In the book, The Lost Art of Closing written by Anthoy Iannarino, he connects closing to commitment. It really simplifies what we are here to do in our industry. Anthony says “No one should ever ask for commitment by email.”  It is too easy to say “NO” by email.  Think about how easy it is to reject someone by email.  In fact, most of us try to say all of our “no’s” by email as well.

The 6 Steps to Secure Commitment will help in your training for closing situations.

1. ASK early and ASK only for time

• I’m calling today to see if you had 15 minutes so that I could show you…

• I’m calling today to ask you for 30 minutes of your time so that I can share with you four things that will help you get your home sold…

• Let them know upfront that you’re going to call

2. Expect and Prepare for a “No”

• You can always expect someone to say “no” for a request for time. It’s reflexive. The “no” is a freebie.  

3.  Promise Value Without A Pitch

• Offer value with no further obligation. You can offer to host their home open virtually if they are a FSBO. You can send them a link to one of your virtual opens so they can see how to do one themselves.

4. Ask Again

• Play the long game. This isn’t a battle of wills. Don’t try and hard-core close with them. Do not force someone into an appointment.

5. Lower The Commitment Level

• If they wont give you 30 minutes, would they give you 15 minutes?  Would they allow you to show them something digitally? 

6.  Promise Not To Waste Their Time

• “I promise, I’ll keep it to 30 minutes and I won’t waste your time”. When you meet, remind them of your promise, keep track of time! If they say “I don’t have time”, say “I imagined you would be very busy. Most of our clients are and we are always working on how to help them reclaim some of it…” Don’t allow them to say “email me the information”.  It’s a hang up and they will delete the email.