Latest / Results Driven / Episode 172: The Seller Asked ONE Question...And You Lost Control of the Call

Transcript

Episode 172: The Seller Asked ONE Question...And You Lost Control of the Call · Results Driven

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: When a seller asks a question or pushes back, you do not need to become defensive, give a 10-minute long explanation, or abandon the sales process.
• 0:08
  SPEAKER_00: Reflect what they're saying, give them a truthful answer, then redirect the conversation with a question that moves both of you toward that common decision.
• 0:17
  SPEAKER_00: The goal is to not control the seller.
• 0:20
  SPEAKER_00: The goal is to lead a productive conversation without ignoring the things that they need to feel comfortable.
• 0:31
  SPEAKER_00: Are you a driven real estate investor tired of inconsistent deal flow and ready to scale your business?
• 0:37
  SPEAKER_00: I'm Tiffany High.
• 0:38
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm Josh Hyde.
• 0:39
  SPEAKER_00: And this is the Results Driven Podcast, where we share proven strategies to build systems, master sales, grow your team, and create a self-sustaining business with predictable income.
• 0:50
  SPEAKER_00: Whether you're a one-person operation or building a team, our mission is to give you the tools, support, and mindset shifts you need to succeed.
• 0:59
  SPEAKER_00: Let's dive in.
• 1:04
  SPEAKER_00: Have you ever been on a seller call where you felt like everything was going well?
• 1:09
  SPEAKER_00: And then they asked one question and it completely took you off course.
• 1:13
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe they said, like, how did you get my information?
• 1:15
  SPEAKER_00: Or why are you calling me?
• 1:17
  SPEAKER_00: Can't you just look up everything online?
• 1:19
  SPEAKER_00: Why don't you drive by the house?
• 1:21
  SPEAKER_00: And instead of answering it simply and moving forward, you just start explaining and then you over-explain and then you explain some more.
• 1:28
  SPEAKER_00: And before you knew it, the seller was interviewing you, not the other way around.
• 1:32
  SPEAKER_00: And so the conversation changed direction.
• 1:35
  SPEAKER_00: And maybe you never got back to why they might be considering selling.
• 1:39
  SPEAKER_00: And that is exactly why we use a framework called reflect and redirect.
• 1:44
  SPEAKER_00: So first you acknowledge what the seller is asking, give them enough of an answer to feel comfortable.
• 1:51
  SPEAKER_00: And then we redirect the conversation with a question that moves them back into the sales process.
• 1:57
  SPEAKER_00: It sounds simple, but it's one of the biggest differences between someone who just answers seller questions and someone who can actually lead a sales conversation.
• 2:06
  SPEAKER_00: So let's break down how this actually works.
• 2:09
  SPEAKER_00: Seller questions are not the problem.
• 2:12
  SPEAKER_00: The problem is what the salesperson does after the question is asked.
• 2:15
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 2:16
  SPEAKER_00: A lot of people hear the question like, how'd you get my information?
• 2:19
  SPEAKER_00: And immediately they feel like they need to defend themselves.
• 2:22
  SPEAKER_00: So now they are explaining like public records, marketing companies, data sources, skip tracing, mailing lists, and everything else that the seller never actually asked to hear.
• 2:32
  SPEAKER_00: So the seller has five more questions because the investor on the phone introduced five other things to talk about.
• 2:39
  SPEAKER_00: And a seller's question is like a side road.
• 2:42
  SPEAKER_00: You may need to turn onto it for a moment because you cannot pretend it is not there, but you do not want to drive 20 miles down the road and forget where the original conversation was supposed to go in the first place.
• 2:54
  SPEAKER_00: So the framework helps you answer the question without surrendering the direction of that call.
• 3:00
  SPEAKER_00: So the framework has three simple parts.
• 3:04
  SPEAKER_00: First is we reflect.
• 3:06
  SPEAKER_00: That does not mean repeating every word they said like a therapist.
• 3:11
  SPEAKER_00: It simply means that we're showing them that you heard the question and that it is reasonable for them to ask that question, right?
• 3:19
  SPEAKER_00: So you might say, hey, that's a fair question.
• 3:21
  SPEAKER_00: I understand why you would ask that.
• 3:23
  SPEAKER_00: Normally you would be right.
• 3:25
  SPEAKER_00: Then you respond with a short and truthful explanation.
