Three Ways To Supersize Your Profits (Part 3 - Spread Out Payments)

Selling MORE Strategy Number Three: Spread Out Payments

In the first two years of starting my real estate brokerage, we moved three times. Turns out we weren't great at planning. Our first office was tiny. It held six of us and you had to go outside to get any privacy or to hear yourself think.

Our next place had walls separating the workspace and a private office which I claimed. We were comfortable with up to about ten agents…within 6 months of being there, we were bursting at the seams. We started looking at a place twice the size of this.

Having twenty agents was almost unimaginable or at least we thought it was a long way off. So doubling our size seemed right. Plus that's what our budget would allow.

We went to look at an office that seemed about the right size but seeing that it wasn't a perfect fit the agent asked, "Can I show you a slightly larger, nicer office that just became available that I think you'll like?"

Why of course! You're practically doing me a favor when you put it that way.

'Slightly larger' was a 'slight' exaggeration. This place had nearly a dozen private offices, a conference room, reception area, large open bullpen, storage space and three bathrooms. It could easily fit thirty plus agents.

Oh, and the lease was about twice what we'd planned on spending.

I'll spare you the details, but we signed a three-year lease that was back loaded. On top of getting the first three months virtually free, for the first year we paid about 40% less than fair market value. The second-year the rate went up by that same 40% so we were now paying a normal price. And year three, another 40%...to make up for the first year's low rate.

The selling point being, we'd have time to grow into the space and wouldn't need to move again.

And to a company that was on their third move in two years, this made sense. And in the end, it all worked out. We grew faster than we expected and within about twelve months we had nearly thirty agents working for the company.

This smart leasing agent sold MORE by spreading out the payments and in our case, back-loading the deal.

As Johnny Depp would say, "Savvy."

But this isn't a new concept…retailers have been selling MORE by offering payments for years.

Right now I can't go on social media without seeing ads for the newest trend in cookware. It's something they are calling "hybrid" cookware. I see companies advertising this everywhere.

I don't know what that means, but I know it means a single 8" pan runs $108. Oh, and if you want a lid for it that's an extra $30. I'm not kidding.

I actually do like nice pots and pans because I like to cook, but paying nearly $150 for a single tiny pan, even for me seems like a lot.

But out of curiosity, I click on the 13-piece set anyway…and guess what?!? It's on sale! But it's not just that it's on sale, I can finance it so that I'm only paying $42.04 a month. They are practically giving these things away at this point!

Really though, by spreading out payments, people who wouldn't normally buy a 13-piece set for $700 might now consider doing just that.

Spreading out the payments lower the perceived risk to a buyer, and really changes the conversation from, "Do I need a $700 set of pots and pans?", to "Can I afford $42 a month for these pots and pans?"

It's a much different question. And while people will often answer "no" to the first one, some of those exact same people will answer, "Yes!" to the second one. The dynamic has been changed!

That's all I've got.

Selling MORE by simply offering more, selling commitment, and spreading out payments. Can your business add one or more of these strategies to your bag-o-tricks and supersize your profits?

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