Knowing The Buyers Purpose With Keenan From ASalesGuy.com(Ep 151)
Today, we will interview Keenan, the author of Gap Selling. We will discuss how to find the right reason to sell your product, root cause analysis, role play, and many more!
Learn more about Keenan by visiting https://www.asalesguy.com/!
Read the full transcription below!
Krista Mashore:
Hey, everyone. Are you ready to be fired up? Because I am. I have got an author here, Keenan, he is the author of, Gap Selling and he has done so much selling. You're going to learn so much today. So sit back and be ready to be fired up. As you all know, with all the times that we have going on right now, I am offering my free challenge. So be sure to go to kristamashore.com/challenge, that's kristamashore.com/challenge, and I will personally be coaching you for free for 20 days. You don't want to miss out on that. Hi, Keenan. How are you?
Keenan:
Good, sister. How are you doing?
Krista Mashore:
I'm really happy to have you. I'm excited about this interview. I've done a lot of research on you. You're pretty much an awesome guy. [crosstalk 00:00:42] I don't cuss. I was going to say that you're a bad bleep, but I chose not to.
Keenan:
Okay. I'll do my best, I guess, not to do the same. But I do swear.
Krista Mashore:
Yeah. Be yourself.
Keenan:
Okay.
Krista Mashore:
So talk to me. So you've written the book, Gap Selling. And I know that you're at conferences, you do speaking events, you're pretty much all over the place. So tell us a little bit about you.
Keenan:
Oh, that's a big question. I mean, there's a lot there. You're going to have to narrow that down. What do you want to know?
Krista Mashore:
Selling. We want to talk about selling. Right now, especially with everything that's happening in the market, with everything's happening in the world with the pandemic, talk to us about your ideas about how people can still be as successful as possible in the industry of selling.
Keenan:
Yeah. So look, it's really simple to me, right? And I talk about it in my book and it's really simple. When it comes to selling, our job as salespeople is to influence change and to help influence a decision, right? Because when you look to buy something or somebody is looking to buy something, two things are going on at the foundational layer. The first thing is they've got to make a decision. Do I change or don't I change? Right? And then if I decide to change, then I have to change, right? They are sort of synonymous or together. So in order to do that, what we always do first is we ask ourselves or we do an assessment of what I call, our current state. We literally say to ourselves, how do I feel right now? What's going on in my life right now? And we do this assessment. Most of it's what I like to say, subconscious, but a lot of it is conscious. And we come to a determination, is my current state tenable or untenable? If it is not tenable [crosstalk 00:02:13]
Krista Mashore:
Explain what you mean by that. Explain that.
Keenan:
Tenable or not tenable? Is it, can I tolerate it? can I tolerate it, right? So if I can't tolerate it or I don't like it and I don't want to stay there, then what I do is I pick up my head and I look and say, okay, what options do I have? But I'm not moving, I'm not buying anything, I'm not deciding to change unless my current situation is untenable or intolerable. Right? So once that happens, then I'll consider changing. What does it have to do with today? If you are selling today, the first thing you have to ask yourself is how does my product or service or whatever the freak it is I'm selling, I'm asking people to pay me for, how does that alleviate, mitigate or improve my buyer's current environment understanding what's happening today with the shelter-in-place and Coronavirus and all of that stuff? If I can't answer that question, stop selling.
Krista Mashore:
Got you. Okay. So people are obviously going to have to make some adjustments.
Keenan:
Yes.
Krista Mashore:
And I really respect what you're saying. Obviously whatever you're selling needs to be solving someone's problem, bringing them closer to pleasure, away from pain. And if you can answer that question and still sell and help somebody, then move forward business as usual. If not, change your messaging, change your product or service to be able to match where people are right now with the state that they're in. Correct?
Keenan:
Yes, yes. But you have to solve a problem, right? People don't change unless they have a problem. What people miss is, it's not about pain. Pain is a symptom, right? So just because you have a pain, if I can't solve the underlying problem to that pain, I'm useless. So I got to understand what problems are people struggling with that my product or service can solve in this time today?
