I think I’m getting a nervous twitch. It’s been building for years now, and I think I just discovered the cause…

Almost daily I receive a fax, letter or email from one of our member agents wanting me to evaluate their “marketing”. And in the process of looking at their “stuff,” I find that the most important “element” necessary to capture a client is COMPLETELY MISSING.

Here’s the problem: Think about the last BIG purchase you made in your life. It could have been a car, a big screen TV…or even a boat or airplane. Now…before you made that purchase, didn’t you do a little homework to make sure you were buying the RIGHT “THING”?

Didn’t you at least want to “feel” that you were making a smart purchase decision?

Of course you did. No one wants to buy a lemon. No one wants to get ripped off. We all search for PROOF and EVIDENCE beforehand that our purchase will be the best possible choice.

So what makes you think your prospects and clients look at YOU any differently?

Here’s an important revelation: People want to know they’re working with the very best, most competent and professional agent around. But they DON’T want to hear it from you. Your own claims about yourself hold no credibility – anyone can toot their own horn.

That’s why you need to provide them the proof and evidence they need to make you the overwhelming choice. That’s why you need to be harvesting and using TESTIMONIALS and social proof of your service quality.

Think about the effort and money you expend to generate a client. Most agents are huffing, puffing, straining and spending to convey their unique marketing message to prospects and clients – while keeping your very best “salespersons” (i.e. testimonials) locked in the darkness…out of sight.

Having good testimonials and not using them is like having a 100-person sales force motivated and willing to go to work for you – but you’ve got them on permanent vacation.

So let me show you how to get and use testimonials, and start reaping big profits in your business…

5 Profit-Making Tips for Getting And
Using Testimonials in Your Business

Tip #1: “How do you get testimonials? Well, the answer is easy. It starts with your commitment and willingness to get them. Once you make the decision you’re gonna go after them, the rest is almost an afterthought. No kidding.

The first step is to put the “testimonial gathering process” into your business sequence. What does this mean? It means that sending a testimonial request letter should be part of your post-closing checklist…right next to “send a closing gift” and “change the home status in MLS”.

The second step is simply to ASK. The trick is when and how to ask.

I personally recommend asking for testimonials immediately after a successful close – especially if it was a difficult close that required a lot of your attention and skill to complete successfully. This is the time when your client’s “happy gas” is flowing and they’re really excited about buying or selling their home.

Tip #2: How do you ask? That’s simple too. Create a simple one page letter (with a second sheet attached for their testimonial) that explains WHY you want a testimonial. Open your letter with something like:

Dear [client name]…

“In today’s world it’s difficult to know who’s a true professional…who you can trust…and who’s most competent to help with your home buying/selling needs. My strategy is not to talk about myself or my company, but to share comments about my service performance from my best clients.

And that’s why I’m writing to you today.

Would you mind sharing some of your thoughts about your experience in working with me? Your comments will help others who were in your situation to better understand why I am their best choice for real estate services.”

Next, you’ll want to lead them into how they should write their testimonial – so you get strong comments. Do this by sharing questions with them: How much money did I save you? Did I help make the process easier for you? Was my knowledge helpful? Did I go above and beyond to help you? The more specific they make their testimonial, the better.

Next, you want to include with your request a Pre-Address, PRE-STAMPED envelope so they can simply drop their comments back to you (and by enclosing the pre-stamped envelope, they’re not about to throw a good stamp in the trash – so they’ll be more motivated to fill it out. Psychology, my friend.).

And here’s another idea: A lot of our smart agents will meet their clients and take a photo of them in front of their new (or now-sold) home. Then they’ll ask for a few comments they can use. Now you have a photo, AND a comment – even more power.

Tip #3: Make your testimonials believable. Don’t get a great testimonial and weaken it by putting their first and last initials. It causes skepticism in the reader. Put as much information as you can get away with in your testimonials: first and last name, photo, city, state…some agents even put in their client’s phone number. WOW! That’s a real, believable testimonial, don’t you think?

Tip #4: Accumulate as many testimonials as you possibly can. You can never have too many testimonials. Also, your testimonials will each demonstrate a different benefit or experience people had with you. So you can sort your testimonial bank by the type of benefit people received from you: Saved time, saved money, arranged special financing, solved a specific problem, revealed how you are different, etc.

