Take pride in being a great salesperson

Realtors® should embrace being a salesperson according to Matthew Ferrara, a real estate consultant.

Many people come up with creative titles that don’t accurately portray what they do. “I’m constantly astonished at the lengths we will go to avoid calling ourselves ‘salespeople’,” he says. “If you’re a great salesperson, you’re helping someone to achieve their dreams and goals. You’re fulfilling a value that people are looking for.”

Ferrara said one of the best salespersons he ever met was a Cadillac salesperson. He talked with her about the Cadillac and she told him that she couldn’t get the payment to where he needed it to be. She didn’t want to take him on a test drive because she was afraid he wouldn’t be happy because he couldn’t afford the car. Instead, she suggested he test drive an Acura.

“She was a terrific salesperson because she didn’t want to create a disappointed customer and she wasn’t going to sell me something that was way beyond my price point,” Ferrara explained.

“As Realtors®, you often have to tell clients that the timing might not be right for them to buy a home, but when their car loans are paid off, it would be a better time to buy,” he said. “You need to give them the information to allow them to make the decision.”

“You need to take pride of ownership of being a salesperson,” he continued. “They will want to refer us because we take our job seriously. I don’t want a reluctant surgeon to operate on me. When you tell your client, ‘You’re going to love working with me because I’m a great salesperson and nothing makes me happier than smiling faces around the closing table,’ they’ll want to refer you. You won’t have to prospect anymore because you will become magnetic.”

A great salesperson has:

• Value to others. The salesperson and the client are partners in achieving both of their goals.
• A strong personal belief about what they do. Great salespeople believe what they do is noble. They’re excited to be at an open house meeting people or making a listing presentation.
• A sense of service. The sales process is not a trick, the service comes as a result of an authentic and transparent sales process.

“More people are entering the field of real estate today because they can control their destiny,” Ferrara said. “Nothing gets done without salespeople. They make the economy run.”