Recap: Week of October 20, 2025

Control the Tour, Control the Price

Why This Week Matters

The listing is won or lost during the home tour. Over-complimenting inflates expectations and sets up a pricing battle later. This session gives you a repeatable way to position yourself as the expert, extract the seller’s authentic Home Story, and bridge cleanly into data-based pricing and next steps (including Private Exclusive) without friction. 

Key Takeaways

• Tour = leverage point. If you do the home tour incorrectly (over-compliment, and not establish authority and control), you create a pricing gap later that can lead to conflict and losing rapport with the client. 

• Setting the Stage: Recap motivation/constraints, then ask permission to lead the tour and questions.

• Home Story first, features second. Walk-and-talk questions fuel better copy, photos, and staging decisions to help tell the home story to the ideal buyer.  

• Make misalignment visible. A simple phone-photo test helps the seller see what buyers will see. Use your cell phone and lead with asking what story they want a picture to tell the buyer. 

• Price by range + consequences. Offer a data-based range, explain what would need to change to reach a higher number, and teach the “stale cake in the bakery” consequence of overpricing.

• Private Exclusive with intent. Launch with clear purpose → outcomes → next step (adjust or proceed based on feedback).

• Protect your brand. If the client won’t align on process or price, it’s okay to decline.

Scripts 

• Authority & Permission (open the tour):
  “Would it be okay if I asked you some really important questions so we can position your home for the ideal buyer and maximize your equity?”

• Two-Path Equity Alignment:
  “There are two schools of thought. Which best aligns with your goals?

  • A) Maximize my home’s equity in its current condition.

  • B) Explore strategic upgrades to potentially walk away with more."

• AI Note-Taker Consent:

“Would it be okay if I use an AI note taker so I can be fully present and capture everything? I’ll send a same-day recap and if anything sensitive comes up, tell me to pause.”

• Phone-Photo Reframe (staging without ego):
  “Looking at this photo, does the experience you want buyers to feel actually come through? If not, let’s remove what distracts us so your home’s story is clear.”

• Pricing Range + Consequences (avoid the trap):

“This is the range the data supports. If you want a higher number, would it be okay if I walk you through what would have to change to earn it today?

Has anyone shared the consequences of overpricing and coming back later? Think of the best cake in a bakery that’s still there three months later—do you expect full price, or do you think something’s wrong?”

• Boundaries (declining misaligned business):

“My goal is to meet and exceed your expectations. If we start at a price not based on data, the only thing I can do is disappoint you and I’m not comfortable doing that.”

• Private Exclusive (three-step clarity):
  “Purpose (test price, gather feedback) → Outcomes (what did we learn?) → Next Step (pull and reposition for Coming Soon based on data, or leave it up for an aspirational buyer).”
  

• Home Story Walk-Through (ask while moving):

  • "What will you miss most about living here?”

  • “What’s your favorite thing about the home?”

  • “Which room holds your best memory?”

  • “What would someone only know if they lived here?”

  • “Why did you buy this home?”

  • “What do you love about the location/community?”
    

• Neutral Condition Frame (appraisal language):
  “Appraisers use condition codes—C1 new, C2 gut-renovated, C3 solid with older upgrades, C4 needs work, C5 teardown. Some upgrades matter to certain buyers, but they don’t always change list price.”

Action Steps

1. Print + rehearse the Home Story question set; bring it to every listing appointment.

2. Start each tour with the permission script and two-path equity alignment.

3. Run an AI note taker (with consent) and send a same-day recap with agreed next steps.

4. Use the phone-photo test to depersonalize staging.

5. Present a pricing range, teach the overpricing consequence analogy, and outline the “what must change” path to a higher price.

6. If using Private Exclusive, document purpose → outcomes → next step before launch.

7. Say no—gracefully—when a client won’t align on process or price.

Functional Flow & Consultation Mastery

Why This Week Matters

This week we turned the buyer consultation from a talk track into a repeatable system. We used the functional flow framework to understand how a client actually lives—inside the home and out in the community—then used that context to curate listings, create the gap (between what they’re searching for and what they truly need), and fill the gap with a tailored plan. The goal: show unmistakable value, set standards, and minimize commission objections because your process is clear, visual, and client-centered.

Key Takeaways

• Functional Flow → discovery before specs. Lead with lifestyle patterns (weekday/weekend rhythm, proximity, community) instead of beds/baths/SF.

• Create → Fill the Gap. Contrast “generic search” with an annotated, curated collection that proves your filter and thinking.

• Hero Collection. Keep a prebuilt, commented collection to quickly demonstrate how you evaluate fit against a buyer’s flow.

• Context > tools. Frame questionnaires and workflows so clients see the benefit to them (alignment, clarity, saved time).

