Closing Techniques

ForSole Mandates and Sales

Trust Sincerity and Integrity

Our Value System and Ethos at Century 21 DOES NOT ALLOW us to FORCE or COERCE or INDUCE clients into

transacting with us under any circumstances whatsoever!

Our function is to advise clients in order that they are empowered to make a decision themselves. Our advise

though is critical as we are more knowledgeable than our clients are in every aspect of a property transaction, the current market conditions, the value of the property and

the area in which the property is positioned.

Sole Mandates Closing Techniques

Almost all agents do not understand why they fail to obtain sole mandates.

In the ordinary course of business, it is never about the price.

It is only about what is presented on the next slide.

It takes time, dedication and professionalism for any agent to fulfil what is required of them in the next slide

Without understanding what they are supposed to do on the next slide they will never OWN the MARKET through Sole

Mandates

It is Simple – a Seller will always be willing to give a Sole Mandate if the Agent:

• Has the best KNOWLEDGE on the area, valuations, the logistics of selling, and the current market conditions

•Has the best VISIBILITY (brand exposure) in the area and is known to the community for being an area specialist

• Is PASSIONATE about Century 21 and themselves and can communicate the benefits of Century 21

• Is HONEST and virtuous and understands that their trustworthiness and reputation is at stake

• Is ACCESIBLE and on time, all the time, for appointments

Knowledge

All sellers think they are more knowledgeable on the area, valuations and the current market conditions and rightfully so, as many of them have been living in the area for a number of years and also follow market trends in financial news articles.

However in most cases the seller has their own career which is not property related and the agent should be able to show them that property is the agent’s full time occupation and professional career – “this is what the agent does and deals with day and night while the seller is at their work following their own unrelated career. The seller is an expert in their career and similarly the agent is an expert in theirs”

Therefore in all cases the agent must have more experience and more knowledge on the area, the process of selling, the current state of the market, the marketing of property and valuations than the seller ever has or will ever have.

The agent must position themselves in such a way that they gain the respect and envy of the seller by adding value for the seller through their knowledge, passion and successes.

Warning: WITHOUT KNOWLEDGE THE AGENT WILL NOT CLOSE A SOLE MANDATE

VISIBILTY

It is simple logic to understand that a seller will choose an active and visible agent to sell their property.

Visibility is achieved through :• Branded Showhouses• “For Sale” Boards• Flyers

• Monthly Newsletters• Internet Adverts• Newspaper Adverts

• “Dishing” out of Business Cards freely• Word of Mouth

• Networking with Colleagues• Sponsoring local events (Schools)

• Being involved with Community Issues (Crime Prevention)

Warning: WITHOUT VISIBILTY THE AGENT WILL NOT CLOSE A SOLE MANDATE

Passion and Honesty

Sellers have to see “fire” and “passion” in an agent for them to appoint the agent to sell their property exclusively. Agents must “get themselves into a position where sellers want to do business with them”. Agents who are serious and proud of their

career, who love the industry, who love and adore their farming area, who love Century 21 and most importantly, who love themselves, automatically radiate

passion and confidence and sellers want to tap into their enthusiasm.

The biggest factor negatively affecting an agents passion is that of a lack of knowledge and therefore the fear of meeting and “talking shop” with sellers. There

is no such thing as an agent being born with confidence. It is a fact that the more knowledge an agent has the more confident and passionate they are.

Honesty is a given and any agent who does not understand the importance of honesty should not be a Century 21 agent. Enough said.