• 3:29
  SPEAKER_00: So not like some long speech or long-winded thing, not your company's entire history, just enough information to answer the concern.
• 3:38
  SPEAKER_00: Then you redirect with a question.
• 3:41
  SPEAKER_00: And this is the part that people typically like leave out of this process.
• 3:46
  SPEAKER_00: The redirect is what brings the conversation back into the process.
• 3:50
  SPEAKER_00: Without it, you answer the seller, but then you did not advance the call.
• 3:54
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 3:55
  SPEAKER_00: So the redirect is not about manipulating the seller or avoiding their question.
• 4:00
  SPEAKER_00: It's about keeping the conversation productive and moving forward.
• 4:04
  SPEAKER_00: So when the seller asks, like, how did you get their information?
• 4:08
  SPEAKER_00: they deserve an answer, right?
• 4:10
  SPEAKER_00: But once that concern has been answered, where should the conversation go next?
• 4:15
  SPEAKER_00: Back to whether they have thought about selling.
• 4:17
  SPEAKER_00: So when they say you can find everything online, you can explain why the online information is not enough.
• 4:23
  SPEAKER_00: Then where should the conversation go?
• 4:25
  SPEAKER_00: Back to the property condition.
• 4:27
  SPEAKER_00: The answer closes one door, then the redirect opens the next door to open.
• 4:32
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 4:32
  SPEAKER_00: So if you only answer questions without the redirecting, the call becomes super reactive.
• 4:38
  SPEAKER_00: And so you sit there waiting for the seller to decide what happens next.
• 4:42
  SPEAKER_00: And strong salespeople typically are still conversational, but they understand where the conversation needs to go.
• 4:48
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 4:50
  SPEAKER_00: So let us take one of the most common examples.
• 4:53
  SPEAKER_00: The seller says, How'd you get my information?
• 4:55
  SPEAKER_00: The mistake is giving them a 10-minute explanation of your data process, right?
• 4:59
  SPEAKER_00: Most sellers do not actually want a technical breakdown of list stacking and skip tracing.
• 5:05
  SPEAKER_00: They want to know whether something strange or inappropriate happened.
• 5:09
  SPEAKER_00: So you could say, Hey, that's a fair question.
• 5:12
  SPEAKER_00: We have a third-party marketing team that pulls information from the public record in areas where we are actively looking to buy.
• 5:19
  SPEAKER_00: Have you thought about selling the property now or sometime in the near future?
• 5:22
  SPEAKER_00: Do you see how I redirected them back to the process I was having?
• 5:25
  SPEAKER_00: I acknowledged the concern, I answered it, then I redirected back to the purpose of the conversation.
• 5:31
  SPEAKER_00: So the manual uses the same type of response to prevent the original concern from creating unnecessary chain of additional questions.
• 5:40
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 5:41
  SPEAKER_00: So sometimes we make seller questions like more complicated than what they really are.
• 5:47
  SPEAKER_00: They say, Why are you calling me?
• 5:48
  SPEAKER_00: And a closer starts describing the company, the investment strategy, the local market, and how many houses they buy.
• 5:55
  SPEAKER_00: You do not need to do any of that.
• 5:56
  SPEAKER_00: You can simply say, I am really just calling to see whether you have any interested in selling the property now or sometime in the near future, is selling something you've been considering.
• 6:07
  SPEAKER_00: You answered the question directly, and the redirect helps you determine whether there is even a conversation worth continuing.
• 6:14
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 6:15
  SPEAKER_00: That's the goal.
• 6:16
  SPEAKER_00: Not to impress the seller with a bunch of unneeded information.
• 6:18
  SPEAKER_00: It's to understand that there may be an opportunity to help them or not help them.
• 6:23
  SPEAKER_00: So this is a perfect example of why the explanation matters.
• 6:28
  SPEAKER_00: If the seller says you can look everything up online, you don't want to argue with them because they are partially right.
• 6:34
  SPEAKER_00: So a lot of information is online.
• 6:35
  SPEAKER_00: So I would reflect that and say, normally you would be right.
• 6:39
  SPEAKER_00: Then I would explain the gap.
• 6:41
  SPEAKER_00: Public records may show the bedroom count, bathroom count, square footage, and year bill, but they do not reliably tell us how old the roof is, whether the furnace works, or whether the kitchen has been updated.
