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Book Review
Sell It Like Serhant |
September 24, 2023
I became curious about Ryan Serhant after I saw this ad on Netflix that makes fun of "old school" real estate agents:
I became curious about Ryan Serhant after I saw this ad on Netflix that makes fun of "old school" real estate agents:
As a rather "old school" fellow myself who is fond of vintage clothing (no bow ties yet, however), I was quite amused by this clever spot. I said to myself, "I must learn more about this Serhant fellow. Perhaps he knows a thing or two that might help me stay current and avoid becoming an object of derision."
So I bought his book.
Surprisingly, it wasn't about tech, speedy automation, or QR codes as the ad would suggest. It was about emotional intelligence, and what I would call Persistence, that he breaks down into (1) Follow Up (take initiative), (2) Follow Through (keep promises), and (3) Follow Back (service after the sale).
Key Take-Aways
- Keep a lot of balls in the air. (I translate this to mean, use a good CRM to track, manage, and follow up your prospects so that you can have so many that, without a database, you would forget them.)
- F2F. Never underestimate the power of a face-to-face meeting.
- Use improv and have fun. Sales is tough, so give it all you've got. Get creative.
- Questions. Use open ended questions to keep the sales conversation going. As long as there is a conversation, there is hope of a sale.
- People don't like being sold, but they love shopping with friends.
- The Wow Moment. "You can't negotiate with someone's wallet, but you can negotiate with their feelings." Learn what would wow your prospect, and do it.
- Be Authentic. "Sales isn't about delivering a line; it's about making meaningful connections" (64).
- Success Traits. "Salespeople who close deals are relentless, have empathy, are patient, listen, bring value, and have respect" (64).
- "Good follow up is an art form" (70).
- Calendar follow up. "Following up is not really a fun task, so put it in your calendar so you're forced to do it" (74).
- Follow Through = build trust. "Do what you say you're going to do" (80).
- Transactional vs Relational Real Estate Agents. "I can't tell you how many times I've gotten a new client because that person never heard from their broker again after a closing. Ever again. Why? The idea of someone not following back with a customer makes me want to throw up" (84).
- The seven emotional stages of a purchase are Excitement, Frustration, Fear, Disappointment, Acceptance, Happiness, and Relief (94-99). Use Empathy and Assurance with each stage.
- FKD = Find, Keep, Do. Prospect, Plan, Execute (120-121).
- Time Management. "Time is our only asset as salespeople . . . . People aren't busy - they are bad time managers" (114).
- Prep. "Your morning should always start the night before. Wake up knowing exactly what your day entails and what challenges you are facing" (116).
- The Four Tenets of Work: Why, Work, Wall, Win (138-146).
- Story. "A good story is exciting. And when you sell excitement, you can sell anything" (153).
- Hook, or USP. "Your first hook as a salesperson is that special thing about you" (161).
- Play to the fears (176).
- Six causes of failure: Failure to communicate, replying instead of responding, unrealistic expectations, ineptitude, stale approach, focusing too much on money (184-187).
- Ways to self-motivate: discard the safety net, plan a trip.
- Four Es for finding best help: Energy, Enthusiasm, Endurance, and education. He spells education with a lower case "e" because he believes it's the least important of the four (210-211).
Respectfully submitted,
Kris Freeberg, Economist
