The 5 Links In The Chain of Effective Sales, with Floyd Wickman, Ep #5

There are only 5 jobs in the sales business. Finding prospects, converting them to appointments, control the appointment, present, pricing, and then close. But a lot of people don't realize those are like links in a chain. The effectiveness of any salesperson is as strong or as week as their weakest link. ~ Floyd Wickman

In real estate, effectiveness in sales is of paramount importance. It takes more than just being a friendly and helpful person to take a person from being a lead to a closed sale and a happy customer. In this episode, Floyd Wickman joins Melissa to discuss his experience as a real estate agent, how he learned sales himself after a miserable start of only 5 sales in his first year in the business, how he became a trainer and teacher of sales skills, and why the 5 links in the chain of effective sales have to be focused on one at a time until all are mastered. Floyd is a legend in the real estate training world and you will gain valuable insights from this conversation.

Until you get face to face with people, you're not going to do much business

Sales is not a business that can be done effectively over the phone or via email. Though those are definitely tools to be used, the key Floyd Wickman has learned is to get eye to eye with a person in order to establish a basis of trust and cooperation. That's where things like body language, facial expressions, and demeanor play such an important role in putting leads or prospects at ease. In this conversation, Floyd explains how he built his sales philosophy around his personal core values and why being face to face with prospects is so vital.

Find prospects - make appointments - control the appointment - price - close

Floyd Wickman says there are only 5 steps to effective sales and in his mind, they are like links in a chain. But what most people don't realize is that the weakest link in that chain is what is going to deter or determine their level of success. What are the 5 links?

1. Find prospects: the act of locating people to talk with.
2. Convert people into appointments: making arrangements to meet and chat about their needs.
3. Control the appointment: leading the prospect through a conversation that reveals their needs and your ability to help.
4. Price: establishing an agreement on what your services will cost and/or how their property will be valued for sale.
5. Close: Asking for the business.

Floyd explains these during this conversation, so be sure you listen.

Are you asking the "magic question" of everyone you meet?

One of the things Melissa was sure to ask Floyd was what advice he'd give to a struggling real estate agent. His advice is that they need to make sure they are asking every person they meet, what he calls, the magic question. Here it is: "If I were to ask you to refer me, would you do it?" In Floyd's philosophy, you're asking people a question that is easy to answer. Most people, simply out of kindness, will answer positively. That's when you have to know how to follow up the magic question with an appropriate way to probe their knowledge of people who are in need of your real estate expertise. Floyd explains a handful of ways you can do it during this conversation.

The success of your open houses depends on getting this right

Open houses are our strong suit here at Spacio, so it was important to discover what Floyd recommends to agents who want to increase the success and productivity of their open houses. Floyd's advice was very basic but powerful - get a name and establish a rapport upon which follow up with each person will feel natural. You'll do well to listen because Floyd explains a very simple survey he often uses at his open house events that enables the people who attend to provide their information in a non-threatening way where they receive something valuable in return.

Here's What You'll Learn:

• [0:57] Here's how Floyd Wickman typically introduces himself
• [2:50] An uncommon path into the real estate industry
• [3:35] Personal core values fuel Floyd's philosophy about sales
• [6:46] The common obstacles salespeople experience
• [9:51] What does it mean to learn to sell?
• [16:22] How can agents differentiate themselves among their peers?
• [20:21] The power of having some method of personal accountability
• [23:44] Strategies for running more successful and productive open houses

Connect with Floyd Wickman

• Floyd Wickman Training
• Floyd Wickman Leadership Coaching
• Floyd (at) FloydWickman.com

Connect With Spacio

• hello (@) spac.io

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