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New Homes LIVE and Kicking…

By Kevin Ellis – Land & New Homes Network

It was fantastic to see so many forward-thinking agents at the New Homes LIVE conference in London on Friday, 14th October.

The day was jam-packed with highlights including listening to Susan Hallam’s expert analysis of how to get the most from digital marketing. She described take-away techniques to use to stand out from the digital crowd and win more instructions.

I am always impressed whenever I hear Roger Martin-Fagg speak and this time round was no exception. His insight into behavioural economics is incredible and he’s been a big influence on my career and that of many others.

Malcolm Smith cemented his position as a world-leading expert on negotiation skills and tradeables with an excellent session, ‘Set Up to Sell’, which showcased what we should all be considering ahead of the actual negotiation stage in business. Based on Robert Cialdini’s six principles of persuasion, Malcolm highlighted how each principle is relevant to the new homes industry. His talk focussed on a wide range of skills including the power of language and stories, and importantly for estate agents, how to overcome objections. If you missed it, you certainly missed out but here is an overview for you to consider:

Authority – We need to showcase our authority from the very first touchpoint. Are we coming across as authoritative in our marketing? What statements of authority do we have? Are we stating our experience, areas of expertise, qualifications etc.?

Reciprocity – How can we give something of value to prospective customers for free? Additional value encourages a prospect to reciprocate. Are we offering free step-by-step guides? Free events or coffee mornings? All of these build engagement with an audience, and in social psychology, create a desire in people to repay the favour.

Rapport – People buy from people they like. How can they like you before you even meet? The use of language is important here, so using their name with words like ‘you’ and ‘your’ will help build rapport before your first face-to-face.

Commitment & Consistency – A key element of persuasion is to obtain people’s commitment, perhaps by taking a deposit, or even something as simple as completing a form or a tick box. A small element of commitment early on is very powerful. A part of this principle is remaining consistent in your actions and processes, as no one trusts inconsistency.

Scarcity – Scarcity sells and is a powerful way of influencing others. Language such as ‘a rare opportunity’, a ‘unique location’ or ‘last 3 remaining’ are all ways of using scarcity.

Social Proof – This principle is to offer proof of previous happy customers. Anything compelling you can use; reviews, testimonials and case studies will provide you and your business with social proof.

Having so many quality speakers to listen to at one conference is great value and I know from speaking with existing members of our Land and New Homes Network that they went away armed with new ideas, enthusiasm and knowledge.

These events form a hugely important part of how elite agents and our members benefit from being part of the Property Academy and the Land and New Homes Network.

I’m already really looking forward to the next conference – EA LIVE – on Friday 2nd December: the Land and New Homes Network will be there to share more information about how we help agents win more business. Hope to see you there!

Kevin Ellis is the founder of the Land and New Homes Network www.lnhnetwork.co.uk

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