If you are a real estate agent looking to close sales like a professional, you’re in the right place. This guide will go over the top ten tips that will help you close that sale and reap the rewards in the process. You can set yourself ahead of the competition and get the experience that people look for when they need a real estate agent (assuming you’re starting out).
If you’ve been in the game for a while and need to sharpen your skills, this guide will help. Let’s take a look now at the top ten tips below.
Work with Property Managers and Real Estate Investors
Property managers and real estate investors are some of your best friends in the world of real estate. You’ll be speaking with them on a regular basis regarding properties that are up for grabs. If you need more information, this page will provide you what you need for real estate agents looking to work for real estate investors.
A real estate investor may need you to go in and close the deal for them. Talk to the seller. What are their terms and do they match the desires of your client?
Be Ready to Negotiate All the Time
Whether it’s a ‘buyer’s market’ or a ‘seller’s market’, negotiation is never out of the question. Keep in mind that your goal is to make both parties happy. No one should win and no one should lose.
It’s important to make sure that a deal is made and the buyer gets it at a price they can be happy with. A seller may need to settle for something less than the original price (and that’s OK sometimes). If you work for buyers and the home needs repairs, you can work on a deal where the seller can accept a lower price so they aren’t saddled with the financial implications of repairing the home.
Make Due Diligence Your Priority
Buyers and investors take due diligence seriously. So should you. The slight difference here is screening and qualifying your leads that are interested in purchasing the home.
The thing to realize is not all leads are created equal. Yes, there are interested buyers. But there can only be one.
The reason for this is many of these leads will back out for one reason or another. They may have preferences on a property they are looking for. They may also realize that the home they’re looking at may have a glaring issue that they don’t want to deal with personally.
Leads will dwindle down. You can also whittle down the list of prospective buyers down to a short list. As a real estate agent, you’ll want to interview your leads before making a decision to work with them or not.
Know the Budget and Timeline of Your Clients
If you are a buyer’s agent, two of your major questions should include their budget and timeline. You’ll want to know how much they are willing to spend on a house. You’ll also know when they’re ready to buy.
The sooner they buy, the quicker you can be able to close the sale. One of the things you need to look out for is how they are adjusting their timeline. If they are doing it almost constantly, they are kicking the tires at this point.
You should know these answers early. Be sure to ask these questions during the screening interview. This will give you a good idea of whether or not you want to move forward with them or not.
Screening for the tire kickers will save you time and allow you to focus more on serious leads.
Take Advantage of Virtual Tours
Many people are starting their home search online these days. Plus, other people are willing to see more than just pictures of the property. Enter virtual tours.
This will allow you to give people a chance to look inside the property without setting foot in it. From there, they can decide on adding it to their list of homes they’re interested in or not. If you have a camera that has a panoramic feature, use it to your advantage and take photos of every room.
It would never hurt to include videos as well. Make sure the layout and physical details are out in full view. Make sure they are also in high quality as well and not grainy.
Make Your Presence Known Beyond a Website
A website may be the baseline for having an online presence. However, it’s important to have a presence on social media as well. You should consider using Facebook and Instagram to your advantage.
You can take pictures of the property and post them on Instagram. If you need inspiration or examples, there are plenty of real estate companies that are on Instagram and showing off the best features of every property they have listed.
It also never hurts to have YouTube help you out as well. This will allow you to film and post regular video tours of the properties you’re selling. Similar to virtual tours, it gives leads an opportunity to check out the opportunity without having to travel.
Give Value to Buyers (or Sellers)
If you are a real estate agent with a solid online presence, you can leverage it to provide value to your buyers or sellers. How do you give value online?
You can do it in so many ways. Advice videos for buyers or sellers that explain common issues they might face and how to overcome them may be a good place to start.
You can create a series around the buying or selling process. You may also answer questions and publish ‘shorts’ on YouTube. Blogs are also a good way to give valuable information as well and even short, easy to digest ebooks can also work just fine.
Tell a Story About the Property
If there is one thing that a real estate agent can do, it’s tell a story. If you know of some interesting information about the property you’re selling, share with the buyer. You may also tell stories about the current occupant and how they put the home to good use.
It can give the new buyer an idea of what to do with certain areas of the house. Include specific details when and where necessary. Storytelling can create emotions and sentiments, which can be enough for a buyer to say ‘yes’.
Keep the Lines of Communication Open
Communication is key when it comes to the selling process. So if you want to check on them for a progress report, you can do so. If they have any questions, be available to answer them as soon as possible.
The constant flow of communication can establish trust between you and the client. Without it, there would be no deal to close. Simple as that.
Tour the Nearby Neighborhood
Go a little beyond the property. Talk about the neighborhood and even discuss some of the amenities they can get. Are they close to a good school for their kids?
Are the neighbors friendly and looking out for one another? Is crime low? You can share what you know about the neighborhood while touring it with your