Warning: WITHOUT PASSION and HONESTY THE AGENT WILL NOT CLOSE A SOLE MANDATE

BEING ACCESIBLE

A seller is a consumer and consumers expect good service in return for their money. An Agent’s career is only about service and nothing else. Remember, agents do not build the actual houses nor do they actually

buy the houses so they do not “create” or manufacture anything tangible but merely act as agents for a seller and a buyer through

providing a service. Knowledge, passion, honesty and visibility mean absolutely nothing if the agent is never available when the seller needs them, does not return the sellers calls promptly and does not provide

feedback. “The seller is paying the agent the commission and it is the agent who

should be “running” after the seller and not the other way round”

Warning: WITHOUT BEING ACCESIBLE THE AGENT WILL NOT CLOSE A SOLE MANDATE

Without implementing the above points continuously, the Agent will never “Own the Market” and will not close Sole

Mandates

Millionaire agents understand this and unfortunately, most agents do not. That is why most agents are struggling agents.

The sad and undignified reality is that agents who do not implement the above will be labelled as lazy agents OR as agents that are just hoping to get lucky by the colleagues

around them and even worse, buy sellers and buyers.

It takes time, commitment, hard work and dedication to become the most knowledgeable and visible agent in a farming area. So active passionate agents work hard at it – lazy un-

ambitious agents do not.

These lazy un-ambitious agents are those who will move from brand to brand or will frequently change their farming areas because they blame the brand or the banks or their

principal or their farming area for their failure.

Now that we all understand the above let us look at Closing Techniques for a Sole Mandate.

WARNING: Without understanding the above first, it is of no use to continue with the presentation.

Closing Techniques

• Ensure that you meet both the husband and wife (or all the registered owners) at the same time of doing your valuation and your Sole Mandate presentation. The one

spouse/partner would never be able to communicate the price and marketing benefits nor your knowledge and enthusiasm you had presented to the other with the same

passion that you did. Wait for the moment when they are both there.• Agents should immediately go into a Sole Mandate presentation once the home has

been viewed and not come back the following day with the evaluation to do it.• As you are walking through the home praise the home and comment on its great

features. Ensure that you notice where time and effort has been spent on the home by the seller (furniture, garden, curtains etc).

• Never walk through with a clipboard as this is too impersonal (you are not an inspector) and lead the way through the home - this shows your confidence. Ensure you enter every

single room and again this will show your seriousness about the valuation and your confidence (never just peek into a room)

• Once you have walked through the home instruct the sellers to sit around the dinning room table or in the lounge to discuss the home (don’t ask - rather instruct). Accept an

invitation for a cup of tea or coffee or water (never alcohol)

•Once you are all around the table then never, never, never ever tell the sellers what their home is worth – you need to rather show them the value of the home and this is

dealt with on the next slide.

Closing on Valuation (Price)• The agent should now pull out their “toolbox” to show the sellers how much their property is worth and this is when the agent should become part of the seller’s family by addressing the home as “ours”

and them as “us” to decide on a value and how should “we” market the property and what “our” competition is etc.

•The “toolbox” must contain a CMA “Comparative Market Analysis” and incidentally, this is a great tool to delay meeting with the sellers until they are both present – in other words – should the one spouse phone you for an evaluation immediately, then reply by saying, “ you know what, rather give me you address and erf number over the phone now and let me do a proper scientific CMA for you and I will present it to both of you tonight. I prefer this so that the evaluation is not a “thumb suck” and it will

also give us a chance to see exactly who our competing sellers are in the area. I would hate to give you an inaccurate figure and I am not one of those agents who allows their personal views and ambitions

to influence the price ”• Other items in the “toolbox” must include details and photos of every single other house that is for

sale in the area and homes that have recently sold (no matter which agency has or had it) that has similar specs to the seller’s and, the sale history of all these houses (how long on the market, listing

price vs selling price etc)• Also include current newspaper adverts on homes with similar specs no matter with which agency • Your own history of what homes you have sold in the area and what current listings you have. These should be in your own “brag file” which includes amongst others, you Fidelity Fund Certificate, family

photos, your accolades and certificates, Century 21 paraphernalia etc•All the above should be laid out on the table and you should then prompt the seller to go through all the information with you and you should then say, “let us together go through all this information and

we will together come up with the right valuation for our home”.

