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Most brokers try to sell with the idea that logic is the primary motivating factor in decisions. This is unfortunate because people use logic to justify their decisions, not to make their decisions. For brokers, it’s important to also learn why people buy. Most often, people “buy” based on the emotional state they are in and the emotional states they perceive a product or service will give them. These states can be divided into two categories: Pain and Pleasure. To say, “Yes”, a client must clearly associate the act of buying with pleasurable states, and the status quo, or the act of not buying, with painful states.

For instance, we are confronted every day with ads that ask us to buy cars. We do not actually buy one until one, or more, of the following things, happen:

A) Our current vehicle puts us in a state of pain because it breaks down, doesn’t perform as well as we would like, doesn’t measure up to what we would like, or because we are simply bored or tired of it.

B)  We get caught up in the feelings of pleasure, the excitement, the pride, the comfort, the luxury, the power, etc., that we think we will have with a new vehicle.

C)  We allow ourselves to be in a “buying state”, a state in which making decisions and buying things is easy.

The same forces motivate your clients, whether they are the owner of one small building or a sophisticated institutional investor. There are many brokers with whom to list, just as there are a million good car deals. For them to list their property with you they have to see their current position as less than optimal or painful.

Prospect must also see the act of working with you as giving them positive feelings or pleasure, such as a sense of certainty that things will improve, or doing things they really enjoy, or a feeling that their wealth will improve. They must also be in a “buying state”.

Here are a few questions to ask a potential client or prospect to get a sense of where they are in the buying process:

  • Do you have a timeline or deadline to meet?
  • What happens if that deadline is not met?
  • Is there a budget for this project?
  • What actions are you ready to take now?
  • What do you feel are your alternatives?
  • What are the potential barriers that may inhibit success with this project?

For more information on how to create these emotional states for your clients, participate in the best-selling, online, video-based program, Top Dogs: How to Run With the Big Dogs in Commercial Real Estate.

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