turf

If you want to achieve the status of being known as a dedicated and educated

property professional, you will need to take some history lessons. Now you may

wonder how history relates to real estate. Well it’s all about knowing your area,

or your ‘turf’ as we call it in the industry. Knowing the history of your turf shows

that you have sound product knowledge and this will appeal to the people you

are trying to connect with. So what’s the best way to learn about your turf? The

best way to learn is to ask. If you show a genuine interest about an area, peoplewill open up to you. I remember meeting a lady once as a buyer in my early days

as a salesman who owned a beautiful and immediately saleable home in one of

the suburb’s best streets. We had a look at some properties that I had available

but none of them exactly matched what she was looking for. At the end of our

viewing session she asked me if I would like to have a look through her home and

let her know what I thought it would sell for. Would I? The appointment was set

for 2 day’s time. I was so excited by this opportunity that I drove past her property

about 20 times! I hadn’t just managed to get in the door; I was invited in the door


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– BIG DIFFERENCE. Anyway, I wanted this one so badly I could almost taste it,

but I had this little voice inside my head playing devil’s advocate telling me that I

was too young to sell such a nice place. I chatted with my principal who gave me

a brilliant tip. He asked me, “do you really want it?” and I replied, “ Absolutely!” He

then told me to block out 4 hours out of my diary and cold call the entire street

where she lives in order to research everything I could about the street. Well I didit, and I found out the lot – first home built, who created the subdivision, second

home built, the lot. When I walked in to appraise the lady’s house she could not

have asked me a better question, “so Lee, do you know much about this street? ”

and off I went. She was truly amazed and commented, “wow, you really do know

the area!” Listed, sold, referred and the rest is history. The point of this story is

this – prospecting is not always about listing, it’s about positioning yourself for

the future.

Working with fewer people for better reasons

It can sometimes seem overwhelming when you look at the sheer volume of

contacts you have in your database, raising the question – “where do I start ?” One

of the keys to great prospecting is database filtering because it allows you to work

with fewer people for better reasons. Once this is achieved, you will see a dramatic

increase in your conversion rate.The first step is to operate in a business development area (BDA) of approximately

1100 properties. Now I understand you may service a larger area than this,

however your prospecting focus should be on a concentrated area that is

manageable and will yield high returns.

I like to categorise my entire database into 4 sections:

Gold Past vendors and past landlords

Silver Past buyers and past tenants

Bronze Anyone we have communicated with (whether it be at an open forinspection, by mail, email or phone

Prospect All other property owners in my BDA who have yet to have contactwith us (they love us, they just don’t know it yet)

By categorising the contacts in my database in this way, I am able to customise

my marketing to suit. For instance, the out of area investors usually have a keen


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interest in the latest statistics within the area as they are no longer around to see

for themselves what is going on. Offering this group a regular detailed investor

report could be the marketing sticky that connects them with you.

Your prospecting menu

I make it a point to ask agents on a regular basis what prospecting they are

currently doing or are planning to do in the future and it astounds me how often

I am faced with a vacant look in response. I believe there are two key reasons

for this – there is the fear of rejection and there is the fact that many have never

monitored what works and what doesn’t. If they knew what worked for them, it

would be on their prospecting menu. Imagine going to a restaurant and there was

no menu. When the waitress asks you for your order it would be difficult to makea selection wouldn’t it? Prospecting is no different. You need a menu of proven

methods that work, from which you can make a selection.

Let’s take a look at a sample prospecting menu.

Past Clients

Anniversary calls

Movie nights

Just sold SMSLetterbox Drops

Can we help? campaign

Price drive letter

Just sold and just listed

Buyers looking to buy letter and photo

Comparative Market Analysis (CMA) letters and reports

Telemarketing Street campaign

Just sold and just listed

Auction and open for inspection invitations

Past buyer calls

Audio CD

The moving process – ‘How to buy and sell real estate’

Buying property with your super fund


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Direct

Door knock, for sale by owner

Buyer conversion

Open for inspection call backs

People marketing Colouring books and pencils for the kids, advertising your logo and

phone number (sent via mail)

Years 10, 11 and 12 school talks about a career in real estate

Press releases and editorials

Printed school canteen menus or lunch bags advertising your logo and

phone number

Whatever you decide, be sure to have a number of choices as one month some-

thing returns and other months it doesn’t. Be flexible at all times and ready to

modify your plan if need be.

Marketing initiative

As we have just learnt, prospecting is an activity undertaken to generate listings

into the company. However, prospecting is just a single activity that is completed

in the hope of finding possible leads that will eventually turn into business. Thefact of the matter is this – prospecting in isolation is not enough to fulfill your

objectives. You need a marketing initiative to go with it.

A marketing initiative can be defined as a strategic group of actions and activities

that, when performed in the correct sequence, become a marketing strategy

designed to bring in quality leads. Basically, it’s all about prospecting with a

purpose, which is the fuel in any campaign that could potentially stimulate the

idea of moving. Following is an example of a marketing initiative.

Street campaign

1. Select the street of a new listing about to hit the market and drop the

brochure of this property with a ‘just listed’ sticker or note/flyer into

every mailbox within the street. Then telemarket the street and deploy

the following script, “Good afternoon, is that Mrs Williams? My name is

Lee. The purpose of my call is to see if you received the brochure regarding

number 10 High Street that I delivered to you yesterday ?”


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2. Receive response and then say, “Would you be interested in attending our

open for inspection this Saturday between 10 and 10.45am?” If the answer

is “ yes” simply ask, “Is that because you are possibly considering moving

or are you simply interested in keeping up-to-date with the values in the

area?” Receive answer and categorise as a possible attendee.

