Every listing you take provides a new challenge, not the least of which is to deliver a memorable client experience for the seller.  The way to do this is to tailor your style to fit one of the four personality types that sellers fall into.  Here they are:

1.  The Promoter.

The Promoter seller is “wowed” by your listing presentation and marketing materials.  They are easily impressed by anything visual, photographic, or colorful.  I call it the “Bright and Shiny Object Syndrome.”

That’s the positive side.  The negative aspect of the Promoter personality type is that they expect you will sell their house yesterday.  They believe that everybody will line up immediately to throw absurd amounts of money at it.  They also believe that all the terms of the agreement will be to their benefit.

There’s nothing wrong with thinking positive, but Promoters take it to an extreme that often doesn’t match reality.  They believe everything will go their way all the time.  Be prepared to wake them up to the real world every once in a while.

Promoters are also always on the move.  When you need them, you have to find them by making calls and sending emails while waiting for a response.

When there isn’t an instant sale, the Promoter gets very discouraged.  You tell them they need to do a price reduction and they have a conniption fit.

Their thought process is: “How could you ever even ask us to do that?  Our home is the most perfect home in the history of homebuilding.” Be prepared for this.

With a Promoter, it is also critical that you manage the listing carefully.  Which means that you must communicate on a regular basis.  The communication should definitely be voice-to-voice.  Stay away from emails.

2.  The Controller.

The Controller is the exact opposite of the Promoter.  The Controller doesn’t care about your bright and shiny objects.  They don’t care that your marketing is eye-catching or innovative.

Controllers have one thought in mind when considering working with you: “How is this marketing going to sell my home?” They want to know how your marketing has worked in the past.  They want to know how your marketing is going to get them more money.  The Controller cares about results.

Controllers are also realistic.  They don’t expect that their home will sell in a day.  They understand that the home will sell in a reasonable amount of time for a reasonable price with a reasonable agreement.

While they are reasonable, controllers are very task-focused.  This means that you cannot talk around a Controller.  They want facts and figures.  They want to see that you’re working for them.  They’re very disciplined and organized, and they expect you to be too.  When you take a Controllers listing, you’d better be organized as well.

In terms of communication style, Controllers are direct, to the point, and on topic.  No chit-chats about the weather with a Controller.  Get to the point quickly.  Whatever you say, you need to back it up in writing.

3.  The Analytical.

The Analytical personality type is the one at the listing presentation who knows more than you do because they’ve done their own research.  They know every sale in the area going back five years.  They can quote square footage of similar properties and up-to-the-minute interest rates.

Analytical types are great when it comes to providing you with information about their own home.  When you ask them about improvements they’ve made over the years, they hand you an Excel spreadsheet detailing every nail they hammered in on their backyard deck.

Analyticals love charts, graphs, and lists.  They thrive on facts, figures, and numbers.  When communicating with them, have lots of your own documentation with you.  If you don’t, you will lose these people to the agent who does.

Analyticals will look at your marketing, but will ask you for paperwork to prove how this marketing has helped previous clients in the past.  Make sure you can back up your own history when making your listing presentation with them.

Of all the seller personality types, the Analytical is the one who is most likely to get their home sold the fastest.  This is because they’ve done so much research that they’re the most realistic when it comes to pricing.

While Promoters and Controllers price their home as high as possible at first, the Analytical prices their home at market – and sometimes even under market.  If anything, the Analytical lacks confidence in the way they price.

Email communication is best for an Analytical seller because you can load it with facts, figures, charts, graphs, and numbers.  Having an online web interface that is their private “client viewing area” is even better.  They can log on anytime and see what you’re up to – by the numbers.

4.  The Supporter.

The Supporter seller is the nice one.  You sit down with them and you feel like you’re having dinner rather than making a listing presentation.  They’re gracious.  They’re respectful.  They ask your advice.  They take your opinion.  They’re lovely to do business with.

Supporter types love everything.  They love your marketing, your research, and your presentation.  They so appreciate the work and effort you put into everything.

The challenge with the Supporter is that they have a very hard time making a decision.  They usually want to ask someone else.  They want to confer with friends or family before lifting a finger.

When it comes to pricing, the Supporter will always ask you what you think and many times will take your opinion.  But often, they will take the opinion of someone else closer to them.  They feel compelled to do what this friend or family member says to do.

Like the Promoter, the Supporter is usually on the go so you have to find them to help them to make decisions.  The best way to find them is to call, not email.  They need to hear your voice – with its inflection and friendly tone – more than any email communication could ever provide.

If you ever have an important decision that needs to be made by a Supporter, it needs to be done in person.  They just make better decisions when they can see you face-to-face.

So, there you have it.  Every personality is different.  Everything you do – from your listing presentation to your communication style – needs to be tailored to fit one of these four personality types.

Now that I’ve identified them for you, you will probably begin to notice these characteristics.  You will be working with a client and you will say to yourself, A-ha!  This is an Analytical like Denise told me.

Then, you know that you will need to tailor everything you do to fit the Analytical personality.  The next week, you’ll meet a Promoter and you’ll have a similar A-ha! moment.

The great part about personality types is that once you’ve mastered them, you’ve mastered them.  You know how to handle anybody.

By Denise Lones CSP, M.I.R.M., CDEI