Keep YOU in Your ValYou Proposition
Tip: What people love isn't your laundry list of tasks and activities
The real estate industry reconnected with a key principle of great sales growth: Value proposition. Let’s make sure we know what that means.
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The Heart of Great Sales
As the industry regains its voice after a week of reacting to the proposed settlement by the National Association of REALTORS, there’s plenty to celebrate. Amidst the poor journalism and social media chaos, I offered a few calm ideas on what REALTORS should do next. Many leaders across the industry reinforced the sane advice: Stay out of the comments sections; get the facts right; and take a good look at your value proposition for clients, to keep growing.
All great ideas. Believing in your worth and articulating your advantages is vital to high-performing salespeople. It powers our growth, and keeps us from being replaced by lawsuits or ‘bots.
As long as we focus on the real value of our value proposition.
Make sure you don’t get distracted
I say this because no sooner did the dust settle opinion on settlement chatter than a wave of social media posts and videos trying to define the "value proposition” of real estate professionals. I’m sure everyone has the best intentions - but I’m not so sure they realize —
What’s truly of value to consumers
All sorts of memes, lists, ‘toks and downloads have cataloged the “hundreds of things REALTORS do to earn their commission.” The laundry lists of activities, tasks and to-dos are nice; even a little helpful; maybe slightly informative.
But they remind me of Hamlet’s mother, when she said:
The lady doth protest too much, methinks. - Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Act III, Scene II
Even NAR produced a PDF of “179 ways” real estate professionals are “worth every penny.” I wished they’d at least have used “worth every dollar.”
The Lists Should Be Last
Any of these lists should be the last things you say when communicating your value to prospects and clients. Why? Because these aren’t lists of value. They’re lists of features.
And there’s a big difference.
The last thing consumers need is a reminder of the hundreds of things that need to get done when they’re already feeling anxious about home buying and selling.
These lists are full of tasks that cause people to wonder, “Is that what I’m paying for?” which leads to, “It seems rather expensive…” These lists plant doubt rather than lead to confidence.
Third, lists aren’t exciting. They look like the task list of an intern, not the actions of a well-trained professional (i.e. “compile a formal file on property”). Some people might even think, “I can do some of those things myself. Or perhaps a bot could…”
In fact, these lists can distract from the true message of your value. They feed into the misplaced narrative of “that’s all a REALTOR does” and invite questions of, “Can’t this be done more cheaply?”
So lists risk distracting people from the true VALUE of having YOU as part of their homeownership journey.
What People Truly Value
In 2006, I was diagnosed with kidney cancer (after beating lung cancer). When the surgeon told me what they had seen on the scans, I was stunned. Before I could catch my breath, he launched into a list of things he was planning “to do.” He rattled off tests, tasks, procedures, medicines, stats, stages, and a myriad of other things I just couldn’t hear because the only thing I valued was the answer to the question:
Will I live?
I held up my hand and said, “Please, stop.” He blinked and fell silent.
“I really don’t care what you’re going to do,” I said. “It’s just noise. You’re describing your job when I’m worried about life. I’m the patient, not the doctor. I don’t know what scalpel or sutures you should use,” I said. “None of those things have any meaning for me.”
“You’re overwhelmed,” he said. “Let’s talk tomorrow.”
“Of course I’m overwhelmed,” I said, “This is a big deal. But you’re the expert. I don’t want to know how you do your job…"
“…I want to trust that YOU can do the job. That’s what matters.”
I left the office and decided to find another doctor.
What People Value is YOU
People value YOU, not what you do. You, the person. Someone who does things, for sure. But someone who is something - much more.
These days, with the chance of a lawsuit, government, or whatever could alter the relationship between you and your client, it won’t be your to-do list that knits it back together.
Because nobody hires a vending machine. People don’t buy features. They buy benefits.
And the most valuable benefit in a relationship is: YOU!
Discover Your ValYOU!
If you need proof, read your thank-you notes and testimonials. Nobody mentions your acumen “doing a property search” or skills at “making appointments” or “unlocking lockboxes” or any of the other one-hundred-seventy-nine tasks anybody can do.
They loved you, trusted you, and paid you.
To check myself as I wrote this post, I re-read some of my own thank-you notes:
“I’m grateful because your words and encouragement helped me become a better person…”
"Your encouragement and insights have been invaluable when I’m taking chances…”
"Thank you for pouring into the personal side of this business and helping us believe in ourselves…”
Not one person said, “Thank you for using e-mail,” or “I loved your presentation software,” or “Your handouts were so handy."
Yes, those things were necessary to deliver the goods. I must do them right, do them well, and do them at a level worthy of my asking price. But nobody asks me about those things when they call. They don’t require a completed checklist before paying me. What matters - from decision to payment to becoming friends for life - is that portion of the value proposition that’s truly invaluable:
Me.
And You.
You’re Hired! Can you Do the Surgery Today?
The day after I fired the task-list doctor, I asked my primary physician for a referral. He recommended a doctor who recently immigrated from Eastern Europe who handled difficult tumors.
“Hello,” the doctor greeted me a few days later in his office. “I can’t wait to solve your case.” Talk about a great opening!
“You read my file already?” I said as he shook my hand firmly.
“Oh, yes,” he stood up and walked around his office confidently. “Very complicated. Your tumor is in a weird spot.” He stopped, threw his shoulders back, and declared. “I cannot wait to get it out.”
I fell back in my chair with tears streaming down my face.
He leaned down, grabbed my shoulders, and looked me straight in the eye, “There’s nothing to worry about. I’m going to fix it. I might even video the procedure, to teach other doctors. You’ll be home in two days. We’re going to be friends for a long time.”
I took a deep breath and smiled. “I believe you. Could you do the surgery today?”
Perform Miracles
Not autopsies. Stop pulling your value apart, and trying to make it look like a million little pieces of complexity. You won’t be making consumers feel safer, more confident, and stronger.
Because you’re more than the sum of your pieces! Or your tasks.
Stand up. Stand out. Look people in the eye. Explain why they matter to you. How confident you are in your value. How proud they’ll be having you by their side. Why they’re better off with you than without you.
Not how busy you’re going to be to earn your pay.
Talk about the benefits of your role - in their lives, not just transactions. In this business, our clients become friends and family, not just commissions and referrals.
Help them understand who’s about to be pouring into their life for a long time!
Eighteen years after that surgery, I think of that same doctor from time to time. Not only because he cured my cancer -
But because he prescribed the most valuable thing ever:
Becoming my friend.
So how do we strengthen our value proposition and talk about it the right way?
You have to learn to sell You, not just your stuff. The person proposing to be a valuable guide on their personal journey - not just carry the bag of goodies you’ll need to get there. And most of all, how do you talk about that to strangers, let alone people you already know?
Let me offer a few ideas…
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