How to Sell More Homes and Increase Your Income
Quick Skim
Could your sales use a jump-start? The new book How to Sell More Homes and Increase Your Income (AuthorHouse, 2007) sets out to help you land in the world of top producers. Curt Fletcher’s book offers a quick read, touching on the techniques that will help you ramp up more sales and improve your relationships with clients. Each chapter ends with a summary of useful tips, everything from marketing strategies to overcoming objections to adjusting your attitude. Bottom line: Generating more sales comes down to better communication and time management.
Buy the Book
From the Book: 5 Ways to Sell More Homes
Fletcher’s book breaks down word-by-word, literally, how to increase your sales. He includes a list of sales words you shouldn’t use with clients – such as “monthly payment” or “buy” – and the alternatives that have more impact, like “monthly investment” and “own/acquire.”
Here are some other tips from the book:
1. Sell yourself. People don’t just purchase products you sell, they buy you. To get that to happen, you must earn their respect so they value your judgment and guidance. Build rapport and common ground, even before the sales presentation. Talk about their children, sports, hobbies, etc. — remember, people like to talk about themselves. Be conversational and welcoming, and be seen. “The more people who see your face or hear your voice, the more they will soon get to know you,” Fletcher says. Then, they trust you, buy from you, and start referring you.
2. Sell your community. Write a success story about your community or a specific location, pinpointing something unique about it. “When you create this rare community appeal, it will create buzz and urgency among your prospects that they need to take advantage of,” Fletcher says. Believe this 100 percent: “I love my community.” Your enthusiasm and excitement will rub off on your clients.
3. Channel the emotional side. Know why buyers buy in the first place so you can target
those emotional strings. Common reasons people buy are: Convenience, culture, recreation, romance, investment, security, privacy, prestige, family, finance, ego, or lifestyle. Listen to your prospects’ emotional needs and then gear your presentation and community benefits to fit those needs.
4. Qualify prospects. This is the quickest and easiest way to increase your income – not to mention, it’ll save you time in showing homes that buyers really can’t afford. Ask questions that pertain to their investment range. Ask whether anybody has ever sat down with them to show them their buying power – a position that takes you from salesperson to trusted adviser and consultant. Learn the basic loan types and stay current on interest rates so you can help determine what they really can afford.
5. Close ‘em. Close on everything from the community, to the home, home site, to payment range, Fletcher says. Do they like the home? Do they want it? Can they afford it? Do they want to start enjoying the home’s benefits? Once you get a “Yes” to these questions, there’s really only one question left: “Would you like to move forward with purchasing this home today?” If it’s “no,” at least you tried and freed up your time to target the next prospect. Otherwise, “the sale you miss today will cost you sales tomorrow.”
Sneak Peek
“Aside from being in the people business, we are also in the overcoming-rejection business. On average, statistics show that it takes about 20 prospects to gain one sale; therefore we hear the word ‘no,’ at least 19 times before we hear one ‘yes.’
With this information, I have also come to the conclusion that top sales professionals are experts in understanding one simple principle. Basically, they understand that the more ‘nos’ they hear, the more sales they eventually make. So ‘no’ becomes a motivator to finding the ‘yes.’”
About the Author
Curt Fletcher, also known as "The Likeability Guy," is the author of several books about increasing your likeability and your new home sales business.
Have a question for author Curt Fletcher? Fletcher will be responding to your questions during an upcoming author chat on the blog. Press on the button below and submit your question by Jan. 31. Fletcher will be responding to several of the questions on Feb. 4 so stay tuned!
Real estate pros share with us what books they're currently reading and whether it's worth the read. 
Here are the latest top selling books about business and investing, according to 
