Meeting with the Home Sellers Part 1
This training is got to do with understanding how can we be creative and be a transaction engineer to help the seller fix their problem. In real estate investing many people just throw out numbers. Real estate is much more than that.
We have to approach each seller as they have a problem and we have possible solutions if they are comfortable with the solutions.
What are my teachers in the 80s talk to me about wants and needs and using at like a Ben Franklin decision making exercise. If you haven’t experienced pros and cons or pluses and minuses or wants and needs, this is what we have to do is to interview the seller and ask them good questions.
Once you warm up with the seller, you need to have some kind of connection. You need to have commonality. People like doing business with people they like and they Trust.
I learned this acronym:
FORM
To make friends with the seller use the powerful and simple formula called: “FORM”
- F riends
- O ccupation
- R ecreation
- M essage
So F is for friends and you want to make friends. How would you make a friend with someone? You look for what’s in common. What do you like to travel, what sports do you like, what are your kids like Etc. So make a friend. It’s important.
O is for occupation. If you have similar occupations it’s very easy to connect with the seller. If you have drastically different occupations it’s harder. But commonality can be that you know someone very well that is in that occupation. So you might say “you know that occupation I heard is very difficult. My brother-in-law is a XYZ, and I don’t know how he does his job but he seems to like it he works for ABC company. You know them? And quote
R is for recreation. We all want to play that’s why we work. Most men enjoy some kind of sports whether they’re watching sports or doing sports. Pick up basketball whatever. When we talk to our guy friends the safest conversation is about baseball or football or hockey.
Women, I think a very different. They care about being with their girlfriends and going to nice restaurants and going to Spas. That’s really fun for them. I don’t want to sound sexist but I think that’s true.
The goal again is to make a friend. It is that simple.
WARNING: It should only take you 5-10 minutes to walk through the house and make a friend. If it takes you longer you need to speed things up or your investing too much of your time on a property you haven’t yet locked up.
Once you have gone through the house and made friends it’s time for the “Message.”
Here is your message:
“Thank you for showing me around your house.
Where’s a good place for us to sit down and talk this through?”
When you sit down there it is time for you do go through steps 2-5.