3. Send SMS on Friday to all possible attendees to confirm the open for

inspection time and let them know they now have your number should

they require any further information.

4. On Saturday evening contact all identified possible sellers and let them

know the open for inspection feedback, such as, “we had good numbers

of people through the property yet some of them wanted a different style

of home in this location, which is great as it indicates our marketing is

working.”

5. For possible future auction vendors you may send them a Saturday

evening SMS saying, “We had a great day in the marketplace today with

a 97% auction clearance rate. Enjoy your weekend .”

6. Continue with feedback and interest and mention the types of buyers

who have been interested in the area and what they are prepared to

spend. This allows you to save grace if the property is not sold quickly

and potential sellers will understand you have the buyer; that particularproperty just didn’t match their needs.

7. Once the property has been sold, conduct another mailbox drop within

the street with a sold sticker on the brochure or note/flyer including a

comment stating people are still looking to buy in this fantastic street.

8. Send a specific letter one week following the mailbox drop inviting all

owners to have the value of their property reassessed in light of this

most recent result.

9. Telemarket the street to inform property owners personally that the

home has been sold and use the opportunity to advise them of the actual

price achieved, if asked.

10. A week later, telemarket the street again explaining that many of

the street’s residents have requested a report that you have designed

(Comparative Market Analysis – CMA) explaining that this report has

nothing to do with selling their property. Rather, its purpose is to keep

them up-to-date with sales in their area over the past 6 months. Ask if


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they would mind you dropping this over to them as a complimentary

report that will be updated every 6 months as part of your commitment

to keeping residents fully informed regarding property values in their

area.

As you can see, a marketing initiative is a strategic group of actions and activities

that are performed in a predetermined sequence. In my opinion, you only need 5

initiatives to make up your entire prospecting program, however this one change

in your business will make you more connected to your market. Whatever

prospecting method or script you choose, it’s important to have a menu of probing

questions to assist you to get down deep into the real issues.

Probing questions

When was the last time you went out and looked at some real

estate?

If you saw the perfect property today, what would you do?

We have just sold no. 6 in your street. Did you get a chance to go

through that one?

How does that compare with the one you are in now?

What did you think about the sales report I recently sent out to

you? Were you surprised at the sale prices?

If you got a price you were ecstatic with, where would you move?

What’s the best house you have seen so far?

Are you going for a bigger home or a more compact one?

Would you like to sell prior to buying?

Is the property for yourself to live in or for an investment?

What has attracted you to that area?

Are you familiar with the actual process of purchasing a property?

The place you are in now, are you going to hang on to that or

(pause) what’s your current situation?


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‘JUST LISTED’ note

Rare opportunity to move into a well sought after street. This home, on

offer for the very first time, boasts 3 large bedrooms, main with ensuite

and a large yard for the kids to run around in. With a double remote-

controlled garage, you can be assured that there is plenty of storage.

Don’t let this opportunity pass you by. Be the first to inspect. Call

Complete Real Estate Now! 1300 367 412.

‘JUST SOLD’ note

We have been successful in marketing another property in your street!

This sale generated many enquiries and a number of people are still

interested in finding a home nearby. So if you’re considering selling,

now is a great time to do it.

For a complimentary market appraisal on your property, please contact

Lee Woodward on 1300 367 412.

Just listed

Lee: Good morning, is that Mrs Pym?

Mrs Pym: It is.

Lee: My name is Lee Woodward from Complete Real Estate.

The purpose of my call is just to inform you, before you see

any signboard go up, that number 15 in your street is going

to be for sale.

Mrs Pym: Is it really?

Lee: It certainly is and it’s going to hit the market in about a

week’s time. We’re just finishing all the preparation at this

point and I was just wondering – do you know of anyone

who could be interested in moving into the area or do you

have any plans on moving yourself?

Mrs Pym: Not at the moment, but I’m keen to know what it’s going

on the market for.


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Lee: Well, the pricing will be released next week but I can tell

you a little bit about it. Do you know the home at all?

Mrs Pym: I know that it’s got four bedrooms and they have a pool but

that’s about all I know.

Lee: Four bedrooms, in-ground pool, double garage,tremendous rumpus room area and they’ve upgraded the

bathrooms and the kitchen.

Mrs Pym: Uh huh.

Lee: So it’s a very good offering and will come onto the market

next week.

Mrs Pym: Okay. Well, I would be very interested to see what it’s on

for.

Lee: How long have you lived in the area?

Mrs Pym: Oh, I’ve lived here for ten years.

Lee: Ten years, and where were you before here?

Mrs Pym: In Sydney.

Lee: It’s a good spot up here, isn’t it?

Mrs Pym: It is, love the Central Coast.

Lee: And a question I love to ask everyone I speak with is, if

you weren’t living where you are now and you could live

anywhere, where would you go?

Mrs Pym: I wouldn’t leave the coast actually but maybe something

closer to the water.

Lee: And if you went for something closer to the water what sort

of home would you look for?

Mrs Pym: Something that I could walk to the beach from definitely.

Lee: Well, if you were considering it, there are quite a few of

those available at the moment.

Mrs Pym: No, I would never be able to afford a place you can walk to

the beach from!

Lee: How much do you think they are?


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Mrs Pym: Well, I haven’t really paid too much attention to be honest

but I guess the market has come down a fair bit. So maybe

… but I would have thought, you know, 8 to 900,000.

Lee: There are some at that level, Mrs Pym, but there are also

some starting at 695. Would it be okay if I forward you our

property magazine, just to keep you in the loop of what’s

out there?

Mrs Pym: Yeah sure, I’d be interested to have a look but I’m not

looking at selling at the moment.

