Miller: Clarity Key to Realtors' Success

ORLANDO, Fla. — Donald Miller has a straightforward yet powerful way for Realtors® to stand out from the competition: Clarity.

By delivering clarity, Realtors provide customers with the peace of mind necessary to move forward with a purchase or sale. However, while it sounds like a simple concept, providing true clarity is often a challenge.

Miller, CEO of StoryBrand and Business Made Simple, told Realtors at the Florida Realtors® Mid-Winter Business Meetings that providing customers with clarity includes drilling down to the problems they are facing and providing solutions. Spend 75% of the time talking about the problem and 25% talking about the solution, he said during his keynote presentation.

“When you hype the problem, you hype the value of the solution. You want to hype because now you are not in the business of selling that house, you’re in the business of solving that problem. If you aren’t solving a problem, you aren’t worth that much to me,” he told the crowd.

Miller, a bestselling author, specializes in providing entertaining, inspiring and practical advice to small business owners with a focus on helping them grow their business. His hour-long presentation provided useful and practical ways for Realtors to improve customer relations and increase business. Drawing from his extensive experience, Miller provided strategies for effective communication, long-term trust and marketing.

One element to demonstrating competency and providing clarity is positioning yourself as the guide in the customer’s buying or selling journey. At the same time, the focus should always be on the customer, he said.

“The temptation is to make it about you. Don’t make it about you. The temptation is to tell your story. Don’t tell your story,” Miller said. “Make the story about the customer. Strong, competent people think about others. Hurting, mean people think about themselves. And we’re not looking for someone who is hurting or mean in a story about buying a dream home.”

Providing customers with a simplified plan of action also helps build trust. He suggests Realtors send a simple email to all customers after an initial meeting that begins with the problem the customer faces. For example, if the customer says they need a home with a two-sink bathroom and fenced backyard, reiterate the problem and empathize with their needs. Doing this will emphasize the urgency to do business, he said.

From there, position yourself as the solution by using a phrase that raises your value, such as, “I think your dream home is on the market right now.” Then provide the customer with a simple, three-step plan to get to the solution.

“Don’t assume your customers know what the plan is. You have to build trust by providing a simplified plan,” he said.

Miller said most people need simplified information when making purchasing decisions.

“Clarity will differentiate you,” he said. “I’m convinced that most of us, when we’re selling a house, are actually confusing people by giving them information they don’t need and are not asking for.”

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