“A sense of humor is part of the art of leadership, of getting along with people, of getting things done.” – Dwight D. Eisenhower

A fisherman sells fish, a soldier sells his strength, a teacher sells knowledge, and a merchant sells wares. But a rental agent sells his ability to effectively communicate and one of the most valuable assets to your communication is humor.In fact I believe humor to be my single most important communication strength. If I can get a client to laugh, I can get him to buy. So can you! Nothing builds rapport faster than humor!

“A funny thing happened on my way to the sale!” How can you use this powerful tool to make more sales?

• Use humor in the warm-up presentation to set a happy tone for the meeting. The earlier you get a prospect to laugh, the better. Laughter is a form of approval.
• Don’t make jokes at someone else’s expense.
• Use yourself as the example or brunt of the joke. It shows you’re human and can take it.
• Don’t use ethnic humor or make ethnic jokes unless you are of that ethnicity. That’s not a guideline, that’s a rule.
• Listen before you tell a joke. Try to determine the type and demeanor of the person or people you are addressing. The wrong humor will kill you as fast as the right humor will let you live eternally.
• Try using personal experience rather than story-type jokes. Something funny happened in our office, or with you kids, or when you were a kid, rather than, “Two guys were walking down the street…”
• If you tell a joke that the prospect or customer has heard before it’s actually a negative to make them hear it again.
• Timing. Timing. Timing. Don’t use humor where its’ not appropriate. There is never a right time to tell a political joke to someone you don’t know.
• Keep a joke file.
• Risqué jokes can be risky. They will get you into trouble if you say them to the wrong person. Know the limits of your audience before engaging your mouth.

Remember that people choose an apartment for largely emotional reasons. Build up enough positive emotion as you’re showing the apartment, and you’re guaranteed a yes!” This doesn’t mean that you can neglect facts, however. Although they may make the choice with their emotions, they need logic to back it up to themselves or their family!