Why Impact Statements…

Once all issues have been identified, it is a good idea to finish by asking,

“Is there anything else?” or “Are there any other issues or concerns?” It is much easier to finish discovering all issues and concerns at this point instead of needing to repeat the process later.

Impact statements should be approximately ten words, leaving out adjectives and focusing on each issue as directly as possible. An impact statement should address specifically how unique value can be added in resolving concerns or issues.

Concerns or issues are either emotional or logical and the impact statement should offer a solution that is in the terms of the clients’ emotional or logical need.

People satisfy their logical needs and then always make a decision at the emotional level. Even the most logical person who checks out all the facts will finally decide to do what he wants supported by his research.

When asking questions listen for responses that indicate how emotional or how much fact someone will need to make a decision. A higher need for facts indicates a more logical approach.

How someone assesses risk also impacts their need for logical support. If a client is considering purchasing a home in a market that is rapidly increasing in value and there is no perceived chance of loss, it is a simple matter of finding a suitable property. If a market is depreciating, most clients will become very cautious about making a purchase.

Advertising for years has tried to convince people that there is no risk in increasing debt and that they somehow deserve to fulfill their wants even with no foreseeable method of decreasing debt.

When risk is considered high regarding a decision, many times a person will decide to do nothing at all. Often the frustration associated with deferring a decision based on high risk alone will result in an impulse decision in another area considered less risky. (I cannot buy a home but I can buy a new wide screen TV.)

Illustration…

Suppose I receive a call from a seller who expresses a need to change agents in order to sell his home. The seller says, “The last agent did not advertise enough,” Of course the question is, “What is enough advertising?”

Given control, the seller will want to exhaust every possible means of advertising that might sell his home with no consideration of the required budget.

I would probably use the following IMPACT STATEMENT

I can implement a marketing plan exposing your property to 85% of the available buyers.