Paul Johansen of Douglas Elliman Real Estate: How To Be Great At Sales Without Seeming Salesy

I can’t stand pushy people and unfortunately many salespeople have that trait. When I encounter a pushy salesperson, the only thing that I hear is “Me Me Me!” On the other hand, when I encounter a good salesperson, I think, “Wow I feel heard.” It’s a simple difference of listening and putting the client’s needs ahead of yours. Part of me wishes it was more complicated, but it’s not. Put your clients’ needs first. Figure out why they are coming into your store, or into your office, and solve that problem. If you do that, your needs — “Me” — will take care of itself.

As a part of my series about how to be great at closing sales without seeming pushy, obnoxious, or salesy, I had the pleasure of interviewing Paul Johansen, Licensed Associate Real Estate Broker at Douglas Elliman Real Estate

Paul Johansen’s in-depth real estate experience allows him to understand and articulate the wide-ranging needs of every client. His unique consultative approach sets him apart by providing a comprehensive level of service that safeguards his clients in making the right decision.

Paul works with a wide range of clients and is equally comfortable at the kitchen table or in the boardroom. Whether working with direct buyers and sellers, crunching numbers with investors, or speaking on the short and long-term needs of a developer, it is Paul’s market knowledge and his ability to anticipate trends, outliers and “out of the box” options that provide his clients with opportunities others don’t readily observe.

Prior to real estate, Paul started his career as a mortgage bond trader eventually transitioning to work in the financial technology sector and ultimately founding his own marketing consulting firm. The footprints from these careers provide him with vast experience in marketing, finance, and negotiation — all foundational skills pivotal to success as a real estate advisor.

A lover of all things New York. In his free time, he is a proud volunteer with SAY — an organization dedicated to working with children living with a stutter.

Thank you for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to learn a bit more about you. Can you tell us the “backstory” about what brought you to this career path?

I had a circuitous path to real estate. I began my career as a bond trader, then moved to financial sales and marketing, and after that, I started my own marketing consulting firm. From a distance, I should have been happy, but that wasn’t the case. I was failing what I call the “mirror test,” which is a simple question I ask myself when I’m looking in the mirror every morning getting ready for the day. “Does what I spend most of my day doing bring me joy and fulfillment?” The answer, for most of my career, was a unconscious “no” — and I couldn’t ignore that “no” any longer. But then the unnerving part began. If not my current work, then what?! I needed to figure out when in my life I had been happy with my work. My thoughts brought me back to college when I was managing a bar with live bands. Then I asked myself what brought me happiness at that time, and the answer changed everything for me. It was the personal human connection. I need to have personal connection with people every day — not in a boardroom, or on a sales call but true personal interaction. Once I figured that out I had to figure out how to replicate that interaction and still meet my financial obligations. The answer was real estate. It was an opportunity to help people through what is often not only the largest financial transaction of their lives — but also the most personal.

Can you share with our readers the most interesting or amusing story that occurred to you in your career so far? Can you share the lesson or take away you took out of that story?

When I started my career as a real estate agent, clients would consistently say in our conversations, “You don’t sound like a real estate agent.” It was a backhanded compliment that made me smile every time. What I actually heard when they said this was, “I actually feel heard when I talk with you.”

Are you working on any exciting new projects now? How do you think that will help people?

Part of my job is working with developers, on both big and small projects. This means being part of a team that is literally staring at a piece of dirt and deciding what to build, which is extremely exciting for me. It’s a chance to create beautiful homes for so many people. It’s a chance to build something that people will find visually appealing while also ensuring it blends into the fabric of the neighborhood. I get excited just talking about it.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?

When I started as a real estate agent, I wore a suit to the office. It was time to work, and I wore what I knew to be work clothes. Unfortunately “suit guy” wasn’t as successful as I expected. People didn’t feel a connection with me, so I stumbled. One day I was telling this to a friend and he said, “Paul, when you walk into a room with a suit on you look like a banker. Nobody wants to share the personal experience of buying or selling a house with a banker.” Boy were they right! I needed to connect my outward appearance with my inward desire for human interaction; I needed to make myself accessible. This was by far the best piece of advice I have ever received — and after making that change, my business took off.

For the benefit of our readers, can you tell us a bit why you are an authority on the topic of sales?

In my mind, “sales” is simply matching buyers with sellers. Good salespeople make great matches and not so good salespeople make questionable matches. What I mean is that a good salesperson’s day is led by their clients’ goals, while not so good salespeople’s days are led by their own goals. This sounds simple, but it is the number one reason why people are not successful at sales. Know your client’s goals, know your market and product. If there is a sale in that intersection — amazing. If not, move on because any deal you make is in your best interest not necessarily your clients.

Let’s shift a bit to what is happening today in the broader world. Many people have become anxious from the dramatic jolts of the news cycle. The fears related to the COVID-19 pandemic have understandably heightened a sense of uncertainty and loneliness. From your experience, what are a few ideas that we can use to effectively offer support to our families and loved ones who are feeling anxious? Can you explain?

I’m a big believer of letting out the feelings of uncertainty or loneliness. Communication is key because the longer these feelings stay inside you, the more control they have. We are in an unprecedented time of history and anyone who thinks they know the answers is bluffing. It’s the person who says “I’m scared, I’m unsure, I have no clue” who has the best chance of riding out the current world situation with their wits intact. I wish I had magic words for the time we’re in, but I don’t. What I try to do is show up, control what I can and be considerate. It may sound simple, but it’s the map to my sanity.