Lee: No troubles at all. And we’d love to get our magazine to

you. You may know of someone who wants to look at

some of our properties. And when you see number 15

come up, it would be great to see you at the open forinspection.

Mrs Pym: Okay, thank you.

Lee: Mrs Pym, thank you for your time today.

Mrs Pym: Thank you, bye.

The main thing I want you to observe from the previous conversation is that I

wasn’t pushy in any way. Mrs Pym would have come away from that conversationthinking what a nice change it was to be given some useful information from a

real estate professional, without him trying to get his foot in the front door. This

is what I call adding value and establishing rapport. The next time I speak with

this woman, she will remember this fact and will therefore be more likely to be

receptive towards me. Let’s take a look.

Just sold

Lee: Good afternoon, is that Mrs Pym?

Mrs Pym: It is.

Lee: Mrs Pym, it’s Lee Woodward from Complete Real Estate.

We spoke on the 2nd of February when I rung through

to let you know that 15 High Street was coming onto the

market for sale.


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Mrs Pym: Yes, I remember that.

Lee: Excellent. Did you receive the property magazine I sent

you?

Mrs Pym: I did thank you. And you were right, the prices have come

down quite a bit near the beach.Lee: They sure have. Now, the main reason for calling today is

to let you know that number 15 has actually been sold.

Mrs Pym: Okay, what did it sell for?

Lee: The property sale price was $485,000.

Mrs Pym: That was pretty close to the mark then.

Lee: The response we had was tremendous and people lovedthe street, the suburbs, the schools. There were a couple

of people that really could have taken it and for the owners

the timing was perfect because they had their eye on

something else. How would your home compare to that

one?

Mrs Pym: Oh, I think, my home is a little bit superior to that one

actually.

Lee: Have you had any plans on moving yourself?

Mrs Pym: I think about it from time to time. Maybe if the right thing

came up.

Lee: You mentioned in our last conversation that you would like

to live within walking distance to the beach?

Mrs Pym: Yes that’s always been a dream of mine.

Lee: It’s certainly a good property goal.

Mrs Pym: I think so.

Lee: And have you had the opportunity to go and see some of

those properties?

Mrs Pym: Oh no, I haven’t … I just look on the Internet from time to

time, and it was interesting to flick through that magazine

you sent me.


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Lee: We have a few properties near the beach and not all of

them reach the magazines or the Internet. Would you be

open to having a look at a few of those?

Mrs Pym: Yeah, I guess I would be. I hadn’t really thought about it like

that before. I always assumed that you’ve got to sell your

home first and then look for something.

Lee: Financially that can be the case. However for most people

that I help move, they do like to feel comfortable that

there’s something out there worthwhile moving to and I’m

more than happy to spend some time with you looking at

your possible destination property. Now, I haven’t seen

your own home from the inside, but it looks great from the

outside, and I’m sure it would sell well in the marketplacewe’re in.

Mrs Pym: Okay. That does sound good.

Lee: How would Thursday afternoon be to have a look at just

one or two properties?

Mrs Pym: Yeah, I could fit that in.

Once again, I was not pushy in any way. I could have leapt at the opportunity toappraise her property there and then but opted for the softly, softly approach with

Mrs Pym. In taking this approach you are far more likely to be invited to conduct

an appraisal rather than having to ask for this privilege. It’s about establishing a

positive relationship that will extend beyond this first opportunity. This is what

powerful prospecting is all about.

Weekly Comparative Market Analysis (CMA) calls

Good morning, it’s Lee Woodward calling from Complete Real Estate,

how are you? (response)

I just wanted to let you know I am dropping some information off

to most of your neighbours tomorrow. Is it OK if I leave the same

information at your doorstep too? It has nothing to do with selling your

home: it’s just some information about your neighbourhood that you


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might find interesting. Is it OK if I leave it at your door like everyone

else? (response)

Thank you, bye.

Following your series of targeted phone calls, you would hand-deliver the reports

as promised and set yourself an action plan to follow up the prospect in 6 months.

Open house call backs (standard)

Hi Mrs Smith, it’s Lee from Complete Real Estate, we met at number

5 High Street in Sydney on the weekend – the 3 bedroom home on a

large block. I just wanted to give you a quick call to see if you had any

further interest in the home. (response)Is there a price you would pay?

Would you like me to keep you informed of other homes we have

coming up in the area?

In case I need to send you a brochure on a suitable home, where

should I send it?

That’s a good spot, are you going to hang on to that one, or … .?

I can’t do it today, but at some stage I’d like to offer you my opinion on

the current market value to ensure you are budgeting on the right sale

amount, would that be ok?

As you can see, a prospective buyer can also be your greatest prospective vendor

as the majority of buyers have a property they need to sell in order to move.

Buyers today are savvy operators in that they do their research. Many buyers start

looking before they have listed their own home for sale so that they can gauge how

much they need to make on the sale of their home. These are solid prospects andyou should take advantage of every single opportunity to connect with them. The

open for inspection call back is a classic example of this.

The open for inspection call back

The role-play you are about to read is conducted between myself and industry

legend, Mr James Tostevin.


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With over 22 years of experience in the industry, James Tostevin epitomises the

term ‘elite performer’.

