Real estate coach and performance mentor, Claudio Encina is in the hot seat answering your most pressing questions around everything to do with sales productivity and process.
Q. How do I deal with difficult vendors?
– Matt Marano, Oxford Real Estate Darlinghurst
Claudio says: Some people can be difficult, including vendors, but if you have empathy you will be able to put yourself in your client’s shoes.
Empathy is one of the key ingredients of top salespeople. Vendor empathy is a differentiator; it builds credibility, trust and helps you develop a long-lasting relationship. Empathy allows a salesperson to view the world from the prospect’s eyes to see where the problem is. But there are other reasons why empathy is important to the entire sales process.
It builds trust. Successful sales agents will tell you it is absolutely necessary to build lasting relationships. Empathy shows that you care about the client and you want to help them. The more you show empathy towards their plight, the more trust you will build. Don’t underestimate the power of empathy in this regard.
It’s a differentiator. Being empathetic will help you stand out from the other dozen salespeople that the prospect has already met. This is because you are showing them from the very beginning that you are here to help, not make a sale. Many agents use the heavy and aggressive vendor style management of bashing them down on price, which can leave a stale experience. Remember, it’s how you make the vendor feel, not what you say!
It builds credibility. Showing empathy ensures that you take the time to listen and understand before offering a solution to their problem.
Lastly, I would say you want to be aware of your own emotions on the matter. Do you want to make this sale? Yes, absolutely. But that is short-term thinking. Long term would be helping the client and building a lasting relationship. Your emotions can distract you from the real reason you are there: to help them. Be mindful of that and you should be fine.
