Social Skills and Social Media: A New Crossroads
Published by Scott LeForce under Social Media.
I recently posted a blog about rebranding yourself titled Rebranding Your Cow So Your Buyer Can Find It so your customer could find you in this rapidly forming mountain of consumer generated information, social networks and other sites growing in the Internet. And, while your marketing, prospecting and relationship building skills must be adjusted to these new forms of media; your personal skills will ultimately be called on by the all demanding consumer. So, if you think that you can survive in real estate with only some technical savvy and a high powered PC, you’re sorely mistaken.
In fact, I believe your personal relationship skills will be called on even more in the days ahead, especially with advertising being shifted to conversations rather than the old push methods that generally had a “selling” message. If you’re in your forties you may even recall a time when you used the services of a travel agent to purchase plane tickets. Now that experience seems like a distant memory as you use online programs to obtain information and “buy” the service for yourself.
Unlike the simple purchase of a plane ticket, real estate, among other things, is a different animal and consumers are going to have questions and shop. The shopping part is going to be relegated to your use of technology and the question part is going to be all you, “unplugged” as they say today!
The crossroad is where your relationship and trial closing skills have been called upon through your implementation of good tech habits and systems that help attract consumers. As I write this today, Facebook is the fourth most visited site in the world trailing only Google, Microsoft, and Yahoo sites, according to comScore. Social networks are ultimately about friendships, where members add value to each other’s lives through interaction.
This interaction is all about your knowledge and personal relationship skill sets. It is about meeting and greeting the consumer; establishing rapport; seeking needs and confirming those needs to be true; isolating customer indifference from objection; providing supporting statements and finally asking for the close.
Nothing could be less technical. The road ends leads directly to your raw talent and abilities as a professional salesperson, product specialist and steward of exceptional customer service.
Scott LeForce
President
scott.leforce@rwnc.net