James is without a doubt best known for his prospecting skills, a fact which has

seen him earn the title of ‘prospecting machine’. Anyone can prospect for a day,

a week or even 6 months, but to do it with longevity takes incredible dedication,

focus and tenacity and James has those traits in abundance. James himself admits,

“I would say that I prospect more than any other agent in Australia”. In fact, James

blocks out 2-5 hours at a time at least three times every week, to sit at a desk

with nothing more than a prioritised call sheet, a pen and a headset, in order to

generate business like there’s no tomorrow. So focused is he on the task at hand,

that his desk is computer-free, ensuring he is not disturbed by incoming emails

and his door contains the sign ‘Propecting in Progress’, ensuring all staff are

aware he is not to be interrupted. In this way, James makes contact with 200-300

clients each and every week, resulting in numerous listing opportunities. In fact,

it is no coincidence that James consistently works with up to 40 vendors at any

given time.

James’ efforts have been rewarded by the phenomenal results he has achieved over

the years, including the writing of $350,000 in fees in just one day! He is equally

rewarded by achieving great job satisfaction and freely admits, “I love coming to

work … I don’t find it (prospecting) a chore as it has made such a phenomenal

difference to my business.”

Featured on the Real Estate Hot Topics audio program (Series 7), this is prospect-

ing at its very best.

The following role-play sees me playing the part of the buyer.

James: Lee, it’s James Tostevin speaking from Complete Real

Estate. Have you got a brief moment to talk?

Lee: I do.James: Now, I met you on Saturday at a property in Surrey Hills.

It was in Kingston Road. You may recall it was probably

one of a number that you went through on the weekend

but it was 30 Kingston Road and this is just a courtesy call

regarding that inspection. You indicated some interest on

Saturday and I just wanted to see if it was still of interest to

you.


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Lee: Yeah, it wasn’t too bad. What do you think it’s going to go

for?

James: Well, as you know it was the second open for inspection

for the property and you will recall that at the time we

were talking around the one million dollar mark, possibly

$1,050,000. It now seems that the interest is firming up a

little bit in that sort of $1,050,000, possibly closer to 1.1

and that’s something I’m more than happy to keep you

informed about as we work through the campaign. I guess,

the first thing I was keen to establish is if the property is still

of interest to you.

Lee: Yeah, it’s up there. It’s not too bad.

James: OK Lee, and I’d also like to confirm with you that if wewere to get an offer prior to auction – there’s one buyer in

particular that’s been talking about doing that – would you

like us to make contact with you?

Lee: Definitely.

James: And, Lee, if the interest from this particular buyer I’m

referring to, or from other buyers for that matter, was

around that 1.1 mark or, even a little over 1.1, would you stilllike us to make contact with you?

Lee: It’s on the higher side of what I think it’s worth, but keep

me informed all the same.

James: Okay. We’re certainly happy to keep you informed. I’m just

trying to develop some sense of your depth of interest,

Lee. Come auction day, I don’t want you to come with an

expectation that you may buy the home for around a millionor a little more because, as I said, the interest is firming up

at higher than that. Having said that though, it’s something

I’m more than happy to keep you informed about as we

work through the second half of the campaign. It should

become a little bit more apparent as we get closer to

auction day.

Lee: Okay.


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James: Lee, as a matter of interest, how long have you actually

been searching for a home?

Lee: About nine months.

James: About nine months. And within that timeframe, have you

been interested or bid on many properties?Lee: Yeah, there’s one that I saw there in Hawthorne. We put in

an offer but were way below the mark.

James: Okay. And was that a similar sort of price bracket or … ?

Lee: It was.

James: Well, Lee, I’m certainly happy to keep you posted. We’ve

had some fantastic interest in the property, which is

something you’d expect for a property of this calibre.

There’s not many like it that come up in that type of

location and it’s something, as I said, I’m more than happy

to keep you informed about. Lee, in your endeavours to

find something, I take it that you’re keen to buy first before

you do anything with your own property? Have you sold

where you are or … ?

Lee: No, I plan to sell my place at some stage. I just didn’t reallywant to do anything until I felt confident that there was

something out there for me to go to.

James: Okay. And have you had any recent or ongoing contact

with someone from Complete Real Estate, Lee? Has there

been someone that’s sort of kept in touch with you over a

period of time?

Lee: No, I don’t believe so.

James: Okay. And in saying that, have you had a recent assessment

of value, a recent appraisal on your own home? Would that

be beneficial? I’d be more than happy to pop in at some

stage of this week or next if that would be helpful.

Lee: No, I appreciate that but some guys have been out from a

couple of the other companies and I’m pretty sure I know

where I stand.


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James: Okay. And with the two opinions that you’ve had, Lee, was

there some consistency between them? A lot of people

refer to one being higher than the other. I just wondered

if there’d been some consistency there between the two

figures.

Lee: I thought they were a bit on the low side, and there was

around 150 grand between them.

James: That’s a fair gap. The market, as I’m sure you’ve observed,

has changed quite dramatically in the last three to six

months, let alone the last twelve months. So when you say

recent, do you mean in the last three to six months, Lee,

that you’ve had those opinions?

Lee: It was actually only two weeks ago.

James: Was it? Okay. Well, $150,000 is certainly a fair gap. I’d be

more than happy to pop in at some stage in the next week

or two, to help confirm which is the more accurate of the

two opinions you’ve had. I may well have, of course, my

own view, which could be above or in the middle of those

ranges. It’s something I’d love to do if that’s possible at

some stage in the very near future.

Lee: Yeah, I’ll need to pick someone. What do you guys charge?

James: Well, that’s something I’d normally talk to you about face-

to-face, Lee. Would there be a time this week or even early

next week that would suit you to catch up?

Lee: Well, if you charge more than the others though I don’t

think I’d need to get you in.

