How to Use the Book The Paradox of Choice to Help Your Buyers Make Better Decisions More Quickly

Do you have clients who want to see homes that you know will never work for them?

Or, maybe you have clients that look and look and can’t figure out what home to buy?

Press play above to listen in on this episode of the Confessions of A Top-Producing Real Estate Agent podcast where I explain how you can apply the concepts in one of my favorite books, The Paradox of Choice: Why More Is Less by Barry Schwartz to your own life and real estate business.

My friend and colleague Amy Wease is with me and we talk about how we both have used the book The Paradox of Choice to help our buyers and seller clients avoid buyer’s remorse, make better decisions about buying or selling a home, do so more quickly and enjoy the process along the way, and how you can too.

Whenever I see my own buyer clients stuck, unable to make a decision and floundering about what neighborhood to live in or what price range to look in, I gift them a copy of this book and explain the concept behind it—that seeing less homes, not more will help them end up with the home that’s best for them.

You see, many buyers think they need to see more houses in order to make a good decision about which home to buy. It’s actually the opposite.

In this episode, you’ll learn how as a real estate agent, your job is to help buyers first narrow down their criteria to only a few data points and only then, should they make a decision about which house to buy.
You need to guide your clients through HOW to make a good home buying decision.

Once you start apply the lessons to your own real estate business, you’ll be able to help your buyer clients feel so much better about the home buying process and they will be able to decide on a home more quickly. They will also be much happier with their choice in the end.

Win-win.

The Paradox of Choice outlines strategies that are scientifically proven to help people make better decisions more quickly, feel more satisfied about the decisions they’ve made and decrease buyer’s remorse.

Every real estate agent should apply these strategies to their business and, I show you exactly how to apply the concepts and strategies in this book into your own real estate business.

This is how you truly add value to your buyer clients’ lives. If you can teach a client a skill—how to make better decisions and enjoy the process along the way—you will stand out from the sea of real estate agents and help them in ways no one else can.

This is how you help change people’s lives for the better through their real estate choices.

This is how you answer that question, why should someone choose you, among all other real estate agents out there.

This is how you get loyal, repeat clients and referrals.

So, listen in and start applying these concepts to your own real estate business today.
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