Real estate scripts are ready-made. No one is a perfect fit, writes coach Darryl Davis. Custom metaphors are tailored to the person sitting with you.
Buyers and sellers can smell a memorized script from across the kitchen table, and credibility diminishes in that moment. A fix is not a better script. It’s about learning to explain your values and deal with objections with stories and analogies tailored to the specific person in front of you.
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This is a simple system I’ve been teaching real estate professionals for years to do just that on the fly.
The script is ready-made. No one is a perfect fit. Custom metaphors are tailored to the person sitting with you. The acronyms you can adjust on the fly are FORM for Family, Occupation, Recreation, and Memories.
Collect raw materials during rapport
FORMs don’t just pop up at the closing table. It’s the information you gather during the interview while building rapport and asking where they want to go next. While they’re talking, you’re quietly filing four things away.
Family gives you the most emotion: young children? Let’s compare marketing to raising a child or a child learning to play a musical instrument. Parents feel it right away because they live it every day. You can speak their language by profession. This is my favorite. Contractors will understand why you don’t skip steps. Nurses get triage and timing. Build your process around their terms and conditions and you’ll sound like one of them. Recreation opens up friendly side streets for golfers, tourists, fishermen, movie buffs, and more. Walk golfers through club selection and price. Explain how to influence travelers through appropriate flight bookings. Memories have weight. The trips they loved, their wedding, the day they bought this house. Big memories involve big emotions, and emotions make analogies stick.
Work on your appeal
Suppose a salesperson teaching third graders says, “I think you should sell it yourself.” Reach into her world.
“You know how motivated parents can teach their children to read at home? Some parents do a really great job. Yet schools still exist because there’s a whole system behind it to get consistent results for every child. Selling a house is similar. In parts, you absolutely can. My job is to look at the systems around that, the exposure, the negotiation, the dozen or so things that can go sideways if no one manages them.”
That’s a much softer answer than “How many homes did you sell?”
Two more objections, handled according to their world.
Suppose a homeowner with a small construction business says, “I think a friend of mine can take care of this.” Reach out for a deal.
“You know how you can hire someone to frame it for you on the weekends? Sometimes that works, right? But when it comes to your own home, most people want a qualified professional who works every day and stands behind the job. I’m a full-time professional at the biggest sale of your life. Your friend may be great. The real question is whether this is a trade you want to learn.”
Or discount objections from frequent travelers. “Another company will give you a cheaper price.” Use the road.
“When you book a trip, the cheapest ticket isn’t necessarily the one you’ll take. A bargain might have three connections and arrive in the middle of the night. The price is just one number on the page. What you’re really buying is a smooth arrival. My job is to get you to the closing table smoothly, and that’s where real money is made or lost.”
Questions to fill your toolbox
None of that will work if you’re walking around in the cold. Gather information on the form by asking simple, genuine questions while building trust. Map them to acronyms so you don’t miss anything.
Family: Who lives here with you? How often do your children attend local schools? Occupation: What do you do for work? Have you been busy lately? Recreation: What do you like to do in your free time? Memories: What do you miss most about this home? What are your fondest memories here?
By the time objections surface, the perfect frame is already in place, drawn from their own lives rather than a script.
be imperfect
Also be careful about timing. The goal is not to ambush homeowners with metaphors the moment they express a concern. First, listen carefully, make them feel heard, and then provide a photo. If the metaphor is expressed too quickly, it feels like a tactic. The same metaphor conveyed after listening intently makes you feel like you understand, and understanding is why it makes the list.
It’s okay if your first homemade metaphor is a little awkward. Repeating will smooth them out. The clunkiest custom analogy is better than the sleekest canning line. That’s because it was made for that person.
So, at your next appointment, stop rehearsing your lines and start listening to your family, career, pastimes, and memories. Once you find them, the perfect metaphor will automatically be constructed.
Daryl Davis, CSP, is a nationally recognized real estate speaker, bestselling author, and coach with over 40 years of experience in the industry. For more information, visit darrylspeaks.com.