James: I think what we’d encourage you to look at closely is that

there are a number of things that are important when it

comes to appointing a real estate agent. You’ve probably

noticed that Complete Real Estate’s profile has grown

very substantially in the last six to twelve months. Our

emergence in the city of Boroondara has been significant

in comparison to a number of our competitors and a lot

of prospective clients have commented on that. So we’d


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encourage you to look at a number of things. Cost is part

of it but there are so many other things an agent – the right

agent – will offer you and that’s, again, something that we

can discuss when we’re able to catch up face-to-face.

Lee: Okay. Well, how long does it take?

James: It depends how many questions you have, Lee. It can

take as little as 20 minutes, half an hour or it could take

45 minutes to an hour. I’d certainly like to talk you through

the process of how Complete Real Estate would represent

you, given the opportunity. I’d also like to talk to you about

timing and marketing and some of the costs involved with

selling but, most importantly, why we’ve been appointed

to sell so many homes in the last six to 12 months overour competitors and why our market share has grown so

substantially in a relatively short period of time.

Lee: Well, I finish work early on a Thursday.

James: That’d be great. Somewhere around the 5.30 or 6 o’clock

mark would suit ideally. Would somewhere around that sort

of time suit you, Lee?

Lee: James, that sounds good.

James: Terrific. Well, let’s say if we set it for around 6. I’m coming

from another appointment, so I’ll probably be there around

6 to 6:15 if that’s okay. I look forward to seeing you then. If I

could just confirm your address …

As you can see from the role-play between James and myself, James smoothly and

skilfully manoeuvers the conversation with the prospective buyer to the topic ofselling his home. In this way, he has successfully transformed this prospective

buyer into a potential seller as well.

Real Estate Hot Topics has also featured the very talented Mr Danny Grant.

Despite being the youngest selling agent in his area and competing with agents

who have been selling there for more than twice the time he has, Danny holds the

suburb’s highest market share, has the lowest clearance rate at just 29 days and has

achieved a yearly auction clearance rate above 90% for 3 years running.


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All this despite commanding a commission rate of nearly double the amount

his competitors charge. Over the years Danny has had the opportunity to work

closely with me to improve his systems, sales skills and scripts and dialogues. As

a result, he has become a master at delivering great natural scripts for prospecting.

Let’s take a look at a few.

Passive database calls

Hi Mrs Smith, it’s Danny Grant from Complete Real Estate, how are

you? We have spoken about the market in the past and I’ve been

sending you market updates every few months. The purpose for my

call today is to make sure you are still happy to keep getting them …

Have you given any thoughts on making a move in the near future? Ifthere is anything you need, feel free to give me a call.

Hot prospects

Hi Mrs Smith, it’s Danny from Complete Real Estate, how is your

property search going? I noticed that there is a house in Stanley St for

sale, have you seen that one yet? There was also a house that’s just

sold in Bent St that is comparable to yours. I thought you might beinterested to hear we just sold it for $700,000.

Fee objection

Mr and Mrs Roberts – In this area, agents charge according to the

outcomes they achieve in the marketplace. The worse they are doing,

the cheaper the fee. Is it important to you to select the cheapest agentor the most capable? Agents in this marketplace know what I charge;

yet they choose not to match my fee. To match my fee they would

have to match my service and marketing. Given they can’t do that, they

have to position their fee lower than ours to get your business. On the

other hand, I could reduce my level of service and maybe not call every

buyer back, but I don’t want to do that. I want to maximise my service

and therefore maximise your sale price. Is that ok?


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You all offer the same thing!

That is a good point but let me just explain the difference. If you were

to get building quotes on your home, you would receive varied prices.

There could even be a difference of $50,000 in the quotes. You may

think that given all the builders are using the same quality of materialsthat you should go with the cheapest. However, it’s the way those

materials are put together. It would be no use hiring a builder that

puts your gutters on crooked or doesn’t render properly and it all falls

apart 10 year’s later. It’s how the sale is put together that makes the

difference in real estate.

Calls to former prospective purchasers

It is not uncommon for people to enter the marketplace just to get an idea what

they could potentially buy before they even consider putting their own home on

the market. Sometimes during the process of looking, they either lose interest or

can’t find a way to raise sufficient funds for what they are after. It is at this time

that many will put their idea of moving into the ‘too hard basket’, at least for

the time being. As time ticks away however, the reason for their desire to move

usually remains. Therefore it is a good idea to keep in touch with these people,even if they were looking months ago.

Here is an example of this type of prospecting scenario.

Hello, is that Mrs Wills? My name is Lee from Complete Real Estate.

You called our office some time ago about purchasing a property. I am

looking after your file now and was wondering if you are still interested

in moving.

By calling and offering them service, you have the potential to reignite the spark

that first put the idea of moving into a person’s mind. With contact and rapport

re-established, you can offer to give that person a neutral opinion on price, bring

them to the marketplace and facilitate their move. This role is perceived as being

that of a consultant, rather than an agent.


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Anniversary calls

The anniversary call is a classic that should be on everyone’s prospecting menu

because the vast majority of people move a number of times in their lifetime.

To contact your past buyers on an annual basis at the time of the anniversary

of their home purchase is a great way to add that personal touch and maintain

a connection with them. On one of those occasions, you may just strike a time

when they are thinking of moving on.

Lee: Hi Mrs Wills, it’s Lee Woodward from Complete Real

Estate. How are you?

Mrs Wills: Fine thanks.

Lee: The purpose of my call is to let you know that it is 7 yearsago today that you purchased your home there in Penning

Street.

Mrs Wills: It’s not!

Lee: It is, and how time flies. And I am so glad you bought when

you did because the area has risen in price considerably so

you made a great decision to buy when you did.

Mrs Wills: What would it be worth now?

Lee: A lot more than you paid for it. Would you like me to pop in

on my travels?

