Setting Sellers Up For Success – In Any Market
Your success as a listing agent depends on your ability to keep your clients informed and engaged.
How do you create a positive experience for your clients no matter what the sales price and market time are?
It’s all about setting the right expectations in the beginning and having a follow through system to let your clients know you are working for them no matter what the market does.
The key to all of it:
They need to feel empowered to make decisions and like they are in charge of their real estate destiny.
Your first conversations lay the groundwork for the entire process.
- Reassure them that their house will sell. Believe it or not, sellers get stressed and can think it’s impossible to sell when the market changes.
- Be realistic about how long it might take to get an offer. This is not the time to over promise and under deliver.
- Set benchmarks and expectations. In any market, after a dozen or so showings you should have an offer. If not, your price, condition or marketing is probably off.
- Make sure they know that this is not about what their house is “worth” it’s about “where the market is at”. This helps to make it less personal so that they can make more rational decisions.
- The sales price is just a piece of the puzzle. Lots of other things come into play like holding costs, investment gains for the money when it is reinvested, and the possibility of recouping any perceived loss with whatever property they purchase.
Once the listing in live:
- Follow up on all showings, and communicate the feedback to the sellers. The good and bad.
- Send weekly market updates on feedback, online traffic, market stats and relevant sales data. It answers the question of “is it the market as a whole or just us”.
- Acknowledge their emotions. Let them know that if they are disappointed or frustrated, that is okay.
Always remember, communication is key. With information comes options. Don’t shy away from reaching out to your client just because you think they will not like what you have to say. Chances are they know the conversation is coming.
Be the leader and the professional by taking charge.
To your success!
Nicole
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