When I teach real estate agents how to conduct listing appointments, we always cover topics like handling objections and negotiating offers, but I want to dive into why using metaphors and analogies is so important when communicating—and why you should use them as often as possible.
Flexing the Creative Muscle
One of my favorite shows is “Whose Line Is It Anyway?” For those who don’t know it, it’s an improv show with a group of actors who are given a scenario and have to act it out. The creative muscle is one that can be worked, and the more it is worked, the stronger it gets.
The Example
My son lives down in Florida, and he recently sent me a text about how much he missed his girlfriend. I said, “Yeah, that feeling never really goes away for the people you really care about.”
Here’s where the power of metaphors and analogies kicks in.
When we use a metaphor or analogy, we’re going into a person’s world. We’re using their experiences to make a point they can relate to. When you do this, people don’t just hear your message, they also feel it.
So, this is what I told my son: “It’s just like you work through the feelings of physical pain at the gym. You’ll just have to mentally work through those feelings of missing her like you keep working through the soreness and pain when you are working out. If you give up and let yourself sit in the emotional or physical pain, you never get through it, and the pain will stay with you.”
The Takeaway
I had to think, “What analogy could my son relate to most right now?” I know the gym is something that’s really important to him, so I was able to parallel the physical pain from working out to his emotional pain.
I know a lot of agents are trying to use canned scripts and are worried about it sounding like a canned script, but when you’re using metaphors and analogies, you’re tapping into your client’s experiences and who they are and what they do. You’re relating to them, and it makes your conversation more present and natural.
With competition high and inventory low, it is more important than ever to fine-tune these communication skills. We can help. One of the most powerful tools we offer is weekly training sessions, at no cost, to help agents thrive in challenging times. See the link below to learn more.
Darryl Davis has spoken to, trained and coached more than 100,000 real estate professionals around the globe. He is a best-selling author for McGraw-Hill Publishing, and his book, “How to Become a Power Agent® in Real Estate” tops Amazon’s charts for most-sold book to real estate agents. He is the founder of the Next Level® real estate training system The Power Program®, which has proven to help agents double their production over their previous year. Davis is currently hosting free weekly webinars to help agents navigate the new real estate reality. To learn more, visit www.darrylspeaks.com/Online-Training.