Last Thursday we did a little show in the SWS Virtual Studio called "How to Wow Your Seller" where Susan Haughton and I discussed various things a listing agent can do to ensure that her seller clients are talking about her behind her back, letting everyone they know how thrilled they are with the service they're receiving. At the end of the show, we asked the audience to share their Favorit-est Tips and below are the results of that survey.
But first, know that your sellers aren't going to be "wow'ed" by a big flashy display or expensive closing gift. No, wowing your seller (or your buyer for that matter) is far more a function of the Total Client Experience - how satisfied they are in the day-to-day with your communication, your attention and your expertise. If your client is less-than-wow'ed with you during your transaction together, no Flashy Wow or Fancy Closing Gift will change that.
My point is that the Favorit-est Tips you will read about might seem kind of mundane, even ordinary, but I promise you, if you do these things for your seller, you'll blow away most of your competition because they AREN'T doing them!!
So... without further adieu... How to Wow Your Seller: The Favorit-est Tips
Favorit-est Tip #1 (by far): Contact the seller every day for the first ten days of the listing. While putting a sign in a yard may be just another day at the office to you, it's a Big Deal to your sellers and they want to feel that you care as much as they do about your new listing. The best way to let them know this is to be in frequent communication about all the things you're doing and what's happening so they know they're Always On Your Mind. This is really easy to do since there ARE a lot of things going on in those first ten days!
Favorit-est Tip #2: Ask your seller for feedback on how you're doing. That this tip was so popular surprised me. But yeah, a few weeks into the listing (after you've been showering them with attention the first ten days!), just ask your sellers if they're satisfied with your service. I think I'd fall over in a faint if a real estate agent ever asked me that!
Favorit-est Tip #3: Give the seller a Market Snapshot when their home goes on the market. A "Market Snapshot" is a list of the current competition for your listing - aka the other homes on the market competing with yours. Every few weeks, update this report with a "State of the Market" report, detailing recent activity such as new listings, price reductions, homes under contract and withdrawn, etc.
Favorit-est Tip #4: Preview any new competition as it comes on the market and share your findings with the seller. Keep an eye on the market activity surrounding your listing and preview any new listing that comes up. This gives you a great excuse to contact your seller with feedback and keeps you up-to-date on the market activity in the area. Win/win!
Favorit-est Tip #4a: Offer to take your seller out to preview the competition for their home.
Favorit-est Tip #5: Provide the seller with a Calendar of Events detailing what will be happening during the listing period, as well as during the Contract-to-Closing period.
Other Tips: Provide prompt feedback after an Open House, send the seller links to your online advertising, prepare a thorough CMA and be able to intelligently discuss the data within it, prepare a new CMA every six weeks, use "we," "our," and "let's" when discussing strategy.
If you'd like to hear the entire show, you can find it at Club SWS or at the SWS Bookstore.
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Here is a short survey about the things a real estate agent can do to make sure his or her seller knows he or she cares! If you have a few minutes.... just click this link to participate - http://survey.constantcontact.com/survey/a07e7km90vrhh7rmfut/start
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