Where is the Passion?

I am wondering to myself how many times I will walk in a store or call some sort of service provider to be greeted with....."hello, my name is blah....how can I help you today?"

The thought that I have is two-fold:

1. That is the same generic question everyone for every company asks.


2. Why do you have zero emotion in your voice?

If you have no desire for what you are doing, STOP doing it!

There are lots of things that you can do so wasting the time away being miserable is not worth it.

Try something different...perhaps one of these phrases with some BIG EMOTION in your voice!

"Thank you for calling! I'm [insert name], how may I benefit you today!"

"Welcome to [Insert Workplace], I'm [Insert Name]! What would you like to Accomplish Today?!"

Instead of saying "hello" first, try thanking / welcoming first. It is disarming and polite. It is a subtle way to open a conversation that feels more comfortable.

Sometimes "hello" sounds like you are disturbing someone or bothering them...it can make the person that is needing help feel like a nuisance....depending of course on Passion and Voice Inflection.

Try it. See what kind of results you get. You won't be disappointed!

Curt Fletcher is a Real Estate Expert, New Home Sales Professional, Published Author of the book, "How To Sell More Homes and Increase Your Income," Sales Trainer, and Professional Speaker that focuses on improving your Likeability to increase your Opportunities for Success!

When Training Works!

If you want to be a better golfer, you have to practice hitting golf balls.

If you want to be a better basketball player, you have to shoot more baskets.

If you want to be a better quarterback, you throw more footballs.

If you want to be a better hitter, you hit more baseballs.

Obvious right?

Why is it that most people only equate improving skills to athletic competition?

If you want to be a better sales person, you MUST practice that too!

Here are 3 items that WILL improve your sales skills:

Read positive books and articles about self-improvement

Improvement will happen because it is a proven fact the more confident you are in your own ability, the more success you will have in your endeavors.

Prepare yourself in advance for the most common objections you hear

If you sell anything, you know that objections are merely a defense mechanism that are designed to gain more information. You CAN also plan in ADVANCE for the objections you will hear. Perhaps not all of them, but most of them.

Learn to Listen Before Responding

No effective communication can take place without properly listening. Don't wait to talk, actually listen so you can respond. This takes discipline and effort to do it effectively.

Curt Fletcher is a Real Estate Expert, New Home Sales Professional, Published Author of the book, "How To Sell More Homes and Increase Your Income," Sales Trainer, and Professional Speaker that focuses on improving your Likeability to increase your Opportunities for Success!

How to Set an Appointment!

One of the quickest ways to increase your sales and income is learning to set an appointment correctly.

Are you one of the sales professionals that delivers a good presentation, and at the conclusion asks the prospect when they will be back in? Maybe you get a reply of “later in the week,” and you respond with “okay, I’ll see you then.”

Does that seem like a good method?

You probably do not get very many returning prospects with that approach. Recent studies show that 70% of prospects do not return for a second visit without a firm appointment. However, those prospects with a set appointment return and purchase 50% of the time.

Wow! You spend all that time with a prospect and 70% of the time, you will never see them again. Are you interested in learning the correct technique?

Rule # 1: Know when your prospects are coming back.

You do not want to have them show up randomly on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon. This is your prime fishing time for new future buyers. Spending this time with an unannounced prospect return eats into your future sales.

How to do this:

Have a reason for a return visit. You do not have to show off all your knowledge on the first visit. If you cannot close a buyer on the first visit, be smart with the information that you provide. Hold back a few key details that they have questions about.

If there are no questions at the conclusion of their visit and they don’t buy, you are not doing a good enough job at discovering their buying objections.

The two best ways to ensure a return appointment are Urgency and Benefits. Provide Value and people will return.

Reasons for an appointment:

• Unable to show a particular home


• Unable to show a certain homesite


• Unable to get certain pricing on luxury features


• Come back for financing details


• Price Increase


• Incentives Expiring

I will repeat this line. If you are unable to close the sale, hold back some of the above information for a follow-up.

When you call them, say something to the effect of, “In order to give you the time and attention that you deserve….”

Remember, you need to create urgency and benefits, beginning your statement like I have written above; you make the prospect feel important by the value you will provide them at the appointment.

How To Set The Appointment

Use the Alternate Choice Close.

Say something like this, “Since I know you love the home and that beautiful homesite, I would hate for you to be upset with me if I didn’t inform you that our prices are increasing on Monday. With that in mind, when is a better time for you to come back and review this great opportunity? Is Tuesday at 6:00 PM good, or would Wednesday at 11:00 AM be better?”

Don’t talk again, until they respond.

Try this for one month and watch your sales grow!

Curt Fletcher is a Real Estate Expert, New Home Sales Professional, Published Author of the book, "How To Sell More Homes and Increase Your Income," Sales Trainer, and Professional Speaker that focuses on improving your Likeability to increase your Opportunities for Success!

