10 May 2012

Create Urgency Overcome Buyer Reluctance

I read an article recently that totally summed up the attitude and mindset of the majority of buyers right now. The quote was this,

“When they should have been afraid of paying too much, they weren’t. Now, when they shouldn’t be afraid of paying too much, they are. It seems they are intent on finding ‘The Greatest Deal Ever’ and it causes them to miss out on the great deals that are possible. Most believe that they can ‘time’ the market; thinking they have all the time in the world.”

This rings so true with what we’ve all been seeing lately in this market where there are quite literally thousands of homes available in just this Central Texas area. It becomes harder when our clients, customers and leads may not be listening to us, but instead to friends, family and co-workers who quite honestly do not know anything about what this market is truly about.

WE KNOW that this is the best market EVER to buy a home. But do they? How do we relay the sense of urgency to our buyers when they’re sitting back and waiting on a mythical castle, with a lake view, every amenity possible plus $0 down to fall on their doorstep for $89,000??? Here are some steps you can take that will take your customers from reluctant to ready!

Remember this if you don’t remember anything: “There are two ways to create urgency. Fear of loss and anticipation of gain.” Use these tips to get your clients moving.

1. Display a Ready for Business Attitude.

Urgency begins before your customers ever walk through the office, walk up to one of your listings or simply call you. Think about your office, is it a friendly entry with curb appeal, are the people friendly that your clients will meet? Think about your listings. Is your sign leaning or falling down? Are your fliers old, tattered, weathered, or strewn around the front yard? Or simply no fliers at all? How are you answering your phone? Are you answering with enthusiasm and confidence? Do your clients feel comfortable talking with you on the phone because you sound friendly?

Think about the message you are sending to your buyers if you’re not ready for business with the atmosphere of your office, your listings and how you answer and greet people on the phone. You have to give people a reason to get out of their car and come in to your office, get out of the car and grab one of your fliers or continue to speak with you on the phone to tell you what’s most important to them about a home that they will buy with you.

2. Motivate the Procrastinators!

Eliminate the confusion. Keep it simple and make it fun! Put your personality into it and have fun with your clients. Don’t take them to see 15 listings. Take them to see the top 5. That way they are not overloaded and get frustrated and start to give up or slow down. Bring something fun for the kids to do. Get your clients involved even if it’s taking a few of their own notes on each listing page.

3. Tap into their “Why”.

When they say what they want, ask why? This is how you get the “anticipation of gain.” If they feel like a house has everything they need and you solved the “why” behind the “what”, they will pull the trigger faster. Remember, it is part of your fiduciary duty to remind them of what they want and need and why they are buying. It’s their decision but it is YOU who help them overcome their fears. If you know all the reasons why they need a home, you can summarize and remind them that this house has all the things they were asking you to help them find.

4. Become the local expert and back it up with hard facts.

This could be the most important tip. When people believe their friends and families about market myths and fallacies and reasons not to buy, YOU need to emerge with solid data. Create a notebook with the latest articles from reputable sources about how great of a buyer’s market it is. Include numbers here in Killeen to show what’s going on and what’s positive. When they start to back up and say things like, “It’s just not the right time. We’ve got time to think. We’re just not ready now.” That is when you pull out your notebook and let them look at the solid numbers and hard facts, in writing! Since market expectations can be a powerful source of motivation, you should be the one setting those expectations and you should know as much as possible about your local market.

Tell a recent success story of yours. It could be a recent closing, sale, listing that sold quickly, family that got the perfect home because they moved quickly and grabbed a new listing that popped up. Your success makes them want to do business with you.

Finally, get people excited about making decisions. When you get your clients excited about finding a perfect home, the urgency will be there.

Note: If you would like a list of great articles, solid local numbers and facts, send me an email or give me a call. I’ll give you a good list to start your Urgency Notebook that you’ll have ready for all your clients.

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