Before we get into that juicy, marbled cut of ribeye, let me ask you something: What do aerobatic plane sales guys and Loan Officers have in common?
Short answer is – both are in the business of highest ticket sales.
The average home loan is in the ballpark of $250K . That glorious iron bird will set you back about quarter mill or more, depending on configuration, flight hours etc . . .
Point is, whether you close a deal on a quarter million dollar property or the heart-stopping Zivko Edge plane – knowing these powerful insights top producers use, will make you into a formidable weapon in the field.
What are some of the most effective, battle-tested moves you ask?
Today I’ll let you in on two of my favorite:
Direct Attention
Directed attention is nearly a forbidden power.
Ever smelled smoke in your house? The moment you do – it has your full attention. (even if it’s merely your better half scorching pancakes on accident)
It’s because it’s an evolved survival mechanism in us humans. Oh, cool… useless fact #452 you may be thinking. And how would you possibly benefit from it?
Here’s how.
You see, extensive scientific studies confirmed – whatever people are focused on in the moment seems enormously important to them – in that particular moment. The kicker is – it’s usually not that important most of the time. But our primal brain can’t help but to think otherwise.
I’ll give you a great example.
I’m sure by now you’ve heard plenty of objections over price, interest rates, closing costs, fees etc…
At the moment while your prospect is prodding you about all those things – it seems to be the most vital information to them… They can’t help it, they’re only human.
If you want to close them like a top producer would – you should never counter-object by trying to justify the price – or any other technical details such as interest rates.
You’ll only sink deeper in the treacherous quicksand. This is when you strike them with jujitsu of direct attention. The technique is right there in the name.
You re-direct your prospect’s attention.
And by that, I don’t mean that you say: “Hey look over there.” Or talk about the weather or anything like that…
What you do is you focus on the reasons why they want to buy the house in the first place. Ask them why they need the loan then sit back – and hear their story.
Is it the better neighborhood they’re after? A solid hardwood deck with a bigger backyard and potentially higher resale value down the road? Better school for their kids? Whatever it is – if you keep your prospects mind occupied with why they need the loan instead of trivial details like interest rate – you’ve pretty much won most of the battle.
Everyone has a story.
If you just let your prospect tell you theirs – the rest is a buttery slide to closing that deal. Take this proven tactic for a spin next time you sit down with your next prospect – see its tremendous power for yourself.
In reality your prospect can care less about the details of their loan. They can really care less about the loan to begin with.
Most of the time the reason they even bring up the technical details – is because they’ve been told by their friends or family to do that. Or they have read somewhere online that it’s good to negotiate – so they can feel good about being proactive in their due diligence.
…which brings us to my next favorite weapon:
Consistency
There was one strange study done by some Canadian psychologists at the horse racetrack.
Right before the race, as the people were in line to place their bets – they were asked whether they thought the horse they were about to bet on was going to be the winner. Before they placed their bet – they weren’t 100% sure their horse would win, but they were “hopeful”.
Remarkably once they actually placed their bet and had their ticket in hand – all of them were 100% convinced the horse they bet on would be the clear champ.
Hmm… what’s happening here?
You might have recognized this famous study by psychology professor and author, Dr. Robert B. Cialdini in his bestselling book “Influence”. ( … to give proper credit where its due, the directed attention phenomenon is also the product of Cialdini’s work )
To preserve full impact of why Consistency is so powerful, I’m going to quote Cialdini here verbatim:
It is our nearly obsessive desire to be (and to appear) consistent with what we have already done. Once we have made a choice or taken a stand, we will encounter personal and interpersonal pressures to behave consistently with that commitment.
Going back to our prospect and THE WHY.
This is where your prospect’s desire for consistency – is your best friend at the deal closing stage.
Once you got your prospect talking about the why – something extremely important has happened. Now that the prospect is sharing their story with you about how the new house will improve their life – in the prospect’s mind the ball is already rolling. They are already visualizing being an owner.
They’re already daydreaming of kicking back on that hardwood deck after long day’s work sipping on a martini. Showing off their ten thousand dollar outdoor kitchen to their friends who are green with envy. The more they talk about it – the more they visualize the process actually happening.
Your prospect’s commitment of time to tell you about their dreams and goals will make it almost impossible to turn back at this point. The only thing that’s left to do is to go through the usual mundane details (aka paperwork) and you’re off to the races. (pun intended)
That’s consistency at work in full gear my friend.
I hope you see the power in these two incredible weapons I just presented you with – and I sincerely hope you’ll put them to work as soon as you’ve finished reading this page.
Alex has been marketing online since around mid 2006 after quitting his Silicon Valley job. He joined The Lead Reel in 2016 with only one goal in mind - to bring you as many customers as you can conceivably handle.