The point is that when the agent can show the sellers what the value of their home is as opposed to just telling them, an agreement on price will be reached very quickly and in fact, because this way

value can be physically shown, it is actually the easiest part of obtaining a Sole Mandate. The other important fact is that the seller will feel that he also got involved in determining the value of his

home.

Closing on the Century 21 Brand and You Closing on the seller to choose the Century 21 brand is just as simple and easy to do as on price. So once the

price issue is settled then simply :• If the agent is the most visible, most passionate, most active and the most knowledgeable, the seller would

want their services. That is a given!•Now combine that with the Century 21 Brand and its benefits and that is that – the Sole Mandate is “done

and dusted”• Simple ? Yes !!! Provided that the agents understands exactly what the benefits of using the Century 21

Brand are and actions these over to the seller. These include:

• Having the world’s largest real estate brand working for them together with all its systems and tools ( whether this is relevant or not it does not matter because its a matter of prestige for the seller). Make them

feel honoured that Century 21 wants their home to sell. Also:1. Internal Local Office, National and International networking to help find a buyer quicker

2. Website Marketing – those with iPads and laptops should log on and show it to them live!3. Show House Days – Century 21 branded Show Houses are prestigious and look great

4. National Property Exhibition – offered as a benefit to sole mandate sellers only 5. National Property Portfolio Publication – offered as a benefit to sole mandate sellers only

6. Newspaper Adverts – offered as a benefit to sole mandate sellers only7. Pre- qualification of any buyers so we do not have time wasters and/or buyers with ulterior motives

(criminal activity) coming through the home - service8. Continuous feedback to the seller - service

9. The Century 21 brand and the agent will ensure that every single purchaser in that price range in the period of the Sole Mandate will be introduced to their property to ensure the quickest, cleanest possible

sale for the highest possible price

Most importantly though, they must be told that they would gain the services of the most passionate and knowledgeable agent in the area -- YOU ! If you are too embarrassed to say this to the seller it is

because you have no faith and confidence in yourself and you yourself would then agree that you are in fact not the ideal agent for them and that is a massive problem, ..........is it not ?

Other General Tips on Closing a Sole Mandate

• Once you have closed on the price and on the benefits of the seller using you and the Century 21 Brand then its time for signature. It is the time to stop the

selling and time for signature. This is the time when the agent must go “on risk” and ask for the Sole Mandate to be signed. Do not be afraid of rejection at this stage. Just do it !! Never say ,” think about it and I will contact you tomorrow”. Weak agents are afraid of rejection and they will rather leave with a hope that they will get a Sole Mandate the next day. Top millionaire agents are not afraid

and they would want to know exactly where they stand right there and the. Millionaire agents do not fear rejection

• Let the sellers know that they can only experience the true “might” of the Century 21 Brand if they agree to give the Sole Mandate. For the seller to

experience all the benefits, they need to understand that it costs the company money and time and the agent dedication and commitment and this may not

happen without a Sole Mandate.• Let the sellers know that if the seller gives a Sole Mandate then the agent has

to ( contractually), use all the tools available to them to perform to get the property sold. Without a Sole Mandate, there is no “performance” contract for

the agent and that the agent is not accountable - the agent will rather spend their time and effort and the company would rather spend their resources on

their clients who have signed a Sole Mandate and are contractually accountable. Put the “fear of loss” across.

• Make the sellers feel good by saying that, “ this is a “Century 21 home”

“Trading Off” Benefits for a Sole Mandate

The agent must say, “We can get Century 21 to do all that for us if we allow Century 21to work exclusively on our home” – (remember and don’t forget, as discussed earlier, you are replacing the words “you” and “me” and “them” and “mine” with “we” and “us” and “ours” so that you can project you are part of

the seller’s family and on the seller’s side.

In other words, never provide or promise all the benefits of Century 21 to a seller who does not want to give you a sole mandate. You don’t want to be in a position when a seller walks away with all the benefits of using Century 21 and

without having singed a sole mandate. You will appear to be the fool !