Tip #5: When you get ‘em, FLAUNT ‘em. Don’t be shy with your testimonials. Use them in as many places as you can imagine. Want a few ideas to stimulate your noggin? OK, how about…

• Use them in your ads, farming letters, post cards, articles you write, etc.
• Put them on your business cards, stationary, and other visible places.
• Put them on the wall in your office: create a “Wall of Fame”.
• Use them in all your sales letters – especially farming letters or newsletters.
• Integrate testimonials into your listing presentation – many agents use a “success book” that’s a 3-ring book of testimonials they leave with their client after their presentation (if they don’t get the listing right there). It’ll force you to go back, plus your clients will be amazed at all the positive comments and benefits (PROOF!) of working with you.
• Use testimonials on your web site. One agent had a great testimonial she used as the headline of her home page! It said (I’m paraphrasing): “You Are the Only Agent I Would Trust for Our Real Estate Needs…”

OK, do you think you could do this in your practice? I’ve given you everything you need to start getting and using testimonials…and clearly differentiating yourself from other agents. That’s what clients want, you know. They want to know they’re working with the best, and it’s up to you to give them the proof.

Want to know a little secret? I’ve helped over 15,000 agents build their businesses over the past 12 years, and I can bet dollars to donuts that less than 5 out of 100 agents will do this. And you know what?

That’s GREAT news for you…because you’ll CREAM them in the marketplace.

So here’s your assignment for the next 15 days. 1) Commit to getting testimonials, 2) Create a simple request letter (and a thank-you letter) – just like the one I gave you, 3) Accumulate your testimonials and 4) USE THEM in as many places as possible.

You’ll get more listings, attract more buyers and close more deals.

Have you ever found yourself baffled by clients who ask you to reduce your commission at a listing presentation? Then baffle no more! Here’s a step-by-step script to help you negotiate the best commission rate. Larry Hoffman gets a little bit “in your face” with his client – but it works! Read on…

“The dialogue goes like this.

Seller: What is your commission rate?

Agent: Other than the commission rate is there anything else that will prevent you and I from working together?

Seller: No, that’s about it. (BE SURE TO GET THIS COMMITTMENT BEFORE YOU PROCEED OR THEY WILL RAISE ANOTHER OBJECTION).

Agent: So let me understand what you are saying, If we can agree on the commission rate you are prepared to sign the listing TODAY?

Seller: Yes

Agent: Tell me, what is your concern about the commission rate?

Seller: I have been quoted by “ABC Realty” that they will charge me a total of 3.5% to sell this home.

Agent: (My answer is said in a firm, mildly combative tone of voice.) Why would you pay 3.5% for selling your home when I can send you to a company that will list your home for $1,000.00? You have to do all the work, book the appointments, pay for ads and promotion, prepare and negotiate your own contract, deal with unsavory people walking through your home, etc. Is that what you want? (NOTE: No matter what the answer, except “I’ll pay you what you want”, continue…)

Tell me, is selling this home at the highest possible price important you?

Seller: Yes, but we don’t want to pay too much or get ripped off.

Agent: NO ONE DOES! However, when something is very, very important, do you think most people want the solution, not necessarily just the lowest price? Don’t you agree?

Have you ever heard the saying, “If you aren’t outraged, you haven’t been paying attention”?

Well, there’s an “outrage” being committed by well-intended (but misguided) “experts” in our industry…and it’s sending unsuspecting agents down a freeway to frustration and failure.

Not long ago the cover of REALTOR^® magazine featured an article about “What Consumers Want”. I knew that whoever wrote it didn’t know a hoot about marketing or selling…because their advice was 180 degrees WRONG. And in this tough market, you can’t afford the luxury of being “wrong” about your prospects, clients or your marketing focus.

Why does our industry talk about the importance of “tuning in” to the desires and needs of clients in one breathe, then turn around and tell unsuspecting agents that unaccountable, “look at me” image marketing is the key to their success?

“Image” and “look at me” marketing is the surest road to the poor house in real estate or any other small business. Why?

Because image marketing focuses on “you” the agent, while “empathetic” marketing connects with the prospect or client on their level.

Here’s a piece of advice that will forever change the way you market your services: The single greatest personal skill you will ever acquire in your business (and life, for that matter) is…

The Ability to See the World the Way

Your Prospects and Clients See It

I’m talking about your ability to put yourself in the shoes of your prospects and clients to identify the PROBLEMS they’re facing in their situation…and reveal the BENEFITS they’re looking to gain.

And if you want them to “connect” with you and your services (i.e. hire you), you must FIRST connect with THEIR problems and the benefits they seek.

That’s “empathetic marketing.”

