Are you driving your customers crazy???

No sales professional would ever do or say anything that would intentionally antagonize a prospect. But what about those unintentional miscues? Whether you've offended on purpose or in innocence, the result is likely to be the same: Antagonize the prospect - lose the sale.

Reflect back on your recent turndowns. Did you make an effective presentation? Did the prospect have an open dialog with you? Did you listen to the prospect's important needs? If there's nothing amiss in your presentation or service, perhaps the prospects decided it's you they could do without. Take a moment and check some areas where your presence perhaps has been less than welcome.

1. When you meet with the prospect, do your manners go out the window? A frequent complaint of buyers is that some agents fail to use common courtesy - sitting down before being invited to do so, cutting off the prospect in the middle of a sentence, being late for an appointment, complaining when kept waiting beyond the appointed time are just a few forms of bad manners. Keep in mind, you never get the second chance to make a favorable first impression.

2. Are you too polite? In a sincere attempt not to rub the prospect the wrong way, you could move too far in the other direction. Politeness helps create a friendly, sales-producing environment but an overdose of friendliness and compliments can lose you the prospect's respect and kill the sale.

3. How deep is your knowledge? You cannot impress a prospect with mere superficial information that can be found on the Internet or in brochures and other literature about your agency and your services. A professional salesperson must be able to provide answers to what buyers want to know - why they need you, how your services will solve their problem, how you will work with the prospect, and what can be expected from you and your company during the search, negotiating and after the sale process. That's consultative selling.

4. Do you go beyond features? If your presentation focuses solely on your personal services, the prospect must determine whether they can use all or part of your entire list. Many won't bother to do that. Buyers are interested in features but they are far more interested in benefits and advantages those features represent to them . Always remember the prospect is thinking WIIFM ? What's In It For Me? Do your homework. Before your initial meeting with the client, learn everything you can about their needs, interests, and personal information. Then in your first face-to-face meeting, ask more specific questions to convert your knowledge and services into benefits and advantages that will meet their needs.

5. Are your calls too often or not often enough? Call too often and you can become an annoyance. Don't call often enough and you're perceived as not interested in their business. A simple rule to remember: Base your call schedules on each customer's desire. Some want periodic updates through the negotiating, inspection and loan approval; others want to know details of every step. Take care that you tailor your calls to the prospect's wishes.

6. Do you keep your promises? Closely examine the statements you're using in discussing the purchasing process. Do you make offhand remarks that you soon forget but the buyer takes as promises? Your casual assurance may win you the sale, but it will probably also create a dissatisfied client. Never promise what you can't deliver. In fact, the old adage, "Under promise, over deliver," still works.

Remember, you are part of the package the prospect considers in buying their home.