Mrs Wills: That would be great.

The issue of well-constructed letters is also a great idea as part of your prospecting

plan. The four letters that follow are good ones to use.

The 21 steps to selling privately

Some people assume that there is nothing to selling a home privately

and decide to take it on themselves in order to save the money they

would need to pay a real estate agency for their services. However

most people underestimate the cost, time and energy involved and do

not realise that the majority of private sellers fail to achieve the result


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they were hoping for due to a lack of marketing, exposure, skills and

knowledge.

This letter is designed to inform you about just what is involved in

selling a home privately. Please review the following steps carefully

before deciding between selling your home privately or seeking the

assistance of our experienced team of real estate professionals at

Complete Real Estate.

The 21 steps to selling privately

Step 1

Carefully research information regarding the price and terms of sales in

today’s real estate market. Investigate recent sale prices of propertiessimilar to yours in your immediate area. Know lot size, current tax

information and relevant property disclosure laws. Then establish a

realistic price for your property based on that information.

Step 2

Know current lending institution guidelines and borrowing criteria to

determine financing alternatives for your prospective buyers.

Step 3

Conduct your own mini walk-through inspection, taking note of all the

items that need repair or improvement.

Your check may include:

Paint finishes

Windows and window-dressings

Gardens

Plumbing and all appliances

All sealants

Roofing and guttering.

Be careful not to over-capitalise. Only do jobs that will enhance the

price and saleability of your property.


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Step 4

Make all necessary repairs and improvements before you begin to

advertise your property.

Step 5

Determine if your property is susceptible to termite attack and organisea pest report and/or treatment. Be prepared.

Step 6

Be aware of any relevant council zoning or building infringements and

either rectify the fault or obtain the appropriate certificates from council.

Step 7

Be available at all times so that you can walk through the property withprospective buyers to answer their questions and offer information

about local schools, parks, transportation, shopping centres and

churches etc.

Step 8

Establish a marketing budget.

Step 9

Determine which newspapers will best advertise your property. Call

them for rates and deadlines and negotiate the best deal.

Step 10

As you don’t have access to an existing database of buyers, you

will be more dependent on advertising. Prepare a professional,

attention-grabbing advertisement that will attract the right buyers to

your property. Place your advertisement in the newspaper and any

homebuyer magazines that are effective in your area.

Step 11

Prepare a plan to reach local buyers plus those out of town buyers who

account for a large portion of today’s home purchasers.


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Step 12

Purchase an eye-catching and weatherproof sign and install it at the

front of your property.

Step 13

Prepare a ‘features and benefits’ fact sheet, outlining specific features

of your home and corresponding benefits to prospective purchasers.

Also, prepare a list of inclusions that will stay with the property and any

other items that may stay by negotiation.

Step 14

Learn how to separate the ‘lookers’ from qualified buyers. Ask for

names and phone numbers and be sure to follow-up with telephonecalls.

Step 15

Schedule and conduct inspections with qualified buyers only. Ensure

they are really looking to buy a home and do not have a ‘hidden agenda’.

Step 16

Be prepared to negotiate with the buyer(s) as though you are an

impartial third party. Remain calm and refrain from any emotional

outbursts that might jeopardise your sale price.

Step 17

Obtain all forms necessary for the legal sale of real property such

as a Contract for the Sale of Land and ensure it includes relevant

documents and a current:

Zoning certificate

Drainage diagram

Certificate of title

Section 66W certificate (if required)

Survey report (if required)

Building certificate (if required).


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Step 18

Determine the type(s) of financing or contractual terms that you are

willing to consider such as:

Vendor finance

Option sale Extended settlement

Sale subject to council approval, building certificate or lease back

Access under licence agreement.

Step 19

Negotiate with the buyer(s) all final terms of the sale including price,

financing, inspections, date of closing, date of possession andother pertinent considerations. Have a solicitor review contracts if

appropriate.

Step 20

Plan a final walk-through with the buyer(s) just before the settlement

process is complete in order to resolve any potential dispute. Have a

witness present.

Step 21

While you are marketing your current property, locate and negotiate to

purchase your next home. Attempt to schedule both transactions so

that they close simultaneously. In this way, you and the buyer are able

to move at the same time.

Yours faithfully

Lee Woodward

Complete Real Estate

Complimentary appraisal offer

Knowing the value of your most valuable asset – your home – is vital.

For planning and financial management, your knowledge of value is


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your basis for creating further financial wealth and freedom. Decisions

made with anything less than the facts can lead you to make choices

that may not be in your best interest.

At Complete Real Estate, we can provide you with the facts, and

demonstrate to you the equity that is available in your property so that

you can make all the right choices.

We are happy to offer you this complimentary service, which will

provide you with:

1. The facts on property sales in your area

2. A report on properties currently for sale in your area

3. The facts on the current state of the property market.

The reason we offer you this free service is simply because the better

we know the people and properties in our area, the better service

we can provide to you. It makes good business sense. You win by

gaining a better understanding of the facts, and we win by knowing

more people and properties in our area.

This service is offered to you totally obligation free!

If you wish to take advantage of this offer, please give me a call on 0411

111 111.

I look forward to speaking with you.

Yours faithfully

Lee Woodward


Record sale price letter

Dear Householder,

The residential property values in the Davistown area have changed

forever due to a record-breaking sale by Complete Real Estate. The

home at 2 Davis Avenue, Davistown has just been sold for well over a

million dollars. This new benchmark price has altered property values

and personal wealth for all Davistown home owners.


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The reason for this is that bank valuations or real estate assessments

are governed by surrounding sale prices. Until now, the highest

property values have been achieved by local agents, ranging between

the 800 to 900 thousand, leaving Davistown with a limited selling point

or maximum price capacity.

