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What Sellers Really Want From Their REALTOR |
Here are 10 things for you to do to develop loyalty from your customers and word-of-mouth referrals:
1. Deliver what you said you would at your listing presentation. Your credibility is at stake. Do what you say you will do. Tell the Seller what they "need to hear" not what they "want to hear".
2. Take the time to make honest recommendations to them about "getting their home ready to show." Provide them with the names of vendors who can do work with them if they need the contact.
3. Communicate, communicate, and communicate. Let your seller know what they should expect from you. Are you going to contact them after each showing... or once a week... or once a month? Personally, I like e-mail because I can do it late at night but some sellers prefer a phone call. Whatever your mode of communication, stay in constant touch. It sounds like a cliché, but a person's home is their most valuable asset. Treat it as such.
4. Be the messenger NOT the message...It is your job to TEST THE MARKET. If you properly price a home in the beginning it will sell, if it is over-priced "The Market" (buyers) will tell you by not making offers and making purchases elsewhere.
5. Pricing: Ever day a listing is on the market past 30 days the property and the REALTOR begin to lose value. 40% of properties which sell within the listing period sell within the first 30 days of being listed. Your listings best chance of being sold is to the "pent-up" supply of buyers waiting for a home like it to come on the market...These "Hot-Sheet" listings get the most attention from REALTORS who are searching the MLS for a particular buyers needs immediately after being placed active in MLS...put your listings best foot forward in the beginning not at the end when activity has waned.
6. Marketing Report. Provide you client, at least once a month, a written marketing report documenting your showings, your marketing, feedback and any other information which will be helpful to them in looking at the overall picture of their home. This requires a lot more work, but as a professional who is getting paid handsomely for their efforts, this is a document the seller deserves. But remember: All the marketing in the world will not sell an over-priced listing!
7. Contracts. Hopefully, before you have ever received an offer on your listing, your Seller has seen what the Offer to Purchase & Contract looks like. One of the quickest ways to earn your commission in a Sellers mind is to negotiate the best terms/price for them. Become an expert Negotiator! Getting a Seller $5000 more or negotiating favorable terms, could more than pay for the difference between your full commission and a "discounted" commission rate. Show them your strategy for negotiations on their property and let them know you are looking out for their interests.
8. Once the contract is accepted, take the contract and extrapolate all of the important dates into one document and e-mail it to the Seller. They are then able to follow along with what is going to happen next and know that you are on top of their transaction. Provide the same list to the Agent for the Buyer as well so that we are all on the same page.
9. Inspections. Once the home is inspected and the report is delivered, you must be the voice of reason. Be actively involved. Ask your Sellers, "What is the mission? To get your house sold? We will work through any inspection issues that are presented to us."
10. Follow through. Dot I's and cross T's. You want all of your transactions to close, But if there is a problem, you want to know about it immediately and do everything you can to address the issue at hand.
11. Go to the Closing. Never miss a closing!!! This is your opportunity to get referrals and build further trust.
Eddie Brown ©2010
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