Friday, November 2, 2007

Interviewing: The Art of Asking Questions

To be effective in interviewing clients or prospects, you should:
  • Learn, not teach or preach
  • Hold off on presenting products or solutions
  • Get the prospect to like you
  • Uncover history, goals, and needs
  • Identify one need and qualify that need
  • End by obtaining a commitment to a tangible next step

Here are several categories of questions you can explore when interviewing your prospects and Client...

Kickoff Questions (Questions that get the agent focused on themselves and their own glory.)

  • Tell me about your past career success. What 3 things did you do as a new agent that you would credit for your current success?
  • I know you haven’t always been a Realtor. what 3 skills did bring with you from your previous career that were essential in getting off on the right foot in real estate?

Goal Oriented Questions (Questions about goals the agent wants to achieve or has achieved in the past.)

  • How many transactions would you like to close in the next 90 days?
  • What do you want to learn more about this year?
  • How many correctly priced listings would you ideally like to carry?

Needs-Gap Questions (Questions that restate needs in relation to a future goal to help the agent prioritize.)

  • Would you consider efficiency issues or income growth as the primary focus of your business efforts over the next 90 days?
  • Are you on track to achieve your transactional goal?
  • How would you like your assistant to more effectively serve your needs?
  • What types of things would you like to see your computer achieve for you?

System Oriented Questions (These detail how a current system works and may start to point out deficiencies or flaws in the current system. Think “how.”)

  • How do you keep in touch with past clients?
  • How do you manage your database?
  • How do your vendors help you to close more transactions?

Solution Oriented Questions (Help the agent to determine what type of specific system would lessen the needs gap. Think “would.”)

  • Would an outsourced flier delivery system help you to save employee costs?
  • Would an off-site database management company help you to save money and ensure consistent contact with your past customers?
  • Would a list of asset managers help you to penetrate the REO marketplace?
  • Would a system that performed your cold-call prospecting help you to maxi­mize your prospecting time?

Relationship Definition Questions (Help determine how the agent is willing to compensate you for your time, energy and involvement in his or her business.)

  • What percentage of your directable transactions would you feel comfortable sending me over the next 90 days?
  • If I get involved in your business and contribute in a positive way. is there any reason you could not start directing transactions to my office?

Start to master different types of questions so that you can add the most value to the appointment AND walk away with a commitment to a tangible next step.

Happy Selling.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I have found that the 'interview' is sometimes the hardest part of sales. I sometimes get stuck asking one type or genre of questions. This has given me ideas of other questions to ask and I can certainly use this information!!!