The Socratic Method of Selling: How my Team Sells 15+ Homes per Month 

I want to share with you a method of selling that has helped my team to consistently close over 150 homes a year. Our online lead generation conversions hover around 10 percent depending on lead source. I believe part of the reason this is true is due to the Socratic Method of selling. 

Socrates was an ancient philosopher that engaged in discussions with other citizens regarding many different philosophical topics. Socrates’s method of teaching listeners was eventually coined “The Socratic Approach.” Socrates would ask thought-provoking questions to help the listener engage in thoughtful dialogue and examine the new ideas carefully. 

According to the “Intel Teach Program,” some general tips for Socratic questions are as follows: 

• Plan significant questions that provide meaning and direction to the dialogue  
• Use wait time: Allow for students to respond  
• Follow up on students’ responses  
• Ask probing questions  
• Periodically summarize key points that have been discussed 
• Let students discover knowledge on their own through the probing questions the teacher poses 

As a team, we’ve been utilizing this method for all online leads. These three questions give us ALL the information we need: 

Question #1:

What did you like and what would you change about the homes you saw?  

Most agents ask something like: what kind of home do you want? If the buyer is early on in their process (like in a PPC lead scenario), they won’t respond favorably.  

Question #2:

If you could wave a magic wand, when would you be in your new home? 

Most agents ask something like: When do you want to buy your new home? If the buyer isn’t sure about their plans, they will rush off the phone. This question allows them to share their dreams. 

Question #3:

Do you have a friend or a family member in the mortgage business? 

Most agents ask something like: Do you want to talk to my lender? He is really good. If the buyer is like most, they are generally jaded with salespeople and they will assume you are getting a kickback. This question allows them to realize you have their best interest at heart. 

The goal of these questions is twofold: Obtain necessary information that we as agents need to be successful AND generate legitimate conversation to connect on a personal level with the lead. 

Support for Lab Coat Agents, and the audio version of this article, comes from Elevated Real Estate Marketing and Travis Thom. Elevated R.E.M. provides Facebook advertising coaching and ad agency services for Real Estate Agents across the globe. Visit ElevatedREM.com for more information.