But this doesn’t just apply to marketing your services. I’m talking about how you promote and sell your listings. How you promote your buyer and relocation services. How you go about a listing presentation, price reduction or negotiate contracts.

See, the primary focus of ALL your marketing should answer the age-old question ALL your prospects and clients are silently asking themselves…

“What’s In It For ME?”

You can quickly multiply your success in real estate if you simply understand the essential (WIIFM) question and three rules of marketing and sales success…

RULE #1: People HATE To Be Sold, But People LOVE To Buy.

Buying implies control. Getting “sold” is the opposite. No one wants to feel out of control or manipulated, especially by another person.

So the first rule of selling is: Don’t make people “feel” like they’re being “sold.”

How do you do this? By tuning into their problems and desires FIRST, then offering reliable ways to help. OFFER to give something, don’t force. Give them specific and meaningful reasons to call you and work with you…reasons that solve their problems and deliver benefits.

I call this “pull marketing”. Pull marketing works by creating a “magnet” tuned into the problems and benefits buyers and sellers want, then making an OFFER for them to receive it from you.

Want some examples?

When prospecting for listings, offer consumer tips on how to sell a home for the most money. Or offer a special report revealing proven tips for dressing their home to sell for top dollar. Or offer to give more than a CMA? I teach agents to offer a “Maximum Home Value Audit™” designed to study the home and market and reveal ways to generate maximum price for the home in minimum time.

When prospecting for buyers, offer consumer tips on how to buy and finance a home. Or how to beat other buyers to new homes on the market. Or a customized list of homes perfectly matched to their criteria. Or how to find great sources of affordable financing.

Do you see the difference here?

RULE #2: People Make Buying Decisions For Emotional, Not Rational Reasons.

You hear this one all the time by sales trainers. But few really get it right.

Regardless of what you think or what a client tells you…no one buys a home with logic. All buying decisions are made on an emotional basis.

How do you connect with the emotions of people? By first understanding and appealing to the Seven Deadly Sins: Fear, Greed, Vanity, Lust, Pride, Envy and Laziness.

Every one of your prospects or clients is feeling a certain way about buying or selling. I call this their…

“Dominant Emotion”

Your job is to identify the dominant emotion (at any given time) that causes your prospects or clients to spring into action.

How do you do this?

When working with clients, you ID their dominant emotion by ASKING QUESTIONS and LISTENING? not listening for a simple answer, but the “emotions” hidden behind the answer.

For example, if you ask what your buyers are looking for in a home, and they say things like bedrooms, baths, etc., you need to dig down deeper. If they start talking about needing a gated community, certain schools, a specific design of home, or lifestyle features? then they’re starting to reveal their emotions.

You know you’re getting close to a dominant emotion when they start to reveal “feelings”. And it’s that dominant emotion you’ll need to focus on when you’ve found the perfect home, and now need to close a deal.

RULE #3: Once Sold, People Justify Their Purchase With LOGIC.

The decision to buy is an emotional move? even with the most “rational” people. That’s why you need to support the “yes” decision with lots of rational reasons to support it: the lot location, the construction quality, the 24-point alarm system, etc.

Smart agents give people logical reasons to help them justify their emotional decisions. Logical reasons are things like:

“Hey, we couldn’t pass up the low interest rate on this deal” (emotional reason: it’s 200 square feet bigger than my best friend’s home)…

“Heck…this thing is built with hardened titanium walls on a post-tension foundation” (emotional reason: My wife will divorce me if I don’t buy her this home!)…

“Sure it’s $400,000 more than we wanted to spend, BUT…it’s close to parks and schools for our kids” (emotional reason: I gotta impress my friends at any cost)…

You get the picture.

So Here’s a Quick Review of Empathetic Marketing…

First and foremost, your life (and production) will take a hurdling leap forward the minute you CHANGE YOUR FOCUS away from “look at me” marketing to “you” marketing…and learn how to see the world the way your prospects and clients see it…and recognize that your job is to solve problems and deliver benefits.

Second, realize that everyone is SELF-INTERESTED. They don’t give a hoot about your multi-million dollar production, your fancy Lexus, your big Balloon in the sky. They only care about themselves. They become interested in you to the extent you prove that you understand their situation, and are the very best, most competent choice to solve their problems and deliver benefits they’re longing to obtain.

Third, every purchase? even NASA buying rocket fuel? is an emotional decision. In order to make a purchase commitment, there must first be an emotional agreement inside the head of the purchaser.

Finally, every decision to buy is rationalized with logical reason(s).

Focus on these four items, and your business life (and personal life) will be forever changed for the better.