Krista Mashore:
Got you. Okay. So talk to me about some of the strategies that you teach in, Gap Selling.
Keenan:
I mean, the biggest one that I teach is that the foundation is helping do what I call, do an assessment or diagnose the problem of the buyer, right? Most people just are too surface level. They don't really understand why the person is buying what they're buying. Right? In the most simple of transactions, someone walks in, I would never do this in a transaction like this at a Walmart, but I mean even if someone runs into a 7-Eleven or Walmart, grabs a pack of gum and that's all they bought. This is about five, six, seven, 10 maybe 15 different stories about why that person just bought that gum. Right? And if it costs more money and the transaction was more complex, I'd want to know those. Are you buying it because you're about to go on a date? Are you buying it because you're about to go out to go on a job interview? Are you buying it because you just finished a speaking engagement and your mouth is really dry and it's really bothering you?
Keenan:
Are you buying it because… Are you buying it for someone else? Those stories drive the motivation to make the purchase. So if I'm in a complex sale or any type of sale that basically isn't done immediately right in front of me and the person has to go away and think about it or talk to another personal process it or evaluate it, I want to know all of that. Because I want to know, okay, if it's for a date is it your first date or your fifth date? Is it your wife or is it someone you just met? That's a difference, right? If it's your wife and you have bad breath, okay it sucks, but she's not leaving you tomorrow. If it's a first date and you're super excited and you haven't gone on a date in six months, that's a big deal. I could probably charge more for that gum. Right?
Krista Mashore:
Yes, yes. Yeah. I have read your book by the way. I have listened to it. So I finished it, but I actually listened to it again, especially right now. But it's an awesome book. Everyone, you have to read it. If you're in sales, no matter what profession, actually any profession that you're in, because you're selling all the time, right? I mean selling, basically, we're all selling, whether we're selling to our husband or our kids, we're constantly trying to get them to do what we want them to do.
Keenan:
Yes.
Krista Mashore:
So we're always selling. So it's a good book and it teaches you all about how to do that ethically, of course. Ethically selling things. When you have a great product or service or when you want to get your idea to have somebody else agree with you, it teaches you how to do that. So I really, really did love your book.
Keenan:
Thank you.
Krista Mashore:
Yes, very good. So that makes a lot of sense. They have to have a problem that you can actually solve. Now how do you convey? What's the best way to convey the fact that you can solve that problem?
Keenan:
So you're asking another great question, and I'm going to jump on something you just said. You said, do it ethically. What's so great about gap selling is you can't do it unethically, because what gap selling teaches you to do is find out that buyer's motivation, and leverage the buyer's motivation to help them make the decision. So all you become is a decision influencer or a change influencer. You're not selling anymore, right? So again, notice what I said. I teach people how to get information that they normally wouldn't get. Well, if you have one… Using the stupid gum example, if you have one teller sitting there and you walk in and they offer to buy the gum and they ask him one question, say great, see you later. That's for a date. You have another one who really, really digs in, right? And says, well what do you want it for? How long has it been since you dated?
Keenan:
How much do you like this guy or girl? Where are you going on the date? Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. All of that information now says, you know what? You might not want this gum. You need this gum or you don't want just gum, you want this instead. And you can create an upsell and you put it all in their lap and say, based on what you told me, this is my recommendation. This is why you should buy. This is why this is good for you. Not, hey, my gum does this, this and this. Buy it. It's the other way around. It's what you've told me, where you are today, what you're trying to accomplish, what's important to you. This is what I'm recommending. It's almost impossible for them to have objections anymore because you're serving them, them on a platter, not your product. Them. You're serving them on the platter.
Krista Mashore:
So basically you're getting them to really come to the analysis that they need your product or service based upon all the issues and problems that they have, you are the solution to it. So they're the ones that are coming to that recommendation.
Keenan:
Yes.
Krista Mashore:
Now what do [crosstalk 00:08:14]
Keenan:
You've got to get them there.
Krista Mashore:
You've got to get them there. So you want to do some role playing?
Keenan:
Okay. I'll role play with you.
