If you don’t ask, you will not get. This principle is so old it’s biblical.
I watched this principle in action by the most professional, service-oriented real estate sales agent ever to sell real estate. Her name is Doria, now retired.
She always had something good going for her, no matter what. She just got a listing, made a sale, was going to a closing, meeting a prospect. Doria was always willing to help other agents and share her knowledge. There wasn’t a greedy bone in her body, but competitive? That’s another story.
I asked her one day what her secret was. She said, “No matter where I am, I always ask the people I meet if they happen to know someone who is thinking of buying or selling a home.”
Then she proceeded to tell me about the prospect she had just sold a $300,000 condominium to. She met them while at dinner the day after she listed it. While at dinner, she engaged the couple at the next table in conversation, then told them she had just listed a 3-bedroom condominium that day and wondered if they may know someone who might be interested in buying one.
As it turns out, they did not know anyone, but they themselves were interested and bought it.
When I commented on how impressed I was with her focus on asking people for their business, she said, “Do you have any idea what ‘not asking’ would cost me? By not asking this couple I would have lost a commission of around $8,000. Not asking can be very expensive.”
“We have not, because we ask not,” she added. “This condo sale is a perfect example of the principle. Most of the agents don’t believe this to be true, but I do. That’s why I ask.”
The Lesson: Ask for the business, then expect to get it.
By the way, do you know someone who might benefit from learning how to build a new homes niche? Thank you in advance for the referral.
