Do You Need Real Estate Scripts?
Real estate scripts.
Everyone wants the magic set of words that will get them the appointment or sale every time. Memorizing the right script is all it takes to increase your conversions and become a successful ISA, right?
If only it were that easy!
The truth is that there is no magic real estate script that ISAs and agents can use that will work 100% of the time, regardless of who they are speaking with, and what their specific circumstances are. In reality, call scripts are only useful and effective as part of a wider conversion system and strategy to turn more no’s into yes’s on your calls.
Different Types of Real Estate Scripts
Before we dive into how to incorporate scripts into your strategy and discuss when scripts are useful and when they aren’t, let’s go over the different types of real estate scripts and what makes a good one.
First, there are two broad categories of scripts that every real estate agent and ISA needs: one for inbound leads and one for outbound. In addition to those, there should also be special scripts for unusual leads like probate, home valuations, and specific scripts for unique offers.
The most important thing for all of them, however, is that each needs to be tailored to the type of lead you’ll be speaking with. The way you speak to and address a lead is different for people who have sought you out (inbound leads) and for people who you are essentially calling out of the blue (outbound leads).
Second, a good script is one that is straight to the point, asks great questions of the prospect, and has a close that contains a great value proposition. It also needs to not be too wordy and should mostly prompt the lead to do the talking.
Because script or no script, the key to a successful call is understanding what the lead is trying to accomplish, understanding what is preventing them from accomplishing it, and what their own existing plan is to overcome those obstacles.
Scripts Alone Aren’t Enough
Real estate scripts are useful to keep your calls on track and to make sure you are remembering to ask all the necessary questions and gather all the required information. But at the end of the day, scripts are more for beginner ISAs. Primarily because they don’t have the experience that more seasoned ISAs have and so to be successful, they have to rely on tried and tested templates that increase their chances of converting the different types of leads.
More experienced ISAs, on the other hand, know the basics of speaking with outbound and inbound leads, and probably have developed a decent repertoire of questions and responses. More than scripts, seasoned real estate ISAs and agents need to hone and perfect their discovery, objection handling, and closing skills. This is where we come to using scripts as part of a wider conversion system.
Have a Real Conversation
At Smart Inside Sales, we emphasize that your sales calls need to revolve around actual conversations that are enjoyable and productive for both parties. This means that, especially as you get more experienced, you cannot rely solely on pre-programmed responses. Each situation is different and you need to be able to respond appropriately and intelligently to each unique conversation on every call.
For this, we developed a technique to handle objections and to get to the heart of what the lead wants that goes beyond scripts, called the PPO Process. PPO stands for Perspective Process Outcome.
The lead’s perspective is their past experience, knowledge and speculation.
The prospect’s process is their own plan that they have for their situation. The process is typically what will lead to an objection. They have their plan and you are not a part of it in their mind, so they turn you down.
And finally, the outcome. This is the unique result or benefit the prospect believes their process will deliver for them.
Confidently Deal with Objections
Perspective, process, and outcome are the three things that make up any objection. The key here is to understand these three parts of the objection from the lead’s point of view, not just from your own. Below are the five most critical aspects of dealing with an objection once they tell you it:
- Acknowledge – Listen to what they say and let them know that you understand it.
- Paraphrase – Restate what they said without leading and without interpretation.
- Inquire into their perspective, process, and outcome – This is where you dig into their thought process how they see it. Get them to walk you through their knowledge, plan, and the unique thing they hope to accomplish. These are the three things you need to know in order to counter their objection, so ask questions that get you the answers.
- Determine the unique benefit or result they hope to achieve – this is their sought after outcome.
- Close if appropriate – Close if the lead does not bring up another objection as a result of the PPO process or if it becomes obvious that meeting is the next logical step in your conversation.
Follow this process, understand where the lead’s objection is coming from (from their own point of view), and respond in a way that makes sense given their perspective and goal.
Scripts as Part of an Overall System & Strategy
Real estate scripts are valuable as a general outline of how to approach the different types of leads and to make sure you are hitting all the points you need to hit. This is especially true for newer ISAs who are still learning the finer points of cold calling, sales calls, and converting leads over the phone.
They can’t, however, be the only thing in your wheelhouse. There are no magic scripts that will help you convert every time with every lead. Each conversation is different. To increase your success you have to focus on learning to deal with objections and how to get to the core of what the lead wants. Scripts are helpful to use as a general outline in case you get stuck on a call, but the key is focusing on having real conversations and producing real value for the lead.Â