Complete Real Estate has lifted the benchmark for Davistown. This

great result is the outcome of a national-based marketing campaign

that utilised quality media releases and the unique Complete Real

Estate marketing advantage. DVD and video presentations were

distributed free of charge to all interested parties all over Australia. This

unique movie presentation format is placing Davistown on the map, as

many people have been unaware of this fantastic coastal location.

Over the next two weeks we would like to offer you the opportunityto re-assess your property value. Simply call Complete Real Estate to

make an obligation free appointment.

We thank you for taking the time to read this information and look

forward to the possibility of meeting you and discussing all your real

estate needs.

Kind regards

Lee Woodward


The price drive letter

Dear Householder,

Property values on the North Coast and particularly around Manly haverisen dramatically.

Residents we have spoken to are most interested to know the current

value of their property as this allows them to pursue other financial

initiatives or to ensure that their home is adequately insured.

To assist our local residents we are conducting an exciting new initiative.

Over the next 3 months we will be offering our opinion on the value of

every home in the area.


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Each appraisal will only take approximately 10 minutes, as we hope to

complete one street per day.

What you will receive:

Letter of appraisal value for your home

Detailed area market analysis for properties sold over the past 6

months.

How do you participate?

Call Lee or Robyn at Complete Real Estate on 9436 8180.

When is your street being appraised?

Emora Ave and Mirreen Ave have been scheduled for Tuesday, 7th and Thursday, 9th July, 2009.

Strict confidentiality will be adhered to for each property.

We look forward to your participation and to meeting you.

Kind regards

Lee Woodward


This letter is beautifully followed up with the following phone call.

Price drive follow-up

Hi, is that Mrs Smith? Mrs Smith this is Lee from Complete Real Estate,

how are you? Mrs Smith I’m just giving you a quick call about a letter

we sent you this week labeled the Manly price drive. Did you receive it?

We have now completed a report and I thought you might be open to

receiving a complimentary copy.


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Expired listings

It pays to keep up-to-date with properties that are on the market with your

competitors as once the term with the rival agency expires and the property has

not sold, the client is left disappointed, perhaps disgruntled with the agency they

were with, and at a loss as to what to do next. This is an opportune time for you

to make contact.

Lee: Is that Mr Smith? It’s Lee Woodward from Complete Real

Estate. How are you?

Mr Smith: Good thanks.

Lee: I have been watching your home in the marketplace now

for some time and was wanting to know if it actually sold.

Mr Smith: No it didn’t and so we’re not moving now.

Lee: I see, but let’s say you were able to get the price you were

after, would you still want to move?

Mr Smith: Possibly.

Lee: Mr Smith, I’ve only seen it your home from the outside and

it certainly looks like the quality of home that our buyers

are looking for. Would it be possible for me to have a quick

look through to see if I can be of help?

Service area calls

This is another example of how you can start up a connection with someone

who is selling through one of your competitors. As I have said before in this

prospecting chapter, it is frequency of contact that builds trust. After all, you

never know what the future may hold for this person and making contact withoutinf licting any pressure is a surefire way to ensure you will be remembered as a

professional, rather than just another salesperson.

Hi, is that Mrs Smith? It’s Lee from Complete Real Estate. How are you?

Mrs Smith, I noticed that you are selling your home and I was

wondering if you are looking to buy in the area as I might just have

something that could suit you. (response) Would you mind if I stayed in

touch and kept you updated on others I have that come up?


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The all-in-one door knocking role-play with brochure

Just the idea of door knocking sends a shiver down the spine of many salespeople.

To many it conjures up images of the old-fashioned door-to-door encyclopedia or

vacuum cleaner salesmen, who were instructed to literally put a foot in the door

to prevent it from being shut in their faces.

The following technique offers you a method that is seen to add value because

there is no direct attempt at a sales pitch.

Knock on the door

Sam: Hello?

Lee: Hi, how are you going?

Sam: Good thanks. Can I help you?

Lee: My name is Lee Woodward from Complete Real Estate. I

am just letting everyone know that number 16 in the street

has just been listed for sale and as one of the residents I’d

like to provide you with some information on the property.

Here’s the feature brochure for you.

Sam: OK, thanks.Lee: Are you familiar with the property?

Sam: Only from the outside.

Lee: Well it’s a four bedroom, two-storey home with an in-

ground swimming pool and plenty of car accommodation

and it’s being offered on the marketplace this weekend at

12:15 to 1 o’clock. Would you like to come along and have

a look?Sam: Yeah I might come and have a look.

Lee: Fantastic – and would that be because you’ve had some

thoughts on moving?

Sam: Yeah sometimes, we talk about it.

Lee: And if you had the opportunity to move, where would you

go?


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Sam: Well we’d keep our eye out in the area.

Lee: OK, so you’d like to stay local?

Sam: I think so.

Lee: And what would you like to achieve in your new property

that you may not already have here?

Sam: Well, I love this place; it’s just getting a little small.

Lee: Do you mind me asking, do you have any children?

Sam: Yeah, I’ve got two.

Lee: And their ages?

Sam: Eighteen and twelve.

Lee: OK. So maybe an extra living area or rumpus room/

teenager’s retreat would work for you?

Sam: Yeah, or a place for me to get away.

Lee: I understand – and can I ask you your name?

Sam: It’s Sam.

Lee: Well Sam, I have a few properties that would meet those

requirements. Would you be open to having a look around?

Sam: Yeah, I’d look around.

Lee: OK, well I’ll put a selection of properties together that I

think would suit and I’ll give you a call back with the first

address of where we can meet. Would that be OK?

