Top 5 Ways to Help Prospects Fall in Love With You

In the spirit of February’s cupids, chocolates, and flowers, I think it’s the perfect time to talk about love…and your prospects.

In order to close sales, it’s just not enough to show them something amazing they can’t turn down — people ultimately choose to do business with those they like and trust.  

There’s a number of reasons for this, but let me illustrate my point with my own story:

When I first started in the business of selling new homes, I worked for a startup, and while I had experience and success in sales, I had very little knowledge about selling new homes. Consequently, as the sole salesperson, I met directly with the owner of the company every Monday morning.

During these meetings, we would review registration cards of each prospect who had visited the model home and he would ask me a host of questions to discover how to help me make the sale. When I was successful and brought back a sale to him, he would invariably ask another host of questions as to why the prospect had decided to purchase.

I’m sure he was trying to figure out if his coaching and closing lessons had been instrumental in me making the sale...and I’m sure they were helpful. But it felt like something more, since I had such limited knowledge, experience and training selling new homes, so I would often respond with: “They bought, because they liked me.”

And today, when I look back over my 30 plus years experience in the industry, I still know that to be true.

People won’t buy (or continue to buy) from people they don’t like, unless the price is so low, the deal is so good, or availability is so scarce, that they feel like they have no other options.

Conversely, when customers or prospects truly like you, they don’t feel as if they’re buying from you...they feel like more like they’re doing good business with someone they like.

But what does it mean to “truly like” you, and how can you enable that to happen?

1. You have to genuinely like people and really care about helping them. There’s no faking, here. When people believe you are only helping them to earn a hefty commission they can feel it...can’t you, too? You can always feel when you’re getting sold to.
2. People identify with — and like — those who are similar to them (or at the very least, those they can understand). The more we understand and can identify differences in personalities the more we can adapt to our prospects.
3. We tend to like (and trust) those who are knowledgeable about what they’re saying and can teach us. We all enjoy people who are knowledgeable and can teach us something valuable about our purchase, product, or potential transaction, so we feel we are making a more informed and wise decision. That’s why I made it a top priority to learn everything I could about what I was selling — finance, blueprints, construction, and how my homes were built and why. Prospects are always thankful and gracious when they’re with someone who truly knows what they’re selling — it’s just another way to show that you truly care.
4. Love what you do and let your passion and enthusiasm shine through. Passion and excitement is contagious and transfers from you to the prospect. It truly is fun to buy from people who love what they do. If you don’t love what you do, then perhaps you should step back and ask yourself why.
5. Cultivate curiosity and interest.  Make it your mission to ask questions, be curious, and learn about the unique differences in cultures and generations. The majority of people love it when you show real interest in them and ask why they do what they do, where they got where they are, or believe what they believe. When we open ourselves up and really celebrate our differences we gain a whole new appreciation for our prospects. Simple curiosity can open doors.

In closing, you can see that authenticity and real passion are essential for connecting with your prospects. People buy from people they like, and they like them because they feel as if they have connected with an authentic person who is not only knowledgeable and passionate about what they’re offering, but shows active interest in the prospect’s point of view and seeks to understand his or her needs and wants.

And that is how you truly get prospects to fall in love with you again and again.

- Mar'Sue