It is no mystery that we all funnel what we hear and see through our previous experiences and knowledge base. Knowing this, when working with sellers ready to get out of Dodge, it is important we first address how they filter the information about their castle, where they may have painstakingly invested and raised families in for the last five, ten or fifty-five years (like my grandparents). As Agents+ (what I call professional agents), it is our responsibility to clear the seller's funnel with the CORRECT information. Of course this is no disrespect to Sally from down the street, who thinks this home can get top-dollar within 24 hours but we want our clients to be armed with the most current and accurate facts about local sales.
To properly acknowledge and clean the filter of real estate sellers, I like to use the classic b-school method of SWOT analysis (see Mom & Dad, my Michigan degree is still being put to good use 
). With a SWOT analysis of a potential real estate listing, we first simply review with the homeowner the strengths of their abode, including flooring choices, layout, design, and anything else that buyer's would flock to the sellers home to see. Your home seller will most likely take pride in your acknowledgment of her home's stellar features and this should also help to disarm her and be more receptive to what comes next... the weaknesses of her home.
In discussing the weaknesses of a seller's home, we must step lightly because this critique is not given to offend and mock but really to help your home seller understand items that could negatively impact the price of the home. It she truly wants top-dollar, then we have to help her to welcome this part of the discussion, despite being difficult to hear. These weaknesses may include design faults like the half-bath being IN the kitchen ADJACENT to the appliance area (so gross!) or paint choices, which can fairly easily be modified. At this stage, we are still working to clear the home seller's funnel to be receptive to your proposed listing price so spend time answering questions here.
Thirdly, get back to the good stuff and discuss the opportunities in the local market that will help the home's sales price. This may include the local feeder schools receiving higher rankings recently, interest rates dropping, companies relocating to the area and any other positives that increase the demand for the seller's home and make it prime real estate.
Next, discuss the threats in the local market, which may include regulatory hiccups, interest rate hikes, the current time in the real estate cycle being less than ideal and other market challenges. As with the weaknesses, take time here to answer questions and concerns.
Once all minds and filters are clear, now present your listing pricing strategy. Voila! By visually and skillfully adding The Real Estate SWOT Filter to your listing presentations, I expect you to have sellers that appreciate your research and in-depth knowledge of the market and who more readily accept your listing pricing strategy.
Check out the infographic below that sums up The Real Estate SWOT Filter. As always, don't hesitate to contact me with questions. Here's to your success!
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