Some Cues From Atlanta - Posted by Natalie
Posted by Natalie on January 29, 2000 at 08:17:30:
As some of you might already know, I am a newbie to this field. However, I am finding a lot of support from various people who frequent this site and for this I am grateful.
At this point, though I do not have much experience in real estate as such, rather than as a real estate attorney in Europe, where the system is highly regulated and there’s not much room for creativity (at least where I come from) - I would now really like to share something with you. Something in which I do have a bit of experience. And this is something that many people, including - or should I say ESPECIALLY - real estate investors HAVE to deal with all the time. And this is HOW TO DEAL WITH PEOPLE.
A few days ago I called a seller. He was obviously an experienced investor because of the way he spoke. He dominated the very short conversation we had and never left me time to ask any questions. When I managed to actually utter a few words and ask him about the house he was elling - he merely said “Go and see it, it’s open”. At that point he put the receiver down without saying so much as “bye”. Now let’s think about something. What he’s offering might be a darn good deal. But what would you think at that particular point in time? Would you be super eager to go an take a look at the house? Or would you be more tempted to think: “I really DO NOT WANT to deal with this person” and simply move on to the next seller.
What happens when you meet people who behave in this closed manner? By now you must have realized that 80% or more of every deal you make is pure psychology, the rest is education. You can have all the education you want - which is great and it’s a MUST to have. But if you do not know how to handle people - especially difficult people (whom you will meet very often), then education won’t mean that much at the end of the day.
The most obvious way to determine what type of person you’re dealing with is to observe the body language. That can tell you how open or how closed the person is. That is if you’re actually standing face to face with that particular person. That person might not have uttered a single word - but YOU KNOW just what he’s like and what he’s thinking.
Now have you ever wonedered why the people who are selling these courses keep pumping into us that we MUST GIVE OUT THE IMAGE THAT WE ARE PROBLEM SOLVERS.We must convince people that we are there to help them, to solve their issues, to get them out of a bad situation. This is very true. Nothing could be truer in fact. But why? It’s all psychology, you know. Have you ever met anyone and you think: “There’s something about this person that I like. I cannot quite put my finger on it. But I like her”. And it’s not only you…but everybody likes this person. Contrarily, you might say the opposite about somebody else.
So what is this phenomenon? When you meet someone like that - just sit there and observe, because you’re going to learn a lot about human behaviour and different reactions to it. These are some of the conclusions I have drawn. A person is well liked usually because that person GIVES ATTENTION to whoever is speaking to him / her at that particular point in time. Undivided attention. He or she makes you feel like you’re the most important person in the world for that split second.
Once you can pick this up…and practice it…you will get much more buyers and sellers than you ever imagined. It might take a while to get into the race, especially as a beginner. But you get there much sooner as an open person who is aware and respectful of the essence of human nature - than one who couldn’t care less and goes about his/her way as if nobody else exists.
Give attention. As much as you can. Show them you mean what you say. Show them you’re on their side. Give them YOUR TIME. And they will NEVER forget you.
Thanks for reading. Have a great day.
Natalie