How to Be a Top Producer

What is Important to Real Estate Brokers

I have no doubt that Tina Caul is correct about everything she says.  She is a master of client acquisition and script reading.  She calls this video Secrets to Becoming a Top Realtor.  But there is not one word about conveying real property in it.  Not one.

Message:  Becoming a top real estate broker has absolutely nothing to do with conveying real property.

At the end she says:  If you are a brand new agent, the first thing I would say to do is go learn a listing presentation script.  Not go learn the contract – Rather, go learn a listing script.  Not, go learn a neighborhood, study an appraisal or home inspection, take a technology or accounting class, attend a local re-zoning meeting, read a book on negotiation, etc.  You know, the whole range of knowledge and experience and expertise that is useful and helpful for serving clients.

No, no:  Go learn a script.

Why?  For these agents it is simply not about conveying real property.  For them, the entire business is client acquisition.  This is the ball game.

So I would argue that the reason brokers need scripts is because they are completely incompetent at conveying real property and have no desire to become competent.  Think about it:  If you are only marginally competent (at anything), you don't need a script to have a conversation about it.  Scripts are a crutch for the pretender.

Wondering where she turns for scripts and so-called coaching?  These guys.  Yes really.  Sure, they seem like a parody of everything wrong with the real estate business and how brokers conduct themselves.  But sadly, it's not parody.  Brokers use these methods because they work.

This says as much about American consumers as it does about real estate brokers.  In polling, Americans don't think very highly of brokers.  But I submit that the reason they think so little of brokers is directly related to the type of brokers they tend to hire.  If you hire a shallow, low-substance, script-reader, do not be surprised if you have an unsatisfactory experience.

Here, I would like to say, You get what you pay for.  But that tried-and-true adage does not work in the real estate business.  Because what brokers charge is totally divorced from their value proposition.  And if a broker uses a script to gain your business, they will almost certainly use a script to justify a high fee.  So in fact, the six-percenters are much more likely to be script-readers.

And the success of the client acquisition brokers does not go unnoticed by their colleagues.  As a consequence, transactional competence suffers industry-wide.  There is just no room for competence at conveying real property.

I do love Caul's honesty, but find myself asking:  Why is she giving away her store?  I mean this is not the first video of her's that I have shared.  I can think of no other broker who is willing to talk about these things in a public forum.  And I do not believe that she is being naively or inadvertently honest; she is way too clever for that.

I can only speculate, but it appears that Tina Caul is attempting to transition from real estate broker to real estate coach.  And evidently she believes that she must give away some free samples to make the move and recruit...er, clients.

In any case, it gives us a peek behind the curtains.

𓐵

Scripts For Superstars

Mike Ferry wants to help me with my scripts

Got an email from the Mike Ferry Organization today:

Do you need to know what to say?  Do you want to learn how to effectively internalize the scripts and dialogues?  Do you want to learn how to set more listing appointments and get the contract signed?

I was reminded of the greatest real estate video of all time:

If you have read my book, you will already know, Number 4 (at the 4:54 minute mark) is my favorite.

Dear readers, before you dismiss these videos based on their sheer truffery and ridiculousness, please know this:  Real estate brokers eat this stuff up.  This is how they spend their time.  They are not experts on conveying real property.  In fact they care very little about it.  Rather, they are experts at client acquisition.  And they cannot even be genuine about that.

𓐵

More on Scripts

And how real estate brokers think

This past fall I wrote a brief piece on scripts, making my favorite point on the topic:  If you cannot trust someone to have a sincere and genuine conversation with you, how on earth can you trust them with something as important as a real estate transaction?

And that remains my primary thinking on the subject.  But what about the time involved?  These things require so much time.  Why not instead spend your time mastering the field of real estate?  Spend your time becoming competent at conveying real property.  Then, when you have a conversation with someone, you don't need to rely on some canned, memorized script.  You can have that genuine conversation.

But so many brokers need scripts because they are not competent and do not care about competence.  They only care about client acquisition.  And that is where they spend their time and where they become competent.  I assure you, client acquisition does not get your house sold.  And it certainly does not help you find and purchase a property.  In short, client acquisition is a totally different skill set than conveying real property.

What I love about this video is it demonstrates how real estate brokers think.  There's nothing terrible here.  There's no real gotcha.  If there was, she would never put this online.  But there can be no doubt about her single-minded focus on client acquisition.  So watch and ask yourself:  Do I want to do business with these people?

Some people, evidently many people, will watch this and say yes.  Tina Caul is very successful in this business.  And the thinking expressed in this video is pretty typical for our business.  So if they don't hire Caul, they'll likely hire someone who thinks this way.  But for those of you who, like me, find this approach sort of disturbing, demand something better.  There are alternatives.

Now, should I not post this for fear of losing business to Ms. Caul?  She is after all a master of client acquisition.  Well the type of people who appreciate her methods would never hire our firm anyway.

My favorite part is where she describes how brokers must go off script in order to respond to someone who says my grandfather died.  My God, throw the script out and have a real conversation.  Better yet, don't pick up a script, any script, in the first place.

Finally, there's one other interesting aspect to this video and some of her others.  By placing them on her public YouTube channel, she does not seem to care if her clients and potential clients learn that she is a big script-reader.  I have always thought that no one wants to be scripted, and that if they realized that you were scripting them, they'd be upset about it.

Maybe I'm just wrong about that.  Judge for yourself.

𓐵

Real Estate Brokers LOVE Scripts

The other day, I referenced this Jennifer Allan-Hagedorn video in the comments of another post.  But I think it deserves its own post.  Jennifer's take on real estate brokers using scripts is very similar to my own.  She is not a fan.

But I have to point out what I posted as a comment to her video:  The fact is, many brokers use scripts because they work.  This is a reality in our business.  Most consumers only enter the real estate market a handful of times in the course of their lifetime.  So they are quite susceptible to this nonsense.  And brokers take advantage of this.

I have said this before, but it is worth repeating:  If you cannot trust someone to have a sincere and genuine conversation with you, how on earth can you trust them with something as important as a real estate transaction?

If you are reading this blog, this probably does not apply to you (whether you are a broker or consumer).  But scripts do seem to work for many.  Not sure what to do about the practice other than shine a light on it.  Sadly, I don't see a way to drive the script-readers out of the temple.

We'll come back to this topic.

𓐵