JULIAN SAYS…
When I was being trained on making referrals many years ago, the trainer asked, “What is the most powerful question in selling?”
Having failed to give the correct answer, the trainer gave us a clue; the question came courtesy of a well-known clown…
Have you guessed it?
The question was “Would you like fries with that?” a question responsible for adding millions of dollars to McDonalds’ bottom line.
So how can that principle be applied to estate agency?
Well, asking customers if they would like to speak to your mortgage adviser or get a quote from your approved conveyancer is better than not asking at all, but there are better ways of securing referrals.
There has been a lot of bad press about force and coercion being used by rogue agents to secure referrals to other providers, but scrupulous agents will make these referrals in the knowledge that introducing clients to these other parties may increase the chances of the transaction successfully completing rather than falling apart.
Competent focused mortgage advisers and conveyancers are worth their weight in gold – and assuming your contacts fall into that category then your recommending them to clients and customers is something that is ethical, sensible and beneficial.
A skilled mortgage adviser will guide a customer and source the most appropriate mortgage, help them with their application and see the transaction through to a successful conclusion.
The right conveyancer will progress the sale or purchase quickly and efficiently, offer the customer guidance thought the process and significantly improve the odds of completing the transaction.
There is a recognised successful referral process called the ‘SLICK’ process which has five phases, with each of the five letters standing for a stage which you need to be exceptional at to be successful.
S: Spot the opportunity
Many of your customers represent an opportunity for cross selling. However, the technique used for a referral should vary, as not all applicants are the same.
Key open questions will help you “spot” the best opportunities. For example, a vendor might need to move particularly quickly for various reasons. In this case, ‘timescale’ would be the ‘opportunity’.
The clown said: “Would you like fries with that?”
A first-time buyer will never have had a mortgage or used conveyancer services and so they may require advice as to how the whole process works.
Using the default setting of, “Do you want to speak to our adviser who can save you money?” is likely to be met with resistance if the customer has heard it from other agents already.
Once the opportunity has been spotted, the next stage is:
L: Link
Consider what the customer has revealed and ‘link’ the need with the appropriate feature of your adviser’s or conveyancer’s service. For example, if speed is of the essence, highlight that your adviser can pick a lender with a quick processing timeframe, or point out that your conveyancer is good at pushing transactions through to exchange within tight time frames.
Once you have made the ‘link’ in your head, you need to…
I: Introduce
‘Introduce’ the appropriate feature of the mortgage advisers’ or conveyancer’s service by way of an effective ‘Benefit Statement’, which has three elements: Need, Feature and Benefit. For example, “As you haven’t ever bought a property before (NEED) I’ll introduce you to my colleague who can explain the various costs involved in moving like stamp duty and searches (FEATURE) which will enable you to budget accurately (BENEFIT).”
C: Commitment
Next, you need to secure the customer’s ‘commitment’. Simply ask whether they would prefer to speak to your adviser today or tomorrow, or whether they would prefer a written quote from the conveyancer or a phone call to discuss their services.
K: Keep trying
Securing mortgage and conveyancing referrals is not a one-hit approach. If the first attempt fails, you should ‘keep trying’ on future occasions.
There are many reasons why customers put up resistance. Whatever the issue, uncover and address it. If you don’t succeed, try again at a later date.
So, this is the SLICK process. Train your staff , keep reminding them of the key principles and enjoy the results.
Julian O’Dell is founder of TM Training & Development