Krista Mashore:
Okay. So [crosstalk 00:08:22]
Keenan:
We can do it. Absolutely.
Krista Mashore:
Okay. So you're the seller, obviously. I'm the client and I'm a real estate agent right now. Okay?
Keenan:
Okay.
Krista Mashore:
And right now real estate agents are having difficulty selling. Now first let me tell you what you're selling. So the product and service that you're selling is you're teaching real estate agents and business owners, small business owners, local business owners, how to utilize digital marketing, technology and social media to operate business. So basically we're teaching them how to not do things the traditional way. It's not your traditional open house, door knocking, cold calling. In fact, we teach completely opposite of that. We teach social media, video, funnels, right? Digital stuff and we teach them how to attract business and stop chasing it. And so that's what we teach, and we show people how to expose themselves to hundreds of thousands of people locally. How to get 600 hours of watch time on a video. How to… Does it make sense? So that's what we teach.
Keenan:
Yeah.
Krista Mashore:
You understand that? You know what a funnel is, right?
Keenan:
Yeah.
Krista Mashore:
Okay. [inaudible 00:09:28] funnel. So that's what we teach real estate agents and local businesses.
Keenan:
Okay.
Krista Mashore:
So I want to buy. I mean, I'm calling to talk to you. Hello?
Keenan:
All right. Just one last question. How much do you charge for this?
Krista Mashore:
So we have multiple packages. 10,000, 15,000 and 20,000.
Keenan:
Okay. That's all I wanted to know.
Krista Mashore:
Okay. [crosstalk 00:09:44]
Keenan:
You could have said whatever. I just wanted to have a ballpark. Okay.
Krista Mashore:
Yeah. 15 K is… And obviously we have lower price programs out there too, but 15 K is the one that most people end up buying into. And then they end up going up once they were in. Like, hey, this is so good. They end up going up higher. But that's a high ticket. Right? But right now they need it more than ever.
Keenan:
Yup. Okay. All right, so you're calling in. Are you calling in? Or am I calling you?
Krista Mashore:
I'm calling. Hello, this is Krista. Thanks for calling Keenan.
Keenan:
Hey, Krista, how are you doing? What's going on?
Krista Mashore:
I'm just sitting ready for our sales call. This is our point in time.
Keenan:
Oh, I see. Got it. Got it. Got it.
Krista Mashore:
I'm the buyer. You're the sales guy.
Keenan:
Okay. What prompted you to take this call? I know you're busy and there's a lot going on. So what prompted you to take the call?
Krista Mashore:
Oh, I read Krista's books and I've listened to her podcast and she seems like she knows what she's talking about. And I just thought it might be good idea to, especially with everything going on right now, that it might be a good idea to see what you guys have to offer.
Keenan:
Okay. Could you tell me a little bit about your practice? Your business right now? Tell me a little bit about it.
Krista Mashore:
Well, I'm a real estate agent and I do lending on the side as well, so I kind of do both. And I heard her program works for both growth businesses. And the market is just crazy right now. Nobody wants to leave their house. Sellers don't want to let buyers into homes. I mean, the whole market has just gone upside down. So I'm not sure, how do I even operate at this point?
Keenan:
How long have you been doing it? How long have you been a [crosstalk 00:11:18]
Krista Mashore:
19 years.
Keenan:
Okay. How did you do in 2018? How many transactions for total revenue or total gross sales did you do?
Krista Mashore:
Okay. I'm not going to say what I really do. I'm going to pretend like I'm the…
Keenan:
Yeah, no. You can make this person up. I don't care where you're going with it.
Krista Mashore:
Okay. I'm making everything up. Okay.
Keenan:
Remember, you're a real estate agent, right? You're not Krista, you're a real estate agent.
Krista Mashore:
Yes, yes, yes. Okay.
Keenan:
That would like to buy from Krista, so I don't care what you tell me.
Krista Mashore:
Okay. I sold 12 houses last year. I was happy with that. 12 houses was pretty good.
Keenan:
Okay. And the average sale for each house?
Krista Mashore:
It's around six grand.
