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It has never been easy to get prospective buyers to close on a real estate listing. Thanks to the internet, the task seems more difficult than ever. The market is rife with window shoppers and indecisive house hunters, making it a sometimes overwhelming challenge to get them to commit.
While window shoppers can present a hurdle for real estate agents who are trying to close a sale, it isn’t impossible to win them over. There are ways to sift through the not-so-serious prospects and find the ones who can be nurtured into making a commitment. Read the expert advice from Forbes Real Estate Council below to help you understand how to turn window shoppers into committed buyers.
1. Be A Problem-Solver
Do your best to be a problem-solver. Help identify what roadblocks are getting in their way from moving forward and help find solutions to those problems. The more problems you can solve, the more deals will get done. Simple. – Alec Miller, Schiff Capital Group
2. Create A Sense Of Urgency
One way to turn window shoppers into buyers is to have a call to action. The call to action can be in the form of a deadline, i.e., a deadline to tour the property, make an offer, etc. Another type of call can be a seller-established deadline such as “must close on a sale within 60 days.” The key is to create a sense of urgency surrounding the sale of the property. – Mark Tiefel, Capital Equity Group, Inc.
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3. Aim To Educate And Empower
Educating potential buyers on all the great value and benefits of real estate investing when it comes to wealth building, tax advantages and overall leverage—just to name a few—is a great way to make potential buyers pull the trigger. We must also empower potential buyers with resources and education so that they are aware of their ability to acquire real estate. – Mario Sandino, First Service Realty ERA
4. Ask Great Questions
Don’t underestimate the power of asking great questions. Asking good questions is the best way to understand a browser’s motivation. Once you understand their motivation for logging on to the site, you can assess how motivated they are to buy and follow up with the right type of information. – Kevin Markarian, Marker Real Estate
5. Become Their Knowledgeable Friend
Communicate with buyers ASAP. Though the listing may not be available, talk with them about alternatives. Most important, befriend them by finding common ground while communicating. Offer info, personal anecdotes, auto-emails, etc. so as they find properties online, they will not only take you up on your offer to be their go-to realtor but consider you a knowledgeable friend. Then stay in touch! – Ruth Marlene Graham, Tropics Real Estate
6. Be Honest And Transparent
Show the properties through unedited content rather than using fish-eye cameras or enhancing the pictures. I’ve found that doing so helps me earn my client’s trust and start our relationship off on the right foot. Honesty and transparency above all. – Rodolfo Delgado, Replay Listings
7. Follow Up, Through And Back
Follow up with their initial inquiry right away, along with all subsequent requests. Follow through and actually get the work done. Merely acknowledging their question or inquiry isn’t enough; you need to put in more effort than that and then follow back. Just because you did your job doesn’t mean you don’t need to chase your own potential client. – Chadwick Ciocci, Chilton & Chadwick
8. Highlight Benefits Of Buying
Turning prospective real estate buyers into ready, willing and able buyers typically revolves around two factors: money and lifestyle. Provided a buyer can afford a home, it’s imperative to first show how purchasing a property is a better monetary decision relative to renting. There are a number of criteria that go into this calculation, but it’s quite simple to break down for a buyer. – Corey Burr, TTR Sotheby’s International Realty
9. Be Empathetic To Their Goals
The homebuying process can be a stressful and emotional process for most people. Being empathetic to their goals and concerns is key to building a strong relationship with prospective buyers and getting a commitment from them. An agent’s personal connection and touch during a daunting process cannot be replaced by any new technology. – Ron Costa, The Eighty Two Group
10. Provide Value
Providing value, empathizing and anticipating questions or concerns are all critical factors. Look at things from the buyer’s perspective and think about what they might be wondering. If it is someone moving from out of state, send a neighborhood guide or info on schools, parks and retail centers in the city. If it is an investor, send rental comps and run the cap rate or cash-on-cash returns for them. – Catherine Kuo, Elite Homes | Christie’s International Real Estate
11. Offer Unique Features And Amenities
Regardless of the type of property, value-add is always the key. We make sure to include features and amenities in our multifamily properties that will make us stand out. If you can create excitement around a property and create an impression that your property will enhance the tenants’ or buyers’ quality of life, you’ll be able to convert that curiosity into a sale. – Ken McElroy, MC Companies
12. Leverage Local Knowledge And Experience
Local knowledge and personal experience are the keys. Many consumers shop around and are likely to end up falling in love with a specific neighborhood for a reason. Providing high-quality local knowledge and educating the consumer about the area of interest will allow the consumer to make a decision and ultimately commit to the area. – Marco Del Zotto, LIV | Sotheby’s International Realty – Breckenridge CO
13. Use Tenant Experience Software
As people begin to expect the same strong customer experience from where they live and work, providing a digital layer to your property will become more and more key. Emerging tenant experience technologies enable residents to engage seamlessly with your property and those that occupy it while giving managers key insights into how to improve that experience. – Benjamin Pleat, Cobu
14. Provide As Many Video Tools As Possible
Potential buyers need to feel they know a house as intimately as possible before taking the next step to personally visit a listing with you. That website must include as many video tools as possible, with marketing style videos that include drone footage, as well as 3D-style videos that literally walk a client through the home. Once hooked online, they’ll visit in person and become a buyer. – Gregory Gunter, Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Colonial Homes San Miguel
15. Know How The Property Meets Their Needs
The key to getting commitment is about getting to know the buyer’s needs and highlighting the characteristics of the property that will meet the buyer’s needs. One way to achieve this is by prescreening these buyers and knowing their ability to go through with these transactions. Follow-up calls can be very helpful in taking a buyer to the finish line. It is about building relationships. – Chander Mishra, Blue Ocean Capital LLC