You are gearing up for the big day. You have memorized backwards and forwards every detail of the property you are marketing. Surely anyone would be compelled to buy from someone so knowledgeable. About 10 minutes into your pitch, the prospect interrupts you to thank you for your time but says they’re not interested. How did they go from obviously interested to not at all? What did you miss?
WIIFM. What’s in it for me? As a consumer, your first instinct is to consider what’s in it for you when purchasing a product or service. As a CRE professional, it is pivotal that you put yourself on the same page as your prospect by focusing on the same thing. What’s in it for them? There are a few things to remember when implementing the WIIFM mindset into your sales strategy.
IT DOESN’T LOOK THE SAME FOR EVERYONE.
Every prospect is different and recognizing how to appeal to different demographics is a vital first step. Learning more about your prospect will help you determine what is valuable to them and what will appeal to them specifically. Some people value the best deal and want to save money while other people value location and having an asset that will drive demand for the long term. Knowing what is important to your prospect helps you realize what’s in it for them.
IT ALLOWS A CUSTOM EXPERIENCE.
When you focus on what is important to your prospect, you can customize the experience to satisfy their specific wants and needs and introduce information that could be new to them. Rather than reading a script that highlights the features of a product or service, you should help the customer recognize a need that they have that you can fill. WIIFM is gearing the conversation toward the prospect rather than the service you are offering.
IT IS UNIVERSAL.
WIIFM should be used in every facet of marketing and sales. When you help your prospects evaluate what is in it for them, you answer the question they are thinking without them even having to ask.
So how could you have used this approach to keep your prospects attention? If you had prompted yourself to look through a clear lens, one that allows you to see and understand the full value that you could bring to the table, you’d recognize that you had much more to offer than the blanket bullet points you rattled off. Customizing the experience for each potential prospect by both asking and answering the question of what is in it for them can help you stand out as more valuable and worth their time than other CRE professionals.
