On her game

I bought a house from a little old lady. 

Her back was hunched with osteoporosis. 

She walked with a slow shuffle.

Her hands were so arthritic that she had a special tool to hold a key so she could open a lock.

Dorothy was a realtor and when she took us to see homes, my wife and I were worried that she might not physically make it through the showing.

And, although she was slow and would never accompany us to the second floor or basement, we could tell how much she loved her work and how badly she wanted to find us the right house.

And she did.

And in the process, I learned a very valuable sales technique.

She started our business relationship with the same question all other realtors started with: “What do you want in a new home?”

But while the other realtors took the list of desires from that answer and started to research available properties, Dorothy asked a follow-up question.

And that follow-up question became a tool that I still use when selling, just like that little old lady whose frail body disguised a sales ninja.

“What do you like about your current house?”

When she got back to us with some houses she wanted us to see, at each showing she would relate how the house had many of the features we liked about our current house before showing us how it had many of the features we were looking for in a new one.

With one simple question, she was able to “get into our heads” and eventually she used that to find us the perfect home.

When you’re selling a product or service, after you ask the prospect what they are looking for in a new provider, ask them what they like about their current situation.

Be a sales ninja like Dorothy.