• 6:52
  SPEAKER_00: So public records are like the label on the outside of the box.
• 6:56
  SPEAKER_00: The seller can tell us what is actually inside.
• 6:58
  SPEAKER_00: Then I redirect into the property question.
• 7:02
  SPEAKER_00: Do you know about how old that roof is?
• 7:04
  SPEAKER_00: Right?
• 7:05
  SPEAKER_00: Do you see how I did that?
• 7:06
  SPEAKER_00: Now the concern has been handled and the closer just keeps moving again towards the process.
• 7:12
  SPEAKER_00: This follows, right, the manual's guidance to explain why more detailed information is necessary and then immediately returns the question about the property condition.
• 7:22
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 7:23
  SPEAKER_00: When a seller says, just come look at it, there may be several things happening.
• 7:28
  SPEAKER_00: They may not want to answer the questions, they may just want to test whether you are serious or not, or they may genuinely believe you cannot understand the property without seeing it.
• 7:37
  SPEAKER_00: So I would acknowledge that.
• 7:38
  SPEAKER_00: Hey, we would love to be able to visit every property immediately, then explain why the process exists.
• 7:44
  SPEAKER_00: It costs money and resources to send someone out to every single house.
• 7:48
  SPEAKER_00: So first we collect enough information to understand whether the opportunity makes sense for both sides.
• 7:53
  SPEAKER_00: Then we redirect it back to the property condition.
• 7:56
  SPEAKER_00: So what updates have you made in the last five or 10 years?
• 7:59
  SPEAKER_00: See how I did that?
• 8:01
  SPEAKER_00: You're not saying you will never inspect the house.
• 8:03
  SPEAKER_00: You're explaining why that is not the first step in this process.
• 8:07
  SPEAKER_00: A lot of closers panic when the seller asks for the offer early in the process.
• 8:12
  SPEAKER_00: They feel like they've either had to give a number immediately or they are going to lose the seller.
• 8:17
  SPEAKER_00: But giving a number without understanding the property is like a mechanic quoting the repair before even opening the hood of the car.
• 8:24
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe they get lucky, but there's a good chance that the number changes later and now trust has been damaged, right?
• 8:30
  SPEAKER_00: So we reflect the question.
• 8:32
  SPEAKER_00: Hey, that's a great question.
• 8:34
  SPEAKER_00: Then explain the best price depends on the condition and redirect back into the information you need.
• 8:40
  SPEAKER_00: Hey, what updates have been made to the kitchen and the bathrooms?
• 8:43
  SPEAKER_00: You're not avoiding the offer.
• 8:44
  SPEAKER_00: You're explaining how to arrive at one responsibly.
• 8:48
  SPEAKER_00: So let's repeat that.
• 8:49
  SPEAKER_00: The seller says, What is your offer?
• 8:51
  SPEAKER_00: Then your response can be, hey, that is a great question.
• 8:54
  SPEAKER_00: I would imagine you would rather have our best and most accurate price than a quick number that may change later.
• 9:00
  SPEAKER_00: The price depends heavily on the property's conditions.
• 9:02
  SPEAKER_00: So I need to understand a few details first.
• 9:05
  SPEAKER_00: What updates have been made to the kitchen and the bathrooms?
• 9:07
  SPEAKER_00: Do you guys see how natural that sounds?
• 9:10
  SPEAKER_00: There is an important distinction here.
• 9:12
  SPEAKER_00: Reflect and redirect is not permission to avoid answering questions.
• 9:16
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 9:17
  SPEAKER_00: So if a seller asks you, how did you get your information?
• 9:20
  SPEAKER_00: And you say, that's interesting, how old is the roof?
• 9:23
  SPEAKER_00: That is not the framework, right?
• 9:24
  SPEAKER_00: That is dodging their question.
• 9:26
  SPEAKER_00: The seller is going to feel it immediately if you do that.
• 9:29
  SPEAKER_00: So the concern that they have has to be addressed before you redirect it.
• 9:34
  SPEAKER_00: A on the redirect also needs to make sense, right?
• 9:37
  SPEAKER_00: So it should not feel like you ignored what they said and then jumped to the next line in your script.
• 9:41
  SPEAKER_00: The strongest version sounds like one connected thought to the next, right?
