Why Real Estate Scripts Don’t Work (and Most Suck!)
SUMMARY
I just got dogged on FaceBook about one of my scripts. And, yes, I took it personally. The script he was dogging has made me over a million dollars and is not being used by agents all over the country successfully making them a lot of money today.
However, his attack on one of my scripts also reflects some of the common misconceptions about scripts that many Realtors often have.
The script is not near as critical as the skill of the one using it. And even the best script with the best delivery is not going to get you the result you want every time. Just like a shot on goal in soccer, even the best miss more goals than they make.
Here are 3 Reasons most Real Estate Scripts don’t work
- If the script is B.S.
- If it is delivered by an amateur where it sounds like a script or the agent is scared.
- If the motive is pure selfishness. When an agent is strictly in it for themselves, people can feel that vibe and they will resist.
People are sick and tired of traditional sales closes and scripts, but when they believe that you care about them and you are great at what you do, people will follow you.
The Keys for Making a Great Script Work are
- Mastering Skill
- Sincerity &
- Tenacity
FULL TRANSCRIPT
Last week on Facebook, I got dogged. I got dogged by this guy. I guess I’m going to say he’s another real estate coach. I got dogged for one of my real estate scripts that are in The Book of Yes, number one best selling book on Amazon for over a year and still is. He was dogging the script, and I guess it was he was criticizing it for being too outdated, it was so 1990s as if that somehow invalidated it. Because it worked in a conversation back then, I guess it shouldn’t work today. He plays actually a clip of it, and then he proceeds to demonstrate him hanging up on me.
Upset me just a little bit, but I got to thinking about it because, one, I know the script works, and the reason I know it works is because that script has made me over $1 million as a real estate agent. And, it is still making countless real estate agents today lots of money, getting them lots of appointments and lots of listings, using that very script. I’ll also acknowledge this. I’ll admit this. That script has also gotten me thousands of “No’s,” but that’s the nature of scripts. That’s the nature of prospecting. That’s the nature of lead generation.
I thought … That video, that conversation of me getting dogged on Facebook, to me it’s a reflection of a big misconception, of a common misconception, about using scripts and real estate scripts. The Book of Yes was me writing a book of scripts, the scripts that I’ve used for years, and about how to use scripts because there were so many misconceptions out there, but I wanted to shoot this video because, one, somehow I had to process my own irritation at getting dogged on Facebook without getting into a war.
Understand something about prospecting for real estate, regardless of the script that you use, whether it’s a great script or a mediocre script. Prospecting in real estate is a lot like taking a shot on goal in soccer. That is that whenever a soccer player takes a shot on goal, the statistics and the odds are that he or she is going to miss most of the shots that they take on goal. Most of the time, the shot is going to get blocked or it’s going to miss. That’s just the reality of it. That doesn’t mean that it’s a bad soccer shot or a good soccer shot, or a good soccer player or a bad soccer player, it’s just that’s part of the game.
I wanted to talk today about what is it that makes most real estate scripts not work. Why do real estate scripts actually suck? Most of the time, real estate actually suck. They suck for me because sometimes I got bad responses. If you’ve watched a lot of my YouTube videos, you may have heard me talk about the very first time I ever went door knocking. It was a for sale by owner. Walked up on his porch. Before I even got to the door to knock on the door, ring the doorbell, he yells out at me, “Are you a realtor?” I’m like, I’m sure I said, “Yes, sir.” He goes, “Then get the blank off my porch.” Scripts don’t always work. That’s just the nature of it.
#1 REASON: IF THE SCRIPT IS BS
Why don’t they work? Why do scripts not work? There are three reasons that I believe most real estate scripts simply don’t work. Number one, because the script is BS. There’s a lot of scripts out there that are simple, the script itself is BS, it’s bad sales, it’s bait and switch, it’s bogus statistics, it’s bluff strategies. It’s using stuff that’s really not true. That’s just BS. Sometimes they work. Yeah, yeah, absolutely, BS can work at times, but it shouldn’t work. When it does, it does, but that’s one of the reasons scripts don’t work a lot of times is because we’re using scripts that are just too BS-y. They’re just crap.
#2 REASON: If it is delivered by an amateur where it sounds like a script or the agent is scared.
The second reason that scripts don’t work is because they are being, just call, amateurism. They’re just being used as an amateur, and that is that that agent using them, or the salesperson using them, simply sounds like you’re using a script. You sound nervous, you sound not certain, not confident, and it doesn’t sound like a conversation. It sounds like you are now selling someone.