Keenan:
Okay. Six grand. So you did about 72,000? Yeah, I think 72,000 last year.
Krista Mashore:
Yeah. Minus paying my broker, minus all that. I probably took home around 45, 50.
Keenan:
Okay. All right. And what about the year before that in 2018?
Krista Mashore:
About the same. I pretty much seem to say consistently around that number, give or take every once in a while. Okay. Do you want to grow the practice?
Keenan:
Oh yeah, definitely. I mean, I definitely would like to sell more, obviously because my kids are going to be going to college soon and I've got to pay for that. And now I'm worried about how am I even going to be able to sell at all? Because of everything that's happening in the market. I mean, I've known for a long time that I need to start using innovation and technology and social media. But I just don't know how to do it or where to start. And I'm not good with technology, so I'm just stressed, you know?
Krista Mashore:
Okay. Is the reason you haven't done this in the past because you don't know how? Is that the only thing that's been keeping you from doing it? Yeah, I don't know how. I mean, I know Krista pushes video and I don't like the way I look on video and technology is just difficult for me. I mean, it's worked for me before the way I've always done things. I mean, I know she talks about attracting business and I see the results of what she's able to do, which is pretty awesome. But I mean, maybe that's just… Maybe she's making it up. I don't know.
Keenan:
Okay. Let's not talk about Krista right now, because I know we could make an impact, but I really want to understand is what's going on with your business. So you've been steady for several years. Is that by design? Do you set a goal every year?
Krista Mashore:
No, I wouldn't say I set a goal. I mean, I just hope I'll sell more from one year to the next.
Keenan:
Oh, okay. So one of the challenges, if it's fair for me to say, is one of the challenges may or may not be what you're doing. It's just the mere fact that you're not really even starting the year with an objective.
Krista Mashore:
Yeah, yeah, that makes sense.
Keenan:
Fair statement?
Krista Mashore:
Yeah, that's a fair statement.
Keenan:
Okay. So when you came into this year, you didn't start to set a goal for this year either, did you?
Krista Mashore:
No.
Keenan:
Okay. So each year you are doing about $70,000 roughly. And then after you give your share away, you're getting about 45, 50,000. Are you raising your family on this or do you have a spouse or partner that helps augment or are you raising a family on this?
Krista Mashore:
My partner does too, but my money is important. And given what's happening right now, I'm more nervous now than ever because I can't do business the way I used to do it, right? Things have just changed so much.
Keenan:
Okay. So yes, things have changed a lot. Tell me about how you did it before.
Krista Mashore:
Well, I would do open houses and usually I'd pick up a client or two from an open house, and then every once in a while I'd go door knocking. I tried to call expires if I ever see expires, try to do that. So I'm just doing the things that my broker tells me to do.
Keenan:
Okay. How often are you doing open houses and then what is your conversion rate from the people you find in an open house that you actually get a closed deal?
Krista Mashore:
I do open houses probably pretty much every weekend, if not every other weekend. So probably at least 24 times a year. And I would say probably every couple open houses I'll pick up a buyer or maybe a seller from it. And that's how I average run my full houses. I get referrals every once in a while too.
Keenan:
So if you're doing it once a week or once every other week, you're actually doing 36 not 24.
Krista Mashore:
Oh, wow. Am I?
Keenan:
Well, if you do it every week, you're going to do 50. If you do it once a week and then every other week after that, then you're doing more than that. Right?
Krista Mashore:
Yeah.
Keenan:
So you're doing probably around 36. Right?
Krista Mashore:
Yeah, you're right.
Keenan:
Because you're doing 36 weeks a year you're doing this, and you're only getting 12 closes a year and you're only making $45,000. That seems like a lot of work for a small return.
Krista Mashore:
I agree. I agree. I know I'm tired of, I'm sick of sitting at open houses. I'd rather be making donuts for my kids, not for the people that are coming to the open house, you know?
Keenan:
Okay. Let me ask you this question too. It's $6,000 that means your average sale of a house is around 300,000 something like that, right? Is that… Or even lower?
Krista Mashore:
It's around 300,000. Yeah. A little bit lower than that. 250-ish.
