Are you wasting time with suspects while you’re real buyer prospects are going unattended?
Recent statistics show an alarming trend of real estate agents who are converting less than 20% of their appointments with “buyers” into closed transactions. That’s only one out of every five opportunities! What’s the problem?
We talked to some of the most successful real estate agents in the business to compose a list of suggestions and a plan of action steps calculated to help you capture more qualified, ready, willing and able buyers and achieve a higher conversion ratio of buyers into happy home-owners.
- Create a VIP Buyer Guarantee Program that offers specific benefits to a buyer including VIP vendor list, “white glove” move in service, VIP buyer hotline, etc.
- Develop a first-time homebuyer and investor buyer campaign to capitalize on the large percentage of buyers in these market segments.
- Develop and post “This week's top 10 hottest buys” list to capture the newest buyers looking for the best opportunities in your market area. Build a database from these inquires.
- Have more open house events but do them right. Open houses are to capture leads not to sell the property. Create an event and drive traffic. (40% will actually be potential sellers!)
- All buyer appointments MUST start in the office with a new buyer complimentary consultation to determine how you can help them and to agree on a plan to accomplish that objective.
- Focus as much energy on counseling a buyer as you do on qualifying the buyer. Your job is to educate the buyer, determine their real needs and then satisfy the needs.
- Explain to the buyers that there is no such thing as the “perfect home” and that home buying is really about compromise, getting the things they need, with as many things they want, in a price range they can afford in an area they want to live.
- Create the expectation for the buyer to buy. Are you taking buyers out to “find their new home” or to “look at houses”? The best agents know they must create the right expectation for their buyer to prepare the buyers to buy.
- ALWAYS review with the buyer any paperwork that would be necessary to purchase their new home BEFORE you begin to preview property with them.
- Uncover and remove any obstacles that might stand in the way of the buyers buying BEFORE you show them the right property. Are there financial issues that have to be resolved? Is there someone else that needs to approve the purchase?
- Get a Buyer Broker Agreement completed with all buyers. You would not go to work for the seller without a written agreement; don’t the buyers deserve the same discipline?
- Have all buyers preapproved not just pre-qualified. Too much time is spent with suspects who are not capable of purchasing or not capable of purchasing properties they are previewing.
- Be a good detective. You’ll make more sales if you talk less and listen more. You should listen at least twice as much as you talk. Learn to listen with your eyes and your ears.
- Learn to demonstrate the property focused on specific benefits of the features in the property not just the feature themselves.
- Learn how to effectively handle objections. Objections are not bad, objections are good. Objections give you the direction you need to help your buyers move forward.
So, if your conversion ratios are not as good as you’d like them to be, stop wasting time with suspects and follow these words of advice from some of the most successful real estate professionals in the business.
Thought for today: The unfortunate thing about life is that the good habits are much easier to give up than the bad ones!
Have a productive day.
BF
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