Get More Listings with Checklists, Scripts and Presentations
The Importance of Checklists and Procedures
In 1934, a couple of years before the start of the second World War, the U.S. Army was evaluating aircrafts for their Air Corps.
Boeing, at that time a relatively young company, was on the brink of bankruptcy. The manufacturer entered the competition with their B-17 Flying Fortress. Winning the bid would mean saving the company. Luckily, early tests were passed with flying colors and many considered these final evaluations mere formalities.
Two experienced Army pilots took the commands and took off in front of evaluators. As the plane was climbing smoothly, it suddenly stalled, turned on one wing and fell, crashing into flames on the ground.
The investigation found “Pilot Error” as the cause of the accident, since the pilots neglected to unlock the elevator lock prior to take off. While some considered the aircraft out-of-the-running, with some newspapers dubbing it as “too much plane for one man to fly”, 12 units were delivered to the Army. However, any further accidents would mean the end of its career as a military airplane.
The pilots sat down and came up with a solution to avoid any further accidents and thus, the pilot’s checklist was born.
As it turns out, the plane was not too much of a plane for one man to fly, only too much to remember. With the checklist in place, the 12 original planes flew several million miles without any serious accidents. The Army went on to order over 12’000 airplanes and the B17 became the most widely used aircraft in WWII.
Checklists and procedures are so important that they have since become ubiquitous in business, aviation, healthcare and anywhere where reliability and effectiveness is key.
Why not apply the same strategic method to your prospecting to ensure you don’t miss anything?
Checklists
When prospecting, it’s incredibly important to keep your self organized, and there’s no better way to do this than with a checklist. You need to keep track of who you’re contacting, when you’re contacting them, what method of contact you’re using, and how many times you’re going to be in touch. Create a plan for each of these steps and then use that checklist with each of your prospects to make sure you never miss an opportunity. Once you’ve won a client, use a checklist to ensure you don’t miss any key aspects of your service. Done properly, you’ll have well oiled machine running that generates consistent, repeat business.
Phone Scripts
There is a better way to make phone calls and have conversations with your seller leads. This method comes through careful scripting and consistent repetition of the right things to say that will ensure your leads become clients. Create a script, write it down and start using it. Make sure that you rehearse it and that you iterate on it in the light of new evidence so that it gets better everyday. Share your script with the rest of your team if you aren’t the only one making phone calls and role play it together to continue to improve your skills on the phone.
Listing Presentations
The same words about scripting are true for your listing presentations. Find the best way to give your presentation and document it. Create a presentation document that you can go through with your clients. This will serve both as a document about your services that your clients can keep, but also as a guide that helps you remember every key point that you need to make during the discussion. Constantly work to improve this document and your pitch to go with it.
Key Takeaways
Stop improvising every time and don’t let your prospecting be determined by chance. Instead, document what has worked in the past, write your scripts, learn them, rehearse them and deliver them with perfection every time.
Happy prospecting!