Come decision time, Likeability is often the deciding factor!

Likeability is a learned skill that will allow you to obtain all of your dreams, goals, and exceed your wildest expectations. It is the ability to be known and selected over others with similar or greater skills. Being Likeable leads to greater opportunity that turns to leadership and creates significance.

10 TIPS to improving Likeability

1. Smile More-More Smiling instantly lightens your appearance making you more likeable and more approachable.
2. Introduce yourself to the "new guy" first-This simple action makes people feel welcome and also places you in a position to be a leader.
3. Offer Assistance without being asked-This action alone will make you stand out and increase your Likeability by leaps and bounds. It is a fleeting practice.
4. Open doors for people-People notice the little subtle acts such as opening doors. You never know who is walking behind you. If you can just pay attention for 2 seconds while you walk through a door to glance around, you may just make someones day a little better.
5. Get better at self-deprecating humor-This shows confidence, humor and makes you more human. Poke fun at yourself and your Likeability Rating will soar! Use a bit of sense here though, too much of this shows low confidence which will have the opposite effect.
6. Understand that you don't actually now all the answers-The know it all soon becomes very lonely in just about any setting. The first thing that leaders understand is that they don't know all the answers.
7. Be open to the possibility that you are not right....all the time-This differs from #6 in that people that always have to be correct also come across as combative and argumentative. These people are always arguing their point without the slightest awareness that someone else may also have a point.
8. Be Positive-Positivity is infectious. More Positive=More Likeable
9. Speak with Enthusiasm--Buehler...Buehler...Buehler...Not so much. Monotone is boring. The average attention span is not long enough to fight through a boring and monotone voice. Enthusiasm is contagious. Enthusiasm = Passion.
10. Be Proactive-Be a go-getter. Being Proactive serves as motivation for others. They will notice your progress, respect your ability, and want to help you achieve your goal.

Curt Fletcher is a Real Estate Expert, New Home Sales Professional, Published Author of the book, "How To Sell More Homes and Increase Your Income," Sales Trainer, and Professional Speaker

The TRUTH about the Housing Market!

It seems day after day, I read story after story that promotes the downfall of the housing market. I see where homes are losing value and mortgages are more difficult to obtain.

There is only one problem with stories like these. They are NOT an actual representation of the housing market!!

For some reason it has become acceptable and almost expected to tell false blanket stories that project a very negative and false picture of the housing economy.

Is it true that housing has lost value in parts of California?....YES!
Is it true that home values have decreased over parts of the East and West Coast?....YES!
Is it true that the Economic conditions for job growth in Detroit are difficult?....YES!

As a Real Estate Expert in Texas I can tell you that these issues that are being faced in other parts of the country have little to no effect in the Texas market.

These are the FACTS!

• 262,000 NEW Jobs created from April of 07' to April of 08'!
• 11,000 NEW People move to the Dallas / Fort Worth Metroplex EVERY Month!
• Homes are NOT Losing Value on a wide scale.

So then why is it acceptable to issue Negative Blanket Statements for the Housing Industry to the Public?

In any other aspect of life, accepting blanket statements and stereotypes is considered the lowest form of journalism, is unethical, and is for the most part ignorant.

If Housing is down in Miami, does that mean it is also down in Dallas?.....NO! That makes NO sense!

If crime is high in Washington DC, does that mean crime is also high in Trophy Club, TX?....NO! That makes NO Sense!

The Media Needs to stop trying to Localize a National Issue. It is both inaccurate and Dangerous. The negative news flow is hindering the housing market across the nation by fear mongering and scaring the public.

THE TRUTH ABOUT what the media is doing is this:
In Texas and other very solid markets around the country, people are waiting to purchase homes because they HEAR the market is bad. They are waiting to purchase because the NEWS tells them prices will keep falling.

Only one problem....IT'S WRONG!

The TRUTH in TEXAS

• Prices WILL begin to rise very soon. With higher gas prices come higher building costs--just like anything else you purchase.
• Interest Rates will be going back UP to their normal range. 5% and 6% Mortgage Rates are NOT the norm.
• The LONGER you are told to wait...the HIGHER the cost to you.

The TRUTH about Interest Rates

• 20-Year Average is 7.3%
• 30-Year Average is 8.8%
• Pre 9/11 Average back to 1990 is 7.67%
• POST 9/11 Average is 6.23%
• *9/11 Shocked the world. Rates were lowered to stimulate buying to spur the economy and lower consumer fear.

The time has come to end the False Stories and the Negative Information Exchange. It is doing nothing except promote a poor economy, costing Americans more of their future money (the cost of waiting), and perpetuate a growing feeling of insecurity.