• 9:45
  SPEAKER_00: So you acknowledge the concern, explain what they need to know, and naturally connect the explanation to your next question.
• 9:52
  SPEAKER_00: One of the biggest skills here is knowing how much information the seller actually needs.
• 9:57
  SPEAKER_00: Do not use a fire hose when they asked for a glass of water.
• 10:01
  SPEAKER_00: If they ask, why are you calling, answer why are you calling?
• 10:05
  SPEAKER_00: They did not ask for your company biography.
• 10:08
  SPEAKER_00: They don't care about all the other moving pieces that tend to spew out of someone's mouth.
• 10:12
  SPEAKER_00: If they ask you, why do you need property information?
• 10:15
  SPEAKER_00: Explain the gap in public records, like we talked about.
• 10:18
  SPEAKER_00: They did not ask you to teach a 20-minute class on underwriting.
• 10:22
  SPEAKER_00: Now, if the seller has a serious emotional concern, then slow down.
• 10:25
  SPEAKER_00: And if they are worried about whether their mortgage will be paid off or how closing works, that deserves maybe more of a like quick line.
• 10:33
  SPEAKER_00: But if they ask like legal, tax or like a contractual question, you are not qualified to answer, then do not make something up and then just keep the call moving.
• 10:41
  SPEAKER_00: Reflect the concern, explain the appropriate next step, and involve the right professional when it's necessary.
• 10:48
  SPEAKER_00: So a lot of people ask us like, how do we make it sound conversational?
• 10:52
  SPEAKER_00: First, learn the framework.
• 10:54
  SPEAKER_00: Like once you understand the framework and you practice, you don't have to use like the exact words on this video or podcast, however, you're listening to this.
• 11:02
  SPEAKER_00: You need to use your normal vocabulary.
• 11:04
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 11:05
  SPEAKER_00: So listen before responding.
• 11:07
  SPEAKER_00: And then we need to match the seller's pace of are they slow, medium, fast talking, right?
• 11:12
  SPEAKER_00: We need to match that.
• 11:13
  SPEAKER_00: And don't just rush the redirect.
• 11:16
  SPEAKER_00: And you should really be practicing multiple versions and understand the purpose behind the response that you're giving.
• 11:22
  SPEAKER_00: Reflect and redirect is powerful, but is not the answer to like every objection.
• 11:27
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 11:27
  SPEAKER_00: It works extremely well when the seller asks a question that could like pull you away from the process, especially early in the conversation.
• 11:35
  SPEAKER_00: But if the seller says, hey, I just need to think about it, that actually might require you to uncover the real objection and box in the objection, which that's for another video, another day.
• 11:45
  SPEAKER_00: If they're uncomfortable with the price, the process, your company, another offer, or the paperwork, then you do need to go deeper.
• 11:52
  SPEAKER_00: That is where frameworks like go for no or boxing objections come in more appropriate than just reflect and redirect.
• 11:58
  SPEAKER_00: Reflect and redirect gets the conversation back on the road.
• 12:02
  SPEAKER_00: It does not replace the rest of your objection handling process.
• 12:05
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 12:06
  SPEAKER_00: And so when will you use it?
• 12:08
  SPEAKER_00: Like opening a call if there's resistance at the front end of a call.
• 12:12
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe they have questions about your company or your or your marketing or how did you get my information?
• 12:17
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe they're reluctant to provide certain property details.
• 12:20
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 12:21
  SPEAKER_00: Or they demand an immediate offer.
• 12:23
  SPEAKER_00: So ultimately, those are times where you can acknowledge their concern and redirect them to the process.
• 12:29
  SPEAKER_00: But if they're saying things like, I want to talk to someone else, that means there's another influencer, or I need to think about it, or the price does not work for me, or I'm comparing other offers or I'm uncomfortable with this agreement, then those take other techniques.
• 12:42
  SPEAKER_00: So I just want to make sure that you guys understand the difference between when you would use reflect redirect versus something like boxing objections or going for no.
• 12:50
  SPEAKER_00: So to recap this, here's the simplest way to remember this entire framework.
• 12:55
  SPEAKER_00: One is we hear it.
• 12:56
  SPEAKER_00: So we acknowledge the concern.
• 12:58
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 12:59
  SPEAKER_00: Then we answer it.
• 13:01
  SPEAKER_00: So we respond by giving a brief and truthful explanation, and then we redirect.
