Selling: Tap into your intuitive powers
by Danielle Kennedy
Author of "Balancing Acts: An Inspirational Guide for Working Mothers"
Do you follow your intuition? All of us, regardless of our gender, possess little voices inside us that say, “Pick up the phone and call those past customers now.” And when you do make the call, isn’t it interesting to hear those customers say, “We were just talking about you; we have a lead for you.”
Don’t question your inner voice.
Have faith that the clues coming from within you are reliable. In fact, there are ways to turn up the volume on your intuition and boost your income.
Quiet your mind. Go to a peaceful place, preferably in the morning. Get in a relaxed position, empty your mind of all thoughts, and be still in the silence. If you find it difficult to block out distractions, concentrate on listening to your breathing.
Getting easily distracted can be a sign of stress, and creativity and intuition can’t thrive when you’re stressed. Stress isn’t a physical problem (though it can manifest itself in physical ailments). It’s mental and best described in this situation as uncontrolled thoughts allowed to run randomly through your head.
It takes energy to do battle with those thoughts, but until you do, you won’t be able to relax enough to come up with effective ways to solve problems.
Take action. Once you clear your mind, you’ll find that new ideas begin flowing through it. Take those ideas seriously.
When I was actively selling, I prospected tons of FSBOs. They change their minds frequently, so it’s always good to stay in touch. When my inner voice said, “Check in with Joe Homeowner,” I paid attention.
There’s nothing wrong with saying to the prospect, “A little voice told me to check in and see how your selling plan is going. Don’t forget, I’m waiting in the wings in case you decide to activate Plan B.”
Keep it a secret at first. Until you test out your intuition and begin to feel comfortable trusting it, don’t tell people what your inner detector is revealing to you. Your intuition needs to be tested, because you’re using it on customers who can be fickle.
Like everything else in sales, it’s a numbers game. Often your intuition will be right, but at other times, people will go in a different direction. It makes it easier when we haven’t shared our intuition with the world. We don’t need anyone else’s input on whether the inner voice is a reliable source.
Improvise, then systematize. When you follow your intuition, spontaneous solutions surface in your conversations. Know that improvisation is a direct result of good listening skills.
For example, let’s say you run into a past customer who says to you, “By the way, we want to thank you. We love our new home.” The intuitive practitioner will subconsciously turn that past customer’s remark into a future closing monologue.
At the very next opportunity, perhaps at the next closing, the intuitive sales associate will find the appropriate moment to say, “Someday you’re going to say ‘Thank you’ to me. I hear those words frequently. You see, I live in this community. I’ll run into you at the grocery store and other places, so I have to make sure you’ll thank me. After all, I’ll be asking for future referrals, and I intend to build a long-term relationship with you.”
I used that message with customers. Initially, it was a spontaneous remark. But later I turned it into a standard closing monologue. It became part of my system, and I hope it’ll become part of yours, too.
These are just a few ways you can improve your intuitive selling powers. All you need to do is stay tuned to that little voice inside you that says, “Pay attention!”
Danielle Kennedy is a consultant and speaker on real estate sales and marketing topics. Her books include Seven Figure Selling, Balancing Acts: An Inspirational Guide for Working Mothers, Double Your Income in Real Estate Sales, and How to List and Sell Real Estate in the 21st Century.
This article was published in REALTOR Magazine on: 9/1/2001
Author of "Balancing Acts: An Inspirational Guide for Working Mothers"
Do you follow your intuition? All of us, regardless of our gender, possess little voices inside us that say, “Pick up the phone and call those past customers now.” And when you do make the call, isn’t it interesting to hear those customers say, “We were just talking about you; we have a lead for you.”
Don’t question your inner voice.
Have faith that the clues coming from within you are reliable. In fact, there are ways to turn up the volume on your intuition and boost your income.
Quiet your mind. Go to a peaceful place, preferably in the morning. Get in a relaxed position, empty your mind of all thoughts, and be still in the silence. If you find it difficult to block out distractions, concentrate on listening to your breathing.
Getting easily distracted can be a sign of stress, and creativity and intuition can’t thrive when you’re stressed. Stress isn’t a physical problem (though it can manifest itself in physical ailments). It’s mental and best described in this situation as uncontrolled thoughts allowed to run randomly through your head.
It takes energy to do battle with those thoughts, but until you do, you won’t be able to relax enough to come up with effective ways to solve problems.
Take action. Once you clear your mind, you’ll find that new ideas begin flowing through it. Take those ideas seriously.
When I was actively selling, I prospected tons of FSBOs. They change their minds frequently, so it’s always good to stay in touch. When my inner voice said, “Check in with Joe Homeowner,” I paid attention.
There’s nothing wrong with saying to the prospect, “A little voice told me to check in and see how your selling plan is going. Don’t forget, I’m waiting in the wings in case you decide to activate Plan B.”
Keep it a secret at first. Until you test out your intuition and begin to feel comfortable trusting it, don’t tell people what your inner detector is revealing to you. Your intuition needs to be tested, because you’re using it on customers who can be fickle.
Like everything else in sales, it’s a numbers game. Often your intuition will be right, but at other times, people will go in a different direction. It makes it easier when we haven’t shared our intuition with the world. We don’t need anyone else’s input on whether the inner voice is a reliable source.
Improvise, then systematize. When you follow your intuition, spontaneous solutions surface in your conversations. Know that improvisation is a direct result of good listening skills.
For example, let’s say you run into a past customer who says to you, “By the way, we want to thank you. We love our new home.” The intuitive practitioner will subconsciously turn that past customer’s remark into a future closing monologue.
At the very next opportunity, perhaps at the next closing, the intuitive sales associate will find the appropriate moment to say, “Someday you’re going to say ‘Thank you’ to me. I hear those words frequently. You see, I live in this community. I’ll run into you at the grocery store and other places, so I have to make sure you’ll thank me. After all, I’ll be asking for future referrals, and I intend to build a long-term relationship with you.”
I used that message with customers. Initially, it was a spontaneous remark. But later I turned it into a standard closing monologue. It became part of my system, and I hope it’ll become part of yours, too.
These are just a few ways you can improve your intuitive selling powers. All you need to do is stay tuned to that little voice inside you that says, “Pay attention!”
Danielle Kennedy is a consultant and speaker on real estate sales and marketing topics. Her books include Seven Figure Selling, Balancing Acts: An Inspirational Guide for Working Mothers, Double Your Income in Real Estate Sales, and How to List and Sell Real Estate in the 21st Century.
This article was published in REALTOR Magazine on: 9/1/2001
posted by Coach Cheri at
8:24 PM