Ok. Thanks for all that. Let’s now jump to the main core of our interview. As you know, nearly any business a person will enter, will involve some form of sales. At the same time, most people have never received any formal education about how to be effective at selling. Why do you think our education system teaches nearly every other arcane subject, but sales, one of the most useful and versatile topics, is totally ignored?

That’s a great question — I’ve never thought about it that way. Imagine if they did have a class called sales? What would the exam look like? Pitching the professor in front of the class, ha! That said, in a way, they indirectly teach sales, but it’s not called sales. It’s a combination of many courses, and the knowledge you gain from those classes can teach you how to develop connections with people.

I use information I learned in my economics and marketing, psychology and law, business management and philosophy courses every day. It’s a broad range of knowledge in my work that increases my chances of connection with my clients. Having a topic in common, or similar interest, increases relatability, and people buy from someone they can relate to. In my opinion, the main element of sales that isn’t taught is listening skills. I was lucky enough to have an active listening class in one of my business courses and it was a game changer for me. It gave me the ability to make sure what I was hearing was actually what someone was saying. You’d be surprised how often people don’t hear what someone is really saying and in sales, if you’re not hearing, you’re not selling.

This discussion, entitled, “How To Be Great At Sales Without Seeming Salesy”, is making an assumption that seeming salesy or pushy is something to be avoided. Do you agree with this assumption? Whether yes, or no, can you articulate why you feel the way you do?

I can’t stand pushy people and unfortunately many salespeople have that trait. When I encounter a pushy salesperson, the only thing that I hear is “Me Me Me!” On the other hand, when I encounter a good salesperson, I think, “Wow I feel heard.” It’s a simple difference of listening and putting the client’s needs ahead of yours. Part of me wishes it was more complicated, but it’s not. Put your clients’ needs first. Figure out why they are coming into your store, or into your office, and solve that problem. If you do that, your needs — “Me” — will take care of itself.

The seven stages of a sales cycle are usually broken down to versions of Prospecting, Preparation, Approach, Presentation, Handling objections, Closing, and Follow-up. Which stage do you feel that you are best at? What is your unique approach, your “secret sauce”, to that particular skill? Can you explain or give a story?

My approach is where I differ from others in my field. I really lean on the Socratic Method of listening, which is a method I learned in college that consists of repeating back to someone what they have just said to ensure you are hearing them properly. An example is, “So if I hear you correctly, you are looking for…” This simple nuance to my conversations with clients has been extremely helpful in not only developing initial relationships but also building trust throughout the sale cycle. In my business, like many others, a “Deal” can fall apart at least three times. For my success, if I truly understand clients’ desires and their objections, I can build trust into our relationship and move through those three deal-breaking issues to get the closing table.

Lead generation, or prospecting, is one of the basic steps of the sales cycle. Obviously every industry will be different, but can you share some of the fundamental strategies you use to generate good, qualified leads?

I go by a simple ratio that might be out of date but works for me. 7/1 — it takes $7 to acquire a new client and $1 to keep them. What this means is that my goal is for every client to feel as if they are my only client. When a client feels “taken care of” they want others to feel the same and referrals abound. This method continues to work very well for me.

In my experience, I think the final stages of Handling Objections, Closing, and Follow-up, are the most difficult parts for many people. Why do you think ‘Handling Objections’ is so hard for people? What would you recommend for one to do, to be better at ‘Handling Objections’?

I believe handling objections is directly tied to expectation management. If a seller or buyer knows an objection might come up, they handle it much easier than if they are caught by surprise. I always say there is a limited amount of patience in every deal. Don’t use it up on the easy stuff — and expectation management should be part of the easy stuff.

‘Closing’ is of course the proverbial Holy Grail. Can you suggest 5 things one can do to successfully close a sale without being perceived as pushy? If you can, please share a story or example, ideally from your experience, for each.

Get your client used to saying “yes” so that when you need the final “yes,” they are already in the habit and it is much easier for them. I’ll repeat myself with expectation management because it is a large part of closing. Revert to conversations when you told them there would be a time in this process when you need them to make a big decision. This is that time. They have answers to all the questions they wanted to ask; they need to say “yes” or “no.”

Finally, what are your thoughts about ‘Follow up’? Many businesses get leads who might be interested but things never seem to close. What are some good tips for a business leader to successfully follow up and bring things to a conclusion, without appearing overly pushy or overeager?

Follow up on items that are of interest to the client. Let them know you heard them, and their needs, and you are following up to address those needs. That level of care will be recognized.

As you know there are so many modes of communication today. For example, In-person, phone calls, video calls, emails, and text messages. In your opinion, which of these communication methods should be avoided when attempting to close a sale or follow up? Which are the best ones? Can you explain or give a story?

I always ask clients their preferred form of communication and I stick to that. However, in that same conversation, I let them know that if I call, it is for something that is either crucial to our goal or time sensitive. This way, they make a call from me priority number one.

Ok, we are nearly done. Here is our final “meaty” question. You are a person of enormous influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the greatest amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)

A little less forefinger and a lot more thumb. What does this mean? We have a society that loves to point fingers at others as if “they” are the problem. I would like everyone to stop pointing that forefinger and look at their thumb pointing back at them. Think about yourself and what you can do to make things better. What can you do to listen more? What can you do to be the solution?

How can our readers follow you online?

Website: https://pauljohansen.elliman.com