Keenan:
Have you had a desire to go upstream and be able to sell more expensive homes?
Krista Mashore:
Yeah, I'd like to. I mean, probably the max in my area is probably close to around 350 is the highest high point.
Keenan:
Okay. So there's not a lot of up room for you to go much higher than that. And that particularly… Is there a reason you're not going to other neighborhoods? Or is that just as far as you can get it, it's only [crosstalk 00:16:18]
Krista Mashore:
Yeah, it's pretty much in my area. That's what houses are worth.
Keenan:
Okay. All right.
Krista Mashore:
I just want to sell more. If I could just sell even six more houses in a year. Right? That'd be a significant, like $25,000. If I could sell 12 more houses in a year, just one more house a month, which I feel like is reasonable if I just had the right skills, then I'd be making another 50 grand. That would pay for my kids' college and I could have some money in the bank.
Keenan:
So all right. So Kris, I'm going to break role play here real quick, because you're making it easy for me.
Krista Mashore:
Am I? Okay.
Keenan:
Right? Because every time you keep saying, what I want to do, you're thinking about your own business and you're basically setting me up for what you believe your business can do for this person. Right?
Krista Mashore:
Okay, okay.
Keenan:
Which is virtually fine, which is fine, but what I'm trying to show your listeners and trying to do is… Think about this now, because I pay attention. This woman only makes $45,000 a year, okay? You're going to be asking her for anywhere between 20 and 30% of her total yearly income. Okay? I am not going to start trying to sell her on your product until I can get her to see that this problem is fucking monsters.
Krista Mashore:
Okay. Got you. Okay.
Keenan:
Right? Because it's not enough to just say, oh yeah, I can give you this. I can give you this. Because she needs to understand that where she is and she needs to feel where she is, is so painful. Remember, I said it's untenable?
Krista Mashore:
Okay.
Keenan:
You feel that it's so untenable to the point, and that's where the gap comes in. Current state, future state, the gap is so big that she's willing to give up 30% of what she takes home in one year to buy your program.
Krista Mashore:
Okay.
Keenan:
So I'm trying to make that as big as possible. That's why one of the things I jumped on when I was like, so wait a minute. You're spending 36 out of 52 weeks to just get 12 sales or $45,000. And what I would do to her, I would say, so if I break that down, basically you're getting only a… Basically you're getting a thousand dollars for that open house. That's awfully low.
Krista Mashore:
Yes. Got you.
Keenan:
See what I'm doing here?
Krista Mashore:
Yeah, totally. Okay, I got it.
Keenan:
So that's where we would take this, is I would just keep digging in. And that's why I asked about the spouse. Look, gap selling is not easy and sometimes you've got to be comfortable being uncomfortable, and this might surprise you. But if she were the sole person in her home, I don't know that I would sell her this or I would start figuring out ways that if you had payment plans, whatever, because I wouldn't feel comfortable taking 30% of a person, male or females total income who's got to raise kids on that. Because if it fails, they're done. I've just bankrupted them. Right?
Krista Mashore:
Yeah.
Keenan:
I've got to feel… Now, we talk about ethically, I've got a feel that if she makes this level of investment, she's going to recoup it. And with about 100% accuracy, because I am not going to take 15 grand from a single mother who only makes $45,000 a year and can barely make her rent. You know what I'm saying?
Krista Mashore:
Yeah.
Keenan:
I've got to for sure know that she's going to get 60 or 65 this year and then 80 and 100 the next year and so on and so forth.
Krista Mashore:
Got you. Yeah.
Keenan:
So that's why I do this, is I want to dig in and I want to know who you are, and I want to know how you're doing it so I would have dug in more after I went down the road of [crosstalk 00:19:29]
Krista Mashore:
Open houses.
Keenan:
Said, okay, talk to me about how you market via digitally, and well, how would you market digitally? How do you market digitally?
Krista Mashore:
I don't. I mean, I have flyers and stuff that I do.
Keenan:
Okay. How much do you spend on those flyers?
Krista Mashore:
Well, my company pays for them. It's not that big of a deal.