However never trade - off service for a sole mandate. Whether you are successful in getting the sole mandate or not never, ever trade off your passion and service pledge to a seller. Benefits and service are 2 different things and service must never ever be compromised bur benefits can. Remember, if you

walk away with an open listing it is still good and you could still sell the property before your competition does, therefore, don’t appear to be upset if

you are unsuccessful in getting the sole mandate

The Most Common Reasons for Sellers’ Resistance to Giving an Agent a Sole Mandate

• Sellers believe that the more agents they has working on their property, the better the chances of them getting it sold. This is a fallacy – more agents do not create more buyers. The reason is simple - At any given time in any given period for any given price range, there

is a set number of buyers and agents cannot create more buyers than there actually are. So, the correct business and most efficient and professional way for a seller is to give a sole

agency to the most professional and visible agency in the area at that point in time. This ensures that every singly buyer for the home at that point in time and for that price range is introduced to the property buy the most knowledgeable, passionate and professional agent

and brand (YOU and CENTURY 21) to ensure a smooth transaction and the best chance of doing a deal. It is a fact that one agent can take the same buyer to the same house and not close a deal when another agent could have taken the same buyer to the same house at the

same price at the same time and close the deal.• Sellers may get uncomfortable if the agent continuously ‘sells themselves’ to them when

closing on a sole mandate. It may become too personal for them. Therefore, the agent must always be selling the Century 21 brand as a whole to them and the benefits thereof and

not themselves personally. Sellers must feel they are getting the might of Century 21 Global to sell their property and not just the Century 21 agent (YOU) sitting in front of them

Agents negotiating for a sole mandate must let the sellers know of the above

Closing on a Sale

The easiest thing on earth to do !!!!

• All you have to do is to take as many buyers to the home as possible. Someone will buy it. These buyers will come through your marketing, show-houses, website, networking,

newspaper adverts and your list of buyers you have continuously being gathering.• These will all be pre-qualified buyers as you are the top, professional agent.

•One of your buyers will buy the home for the price you are advertising or for the reduced price that your sellers would be expecting from all the time you have being giving them

feedback. Remember all the time you had being giving them feedback was for the purposes of price counselling.

• As you are knowledgeable about the contract, bond finance and the transfer process the deal will run smoothly.

•Lastly, you would have negotiated a deal that has the best possible chance of the bond being granted (deposits, costs, etc).

It really is that easy – you see, the easiest thing in the world is to sell a house because a house sells itself. A buyer will buy a house when he loves it and not if the agent is good

or not. He does not care about the agent. He wants the house. Your function as the millionaire agent is to get it on a sole mandate at the correct price and then introduce as many of those buyers mentioned in the previous paragraphs to

the house and one of them will buy it and that is that!

Please read the next slide carefully if you are still not convinced

Selling is Easy – Anyone can Sell

• The single biggest mistake estate agents do is that they make the selling of a property their priority instead of making the listing of the property on a Sole Mandate the

priority. This is understandable as when the sell it is the point where they are physically making money. They are not understanding that they are putting “the cart before the horse”. This is why service levels amongst estate agents rank as one of the worst and

why most estate agents fail or make very little money. Most estate agents are after the glamour of selling a property and all dream about making big money with the big deal

when the real glamour and real profits come from “owning the market” with sole mandates.

What they should rather be doing is selling a brilliant, professional, energetic and passionate SERVICE TO THE SELLERS with a view of getting the sole mandate and then the buyers and the sale and commission will follow. Automatically. What is the use of giving buyers a top service when you have got no properties to show them ????????

This brilliant, professional, energetic and passionate service is derived from simply being the most knowledgeable most visible and most accessible agent in your area and not what a smooth talker the agent is. These 3 qualities take time, dedication, hard work,

patience, professionalism and resilience and fortunately for the agents who do understand this, they are our millionaire agents and are living the “Top Billing” lifestyle.

Knowledge is being SMARTER

Visibility is being BOLDER

Accessibility is being FASTER