Be a Therapist for Your Customer – With Matt Easton

Matt Easton was born and raised in poverty but that didn’t stop him from being a child prodigy. By age 16, he started businesses that became household names in the publishing and government auction arenas. Today he teaches others about how to be more effective at sales through Easton University. He also teaches people how to lease apartments through LeasingUniversity.com.?

Matt believes no matter how good of an agent you are, or how great a property is, you are still going to have to sell the property.?

“These agents could have the cure for cancer, and they're still going to have to go out there and communicate, persuade, negotiate,” he said. “Nothing in this world happens organically besides breathing. No matter how good you are of an agent, no matter what your intentions are in your heart, no matter how great of a property I have lined up for Dan, I'm still going to have to sell Dan on the property.”

“You just got to simply focus on your process,” said Matt. “And a lot of the agents out there have been successful, despite the fact that they don't have a process.”

But now the economy is shifting and the agents who will survive and thrive will be the ones who have a better process in place and who excel at sales by being like a therapist for their customers, which includes asking the right questions and using better language to communicate and learn.

“The worst possible thing that you can do in your life is ask an all or nothing request – a yes/no question,” said Matt. “Instead of saying, ‘Hey, Dan, do you want to put in an offer?’ Or worse, sound pushy or manipulative – ‘Hey, Dan, man, interest rates are going up like crazy. If you don't put in an offer right now, things are going to change. Man, this is a seller's market, somebody's gonna buy this house.’ And by the way, all those things could be true. But it's jujitsu. The more you push on somebody, the more they're going to push back.”?

“If I tell you to do something, you're not going to want to do it,” said Matt. “People are exponentially more likely to do things based on their reasons.”?

He suggests changing your approach by shifting your language to a question that goes something like this: “Does it make sense to put in an offer?”

“I'm not asking them to do anything,” said Matt. “So there's no pressure. And they actually have to think about ‘does this make sense?’”

Their answer will usually give you some more information, provoking another good follow-up question such as “What’s a good next step, then?” This creates a process you can go through with each customer, whether they are a buyer or a seller. And, Matt says, you’re going to find that your customer is going to tell you the next step.?

“If you simply just go through your life with a process to keep things moving forward, you're going to move things forward,” said Matt. “You're not going to close every deal.”

Matt pointed out that many agents out there are not closing at all. They are just asking the wrong questions and believing they got turned down.?

“The only way to get them to say yes is to work through the situation with them like a therapist, and not like a high pressure,” said Matt.?

One great question you can ask a seller is what their reason for moving is. And, a great question you can ask a buyer or seller is what research they have done on you and your team. This will also tell you how much they know about you, why they chose you, if they are considering working with someone else, or whether they are pretty much sold on working with you.?

Another important aspect in your relationship with customers is setting up the next steps. Instead of saying you are “following up,” when you are in the process of following up, use the words “as promised.”

For example, “As promised, it's 2:30. Calling to see if it makes sense to sign that listing agreement.”

When leaving a voicemail, one phrase you can use effectively use is: “I got an idea that I'd love to get your opinion on.”

“Everybody wants to give their opinion. So leverage that,” said Matt. And, of course, have an idea ready for when they do return your call.

Matt also emphasizes not to be a pushy salesman.?

“You guys have to do a mental check with yourself. You have to become more like a doctor,” he said. “Not only are you like a doctor, but you're like an emergency room doctor.”

“The number one most stressful life event by survey is moving,” said Matt. “So people, people are going to be out of their minds with you. They're going to be intolerant with you. They're going to be agitated with you. They're going to say crazy crap to you. They're going to yell. You have to remain calm.”

Matt says most salespeople are trained to overcome objections. In real estate, people are not posing objections. They are complaining about things that are not part of their ideal living situation: “I don't like the school district. I don't like the stairs in front of the house. I don't like the interest rates right now.”?

When people are stressed out, when people are under pressure, they complain. And if you take a complaint and you try and overcome a complaint, you turn it into an objection or an argument.”

“We're trying to win every single argument,” said Matt. “Go look at Oprah. Go look at Jeff Bezos. Go look at the Google Earth of their properties. There's always construction going on.”?

“I'm going to say something that is vital for every agent to understand: The human race is not built this way. There is no perfect home for us. There's no perfect shelter for us. There's always something for us to complain about,” said Matt. “We're always trying to change something. So stop trying to present your property as if it's perfect. If somebody complains, let them complain.”

Through their complaints, you are learning their priorities. Asking the right questions, like a therapist, helps them understand how to best balance their priorities to find the right priority they will be happy with. It also puts you in a position to be their guide. Establish a process and make the close.

To watch or listen to Dan Lesniak’s full conversation with Matt Easton, check out Episode 378 of the HyperFast Agent podcast, available on YouTube, Spotify, Apple, or wherever you listen to podcasts.