Keenan:
And do they pay the postage as well?
Krista Mashore:
Well, I don't really send much out with postage. I just put the flyers at the houses or when I do the open houses.
Keenan:
How many leads do you get from that?
Krista Mashore:
I would say none. Probably none, honestly. [crosstalk 00:20:04]
Keenan:
How much time do you think you spend in a year dealing out flyers?
Krista Mashore:
I mean, before every open house I make sure I've got the flyers of the house. I make sure I've got other houses that are similar to that house in case they want to see other ones. So I usually have four or five pages of that. It isn't so much money as it is time. Well, money too, but mostly time. Yeah.
Keenan:
How much time do you think you spend?
Krista Mashore:
Oh, at least an hour. At least hour and a half probably prepping all that stuff for sure.
Keenan:
How many times? Each time you do an open house?
Krista Mashore:
Oh, yeah. Yeah, for sure. Because I have to know the other houses in the area, what they're like. I've got to make sure I have the flyer of the actual house I'm doing it on. Yeah, for sure.
Keenan:
Let's say we're between 36 and 50 hours a year. And you get no return on that.
Krista Mashore:
Yeah, probably.
Keenan:
All right. Do you see what I'm doing here?
Krista Mashore:
You're making me feel pretty dumb here, Keenan. Yeah.
Keenan:
Okay. So you see what I'm doing here? I'm now what's called, dissecting the root cause, and by dissecting the root cause, I'm trying to understand why you're in the position you're in. Gap Selling is all about trying to understand the position they're in and the problems they're having and the outcomes or impacts of those problems. But when I'm done with you, because look, I know you want to ask some more questions, but a discovery call for me can go anywhere from 35 minutes to 90 minutes depending on the complexity of the problem and who I'm talking to. By the time I'm done, I'm going to know everything about you, how you do your job today, how much you make, how much time you spend to get that, how much you invest to get that, how long it's been going like that, where you want to get, and I'll have framed this huge gap.
Keenan:
So when I finally come time to talk to you about Krista's brilliant program, I'm going to say, listen, I think we can solve this for you. I think we can cut out all of that time you're spending on open houses only for one or two, and I think we can do it this way. And I think we can cut this out and make this happen. I think we can turn those 12 leads into 24 leads and this is how we would do it. I think rather than me only getting an average of $200,000 per sale, I think we can push that up to about $300,000 per sale. So now your average commission check is going to cadence how we would do it. Right? See how I'm taking everything you just shared with me, and I'm laying it out for you in an entirely new approach as a consultant, not as a pitch man.
Krista Mashore:
And too with, Gap Selling, I remember reading that you were saying how you gather the information and then you make an appointment to come back and present it with all of the solutions. You don't just do it right then. You gather the information and fact find and then you go and you say, okay now based upon what you've said, here's how we can help you, ABC.
Keenan:
Yes. That's exactly how you do it. It changes everything, Krista. Changes everything.
Krista Mashore:
Yeah. I actually just listened to it within the past two months. It was a really, really good book. I need to go back and listen to it like five more times, because my brain works that way. Yeah, very much so. Okay. So what do you see the biggest mistakes that people make? So for professional type people that are professionals in any industry, what are the biggest mistakes that you see them making?
Keenan:
So the biggest mistakes that they make is they try to pitch too fast. They try to start pushing their product or service. Okay. And when you start pitching your product to service, I want you to… I mean, I guess the spaghetti analogy really is apropos. If you start pitching what your product or service can do to somebody before you understand their current state and before you understand what their current state problem is and the impact that it's having on them, it's like throwing spaghetti against the wall and seeing what sticks. And sometimes people are really good at being thorough and articulate and they can get more stuff to stick than others. Other times people aren't very good at it, and it doesn't stick at all. And it should've stuck, but they didn't know. And so they lose the buyer, they will lose the buyer.
Krista Mashore:
Okay, because they try to sell before they actually understand.
Keenan:
That's right. They try to sell before they understand. Using an old Stephen Covey-ism. Seek first to understand.