• 13:07
  SPEAKER_00: We ask a very purposeful question in the process.
• 13:11
  SPEAKER_00: So let's go over three quick examples before we jump off.
• 13:14
  SPEAKER_00: How did you get my number?
• 13:16
  SPEAKER_00: Then your response would be hey, that's a fair question.
• 13:18
  SPEAKER_00: Our marketing team uses public records to reach homeowners in areas where we're looking to buy.
• 13:23
  SPEAKER_00: Have you ever considered selling the property now or sometime in the near future?
• 13:26
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 13:27
  SPEAKER_00: Now let's try number two.
• 13:28
  SPEAKER_00: You can find everything online.
• 13:30
  SPEAKER_00: That's what the seller says.
• 13:31
  SPEAKER_00: Your response could be something like, You're right, we can find that basic property information online, but those records do not tell us the current condition or the age of the major systems.
• 13:41
  SPEAKER_00: And that is why I just need to ask a few questions before giving you an accurate offer about how old is the roof?
• 13:47
  SPEAKER_00: See how I naturally just brought it back to the process?
• 13:50
  SPEAKER_00: Now let's go over example number three.
• 13:52
  SPEAKER_00: How about we talk about when they say, just send me an offer?
• 13:55
  SPEAKER_00: You could say, hey, I completely understand that you want to know what the offer is.
• 13:59
  SPEAKER_00: I would rather give you the most accurate offer than throw out some quick price and then it have to change later.
• 14:04
  SPEAKER_00: And the condition has a lot to do with that.
• 14:06
  SPEAKER_00: So what updates have you made to the property recently?
• 14:09
  SPEAKER_00: See how natural that sounds?
• 14:11
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 14:11
  SPEAKER_00: Now let's talk about common mistakes.
• 14:14
  SPEAKER_00: Although this framework's simple, there are a few ways that people tend to get it wrong.
• 14:17
  SPEAKER_00: And the first is answering without redirectoring.
• 14:20
  SPEAKER_00: They give a great explanation and then there's this like awkward silence because they don't know where to go next.
• 14:26
  SPEAKER_00: And the second is redirectoring without answering their question.
• 14:30
  SPEAKER_00: The seller feels like dismissed, like you ignored their concern and then that never got handled.
• 14:35
  SPEAKER_00: And then the third is probably like over-explaining.
• 14:38
  SPEAKER_00: The longer your answer becomes, the more opportunities you create for confusion.
• 14:42
  SPEAKER_00: And then they just give you more resistance and pushback.
• 14:46
  SPEAKER_00: And finally, do not use the framework like mechanically.
• 14:50
  SPEAKER_00: The words matter less than whether the seller feels heard and whether the conversation moves back toward where we need the process to go, sounding natural.
• 14:59
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 14:59
  SPEAKER_00: Now here's what I want you to remember: when a seller asks a question or pushes back, you do not need to become defensive, give a 10-minute long explanation, or abandon the sales process.
• 15:09
  SPEAKER_00: Reflect what they're saying, give them a truthful answer, then redirect the conversation with a question that moves both of you toward that common decision.
• 15:19
  SPEAKER_00: The goal is to not control the seller.
• 15:21
  SPEAKER_00: The goal is to lead a productive conversation without ignoring the things that they need to feel comfortable.
• 15:27
  SPEAKER_00: By the way, inside of our free results-driven REI community, Josh and I break down the sales frameworks, the scripts, the objection handling, the acquisitions process, and the systems we use inside of our real estate business.
• 15:38
  SPEAKER_00: We also train how to practice these conversations so that your team doesn't sound like they are reading lines from a script.
• 15:45
  SPEAKER_00: The link's in the description, and I'm going to pin into the comments for you.
• 15:48
  SPEAKER_00: I'll see you inside the community.
• 15:51
  SPEAKER_00: This episode has come to an end, but your journey continues.
• 15:55
  SPEAKER_00: Subscribe to the podcast so you never miss an episode.
• 15:58
  SPEAKER_00: If you want direct help from us, join our free community by visiting the results driven podcast.com.
• 16:04
  SPEAKER_00: That's the results driven podcast dot com.
• 16:08
  SPEAKER_00: We'll see you next time on the results driven podcast.
• 16:10
  SPEAKER_00: We'll see you next time on the results driven podcast.