Tips Towards Closing a Deal

RAT 55 (Rawlings Agency Tip)

I had an interesting week recently observing letting agents in the field as they showed properties to tenants. Whilst all the agents were very courteous, informed and personable I noted two styles of approach. However, only one of these emerged as a clear winner in terms of confirmed business. (The following could just as easily apply to sales as it does to lettings).

The first style of agent simply showed the property to the tenant with comments such as “this is the bathroom”, “it’s only five minutes to the station” or “the landlord will be replacing the carpets”. There was also some convivial conversation on the way to and from the property. Nothing wrong as such.

However, the second style of agent exhibited much more leadership, albeit subtly. They engaged with the applicant and moulded the conversation around their knowledge of that person’s needs and how each property went some way towards satisfying those needs.

Importantly, these agents recognised that any major agreement is based on a series of smaller ones. So they made a point of getting agreement on many aspects of the property before attempting to “close” the tenant on the big decision. (By the way, the first style of agent did not even attempt to close, assuming that if the tenant liked the property enough they’d go for it.)

One of the most effective ways of getting agreement is to encourage people to agree with you using “negative interrogatives”, isn’t it? (That was a negative interrogative at the end of that question, wasn’t it?). So when you understand the applicant’s needs, and can for example say, “this would be the perfect place to put your bike, wouldn’t it?” you are almost bound to get a positive response. Other examples would be “it’s close enough to the station for you isn’t it?” or “your children would love this garden, wouldn’t they?”

Agents who use this technique find it much easier and more natural to “trial close” with expressions such as “this ticks all the boxes for you, doesn’t it?” and “this is probably the best we’ve seen isn’t it? Once agreement is made at this stage, it’s easy to then use closed questions such as “presumably you’re ready to go ahead?” or “when would you like to move in?” or “what offer would you like me to submit?”

I believe we as agents CAN influence whether or not a person buys/rents a property. There is no one perfect property, but many. Our role is to help the buyer/tenant make a decision that is genuinely in their best interests*, which, without our direct involvement, they might have had difficulty making.

Big decisions are scary - but made a lot easier when you have an expert guiding you along - even if he/she’s working for the other side!

*By the way, helping a buyer/tenant make a decision that is in their best interest does not necessarily mean that it is not also in your client’s best interest!