Krista Mashore:
Okay. So selling before they understand. So even talk about, let's just say real estate, right? They go and they meet a seller or a buyer. And how would you say the best way to develop to start that relationship is? Same type of thing. I'm a seller now.
Keenan:
Yes. So you want to sit down and you want to ask them why they're selling, where they're going, what they want out of the house. I want to understand what's going on in their world. Is it their kids just graduated from school and they're downsizing? Are they moving to another place because their husband or wife just got a new job? I want to understand what's going on, what's behind the desire to sell, right? What are they going to do with that money when they sell? Is it being reinvested? Is it buying a bigger home? What's going on, right? I want to understand all of that. So I'm going to sit out and basically have a long conversation with them.
Krista Mashore:
And then once you know those answers… So let's just say I'm a seller and I want to sell because my Johnny just went away to college and quite frankly, the house is just getting too big. We're starting to retire, we don't want to have all the heavy overhead. So how does that look when it comes to now we've met, I know all their problems. I've reviewed the house, now it's time to sign the listing agreement. What's your close?
Keenan:
So even before I do that… So using the information you gave me, I'd want to know a couple of things.
Krista Mashore:
Okay.
Keenan:
Johnny went off to college. I want to downsize. Can you still afford the home or is it a bit taxing and not only do you want to downsize, but now you're on a fixed income and you don't want to carry this nut anymore.
Krista Mashore:
Yes.
Keenan:
Okay. Notice how that matters because what I'm going to say is listen, in this market I think we could get… I'm making up a number, a million dollars for your home. Okay? However, it could take a little longer because it's a bigger home, it's in this price range, blah, blah, blah. Okay. Because you want to get out of this faster, I think it would take… I'm making up a number, four months at a million. I think we could probably get out of it in two months for nine, nine, five, right? Something like that. So are you willing to give up 50,000 to 30,000 to 20,000 whatever, to get out of it faster? Here's my recommendation. Based on what you told me, this is how we deliver on your desired outcome. I might ask also, do you have another place found? Right? Have you already put a down payment on that? Are you carrying both or are you only carrying one? I want to understand all of this, because what I'm going to recommend is based on what they told me.
Krista Mashore:
Yes, that makes sense. So again, you're solving the problem.
Keenan:
Yes.
Krista Mashore:
So you're finding out the issues they're having and you're having the solution, making sure that your product or service is a solution to their problem.
Keenan:
Yes. And here's why it's going to be beneficial to a realtor, because I can get it realtors and I don't mean to offend anybody, but it is what it is. I can tell you that if you did this, nine out of 10 realtors would have said, oh, we can get 1.1 for this for you, we can get 1.2. We can do this. And they're going to convince them they can get 1.2. And you're going to tell them I can get a million to a million and one, but it's going to take a little longer to sell.
Keenan:
And they're going to appreciate the fact that you're going to list it slightly low if you get them out of it faster even though you might lose three, $4,000 in commission because you're working for them. And that's what's going to differentiate you from the other person who wants to put it at 1.1 when to maximize that realtor's bank account, understanding that that family sat in that damn place for an extra six months, had to pay an extra $4,000 in freaking… $48,000 in mortgage payments because you, Mr. Realtor wanted to get you a 1.1 [crosstalk 00:27:25]
Krista Mashore:
Listeners aren't like that, Keenan. My listeners are all about the customer and the consumer.
Keenan:
Well, this is good. Then they're going to love this and this is going to help them do that better.
Krista Mashore:
Especially my tribe. They totally are all about ethical selling, where we actually talk about ethically selling. So, okay, great. So understanding the problem of your customer, being the solution to that problem. Really, really thoroughly investigating, asking questions, understanding the whole gamut from A to Z of the situation that they're in, the problems they're having, what's happening now, what can happen later based upon that. And then [crosstalk 00:27:56]
Keenan:
Of those problems, the impact of those [crosstalk 00:27:59]
Krista Mashore:
Yes.
Keenan:
Yeah.
Krista Mashore:
And then does your prior to receive this find the solution? Can you really help them? If yes, great. If not, make a recommendation on what might.
Keenan:
Bingo.
