As real estate agents, we spend so much time looking for the perfect 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom home for our clients, that we may be missing the point. They call us, tell us what they are looking for, then we become a computer in trying to find exactly what they are asking us to find. Or we put them on some auto search, and forget about them completely.
They day that buyers bought homes out of impulse, or because someone else would steal their home, or because their friends are, or because the news is telling them to buy has long since passed... Or the days that the buyer would buy from you, because they felt since you were there, you would give them the best possibility to get the home since you were... well... just there in front of them... And you could get them the home they wanted faster them time itself.
Times have changed, and so has the buyer. Buyers know it is a good time to buy, they know prices are low, they know that rates are low as well... But sometimes these things are not enough of a motivator to get them to budge. And as real estate agents, it seems that we are pushing these things as the sole motivator to help get agents off the fence.
We need to help buyers tap into the "why"... Why moving would benefit them. Why they want a larger house. Why they want a smaller house. What would their life look like if they made this purchase.
So when we talk to our clients, and they say they want a 3 bedroom house. Ask them, "What about this three bedroom home is so important to you?" Then ask it 2 more times using their answer as the question. If they say they want separate rooms for their two kids, then answer with, "So what about having two seperate rooms for your kids is so important to you" and so on. They way, you can get to the actual feeling as to why they want it... Not just that they want a 3 bedroom house. So when you find the perfect home, don't call and say, "I found a great 3 bedroom home"... Instead, say, "I found the perfect home for you, where the rooms are upstairs, so that Jack and Jill will be on the second floor with you, and when your Friends are over, they are not hanging out near the bedrooms" Or something like that.
So if your client says they want a backyard BBQ area, ask about it. Then based on the answer, go search for that feeling. So when you find it when you are previewing, don't just call and say, "I found a house with a backyard BBQ area" as this will invoke no feelings in their minds... Instead sell the feeling behind the BBQ. Say, "John, I found a home that you will be able to have your friends over to enjoy the evenings while you show off your cooking skills, and it is close to your favorite coffee house so you can head over on Saturday mornings and get that cup of joe without driving!" In the second statement you never said it had a backyard BBQ, you just sold the "feeling" again, or the "dream".
Once you have unlocked this urgency, use scripts to help them move along in the process. Like, "How would you feel if this home was sold to another buyer"... "Are you ready to make an offer on this home?"
Try it out, and let me know how it works for you! Go out there and find that "feeling" they are feeling, and unlock their urgency.
:)
Chris
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