My friend and colleague Amy Wease is here to talk about how to use the book The Paradox of Choice to help your buyers make better decisions faster. I started a book club with the agents that I work with because every day I reference certain books. The concepts in the books we talk about can be applied to our lives, our businesses, and with our clients.

If you want to help your mindset and grow your business, you may want to join us in the book club!  You can join here. It's free and it's fun and it will help your business grow!

Every month, I choose a book that has profoundly changed the way I think and do business. Then a month later, I have a conversation about the book. Join and you will get your first book club pick right away and then the discussion will be four weeks later.

You can find Amy here: Amy Wease

Show Notes

[03:59] How this book helped me to become a better decision maker, and it helped me to help my clients become better decision makers. [04:21] We must first narrow our options then we can make a decision. [05:19] How having more options makes decision making more difficult. When I see clients struggle with decision making, I actually send them the book. [06:06] You don't have to look at every house and every neighborhood. We can start by casting a wide net, but buying a house is a process in decision making. It is my job to help clients narrow their choices right away. [07:19] Applying the principles in the book has helped people make decisions better and faster. [08:08] How having too many choices make people shut down and stop. [08:22] If you see clients struggling, it is time to start narrowing the choices. [08:40] How to create a framework to help people make decisions. [08:57] Budget, location, and criteria such as bedrooms etc. Organizing decision points in these categories makes it easier to make a decision. [10:04] Picking one thing that doesn't change and then narrow from there. [12:30] The danger of having too many decisions points and using the framework to narrow things down. Ask the client how long they want to live in the property? [13:29] Why Amy decided to join the book club.  The book choice seemed unexpected because it wasn't real estate specific. This sparked her curiosity. [15:14] How to help clients feel confident and happy about the home buying process. [17:02] Amy's mom didn't understand the connection of reading this book for real estate purposes. How the book helps us understand how people make decisions and the pitfalls they run into and how to apply it to home buying. [19:38] How looking outside the real estate industry to be better at our jobs. We are here to help clients for life and show that we are different. [20:44] Maximizers versus the satisfiers. There are two types of people. Satisfiers make decisions fairly quickly. Maximizers have to have the best of the best. They may focus on status and what other people are doing. [22:23] No one is exclusively one or the other, but understanding the concepts helps us understand what the client is going through and what their wants and needs are. This helps agents to not waste time when all of the boxes need to be checked. [24:48] If you keep hitting a dead end, you may be dealing with a maximizer. It helps you to recognize it and know what you are dealing with. [25:30] The way people make decisions in other aspects of their lives also affects how they will make decisions about buying a house. [26:19] How the idea of more is better is constantly promoted. Even though, more choices can be overwhelming. [27:12] Constantly wondering if you can do better and how that can hurt home buyers. [28:39] Getting what you want when you become crystal clear about what you want. [29:23] The importance of being upfront and honest when there are trade offs. [30:04] The concept of the imagined alternative. It is an agents job to cut this off by adding clarity to the home search. Jennifer sends them a list of houses that have sold which can eliminate the imagined alternative or let them know that it exists through waiting. [33:23] How clients always ask the what if question. Giving evidence and using the resources you have at hand helps give clients a sense of peace [35:01] Jennifer wants every real estate agent to read this book and understand how more choices leads to bad decision making. [35:35] Amy found that taking the client through the process and being more than just a house hunter has had a positive impact on her clients lives. These people start making decisions better and faster. This new way of thinking even helps people become happier.

Links and Resources: The Paradox of Choice Join the Entrepreneurial Real Estate Agent Book Club Jennifer@AgentGradSchool.com