Illusions and Satisfaction

Mick Jagger said it best, "I can't get no satisfaction"

What if there were a way you can?

If you are like me, you are intrigued by illusions.  I recently came across a TV show called Brain Games on the National Geographic Channel which is geared towards illusions and the show picks those illusions apart sort of what Penn and Teller would do.  The show isn't as gimmicky as P&T's act, but it does help us understand why our brain is interpreting what it is seeing. 


I only caught one episode so far regarding the power of persuasion.  I think this is a helpful episode for all Realtors that spend countless hours, days and nights working their hearts out for their buyers.  It will help you hone in your skills on how to set up showings, the order to set up showings in and how to best make your client feel satisfied.  It's this satisfaction that will hopefully result in a sale, but will also result in referrals.   

They gave a great example about going to an ice cream store.  So there are two ice cream stores, a Baskin Robbins with 31 flavors and small store with three flavors, chocolate, vanilla and strawberry.  Which ice cream store would you chose?  I can tell you if you chose the larger store, your mind will always be second guessing itself after you leave whereas if you chose the smaller store, you mind will be satisfied with it's decision.  When you start to think about setting up showings for buyers, does this ring a bell?


How many homes do you show one particular buyer to be productive?  Are you the type of agent that shows everything that meets the buyer’s criteria?  If a buyer were to purchase something in this scenario, the buyer will not feel satisfied versus if you only showed a limited amount of homes. 

Now in the same episode, they talk about how we make purchases.  This time we are at a movie theater and we're feeling a bit hungry and we want popcorn.  There are two sizes, Small for $3 or Large for $7.  Which do you chose?  Probably the small, right?  Now what if there were three choices, Small for $3, Medium for $6.50 or Large for $7.  Which do you chose this time?  Large, because we are now perceiving value by paying .50 more for a Large than a Medium.  The small doesn't look like such a good buy now.

Take this to heart when setting up showings and honing in on only showing a selection of all the inventory.  If you have buyer that says "I will do a 2 bedroom plus den with at least 2 1/2 baths, but I much rather have a 4 bedroom room with at least 3 1/2 baths," think strategically using the popcorn example above how to sell your buyer and make them feel satisfied through the Power of Persuasion.

We as Realtors need to take these lessons in.  We are all guilty of showing Buyers too much which becomes counter productive.  Negotiate with your buyers when setting up showings the same way you would negotiate a deal on their behalf.  Fight for satisfaction and watch your business grow.