Krista Mashore:
Yeah, I love it. Great. Yeah, you can tell I've read your book. I needed to have my sales team go back and read it again, because I was writing everything down like crazy. Okay, awesome. So I always end every single podcast the same. And it is, if you had to give one piece of advice to the listeners, what would that one piece of advice be? And it's all local professionals, not just realtors, local professionals, business owners, everybody.
Keenan:
Okay. And this is a sales advice or advice in general?
Krista Mashore:
Just any advice at all, whenever you want. If you said go eat pizza every night and then we'd say, cool.
Keenan:
Yeah, so I say this anytime I get… It's oddly a common question for podcasts and I say the same thing every time. Get real with yourself. Stop lying to yourself. Every one of us spends so much time lying to ourselves, pretending we're something we're not, trying to tell ourselves some narrative to make ourselves feel good. Get real with yourself. Start owning your weaknesses. Start owning the lies and fix them and be authentic, because too often we're trying to build a facade. We start believing that façade, we stop creating a narrative that works for us that we're great at this or we don't have this problem, we're a great listener, we're a great spouse, blah, blah, and we're not. Or we're not as good as we could be and we stunt our own growth and everybody hurts because of it. Get real with yourself. Start doing a self assessment and get honest and real so you can start being your authentic, vulnerable self.
Krista Mashore:
I like that. That's a good answer. I think that's honestly one of my favorite answers that I've gotten, everyone.
Keenan:
Thank you.
Krista Mashore:
Be real with yourself. Look in the mirror, self evaluation [crosstalk 00:29:45] We should always be improving.
Keenan:
And social media is making it harder for us to be.
Krista Mashore:
Oh, my gosh. I have this program called, Teens Lifting Lives and these poor kids. They are just so messed up because of social media. All people post is the good stuff. They don't post the bad stuff. So kids are in the illusion that everyone else in life just has an amazing life. That's why we have such high teenage suicide. It's so, so true. If you can keep your kids away from social media, do it until their 20. That's so [crosstalk 00:30:10]
Keenan:
We'll teach them how to use it appropriately.
Krista Mashore:
Yeah. Yeah. Well Keenan, I really appreciate your time. Loved your book, Gap Selling. Go out and buy it. It's not your voice though, on Gap Selling. Huh? You didn't [crosstalk 00:30:23]
Keenan:
Yeah, it is.
Krista Mashore:
Was it yours? Okay. For some reason I thought it was a different voice because I'm surprised it's not ringing a bell. Because I've just recently listened to it but I listen to so many books. So now I'm going to go listen to it again and remind myself how wonderful it was. You should go out and buy Gap Selling as well. Keenan, do you have any special offers for our guests?
Keenan:
No. No. I'm sorry.
Krista Mashore:
Go out and buy his book.
Keenan:
I'm sorry?
Krista Mashore:
I said, just go out and buy his book, Gap Selling.
Keenan:
I apologize. I do it through Amazon and they don't make it easy to create special offers. It is what it is. You know what I'm saying?
Krista Mashore:
Yeah. No, I totally understand.
Keenan:
But you'll love it. You'll crush it. You'll have a great time with it. You will not be disappointed.
Krista Mashore:
It truly is an amazing book. I mean absolutely. It's very well written. It's to the point and go out, buy it and remember everyone, listening is awesome, but if you don't take action, nothing happens. You have to actually implement what you're learning. So go read the book, implement, take a self assessment, try to become better. And Keenan, I appreciate you so much for being here.
Keenan:
Thank you, sister. I appreciate it.
Krista Mashore:
Everyone. Make it a great day. Thanks for a little bit of your time. Hey, there. I have a brand new podcast called, F.I.R.E.D. Up with Krista Mashore where I bring my high energy right to your ears. This podcast is available on all your favorite podcast platforms. So do me a favor, go subscribe and leave a review. All this information is free and I cannot wait to teach you everything I know. Thanks so much for watching my video. You can learn more about how to be a successful real estate professional by watching other videos that I have. And be sure to subscribe to my channel and as always, make it a great home selling and buying day.
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