Whenever you do that, it reminds me of what a famous Hollywood director always has taught, and he says, “In Hollywood, they say the script is the enemy.” It doesn’t mean that they don’t use scripts or that scripts are evil or bad, but his point was that until you own a script until you internalize it so much that it becomes a natural part of your conversation, that it comes out of you totally natural, as long as it sounds like a script, it is an enemy. In acting, as long as the actor sounds like he or she is using a script, it’s the enemy. The key is to be able to internalize a great script so much so, to get it so much in your mind, in your heart, in your molecules, that the script becomes a part of you.
One of my goals, when I wrote The Book of Yes, was to have quality conversations that you can have with clients, with prospects, with leads, that are legitimate, genuine, no BS conversations, that your job is to master, to master the script to the point that now you’re simply having a conversation. This simply directs you on how to have that conversation that leads the conversation in the right direction to get the best outcome. Most agents aren’t willing to do the work to master the delivery, and so the script doesn’t work because the one using it is using it as an amateur would use it.
#3 REASON: If the motive is pure selfishness
When an agent is strictly in it for themselves, people can feel that vibe and they will resist.
I believe the third reason why scripts don’t work is because of selfishness. What I mean by that is whenever my goal is just I’m out for myself, I’m just here trying to serve me, I’m just trying to get something for myself, whenever you’re doing it for purely selfish motivation, you’re just out there to get a listing, you’re just trying to get an appointment, trying to get a sale, and you’re not really caring or listening to the seller, carrying about the prospect, you don’t care about the client, then people can feel that people can sense that, and so you’re going to automatically get resistance.
Really, I think there are two keys to this. First, this isn’t really a key, just make sure that you’re using scripts that are legitimate, straightforward conversations. The best scripts are question-based because they lead a conversation. I still believe these are the best scripts in the real estate industry today, and I put my money where my mouth is if you order a copy of the book, you can get it on Amazon.
My money-back guarantee is if you don’t think the scripts are legit, the best scripts ever, that all you do is email and we’ll refund your money, or you can send the book back to Amazon and they’ll refund your money. The point is that you want to have good scripts.
The secret to making the scripts work, number one, is to master the skills. You’ve got to be able to willing to do the work, just like if you were playing a sport or playing a musical instrument. I don’t care how good the musical instrument is, if you don’t know how to play it with skill, it’s not going to sound pretty. Right? I don’t care how great the choreography is, if you don’t know how to dance, then the choreography may be world-class, but it’s not going to be graceful and beautiful unless you master it. Number one key is to master the script, to master the delivery so it is a real conversation.
The beauty of that is when you actually master the conversation so that the conversation comes out naturally, now I can spend my attention on the client. I can spend my time listening to them instead of trying to figure out, “Okay, what am I supposed to say next?” Instead of being in your head, now I’m actually in the conversation with the client because I know where the conversation should go and I know how to lead that with the right questions, otherwise known as a script.
When you know the script, then whenever they throw you a curveball or something that doesn’t naturally flow, you can literally dance with the person you’re talking to with the script because you’ve internalized it. Now you’re having a real, honest, legitimate conversation. Number one is to master the delivery, to master the skills of a great conversation.
Number two is sincerity, and that is simply to be really interested in the person you’re talking to. It’s not about me. It’s about, “How can I help this client?” That to me is great sales. It’s whenever I am working to lead the seller or the client or the prospect to a decision that is in their best interest, that’s good for them. It’s good for them, it’s good for me.
Then the final thing is simply to understand that sometimes you can do everything right, say everything right, have the best script, have the best delivery, have the best heart, and if they’re not interested, sometimes they will still say no. Sometimes their belief or their irritation is so higher, their belief is so negative or so skeptical, that they’re still going to simply say no.
The script still may not work even when you do everything right, and in that case, you simply have to have the tenacity to not let the reaction or the response of one person or any group of people make you go like, “Oh, I guess this doesn’t work.” You’ve got to be willing to have the tenacity to know that I’m doing the right thing, I’m mastering the skill, my heart is right, I’m doing it for the right reason, and you simply have to be willing to go through the “No’s” to get to the “Yes’s”. Master the skills have the tenacity, have the sincerity to really care about the people you’re talking to, and you will always win because you can always expect yes.
If you like this video, give it a thumbs up. Make sure you share this video because I think there are too many misconceptions out there about real estate scripts. The world, the industry, needs to know. Share it, comment on it, let me know. Thanks. Talk soon.