I have two stories to share with you today that I think will help you in your selling. The first is inspired by my wife Kacy and an experience she had recently with a ring that she ordered from a company called Pure Soul Holistics. The ring was handcrafted by Nicole, the owner of the company, for Kacy, from re-purposed materials.
When I asked Kacy how she liked the ring, she responded, “It’s imperfectly, perfect.” You see the ring has some scratches, the copper had an uneven layer of patina across the surface. The ring was not machine exact in regards to its sizing or even in the circular shape of it-and that’s what made it perfect for her.
The second example involves a new addition to our family:
This is Oliver and we rescued him about a week ago and he already is a treasured part of our family. Interestingly, when I first met Oliver he came up to me immediately and jumped in my lap, and then in my daughter’s lap and he was super friendly and cuddly! However, I was concerned because he has a cloudy eye lens and I wasn’t too excited about that whole deal, quite honestly.
We visited with more cats and then brought Kacy back to the shelter so she could visit with the cats that were on our list. We visited with one that seemed promising, but something wasn’t quite right. We then spent more time with a bunch of other cats …and then Oliver walked up to Kacy and jumped in her lap. Finally, Kacy decided to ask about the eye condition on Oliver-and we heard what we needed to hear to feel comfortable about the decision.
And honestly, now that it’s been a few days I love the fact that his eye isn’t perfect-it gives him character and also makes me feel even better about adopting him, because his eye may have prevented another family from adopting him.
What is the point?
So many times in selling we think we need to be perfect…and we try so hard to be perfect that we don’t allow our own authenticity, or the authenticity of the community to shine through. In my experiences with people, we’re all looking for authentic, organic, real experiences, even when we buy a product or lease an apartment.
So if something goes wrong on the tour, it goes wrong. Find ways to smile about it, address it if you need to and then move on. If you completely spaced out on the price of the apartment or the name of the floorplan, it’s okay to make a self-deprecating joke about it (after all, we’ve all been there!) instead of trying to pretend it didn’t happen.
BTW: I am not suggesting that you take someone past an apartment that has had mold and saying, “Oh, there was Level Four TOXIC mold in that apartment!!” Of course, you still need to be smart about what you share!
I am saying that you shouldn’t be afraid of imperfections, or when things that don’t go as planned! Many times it’s those imperfect things that will make your community seem perfect to your prospect!