• Three Proofs demo. Show (not tell) how you: (1) earn compensation, (2) fulfill promises with a system, and (3) provide full transparency.

• Standards for leads. Set rules for internet/text leads; it’s okay to say no when misaligned after a first outing.

• Record & leverage. Capture the consult; use AI to generate property comments (fit, misfit, blind spots) tied to their flow.

Scripts 

1) Functional Flow Pattern-Interrupt (Discovery Opener)

“Have you ever heard the term ‘functional flow’ before? Has anyone taken the time to ask you what your functional flow is—inside the home and outside in the community?”

2) The Big Mistake Reframe (Create the Gap)

“Can I share the biggest mistake most buyers make? They search by bedrooms, bathrooms, square footage, and updates—then try to fit their life into a house. We flip that. We define how you live first, then hand-pick properties that fit your life.”

3) Show-Don’t-Tell Filter Demo (Hero Collection Walkthrough)

“Let me show you exactly how I filter properties and why each one does or doesn’t fit your functional flow. I’ll annotate what works, what doesn’t, and what to watch out for.”

4) Authority & Role Definition Question (Qualify Representation)

“What do you envision an agent doing for you that you can’t get on your own?”

5) Supportive Neutral Close (De-pressure & Trust Builder)

“Whatever you decide to do, I support you 100%.”

6) Internet Lead Standards (First-Outing Gate)

“For online leads: I’m happy to help. I’ll ask a few questions to tailor a first outing. After we experience working together once, we’ll decide if partnering is the right fit.”

7) Three-Proofs Demo Pivot (Why You? → Short Demo)

“I don’t know if you should choose me. What I can do is show you three things: exactly what I do in exchange for compensation, the system I use to keep every promise, and how you’ll have full transparency over what’s done and what’s next. Give me 10–15 minutes, and then choose what’s best for you.”

Action Steps

1. Build/refresh your Hero Collection (8–12 listings) with clear annotations linked to a sample buyer’s functional flow.

2. Run a full discovery before specs: capture motivations, expectations, disappointments, and concerns in writing.

3. Introduce the Buyer Questionnaire with context; offer to walk it live and take notes for the client.

4. Record the consult (with consent) and add notes to the buyer’s workspace; generate AI-assisted comments for top candidates.

5. Run a 10–15 minute Compass ONE demo using the three proofs (money → system → transparency).

6. Write and publish lead-handling standards (minimum discovery questions, first-outing rules, go/no-go criteria).

7. Role-play two scenarios this week: (a) functional-flow pattern interrupt, (b) “why choose you?” demo pivot.

Why This Week Matters

This session reset the meaning of “prospecting.” We’re reframing it as making friends—building trust at scale using habits and systems that feel authentic, not pushy. Before tactics, we anchor mindset: design habits you actually enjoy, define who you serve, and organize your CRM so no relationship falls through the cracks. When you build trust-first systems, your ground game becomes consistent and compounding.

Key Takeaways

• Rebrand prospecting → “making friends.” If you wouldn’t do it to make a friend, don’t do it to a prospect. The outcome we sell is trust.

• Habit > willpower. Reduce friction: schedule-send a few texts the day before so the next day starts with warm replies; stack activities you enjoy (e.g., a morning coffee) to cue outreach.

• Start with people who already trust you. Referrals and spheres are the stickiest path; “cold lead” volume without trust systems is a grind.

• Define your client (WHO) before tactics. Clarify identity, values, common ground, and the value you deliver—so your message actually lands.

• CRM foundations. Put interests in Notes; use Tags for campaigns/action plans. The CRM lets you “hold more faces” and manage more relationships.
  

• Plan your time like a builder. Color-code calendar blocks for system-building (not just “technician” or “manager” time). Progress daily.

• Quality > quantity. Contacts matter, but quality contacts compound trust and conversion.

• Homework. Pull 75–100 of “your people” (past clients, sphere, agent partners) and highlight/tag them for next week’s workflows.

Action Steps

1. List build (foundation): Identify 75–100 contacts (sphere, past clients, favorite agents). Tag them for an action plan; add interests to Notes, not tags.

2. Daily habit (low friction): Tonight, schedule-send 3 texts to tomorrow’s contacts. Respond naturally when replies land.

3. Relationship blocks: Book 2 coffee meetups for next week; use them as your morning “friend-making” cue.

4. Calendar hygiene: Color-code system-building time (e.g., CRM cleanup, templating tags/action plans) and protect it.

5. Define your WHO: Write a one-page profile of your ideal client (common values, needs, proof of value you’ll deliver). Align your outreach with that identity.

6. Optional support: Use the QR on Stephen’s deck to book a 1:1 for accountability and customization.