Grant W Davis 
President GDI Insurance Inc                                            
888-991-2929
Gdavis@gdiinsurance.com
www.thehabitualsalesman.com                                                                                                                   

If your company’s financial life depends on selling homes, then you had better take a minute to consider what is going on in the minds of your potential buyers.   

Although I am just an insurance broker, based on my personal sales these past 3 decades, I am also ranked in the top 1% of sales professionals national based on commission income. I get salesmanship and marketing.  So as my clients (Home Developers) sales began to dwindle this past year I took action and began helping them with salesmanship and marketing.  Something they and their sales force hasn’t had to deal with for the past decade.  When was the last time you stopped by a model home to “mystery shop”? 

You might be surprised with your Sales System!  Yes, your company has a sales system, it just might not be the one you thought you had.  Because for the past decade you haven’t needed one beyond filling out the paper work?

1. No two experts can agree on anything.  Any question you have one answers yes, and the other answers no.  Most of the time they can’t even agree on what the question was.
2. Their advice concerning buying a home today is 100% correct in the short term.
3. The general advice is to buy low, and sell high.  “Time your next home purchase”.  Yet no one seems to be able to time simple stock purchases either, unless we are talking about hind sight. 

Finally I concluded that trying to time any market just right is like trying to catch a ball right as it hits the floor.  It is much more likely that you can catch a ball on the way down, or after it had hit the floor and is bouncing up.

So to sell homes today, you have to understand that your prospects have already been sold to not buy a new home today.  They would feel foolish if they did.  Can you imagine telling your friends and family you were finally buying your dream house, “today”?   Neither can your prospects. They have been sold on the idea to wait until things bottom out, and buy right before things begin to rebound.  This is the objection you must answer if you are to sell a home today.  And it must be answered with supportable facts such as this:

Grant: Speaking to a prospective home buyer I would get these 3 points across:  1. Housing developers are not pouring new foundations.  So trying to catch the ball (falling housing prices) as it hits the ground is going to be tough because the ball isn’t going to take a small hop, it is going to take a big bounce.  This ball isn’t a baseball hitting the grass!  No this ball is a hard rubber supper ball hitting the concrete!  2.  Think about supply and demand! 

Consider a home that you could buy today for $300,000.  When everyone thinks its time to buy again that home will jump 20% overnight to $360,000.  3.  Of course the government will step in to try and stop inflation by raising the interest rates fast and high again. 

Grant:  Then I would begin closing, asking my prospect questions framing them as statements:  “You should consider a few things.”

1. Can I afford a home today?
2. Can I keep a new home for 5 to 10 years?
3. Can I afford a home in two years for 20% more than it costs today, with an interest rate 2% higher than it is today?

Grant: Next I would use this trial close. 

If you can afford to make your house payment for 5 to 10 years, with a fixed rate loan then don’t you think now is the best time to buy a home?

Grant:  I would confirm my prospect believes that the objection is correct in the short term, but not correct in the long term. 1. Yes the home you buy today will likely go down in value next year.  2.  But by the 5^th year it will also be likely to buy worth at least what you paid for it, if not more.

Grant:  I would make sure I dealt with this objection if it wasn’t stated by my prospect.  Yes some one somewhere will catch the ball as it hits the ground.  You will see their faces on the news, or some magazine talking about what a savvy home buyer they were.  No you won’t find that person today telling you when to buy to make the maximum profit. I have a few more things to share with you.

Grant:  I would have 64 facts ready, here are a few of them.

1. When stocks are picked, one of the things most investors do is look at the 5 and 10 year history of the stocks value.  I note that none of the experts I have seen in the past two weeks have mentioned this fact when considering buying a home today.
2. Do you know anyone that bought a home 5 to 10 years ago that isn’t glad they did?  Is it worth more or less than they paid for it?  In most cases the answer is of course they are happy, and their net worth has grown.
3. For 90% of Americans at 65 years old, their single largest asset is the equity in their home.
4. Real Estate has created more wealth than any other investment.
5. Buying a new car?  Paying $50,000 for a car that in 5 years will be worth $10,000 seems reasonable?  It is in fact the worse investment the average person can make.  Yet every day how many people that don’t own a home buy a car?

PS.  If I was selling homes for a living I would use this article in my presentation book, showing my prospects this third party proof statement. 

Grant W Davis

President GDI Insurance Agency, Inc.

888-991-2929