In this week’s PowerShots™ video, Head Coach John Gualtieri discusses “show me business” – what it is, why we shouldn’t do it, and how to deal with it. If you want to avoid “gunning” in your Real Estate Practice, listen to this weekly PowerShots™ video below…

‘”Show Me” Business’

We need to understand that there will be more “show me” business in a declining Real Estate Marketplace. “Show me business” will be the buyers we encounter, that will buy a property, if they can steal it! If you can find them or show them an incredible value, maybe they’ll buy it. A “show me” Seller on the other hand, is one who will say, “If I can get a certain price I’ll sell”. Usually their price is ridiculously high! These “show me” clients will not commit as buyers and sellers until the conditions are perfect. Although there is a certain amount of this “show me” (i.e. “show me the perfect deal”) type of business in every market condition, it is especially common in down markets, and can be most notably discovered in the investor arena. It’s not uncommon for an Investor to approach an Agent in a market downturn, and describe the “deal” that they’re after, which usually turns out to be “the deal of the century.”

Rather than looking for better prospects, many Agents think they can find the right conditions of satisfaction for this type of client. The challenge is that often we don’t ask enough questions to find out the “true” conditions of satisfaction. Only engage with these types of clients if you know exactly what they want to accomplish. Then confirm it with them by asking, “If I do this and this and this, what will you do?” You will then know if you have a committed client or not. Then engage the client only if you truly believe that you can perform in the pre-agreed upon manner and terms. Sales is a risk and reward business, so you must be skilled at accessing the risk against the anticipated reward.

Too many Agents will spend precious time and resources on “show me” type business that is going nowhere. All too often, an Agent will conduct searches on the MLS, show property, and even draft ridiculous offers in an effort to “get lucky.” In basketball there is a term called “gunning.” It means that a player on the court will throw up a shot at the basket, when the conditions simply aren’t ripe to take that shot. A player who is “gunning” is hoping to get lucky, and have a shot drop into the hoop. So he or she will keep throwing up poor shots, in the hope that one will magically fall into the basket, which seldom happens.

Don’t be gunning with “show me” type clients, unless of course, you have a very realistic chance of earning a commission. Gunning just isn’t going to cut it in Real Estate sales, and this fact is especially true in tough markets. In tough markets, we need to focus our actions and activities with laser beam precision. We need to be especially prudent with the expenditure of our precious resources of time, energy, and money.

Simply learn to say “no” to unrealistic clients – be polite, be professional, but most of all be honest. In our Real Estate Practices, we simply can’t afford to work with “show me business.”