Working with real estate sellers may be your ideal job. Yet, all too often, real estate agents fail to make the proper connection early on. Then, they miss out on the opportunity. Instead, when you get “The Call” from a seller who informs you they’re interested in using you as their agent, you must respond carefully. After all, that is the moment when your relationship with them begins. It is a time that you need to use wisely, putting everything you know into creating a welcoming, professional environment and impressing them with the services and benefits you offer.
Make the Right Impression
You have only one chance to make the right impression when working with real estate sellers. If you don’t present yourself well, they will probably turn to another agent. How do you show an image they can trust?
Being calm will help you come off as a competent professional. If you are positive, they will be positive about you, too. In addition, you can inspire them to trust you by showing pride in yourself and your company. Finally, you should avoid expressing doubts, making you appear weak and uninformed.
Have Your Value Proposition Ready
You should have written your personal value proposition at some point in your real estate training. Keep this document updated, regularly revising as your experiences and talents grow. Then, commit the new version to memory and be ready to explain the advantages the seller will receive when they work with you.
What should be in your value proposition? Include information about your education, specific areas of expertise, specialties, and dedication to displaying integrity and honesty in working with real estate sellers.
Know What Sellers Want in a Real Estate Agent
If you don’t know what real estate sellers want, you will never have enough insight to show them that you can fulfill their needs and desires. When you do know, though, you can emphasize the things that matter to them.
Mention what they will get from you that other agents won’t supply. Point out your outstanding skills, broad network of connections, and knowledge gained from every source, including real estate school, on-the-job real estate training, and online real estate courses. Tell them how your company supports you and why that helps them.
Set Up Your First Meeting and Prepare to Take the Right Approach
When you’re working with real estate sellers, you must take advantage of the opportunity to make the right moves starting at your first meeting with them. Set up an appointment at a safe, noise-free place on a date that is slightly after they contact so that you will be ready with your presentation.
Beginning with the right approach will help you win them over. The right approach entails listening more than talking and seeking to understand rather than be understood. This establishes a comfortable relationship with them and you can get the information you need to help them achieve their goals.
Asking Good Questions Sets the Stage
Before you can list a property, you need to know all the essential details about it. You also need to know the seller, their ability to sell the house, their goals, and preferences. So, remember all the things you need to know.
Then, ask open-ended questions so that the seller says more than “yes” or “no.” This is how to find out everything you will need when you research further and create the listing. Beyond that, this interaction will help set the stage for the actual sale process. You can also learn more about asking the right questions when taking the Roadmap to Success: Sellers online real estate course.
Get a Head-Start on the Transaction
When working with real estate sellers, you could simply do the minimum recommended in your real estate training courses. However, as you become more proficient at selling real estate, you will see the value of getting started on the transaction during your first meeting with them.
One way to get a head-start is to have them bring documents to the meeting that will help you recommend the right pricing. Many documents can help, but certainly, you will need their title, survey report, utility bills, and appliance warranties.
Don’t Waste Your First Meeting!
Take advantage of every moment in your first meeting when working with sellers. If you don’t, you may never have another chance to serve that seller. Respond to “The Call” with intelligence, the right attitude, and the mindset that you are there as an expert real estate agent who has the capacity and dedication to help them find a house suitable for them that they will treasure for years to come. Remember, they are with you at that first meeting to learn who you are as a real estate agent and what you have to offer them. Don’t disappoint them on that, and they may be your next, most faithful customers.