Sam: Yeah, that would be fine.

Lee: Sam what’s the best number I can call you on?

Sam: I’ll give you my mobile – 0414 111 111.

Lee: Would you like me to SMS the address through to you?

Sam: That would be great.

Lee: I’ll do that for you – and how would 2:15 tomorrow work for

you?

Sam: That’s fine.


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Lee: I’ll look forward to seeing you tomorrow and at some stage

in the future I’d love to give you a neutral opinion on price

for this property.

Sam: Sounds good.

Lee: Thanks for your time Sam. I’ll see you tomorrow.

Notice how I casually opened up the possibility of a listing appointment but I

specifically didn’t push the issue any further.

Activity plans

All the initial prospecting in the world will evaporate to nothing if you do not

have a solid follow-up system of automated, predetermined activities. This is thebiggest mistake I have seen people make when it comes to prospecting. The agent

does all the hard work, making hundreds of calls to find potential sellers, yet

has no active database that will allow them to attach an action plan. The client-

based action plan builds a relationship that leads to a listing and/or sale. Face-to-

face contact needs to be achieved on at least two occasions. A realistic time-line

for nurturing client relationships needs to be set and then implemented to its

predetermined finality.

Summary

Real estate is about people and property. Each day we need to communicate with

a solid volume of our target audience if we are to find the dormant opportunities

that are out there. Prospecting is about quality, multiple, staged contact points that

build relationships and provide value by educating people about the marketplace.

Great software (like Complete Data) is needed to manage this process as it allowsus to capture all detailed information about the people and property we come

into contact with; information that can then be recalled on demand and sorted

into precincts, becoming the centre of our contact targeted marketing. Of course,

it is not possible for a human being to remember every detail about thousands

of prospects, so that’s why having a database of detail and depth is your business

super fund.

We now understand that prospecting is the practice of creatively searching for

new business. Do it with consistency and professionalism, and it will keep you in


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the industry. Many agents do not operate to a plan or understand the amount of

phone calls required and letters to send each day. For your knowledge, all agents

should be completing a minimum of 35 scheduled tasks a day, where a scheduled

task is determined as one to which you assign an action, for instance to call back

on a particular date.

Let’s say you meet a prospect today and they say, “I am not moving for a few

months, however, keep in contact with me.” You would attach an action plan (a

trail) to their contact record in your chosen database, which on specific dates in

the future, will prompt you to send a letter, email, SMS or make a phone call. This

frequency of contact builds trust and can provide value when you send property

brochures, open for inspection emails and just sold information.

An important feature of your chosen software is its ability to produce your own

custom comparable market analysis, which is a detailed document of all yourwork in the area. Your database system needs to have the capability to collect and

store all property photos, pricing and timings of the market and then have the

ability to be collated into a smart looking report within just a few mouse clicks.

This interesting, continuous marketplace study is of great value and will become

your ‘marketing sticky’, which you will recall is a reason why people stick with

you. By giving your prospects great reports as a gift every six months, they learn

new information from each contact and will remember you if and when it comes

time for them to sell.


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Listing

Winning the business – listing

The listing presentation is where the doorway to making a sale is opened for you.

The meeting where the vendor decides to engage your services is the foundation

for your relationship, therefore it is vital you ensure that everything you have

promised is in place, ready to be activated just as you described.

This chapter of the book focuses on the listing presentation itself and provides

you with the confirmation letter to hand-deliver to the client prior to the meeting

as well as the suggested things to say and how to say them during this most

important meeting. This includes how to ask for the order, scripts for overcoming

objections and great final closes.


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Listings – how to secure them

Winning listings takes confidence in and enthusiasm for your listing system. To

establish yourself today with a real point of difference requires a presentation

that focuses on the process rather than the promise. This means we need a

presentation framework that uses opening comments, closing questions andquality visual aids to create a road map that owners can follow. Pre-selected

dialogue is then utilised to strategically focus on asking for the listing. As a real

estate training company to many agencies nationwide, we have the opportunity

to view all types of listing presentations. In this chapter we will break down the

entire listing communication process into three main areas:

1. Preparation

2. Agent proposition

3. Beginnings

This will bring clarity to the crescendo of information you need to know in order

to win an owner’s business.

Successful listing presentations are founded upon solid communication –

communication that cuts to the chase of the key information that the owner really

needs to know in order to make the decision to move forward with your strategy

and with you as their agent.

Your objective is to connect with your audience by achieving simplicity with

fewer, clearer messages. You need to stop presenting to them and start professional

chatting with them instead, staying relaxed and being yourself while delivering

clear and concise dialogues interspersed with brilliant questions designed to cut

to the chase.

Behind the visuals and words of any great presenter are many repetitive hours of

effort that bring the whole presentation into a space that I refer to as ‘moments’.

A moment is when you deliver one of your best points; a point that you believein so much that your audience goes silent as they realise just how good you are.

You need to develop your short, effective chats – what I refer to as ‘power hooks’ –

until you are so comfortable with them that they sound completely natural. With

this achieved, your potential vendors will see your value and will begin to believe

that they are better off with you than without you. Your aim is to have the owners

believe that there is no comparison between you and your competition. With this

achieved, your fee will be looked upon as an investment as opposed to a cost, a

fact highlighted in the delivery of one of my favourite dialogues:


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“You don’t actually pay us, Mrs. Jones. Our performance fee comes off the sale price

at the end, so we are actually part of your profit, not one of your expenses. And if

we don’t sell the property for a price that is acceptable to you, we get paid nothing

f

What to Say What to Send

Documents

Transcript of What to Say What to Send