Dave Robison

By Dave Robison

A few years ago I experimented with a very powerful lesson.  I was four hours away from home and had a potential seller call me up.  Becky explained to me that due to time constraints she could only meet with me at 6 p.m.  I wasn’t due home until 8 p.m.  I decided to leave early and I told her I would make it work.

After listing her home at that appointment, on my way out the door she said, “Ohh…you didn’t leave early just to come to our appointment did you?”   Naturally I wanted to say, “Oh no…I had other things to do as well.”  Or many other people say, “Ohh, I do it for all my clients.”  Or people say, “Oh, it’s no problem. Don’t worry about it.”  Saying any of these actually make you a failure at relationship building.  I recognized that this was a moment of relationship building power.  It popped in my head because I had been listening to tapes by Robert B Cialdini on Influence.  I also recognized that I needed to be honest.  How many people say, “Oh, it was no problem; I was planning on coming here anyway.”  They basically lied.  Your intent for leaving early was the appointment so don’t dodge that.  Tell the truth and embrace the moment of power.  So I said to her, “ You bet I did.”  She started to blush as her eyes grew big with gratitude and she said, “Noooo, you shouldn’t have.”   She is a very high “S” personality on the DISC which S personalities don’t like to be a burden on others..they are the peacemakers.  I continued, “Of course I did…that’s what we do for each other.”  Our relationship grew that day.  We had a stronger and closer relationship. It didn’t just make her know I’m committed to her…but it also made me feel great and closer to them.

Now for the cherry on top.  The next morning I got a call from her neighbor.   Her neighbor recited the exact story to me and said, “I want you to list my house.”  I got two high-priced listings in that neighborhood.  And I continue to get listings in that neighborhood because after selling those two homes word got around that if you want something sold you need to call Utah Dave. That day, I learned from personal experience that changing one sentence can be the difference between success and failure.

Dave Robison, known as “Utah Dave,” is a broker of Robison & Company Real Estate.