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Any challenge to winning over buyers starts with competent conversations and an information process that highlights your value, instills trust and steadily moves you to a client relationship. When an agent routinely controls an informational process, it enables the buyer with newfound confidence to take critical steps toward decision-making.
The conversations below do more than get you started. They are lessons in buyer conversion, and above all, in effective information communication.
1. Know the buyers’ whats and whys
An example will help them zero in on why:
Agent to buyer: “Most buyers shop their whats but buy their whys. Without a ‘what and why list,‘ you could be missing out. Whats are physical; whys are benefits. For example, ‘What’ I want is a house on a golf course; ‘Why’ I want it may not be to play golf; it may be for privacy or a view. If I find a property to fit your ‘why’ — something you can get really excited about that’s not on your ‘what’ list — would you want to know about it?”
2. Know the market. Be the expert
A metaphor will help buyers understand:
Agent to buyer: “When we track a town’s supply and demand, we know when the market shifts, and we know how to leverage it in your favor. A two-month supply of homes for sale in [name of town] translates to a swift seller’s market. Simply put, it takes only ‘two months to empty the shelf.’ Let’s discuss those leverage strategies …”
For a simple calculation of months’ supply of inventory, divide the supply (number of homes for sale) by the current demand (the last 30 days of under contract / pending sales) to accurately measure market shifts. Do it monthly to track shifts.
For example, if there are 100 homes for sale, and 50 under contract in the past 30 days, it takes two months to empty the shelf.
3. Provide a 3-pronged plan
Buyers don’t want to miss out. Show them how you’ll find listings hiding in plain sight.
Agent to buyer – “When supplies are low, it’s easy to overlook listings that aren’t new to the market, the hidden gems. Let’s make sure you don’t miss out on anything with these three strategies to uncover and secure the property you want!”
The hidden bargain: These are a chance to bid alone on the overpriced house that has been on the market a month or more. Offer less than asking but reflect the home’s value.
Lower your sights: To have a chance at winning in multiple offer situations, leave room to make a higher bid on a home listed for less than what you planned on spending.
For-sale-by-owner: In a less competitive environment, FSBOs usually cooperate with buyer-agents, especially when the buyer pays the fee.
4. Help buyers with a practice contract
Practicing relieves decision-making anxiety.
Agent to buyer: “A think-it-through strategy works better than a think-it-over strategy, and avoids losing a house in a fast market. We can sketch out a draft of an offer with five decision points: price, terms, dates, inclusions/exclusions and contingencies. You can always make changes after I call the listing agent. Then it’s your choice to act now if there are offers, or see the house again tomorrow if there’s a low risk of losing the house tonight.”
5. When it comes to making an offer, advise, don’t provide
Figuring out your buyer’s walk value will help relieve regret and remorse.
Agent to buyer: “How much should I offer is the most commonly asked question, especially in a sealed bid scenario. When you predetermine your walk value, it relieves the should-haves because you set the highest price you would pay or ‘walk away.’ It signals the end. If you win the bid, a walk value relieves the shouldn’t-haves because you set the price high, despite access to what else was on the table.”
6. Help buyers search with a solutions sheet
A dream home is only in buyers’ dreams, so it’s crucial to help them get realistic.
Agent to buyer: “When a home doesn’t check all the boxes, it’s because no home is perfect. It’s easy to pass up on the right one, especially when the housing supply is limited. A solutions sheet can help. Give each home a ranking based on most and least desirable features; add in reasonable cost-solutions. Then, reconsider the rank. If reasonable solutions allow you to check more boxes, you may have found your home.”
7. Help buyers rank their choices
Buyer motivation is relative. The universally accepted 1 to 10 rating scale will help.
Agent to buyer: “Seeing the big picture helps to gauge when you’re ready, willing and able to act on the right house when you find it. On a big picture scale of 1 to 10, where do you see yourself in the homebuying process? One means you are new to this; 10 means you are highly ready to buy now. What would have to happen to make it a 10? I can help. Here are the steps you can take … ”
8. Lay out options to help buyers figure out their next move
Buy before sell? Sell before buy? The best advice is to provide choices, not answers.
Agent to buyer: “There are 5 options when selling and buying, each with consequences:”
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- Put your house on the market; sell it with a 60-day Use and Occupancy Agreement, giving you about 120 days, or more, for a home search, relieving some of the pressure to find a home.
- Find the house first; make an offer contingent on selling your home, an ideal option for you, except for the weak negotiating position.
- Put your house on the market, close, then find temporary housing, a short-term option to decide your next move, and the best negotiating position, but it’s inconvenient to move twice.
- Secure a bridge loan to buy a home with the equity from your existing home, repaid with proceeds from the sale of your house, another option to relieve pressure when buying before selling.
- Keep your house, and rent it as part of an investment plan.
9. Carpe diem! Help buyers seize the house by pushing through boundaries
Don’t let your buyers miss out on opportunities that are right for them.
Agent to buyer: “When the open house is swarming with potential buyers, opportunity knocks quickly and fades just as fast. Some buyers hold their offer because of an artificial deadline set to amass offers. Other buyers feel their best shot is to break from the crowd, submit an early offer, wow the seller, knowing that the first offer is the best offer, demonstrating urgency and aligning fast action to commitment.”
10. Show your buyers the best path for getting results
The seller’s wish list is the buyer’s clear path. Provide buyers with a visual.
Agent to buyer: “Compelling terms in an offer is the surest strategy besides price to win over the seller, especially in multiple offers. The sampling below is what some listing agents present to buyer agents”:
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- Highest price with best terms and fewest contingencies
- 60-day closing with 60-day Use and Occupancy
- Appraisal waiver for offers above list with proof of funds for deposit and appraisal gap
- Total deposit due on Day 1 after all parties have signed the contract
- Limit home inspection to major structural, environmental and mechanical issues
- Consider waiving a specific dollar amount towards inspection concessions
- Home inspection within three to five days after all parties have signed the contract
- Add to contract (example) chimney, fireplace, flue in as-is condition
- Add the following personal property items excluded from sale: _____
- Sellers will look favorably on a pre-approval from a preferred lender
- Provide the buyer’s attorney information upon submission of offer
Winning over buyers is a misnomer. Earning buyers is what practiced agents do when they’ve mastered the art of information communication. Buyers desperately want to know what they do not know.
When coached by an agent with an information process, buyers become holders of the information. It seals a bond between buyer and agent, leads to effective decisions and promotes referrals.
Annette DeCicco is a real estate broker and director of growth and development at Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Jordan Baris Realty in Northern New Jersey.
