The phone rings and you answer it.
On the other end is a seller who received your mailer and wants to discuss their options with you. You talk with them for over an hour as they struggle to make a decision. You try to help them and sell your own service at the same time.
In the end, they decide to try their luck with a real estate agent. Now, you’ve missed dinner with your family, and for what? For a no-go conversation that should have lasted 10 minutes, tops?
Of course, not every conversation goes like that, but enough of them do for it to be a problem — a time-sucking problem you need to solve if you’re going to grow your business and live your entrepreneurial dreams.
So here are 8 sales phrases that will help you get to the point, faster — whether that’s ditching an un-motivated lead or converting a motivated one.
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Sales Phrase #1: “I’m confident that [expected problem] won’t be an issue.”
When a seller calls you, they usually have a lot of concerns — concerns about things that shouldn’t be concerns. They worry about how distressed their property is and whether you can still buy it. They worry about how quickly you can buy their home to get them out of their situation. And they worry about how much money they’re going to get for it — amidst a long list of other perceived hurdles.
Often, jumping these mental barriers for the seller is simply a matter of you (the salesperson) expressing confidence in your ability to help them. You’re the expert, and most of the time they’re just looking for you to ease their worries. The first sales phrase will do just that.
Sales Phrase #2: “We’ve helped lots of sellers like yourself in the past and I’m certain we can help you, too.”
Similar to the first sales phrase but with a bit more oomph, this phrase will assure your prospect that you are capable of helping them. By briefly explaining that you’ve helped other house sellers just like them, you’ll put the prospect’s mind at ease about working with you. Plus, they’ll be more likely to trust your opinions and advice about their situation.
Sales Phrase #3: “How quickly do you need to sell?”
To get to the point faster with your prospects, try to gauge how motivated they are to sell their home. This will help you determine whether they’re a prospect you should spend more or less time talking to. Asking “How quickly do you need to sell?” is one of the easiest ways to qualify them.
Sales Phrase #4: “What’s your reason for wanting to sell?”
Another way to gauge the prospect’s motivation is to ask them why they want to sell. If they want to sell just because they want some money, they might not be all that motivated and willing to take a lower cash offer. If they’re facing foreclosure or bankruptcy, though, that situation will probably make them accept your offer a lot faster. There’s only one way to find out: ask them.
Sales Phrase #5: “How much were you hoping to get for the house?”
If a prospect wants three times what you’re capable of offering for their house and they’re dead-set on that price, your time is probably better spent with more motivated sellers who are willing to accept less. It’s easy to get caught up trying to convert a lead that wants far too much for their home. But it’s far more worthwhile to focus your time on leads that are already willing to accept a cash offer that’s within your budget.
Sales Phrase #6: “If we could get you cash in just a couple weeks, would you take $XX,XXX?”
When making your offer, one helpful way to encourage the motivated seller to accept is by emphasizing your ability to sell quickly. If someone has all the time in the world to sell their home, then they probably won’t end up working with you anyways. So this phrase will only apply to motivated prospects — which is good, because those are the people you should spend the most time talking to.
Sales Phrase #7: “I understand that this is a difficult decision for you.”
Empathy goes a long way. Before a motivated seller works with you, they want to know that you fully understand their situation — that you understand their urgency and their need to sell and that you can help them.
A simple declaration that you “understand” them is remarkably powerful toward strengthening your relationship with the prospect and converting them faster if they’re already motivated to sell.
Sales Phrase #8: “We work with people who need to sell fast — if that’s not you, then I could refer you to a real estate agent in the area if you’d like.”
If you’re stuck on the phone with someone who isn’t motivated, the best thing you can do is end the call. Time spent talking to people who aren’t going to work with you is time you want to minimize. When you can tell that a prospect isn’t going to accept your offer or that they really aren’t that motivated to sell, use this phrase to end the conversation, give them another option, and still be the helpful hero they need (so you can ask for a referral later).
Conclusion
If you’re like most real estate investors, you spend too much time on the phone with people who never end up working with you and too little time on the phone with motivated sellers.
To quicken those conversations and get to the point faster, you can use the above 8 sales phrases. And if you want to delegate your inbound call answering completely, check out Call Porter — we’d love to work with you!